december 2015 monthly newsletter

608 SOUTH COLLEGE ROAD WILMINGTON NC 28403 (910) 392-4444 FAX (910) 392-4905

www.stnicholaswilmington.org

The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

December 25

December 2015

http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church December 2015

2

Fr. Jon Emanuelson

Parish Priest

Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 9AM – 2PM

Office Phone: 910-392-4444 Office Fax: 910-392-4905

Fr. Jon’s Mobile Number: 910-685-0080

Office Email: [email protected]

Fr. Jon’s Email: [email protected]

Church Website: www.stnicholaswilmington.org

Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StNicholasWilmington

2015 PARISH COUNCIL

CHURCH STAFF

Angelique Skandalakis, Parish Office Administrator

PARISH MINISTRY TEAM

Officers Members

Barbara Reynolds, President John Burgee Debra Rallis

Evangelos Fragos, Vice President Peter Manolukas Nick Saffo

Irene Sotiriou Vogiatzis, Secretary Peter Malahias Maria Stasios

Tina Bostic, Treasurer Emanuel Miliotis

Religious Education…Richard Reynolds, Ministry Chair Communications - Technology Ministries…

Adult Education…Richard Reynolds Alexandros Theodoropoulos , Ministry Group Leader

Youth Catechism…Courtney Malahias, Director Webmaster… Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Bookstore/Library…Mary Ann Wall Publications…Angelique Skandalakis, Stella McTaggart

Oratorical Festival…Courtney Malahias Technology… Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Media/Community Relations…Beth Burgee, Debra

Hellenic Culture…Kitsa Wiersteiner, Ministry Chair Rallis, Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Hellenic School…Anestis Logothetis, Acting Director

Romiosini Dance Group… Zaharoula Katsikis Parish Family Life…**Volunteer Needed**

Zoyra Dance Group… Benjalee Pittman Parish Family Night…**Volunteer Needed**

Choral…Dr. Michael Rallis Men’s Group…Richard Reynolds

Special Activities… Kitsa Wiersteiner Women’s Group…**Volunteer Needed**

Forever Young…Stella Vallianos

Youth Diakonia…Doug Brown, Ministry Chair LOVE…Angelique Skandalakis, Kay Skandalakis

GOYA…Alexia Porzio, Doug Brown, Benjalee Pittman,

Koula Katsikis, Courtney Malahias Outreach & Evangelism…Diane McGowan, Ministry Chair

HOPE/JOY… Joyce Patsalos, Sophia Brewer, OCF…Fr. Jon, Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Jaime Saffo, Renée Karonis Psilos & Connie Ronner Hospitality…Ed Mayorga, Kathleen Mayorga

Community Service…Christina Mount

Liturgical Life… Dr. Michael Rallis, Ministry Chair Parish Care…Pat Poulos, Tina Stamatakis,

Liturgical Music… Dr. Michael Rallis Kay Skandalakis , Dr. Mary Frankos

Acolytes…Doug Brown

Neokoros/Sexton…**Volunteer Needed** Philoptochos…Tia Saffo, Chapter President

Stewardship…Debra Rallis

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/

http://www.facebook.com/StNicholasWilmington


3

From the Desk of Father Jon

On our Love for God and for each other

The recent events in Paris, France reach deep into our hearts and remind us of the attacks from September 11, 2001.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the French people and nation in hopes that the freedom we both treasure is forever with

us and defended. May the souls of the departed be received by God in His kingdom.

The reaction that most of us have had to the mass shootings is one of horror and prayer. Our nation has tended to over

react to events similar to these. Keeping our Orthodox Christian perspective in the midst of horrific events is difficult

for certain but necessary. The gospel speaks of similar events in Mark 13 when Jesus tells us, “When you hear of wars

and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.” Our Lord knew two thou-

sand years ago that mankind would have to endure many tribulations. Our lives have to be guided in the Orthodox

Church by the gospel of Christ and by the Holy Spirit. Our emotions and feelings must be tempered by prayer and fast-

ing.

We also need to seek out more education about world events. The situation in the Middle East is complicated to be cer-

tain, but there is a need for understanding. Just like our forefathers, people in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast

Asia are seeking a new homeland. Most of them will never or rarely return to the areas they recently called home.

