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The Spirit Official Publication of:
St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church Proistamenos: Rev. Fr. Philip Armstrong
2716 N. Dobson Rd., Suite 101 Chandler, Arizona 85224
Office Phone & Fax: (480) 899-3330
Website: www.st-katherine.org
Email us at [email protected]
March 2019
from our beginnings ……..
Annunciation of the Theotokos
March 25
Apolytikion of Annunciation of the Theotokos
Today marks the crowning of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery before all ages. For the Son of God becomes the son of the Virgin, and Gabriel proclaims the grace. Wherefore, we also cry out with him, "Hail, O full of grace, the Lord is with you."
Kontakion of Annunciation of the Theotokos
To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your
city, dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials, that I may call out
to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"
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Church Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 9:30 am –3:30 pm
Closed for Lunch 12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Sunday Worship
8:30 am-Orthros 9:30 am-Divine Liturgy
10:40 am –Sunday School
Weekly Bulletin Deadline 12:00 p.m. on the Wednesday, one week prior to
publication.
Spirit Deadline Please note that the deadline for submission of articles or for
the Spirit is the 15th of each month for inclusion in the follow-ing month’s issue. Please remember all submissions are sub-ject to approval. Also, please help us ensure the accuracy of
your material by submitting everything in a Word document or email with pictures attached in JPG form.
Bookstore Hours
Sundays following Liturgy (in the upstairs room adjacent to choir loft)
Church E-mail Addresses
Fr. Phil: [email protected]
Office: [email protected]
Church Office Administration– Marjie Thorpe
Stewardship – Gary Boyce
Church Ministries
Altar Boys…..….Nicholas Kretsedemas
Bookstore.. .Michael & Chryss Danielek
Psalti……………….....Thanasis Filippis
Dance Groups……..….Lisa Bafaloukos
GOYA………..Nick & Lisa Bafaloukos
Hrisi Parea……………..Linda Kotsakis
JOY/HOPE………... Fr. Phil Armstrong
Philoptochos………...……Linda Blazev
Sunday School……….….Maria Morton, Nicolette Wright
YAL………………….Stephanie Venetis
Church Organizations
AHEPA …………………...Leo Condos
Daughters of Penelope……..Niki Pallas
Greek Festival……...…Vange Archuleta
Hall Rental……………Vange Archuleta
Websites of Interest
Greek Archdiocese of America:
www.goarch.org
Metropolis of San Francisco: http://sanfran.goarch.org/
Rev. Philip Armstrong, Proistamenos
Parish Council
Officers:
President—Demetrios Deliz
1st Vice President -
Evangelia Archuleta
2nd Vice President -Athena Light
Secretary - Todd Wright
Treasurer-Gary Boyce
Assistant Treasurer– Marina Ambus
Members:
Chris Asbill
Zoi Benton
Mike Delos
Vicki Lampropoulos
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Holy Baptism
February 3, 2019 - Eleni Dorothy Waldo
Parents: Steve & Kathryn Waldo Godparents: Michael & Doxa Liong
February 16, 2018 - James Seletos
Godparent: Dean Milonas
Holy Matrimony
February 15, 2018 - James Molloy & Ana Costache Koumbaroi: Doris & Chris Garlick
Forty Day Blessing
February 10, 2019 - Julia Gillingham and newborn son, Charles Ryan
Sacraments and other services
Do you fast?
Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you
see a friend being honored, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but
also the eye, and the feet, and the hands and all the members of our bodies. Let the
hands fast, by being free of avarice. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let
the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful. Let the ears
by not listening to evil talk and gossip. Let the mouth fast from foul words and un-
just criticism. For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and
devour our brothers?
- St. John Chrysostom
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MESSAGE FROM FATHER
Life is filled with distractions and interruptions. It is easy to get off track with the things that are most important in
life. This is especially true with our relationship with God. It is easy to lose sight of God when we are trying to do so
many things. The confusion, busyness, and demands of daily living at times can cause a disconnect with God; we
simply, forget or put off our daily devotions and attendance at worship services of the Church. We have many ration-
alizations for doing so. The bottom line is we are neglecting the most important relationship of life—our relationship
with God.
The Church, knowing how easy it is to lose our spiritual anchoring, has provided us a spiritually intense time of year
of praying, fasting and the doing of good deeds to tune-up our relationship with God. We call this special time of
year Great Lent. This year Great lent begins on Monday, March 11th. The seven weeks of lent together with Holy
Week is the special time of year we consecrate to God. It is during this season that we place God first above all else.
What is the main purpose of this special time of year? It is to respond to the invitation of God to be honest with our-
selves. We are called to assume responsibility for our wandering from God and our sinful lapses. Simply put, it is the
coming face-to-face with God regarding our lives; it is getting serious about our spirituality.
The Church reminds us through the appointed lectionary readings of lent that the happiness and fulfillment we seek in
life can be found in God alone! Jesus notes in Jn. 16:24 “I have come that your joy might be FULL.” St. Peter refers
to this deep, lasting fruit of the Spirit as “joy inexpressible” (I.P.1:5). Yes, our happiness is dependent on our constant
attention to God in our lives.
In order for us to recapture this happiness and fulfillment, forceful action must be taken. Our Lord reminds us in Mt.
11:12 that the kingdom of Heaven must be “taken by force”. Paraphrased, we must be pro-active and committed to
taking charge of our lives through our willful choices. We must choose to pursue God and His kingdom.
In the information age we live in, we are greatly dependent on the proper and effective functioning of our personal
computers . When our computers get bogged down and operate slowly, and at times freeze, we must take radical
action to change this. Sometimes this takes place through defragmenting it or rebooting it. In layman’s terms, it’s like
stopping and starting over. The same is true with respect to our spiritual lives. We must dump or erase those things
that hinder our spiritual functioning. And, then, we must start over. Now we are ready to reinstitute the spiritual disci-
plines of prayer, fasting and showing sensitivity to our neighbor. Of course, along with us, we must be committed to
going the distance.
As we embrace the Lenten disciplines of daily praying, participating in the Lenten services, fasting from meat and
dairy, and most importantly sin, we will begin to sense a change inwardly. As the fog of our sins and spiritual dark-
ness lifts, we will begin to see and recognize God again. Even though we are in the thralls of Great Lent, we will be
reacquainted with the joy and happiness and contentment of walking with God on a dialy basis. Why is this? Simply,
when we live our lives in conformity with God’s spiritual blueprint for our lives, the soul is filled with joy, peace and
contentment. These spiritual emotions and virtues can’t help but pour out of our souls.
In closing, I pray that each of you has a blessed Great Lent as we endeavor to reconnect with God. May you recover
the happiness and contentment we so desperately desire.
Kali Tessarakosti! Good Lent!
In Christ’s love, +Fr. Phil
“Recovering our Happiness and Contentment in great Lent”
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“from the desk of the president”
“There are 3000 Universities & Colleges in the United States, 1200 are Faith Based We as Orthodox Christians only have 1 College/School of Theology and Seminary. To make things more challenging, there are fewer students attending universities and colleges these days around the country. And enrollment at the seminary is in a steep decline. At Hellenic College Holy Cross, we feel we must take action now, in order to move forward. And we believe that Orthodoxy’s future in America will be bright” (An Appeal from the Hellenic College Holy Cross President Rev. Fr. Christopher T. Metropulos, DMIN – February 11, 2019 -https://www.hchc.edu/ ) “Three-Thousand Colleges… Twelve-Hundred are Faith Based…. And Just “ONE” Orthodox”. This message from Father Christopher should resonate within our hearts and throughout our Orthodox Communi-ties! Especially since we have one of our own, Anthony Ladas attending Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theolo-gy! Together with Father Philip Armstrong, Our Parish Council, Our Parish and the Ladies of Saint Irene Philopto-chos, I humbly ask for your support in helping Anthony Ladas. As most of us know Anthony is from Saint Kathe-rine & he is currently attending Holy Cross Seminary and needs our support. We will have a few luncheons to assist in raising funds…. This is our “Appeal”, we still need your unwavering support! And we have set up a Donation Code for our Seminarian. The average tuition is approximately $23,000 per year. Philoptochos currently has Anthony in “Adopt a Seminarian” to assist him in any way possible. We at Saint Katherine are extremely blessed to have one of our youth grow up a strong Christian man, teach him-
self Greek, learn byzantine music and become an ordained Cantor-psaltis! Anthony is and has been dedicated to our faith and truly called by the Holy Spirit to become a priest!