They are people from many faith backgrounds as well: Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews, Yazidis, Catholic Chris-

tians. Just as the media often portrays countries or groups of people in a bad light, we cannot stereotype the refugees

from any part of the world. Try to put yourselves in their shoes and show the compassion of Christ.

What does Christ teach us to do?

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who spitefully use you.”

Luke 6:27

The Sermon on the Mount guides us most wondrously. Jesus taught us, “And just as you want men to do to you, you

also do to them likewise.” Luke 6:31

“Judge not, and you will not be judged. Condemn not, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be for-

given.” 6:37

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By

this all will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

The motivating force behind all that we do in Christ Jesus has to be love. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,

but not the end! Jesus teaches not “to fear those who can destroy the body but cannot destroy the soul.” Matthew 10:28

What does it mean to love your enemies? This is a tall order spiritually speaking. Many of us think it is a difficult

thing just to love those who love us! Yet Jesus shows us the most excellent way: the way of love. When we learn to

love in the face of extreme prejudice and hatred, when we learn to love even when it is not returned, when we learn to

love in the depths of pain and sorrow, then we will know the grace of God and the peace which surpasses all under-

standing.

As I try to put myself in the shoes of one of these refugees, (which in truth is impossible but I still must try) I think

about leaving everything I currently know and place myself and my family in a land that is foreign to us and to the lan-

guage I speak. I try to imagine having nothing but the clothes on my back, a love for God, my family, what skills and

education I have and what money I can gather. I am traveling on foot and by boat in dangerous areas. I hope the people

that say they are helping me and my family are in truth doing just that! I hope the people I will travel to stay with and

make my new home with will show me the love of Christ! I pray they will help me learn a new language like my fore-

fathers had to learn. I hope that the love I have to give as an Orthodox Christian will be received and known even

though I expect nothing in return.

Love, Fr. Jon

P. S. – Please go and watch the latest episode of Be the Bee on YouTube – Love your Enemies!


4

From the Parish Council President

Barbara Reynolds

Our Fall General Assembly meeting was held on November 8. In the meeting we reviewed improvements made

to the church since our last GA meeting in February, reviewed the status of our church finances, discussed fu-

ture plans and reviewed and approved the 2016 budget. See below for the highlights of the meeting. The

minutes of the meeting will be posted in the Hellenic Center.

Fr. Jon spoke of “stepping up” attendance, giving and participation in the church ministries in his spiritual

reflection. He announced the Archangel Michael Awards – Courtney Malahias and Maria Poulos, and that

Demetri Brown retrieved the cross at the cross dive.

Doug Brown was announced as the new Youth Diakonia leader. We welcome Doug to his new role. Many

thanks to Koula Katsikis who has been the Youth Diakonia leader for over 10 years. She was our first youth

ministry leader. She worked with the other youth leaders to build an outstanding youth program at St. Nicholas.

It has been wonderful to watch our youth grow in their faith under her leadership of this program.

Improvements made to the church in the last nine months funded by donations and/or capital funds:

Hellenic Center painting & new shutters

Halls painted

Back door railing added

Online giving enabled

AED device installed

Entrance mats

A capital spending committee is being formed to look at further improvements to the church. If you are inter-

esting in participating in this committee please contact me.

Rick Reynolds and Alexandros Theodoropoulos are working to install new parish data software to improve our

office operations.

The golf tournament in October brought in over $9,000 and everyone had a good time. There are plans to grow

the tournament in 2016. The Festival net income was $130,894 for a 51% profit margin. Thanks to all that

came out and worked to make it a success. Donations from the profits were made to:

Good Shepherd Center - $7,500

Diakonia Center- $2,000

Benevolent Fund - $500

St. Nicholas NYC Shrine Fund - $3,000

St. Nicholas Youth - $2,000

St. Nicholas Dance Group - $1,500

The Metropolis of Atlanta is developing a strategic plan for the metropolis. The work is being led by the clergy

and lay leaders of the church. There are eleven focus areas of the plan: Administration; Clergy; Communica-

tions; Education; Family; Finance; Outreach, Evangelism and Philanthropy; Spiritual Growth; Technology;

Youth. If you would like to participate in this work please contact Koula Katsikis who is our ambassador to the

teams.


5

Save the Dates

January 6: The Theophany of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

January 10: Vasilopita Sunday

January 15-17: Hellenic Dance festival-Orlando

January 30: UNCW Intercultural Festival

Christ is Born!