Please keep Anthony, his Family and each other in your prayers!
Be well, with Christ’s Love,
Demetrios J. Deliz
__________________________________________________________________________________________
There was a man who bought a wonderful and big
new house with a fruit garden. There was an old ramshackle hut nearby where an envious neighbor lived. That nasty neighbor was always trying to har-ass the man in the big new house by throwing gar-bage under the man’s gate or doing other dirty tricks. One day, the man got up in his big and cozy new house. His mood was great but then he opened his door and went onto his porch and saw a bucket of slops. The man took the bucket, threw away the slops, cleaned the bucket, and filled it with the big-gest and the most delicious apples from his garden, and then went to his neighbor’s little old house. The neighbor heard him knock at his door and thought gloatingly, “I’ve made him angry at last!” He opened the door and prepared to have a row or even a fight, but the man handed him the bucket of apples and said, “You give what you’ve got!“
We Can Only Give What We’ve Got From: https://blog.obitel-minsk.com/
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St.Irene Philoptochos Invites you to join us for a Pascha Baking Party!
Tuesday March 12 9:30 am to “finish” Lunch Provided
Come when you can and stay as long as you like! It’s time to make the cookies for our
Pascha Bake Sale and we would love to have you come join in the fun.
All are welcome. Many Hands make light work. If you plan to come please call
Marjie in the office: 480-899-3330
St. Irene Philoptochos Invites you to join us for our
Annual Lenten Trip to
ST. PAISIUS MONASTERY Safford, Arizona
Saturday, March 16, 2019 Bus Departs from
St. Katherine Community Center 2716 N. Dobson Road Chandler, AZ 85224
Depart: 7:00 AM Return: 6:00 PM We will join the nuns for Paraklesis and lunch, with time to tour the grounds, enjoy
the serenity of the Monastery and visit with the nuns.
Cost: $25.00 per person $10.00 Youth (12 & under)
(Payment is required when you make your reservation, in order to hold the space.)
For Reservations and More Information Contact: The Church office 480-899-3330
Or E-mail [email protected] Please join us for a spiritual journey during the Lenten season.
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St. Irene Philoptochos To Keep in Touch with our St. Irene Philoptochos
*by email: [email protected]
*on Facebook: Saint Irene Philoptochos
We are pleased to share with you that His Grace Bishop Apostolos of Medeia has been appointed as the new spiritual advisor to our Philopto-chos Society. Bishop Apostolos also serves as the chief secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod. Previously he served as Bishop in our Metropolis so he is a familiar face to those of us at St. Katherine who have known him for some years now. Among his remarks I would like to highlight particularly some things he said that are important to our chapter here at St. Katherine. His Grace is quoted as thanking Philoptochos for all that they do, "thank you so much for your personal sacrifice of the time, talent and treasures which each of you offer so generously to our Ladies Philoptochos Society. Whether you work in your parish’s Chapter, your Metropolis Board, or on the Nation-al Philoptochos level, each of you are vital to the success of our Church’s Holy Mission. I ask God to bless all your endeavors as you keep the flame of Orthodoxy burning in the hearts of everyone you reach out to. Please con-
tinue to inspire, with your deeds and good works, the younger generation of women in your parishes to join Philoptochos." Thank you, Bishop Apostolos, for these encouraging words. In our chapter we do indeed strive to serve the church and be the right hand of the St. Katherine congregation in acts of love and philanthropy, and we are eager to urge “the younger generation of women” in our parish to join Philoptochos!
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St. Irene Prayer Group
Pray simply. Do not expect to find in your heart any remarkable gift of prayer. Consider yourself unworthy of it – then you will find peace. (Elder Marcarius of Optina)
The St. Irene Prayer Group is a group of St. Katherine’s parishioners committed to pray for the needs of anyone who asks us. It was started as a group of St. Irene Philoptochos but is not limited to our members. We do not meet together to pray – we each pray individually. We are notified by email and each member is committed that when we receive an email we will go as soon as is possible in our own homes, before our own icons and light a lamp or candle if we have such, and pray for the need. The emails are only sent when we receive a request for our prayers, so even though there are many needs inside and outside our parish that we are all probably individually praying about, the emails are only sent when a specific request has been received from an individual or their family. These requests are not only for health concerns but for all sorts of challenges and difficulties that arise. The Prayer Group is also committed to keeping all prayer requests and concerns confidential unless we have permission from the person for whom we are praying to share it with others. If you would like us to pray for a specific need you can reach us through email at [email protected] or you can call the church office at 480-899-3330 and speak to Marjie who will relay the message to us. If you would like to join our group and join your prayers to ours you can use the same contacts above.
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From the archives of St. Irene Philoptochos:
“We Remember” – this article was found among the papers of Philoptochos from 1983! Good advice never goes out of style!
The 10 Commandments of how to get along with people
1. Keep “skid chains” on your tongue. Always say less than you think. Cultivate a low persuasive voice. How you say it often counts more than what
you say.
2. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully no matter what the cost.
3. Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging word to or
about somebody. Praise good work, regardless of who did it.
4. Be interested in others: their pursuits, their work, their homes and their
families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let
everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him as a person of
importance.
5. Be cheerful. Don’t burden or depress those around you by dwelling on your
aches and pains and small disappointments. Remember, everyone is carrying
some kind of burden.
6. Keep an open mind. Discuss but don’t argue. It is a mark of a superior
mind to be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
7. Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves. Refuse to talk
about the vices of others. Discourage gossip. It is a waste of valuable time
and can be distractive and hurtful.
8. Take into consideration the feelings of others. Wit and humor at the
expense of another is never worth the pain that it may be inflicting.
9. Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Remember the person who
carried the message may not be the most accurate reporter in the world.
Simply live so that nobody will believe him. Disordered nerves and bad
digestion are a common cause of backbiting.
10. Don’t be anxious about the credit due to you. Do your best and be
patient. Forget about yourself and let others “remember”. Success is much
sweeter that way.
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Update from Luke
Hello All!
Happy March! We are officially three months into the year. At least for me, it seems that this year is simply speeding by. Now that we are here, there are two things that I certainly do look forward to! First is St. Patrick’s day. My favorite color is green, so I might a bit of bias, but I love the day. Also, the themed cookies they sell at Costco are quite delicious. The other thing I look forward to is Great Lent! Sure I will without a doubt miss my cheeses and meats, but the lent is so much more than that! Some of my favorite services in our church are dur-ing lent, Presanctified, Forgiveness Vespers and of course, the midnight Pascha service! Don’t get me wrong though, it is a difficult time. There are a lot of services, the temptations get even stronger, and like I said before, the lack of meat and cheese making it even harder. Keeping all this in mind, I still love lent. The services, while they are many, are so meaningful and powerful. They truly make you feel peace in your heart and remind you that God is always with you. And the fasting part is great too. You feel so much lighter and free when you fast, especially if you decide to fast from technology a bit as well. You really can feel yourself getting closer to God. As the youth coordinator of the church, I highly suggest getting your children in the Lenten spirit as well, if they aren’t already. Take the time to bring them to Presanctified during the week! It’s a lot easier to fast if the entire family is doing it, as opposed to just one or two members. When I was young, yes, my mom and dad sure did force me to do all the Lenten rituals. At first, I didn’t appreci-ate it, but looking back all these years, I'm glad they made me do it. If not, I would not be the person I am today.
Have a great month,
Luke Andruchow
The Ladies of St. Irene Philoptochos show their support for heart health on Go Red Sunday!
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Kyra Sarakosti
*Lent begins March 11th*
Kyra Sarakosti, No mouth has she, she neither talks nor eats. She has no ears, she does not hear gossip or idle speech. Upon her chest her crossed hands rest. All day Christ she entreats. And 7 feet, no more, no less, has she to count the
weeks.
Each Saturday of Lent we cut away one of her 7 feet. The last one we hide and the person who finds it receives special blessings!
(All proceeds to benefit St. Katherine Church)
Available in the Church Office $10.00 each
The Arizona Hellenic Foundation has several scholarships available. For information and application please visit the Foundation's web site: www.azhellenic.org
GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
The Tri-cities AHEPA family will host a
Greek Independence Day celebration on Saturday March 23,
at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church.
The dance groups of St. Katherine, Assumption, and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Churches will perform.
Guest of honor will be Mr Hartke, mayor of Chandler.
More details to follow.