Glorify Him!

Debbie Rallis presented the 2016 stewardship theme. God wants you to do your best and leave the rest to

Him. Saint Theofan said, “Exert all your strength, but rest your concern for success on God.” The Lord

doesn’t expect any more from us than what we have to offer. But He does expect us to be faithful and that we

do our very best for Him. We do our best and leave the rest to Him. The true motivation for giving is grace.

Giving is an act of worship in response to the generosity of God. Stewardship Sunday will be December 6.

How appropriate that our stewardship cards will be blessed on the day that we celebrate our beloved St. Nicho-

las.

Tina Bostic presented the status of the 2015 stewardship giving. We are ahead of where we were last Novem-

ber in stewardship giving. We are optimistic about reaching our 2015 goal.

Tina Bostic presented the proposed 2016 budget. The budget calls for a 2% increase of stewardship income

and a $2000 increase in the golf tournament income. Changes to expenses included increases in: administra-

tive and operational costs, church commitments to the archdiocese, conference expenses, outreach expenses,

special events expenses. Decreases in expenses for: cultural expenses, and overall program expenses. The

budget was approved.

Koula Katsikis reported on the audit performed on the 2014 books. No issues were found.

Parish Council elections will be held on December 6. There are 5 open slots for parish council. The candi-

dates are: John Burgee, Evangelos Fragos, Manny Miliotis, Jack Poulos, Nick Saffo, and Maria Stasios. The

election committee is Ron Demas, Mike Koklanaris and Anesti Logothetis.


6

Treasurer’s Update Tina Bostic

As of the end of October I’m happy to report that our income is ahead of our expenses. We’ve been very fortu-

nate this year to continue to provide a variety of ministries. Additionally, thank you to all who were able to

make it to the General Assembly on November 8th. The 2016 draft budget was presented and passed.

Thank you to all of you who continuously support the activities for our parish through your donations, but es-

pecially through the time and talent each of you gives to make St. Nicholas a wonderful place of worship, wit-

ness, service, and fellowship.

General Fund Financial as of Oct. 30, 2015

Oct Jan-Oct

Operating Income $24,564 $290,831

Operating Expense $30,748 $276,145

Net Operating

Income / Loss ($1,840) $14,686

Stewardship:

As reported during the General Assembly our stewardship participation as of November 1, 2015 is slightly

down compared to November 1, 2014; however, the stewardship pledged is slightly higher. Our stewardship

received as of November 1, 2015 has surpassed our pledged amount at $215,346.00. We are fortunate we are

receiving more than pledged.

Nov. 1, 2015 Nov. 1 2014

Stewardship Total Pledged $209,001 $204,249

Number of Stewards 131 139

% of Participation 65.5% 69.5%


7

Anagnost, Dr. John & Dr. Kathleen Jewel

Anagnost, John Alexander

Anderson, Renee

Angeledes, Angelo & Evelyn

Andrews, Chris

Andrews, Louis & Roula

Batis, John & Emily

Batounis, John & Nancy

Batuyios, Bill

Baynard, Carl & Constandy

Batuyios, Michael and Katherine

Berrehamn, Meleshaw & Gebremskal

Boardman, Frank and Demetra

Bostic, Michael & Tina

Brilakis, Antony & Shirley

Brown, Doug & Argie

Calhoun, Cameron & Pam

Clark, Ryan P.Emily Andrae

Cranidiotis, Chris & Joy Faulk

Dandulakis, Gregory & Kimberly

Demas, Ronald & Sharon

Dentiste, Angela

Diakogiannis, Ifigenia

Diakogiannis, Yianni

Dimopoulos, Pete & Katherine

Dimopoulos, George

Dimopoulos, Maria

Dimopoulos, Vasilios

Dimov, Stanislav & Diana

Dodge, Nicholas & Kristina

Dukas, Nota

Emanuelson, Fr. Jon & Pres. Barbara

Flowers, Larry & Helen

Fokakis, George

Fragakis, John & Sophia

Fragos, Evangelos & Olympia

Franck, John Argie

Frankos, Dr. Mary

Gallaher, Pat & Marisa

Gerry, Despina

Grinneli, Elizabeth

Gueorguiev, Manol & Anagnost, Adrian

Habash, Nick & Elizabeth

Hale, Pamela Mavros

Haralambous, Irene

Harrell, Stephanie

Heggler, Charles & Copes, Sophie

Jefferies, Phil & Irene

Kaprantzas, Christos & Eleni

Karonis, Yianni & Evyenia

Katris, Gus

Katsikis, Basile & Koula

Kefalas, Thalia

King, Lee & Doris

Kirkby, Matthew & Melissa

Koklanaris, Emmanuel & Lambra

Koumparakis-Botbol, Elaine

Kratsa, Perry Caleb & Anita Nagy

Kruczko, Serge Mark & Ashlee

Lawler, Samuel & Susan

Lazaridis, Alexander

Lazaridis, Nick & Nena

Lionikis, Emmanuel & Athanasia

Logothetis, Anestis & Constance

Loizides, Michael & Theodora

Maggio, Evelyn

Malahais, Peter & Courtney

Manolukas, John

Manolukas, Dr. Peter & Joan

Markatos, Aristea

Marmaras, Mary

Maroudis, Xenophon

Mayorga, Ed & Kathleen

Mayorga, Sia

McGowan, Calvin & Diane

McHugh, Jon & Eleni

McTaggart, Micaiah & Stella

Miliotis, Emanuel & Mary Beth

Mount, Christina

Nashed, Neemat

Panagapoulos, Jessica

Papakidis, Maria

Papanicolaou, Lambros & Niki

Papanikolau, Efstratios & Sandra

Pappamihiel, Ruth

Parrett, Bette

Patsalos, Nick & Joyce

Pekatos, Spero & Lucy

Pinkston, Anne Bakalis

Pittman, Brian & Benjalee

Porzio, Andrew & Alexia

Poulos, Jack & Danielle

Poulos, John & Athena

Poulos, Patricia

Rallis, Michael & Debra Bakalis

Rallis

Reynolds, Rick & Barbara

Roeske, Michael and Ekaterina

Ronner, Tom & Connie

Saffo, Doky & Despina

Saffo, Marian & Marika

Saffo, Nick & Tia

Saffo, Peter & Kimberly

Saffo, Tony & Jamie

Schaefer, Robert & Rena

Skandalakis, Angelique

Skandalakis, Kay

Skinner-Darby, Patricia

Sljaka, Mary

Sljaka, Sophia

Snow, David & Daphne

Souflas, Thomas & Linda

Spyropoulos, Maria

Staks, Marianna

Stasios, James & Maria

Stephanou, George & Peggy

Theodoropoulos, Alexandros & Eleni

Theophilos, Plato & Renee

Triantafillopoulas, Konstantinos & Debbie

Tsangarides, Arthur & Wanda

Tsingelis, Chris & Angie

Tsingelis, Konstandinos

Vallianos, Stella

Vavalette, Mary Ann

Vogiatzis, Anastasios & Geogia

Vogiatzis, Ioannis & Barbara

Vogiatzis, Vasilios & Sotirou, Irene

Voneiff, George & Irene

Wall, Mary Ann

Whitley, John & Helen

Wickersham, Donald Ross

Wiersteiner, Sam & Kyriaki

Zezefellis, Effie

Zondos, Angela

2015 Stewards as of November 8, 2015


8

Stewardship Debra Rallis

I’d like to thank Fr. Eugene and Presbytera Toni for

their participation and involvement in our church ser-

vice and spiritual life here at St. Nicholas during the

past two years! We will truly miss you and the angel-

ic voices of your darling daughters, Sophia and Eliza-

beth! What a blessing for our St. Nicholas parish!

Thank you Deacon Tom and Stacy Fernandez for

your commitment and participation in our church ser-

vices. We want you to know how much we appreciate

you and your beautiful family!

WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP? We all know the three

T’s of Time, Talent and Treasure. But, the new

theme this year is a simple one.

Stewardship is about doing your BEST!

If your best is giving 1 million dollars, God bless

you.

If your best is volunteering 40 hours a week to our

church, that’s fine too.

If doing your best means giving $1.00, that’s ok too.

If doing your best is saying a short, silent prayer, then

that is well received as well.

It’s not the quantity, but the quality.

If we do our BEST with prayer and humility, then

God will take care of the rest.

In the Bible reading, Jesus didn’t ask the young boy

for food to feed 5,000. He said bring me what you

have. So the boy took him 2 fish and 5 loaves. In

other words, he took the Lord HIS BEST……..