For reservations see Telis Evripidou or any member of
AHEPA or Daughters of Penelope.
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DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE
Daughters of Penelope Aegina Chapter #340 News March 2019 Spirit
AHEPA 454 and DOP Aegina 340 will be hosting the March 25
th Greek Independence Day
dinner on March 23rd
. Mayor Kevin Hartke of Chandler will be in attendance. Look for the flyer with all the details soon. Our chapter will be hosting the 34
th annual Sisterhood Conference on Saturday, April 6
th,
2019 for Districts 17, 20, 21 & 22. The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Phoenix Airport. Dinner & entertainment will be “western style” at Rustler’s Rooste. District 20 Convention will be at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino the weekend of June 7
th.
More information coming soon! The Daughters of Penelope is open to all Christian women. Our objectives are to promote Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family & Individual Excel-lence. We meet on the 3
rd Monday of the month at 7p from September to June.
If interested in joining, contact Niki Pallas (480) 200-3069 or Carol Bafaloukos (480) 404-5242.
Left- Secretary April Scott, President Niki Pallas & VP Carol Bafaloukos Below– photos from DOP Christmas party
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Children’s Coloring & Activity Page:
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Annunciation of the Theotokos March 25th
Six months after John the Forerunner's con-ception, the Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, a town of Galilee, unto Mary the Virgin, who had come forth from the Tem-ple a mature maiden (see Nov. 21). According to the tradition handed down by the Fathers, she had been betrothed to Joseph four months. On coming to Joseph's house, the Archangel declared: "Rejoice, thou Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." After some consideration, and tur-moil of soul, and fear because of this greeting, the Virgin, when she had finally obtained full assurance concerning God's unsearchable con-descension and the ineffable dispensation that was to take place through
her, and believing that all things are possible to the Most High, answered in humili-ty: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." And at this, the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her all-blameless womb, and the Son and Word of God, Who existed before the ag-es, was conceived past speech and understanding, and became flesh in her immacu-late body (Luke 1:26-38). Bearing in her womb the Uncontainable One, the blessed Virgin went with haste from Nazareth to the hill country of Judea, where Zacharias had his dwelling; for she desired to find Elizabeth her kinswoman and rejoice together with her, because, as she had learned from the Archangel, Elizabeth had conceived in her old age. Fur-thermore, she wished to tell her of the great things that the Mighty One had been well-pleased to bring to pass in her, and she greeted Elizabeth and drew nigh to her. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, she felt her six-month-old babe, Saint John the Baptist, prophesied of the dawning of the spiritual Sun. Immediately, the aged Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized her as the Mother of her Lord, and with a great voice blessed her and the Fruit that she held within herself. The Virgin also, moved by a supernatural rejoicing in the spirit, glorified her God and Savior, saying: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," and the rest, as the divine Luke hath recorded (1:39-55)
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Retail space available:
Currently available to rent: 1300 SF Multiple use 2000 SF present drycleaners Available soon: 2600 SF Restaurant Key tenants: Papa John’s pizza, Jamba Juice & Truhit Gym
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Get a FREE BOOKLET and start planning today.
Lakeshore Mortuary
Phone: 480-838-5639
1815 S. Dobson Road Mesa, AZ 85202 Kristen Y. Robbins
www.LakeshoreMort.com
Place your business ad here!
Contact the Church Office (480) 899-3330
Prices will begin the first month your add will run and will run for 11
issues!
Size Pricing (11 issues) Per Year
Full Page $ 500.00
½ Page $ 300.00
¼ Page $ 150.00
Business Card $100.00
Square Ad $50.00
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St. Katherine Community Center
Call us today to book your Special Event!
For contact information regarding availability and costs, please call the Church Office at: (480) 899-3330
Facility Amenities
• Seating capacity for 350 plus dance floor, stage, and bar
• Full kitchen with walk-in refrigerator
• Plenty of parking • Tables and chairs available • Auditorium seating for 400 people • Reception packages available
The Spirit St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church 2716 N. Dobson Rd. Chandler, AZ. 85224
Facility Uses
• Wedding Receptions • Baptism Receptions • Quinceniera Receptions • Wedding & Baby Showers • Birthdays & Anniversaries • Banquets • Business Meetings & Conferences • Inside Basketball Court