And because of this, Jesus took his gift and multi-

plied it to feed 5000 in the wilderness!

I pray that we will strive to imitate our Lord by giv-

ing our BEST, to him and our Holy Church each day

of our lives.

Outreach & Evangelism Diane McGowan

Let the Christian spirit of Hospitality and Love be in

your heart all through this Joyful Nativity season and

the New Year. The Outreach and Evangelism Minis-

try asks you to reflect on the following:

“For … I was a stranger,” Christ says, “and you

took me in.”

Matthew 25:35

If each of us were to make it a goal to be the FIRST

to welcome unfamiliar persons, we will fulfill our

Orthodox Christian mission of “Receive one another,

just as Christ also received us, to the Glory of God.”

Romans 15:7.

Remember, we are all responsible for Outreach and

Evangelism. Starting today, if you see a new or unfa-

miliar face, think about inviting that person to join

your table at Coffee Hour.

To All St. Nicholas Parishioners and Families:

Christ is Born, Glorify Him !!

Καλα Χριστουγεννα !

Romiosini and Zoyra

This month our Zoyra and Romiosini Dancers will

have extra practices in preparation for the Hellenic

Dance Festival in Orlando, FL next month. For any-

one wishing to attend and help cheer on our youth,

please visit the Metropolis website for registration

information:

We kindly request you bring your

2016 Pledge Cards to church on

Sunday December 6th to be

blessed by our parish family.

We will enjoy lunch together as a

family in our Hellenic Center.

Thank you for your love of St.

Nicholas!

STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY ST. NICHOLAS DAY

SUNDAY DECEMBER 6TH


9

http://www.hellenicdancefestival.com/forms-and-

resources/registration-links-2016

Parents and family members please note that late reg-

istration fees apply after Dec 15th. What a blessing it

is to see our youth come together for Hellenic Dance.

Thank you to our hard working directors and assistant

directors who make this all possible - Nota Dukas,

Zaharoula Katsikis, Lucas Bostic, Katerina Katsikis

and Maia Porzio.

Philoptochos Enosis Chapter #5027

Tia Saffo

Dear Ladies of St Nicholas,

Greetings from your Philoptochos. We had a wonder-

ful planning meeting on Nov. 1 with 31 ladies in at-

tendance. This is a busy time of year for us and we

appreciate all the help from everyone. We have since

collected money for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and

collected money and food for 37 families (167 people)

for our Thanksgiving baskets.

Thank you to all the ladies who helped bake and sell

our pastries for our annual Holiday bake sale. We

couldn't have done it without everyone's help and sup-

port. We still have a few pastries/ frozen pitas re-

maining if anyone would like to purchase for their

holiday needs. Some of the proceeds from our bake

sale will help support homeless teens in our communi-

ty, with a Christmas gift.

We will be hosting our annual Christmas Brunch and

Membership Drive at my home this year.

Please join us for food and fellowship.

Sunday, December 13th

1:00-3:00pm

6601 Spring Garden Drive

Wilmington, NC 28403

This is a great opportunity to renew your commitment

to this beautiful organization. New members and re-

newing members will receive a small token of appre-

ciation. We ask that you bring a package of diapers or

make a monetary donation to support our Christmas

charity - Diaper Bank of North Carolina. Their needs

are diapers sizes 4, 5, 6 and Pull-ups.

A look ahead for 2016…Please mark your calendars

for our annual Vasilopita auction on January 10th.

Ladies are asked to please bring a wrapped vasilopita

for our auction. Half of all the funds raised will bene-

fit St Basil's Academy and the other half will support

local charities including our own Benevolent Fund.

We wish our entire St Nicholas Community a very

Merry Christmas and healthy and joyous New Year

2016.

Hellenic Culture Kitsa Wiersteiner

Many thanks from the Hellenic Culture Ministry to all

the people who helped with the OXI Day celebration.

Special thanks to our speaker Despina Saffo, it was a

great speech. Many thanks to the Hellenic school par-

ents and especially to Kim Dandulakis for decorating

the Hellenic Center. A big thank you to Benjalee and

her helpers Jack Poulos, Maryann Valvalette, Eleni

Theodoropoulos, Irene Sotiriou, Helen Dandulakis,

Nicholas Zaharis, Josh Zaharis, Maria Katris, and Eli-

ana Fragos for the spaghetti fund raising lunch. Many

thanks to all who brought desserts and fruits. Thanks

to the Hellenic School teachers, parents, Dr. Ron De-

mas, Dr. Emmanuel Koklanaris, and Rick Reynolds

for assisting the children with their poems. We are

proud of our children who worked so hard with their

poems, singing, and dancing. What a great job

Zaharoula Katsikis is doing with the Romiosini and

Zoyra dance groups. Thank you Lucas Bostic and Ka-

terina Katsikis who are also working with the Zoyra

dancers. Many thanks to Alexandros Theodoropoulos

for his assistance with the sound system and working

with the youngest dance group.

Thanks to Stella McTaggart and Kathy Dimopoulos


10

for printing the flyers and the programs. Thank you

Barbara Harris for photographing the event and Ben

Harris for videotaping the program. Also, many

thanks to Katerina Katsikis who sang the Greek na-

tional anthem so beautifully. Most importantly, we

want to thank our community for being present and

supporting activities like this event which is so im-

portant for our children’s heritage. We apologize if

we forgot to acknowledge anyone who helped with

this program.

Forever Young Stella Vallianos

Forever Young had an informative meeting in No-

vember. Presbytera Antonia Wozniak spoke to us

about estate planning, a most important topic for sen-

iors. Thank you, Presbytera. We want to wish you

and your family God’s speed as you embark on your

life’s next adventure.

Please remember that the Christmas social will be on

December 8th from 11AM-2PM. The meal will be

provided by Kay Skandalakis in memory of her par-

ents. Alexandros Theodoropoulos will be there with

his guitar to sing Christmas carols and Kalanda.

Please do not miss this wonderful event!

LOVE Angelique Skandalakis and Kay Skandalakis

Our LOVE group has had a great couple of months.

In October we gathered at the home of Kay and An-

gelique Skandalakis so that our little ones could paint

some pumpkins for Halloween. They came dressed in

their Halloween costumes and had a wonderful time

outside. Thankfully the weather was just perfect.

In November we had a Mom’s Night Out at The

Melting Pot, which was full of laughs. It was nice to

get together without the kids for a few hours.

Next month we will most likely be having our event

after the Christmas program on December 9th. Santa

will be coming to the church and we will decorate

Christmas cookies. If you have a child ages newborn-

5 years old and you are not on the LOVE list, please

e-mail Angelique at [email protected] so

you can be a part of LOVE!


11

Hellenic Culture - Special Activities Kitsa Wiersteiner

We want to thank Father Jon, the Parish Council, and

the St. Nicholas community for the support of this

ministry. We had a wonderful program on November

7th about the topic “The Asia Minor Catastrophe.”

Our speaker was Angela Dentiste who is an amazing

speaker. The program was very interesting and histor-

ic. Words cannot express our appreciation to Angela

for her presentation.

Many thanks to our talented dance teachers, Antonia

Ioannou for the adult group, and Zaharoula Katsikis

for the Romiosini and Zoyra groups. Special thanks to

the dancers of the adult and Romiosini groups who

performed dances from Pontos and Asia Minior.

Thanks to Alexandros Theodoropoulos for his assis-

tance with the sound system. Many thanks to all who

brought desserts, dips, fruits, and drinks.

We had a large attendance and those that did not come

missed a great program.

Bookstore Mary Ann Wall

I thank you all who helped me in decorating the hall

for Veterans Day coffee. To Mr. Dodge, for the Vet-

erans Day flyers he made this year. To Fr. Jon, Fr.

Eugene, and Fr. Thomas for the lovely service and

presentation of the Veterans Day pins. To Dr. Rallis,

for the lovely patriotic songs. And to the Parish

Council for the refreshments. And finally, especially

to all of our Veterans living, those now serving, and to

those who have fallen asleep in the Lord in helping to

preserve our freedoms.

May God Always bless us in his love, care, guidance,

and protection.

Many happy years, Mary Ann G. Wall

P.S. To those who were not able to attend the ser-

vice/presentation, they may pick up their pins on De-

cember 6 in the Library/Bookstore.

Community News

STOP HUNGER NOW

Please join us on Dec 5th from 10:00am-1:00pm for

our 5th annual Stop Hunger Now Meal packaging

event. If you haven't signed up to help, please do, so

that we know how many are coming to help. If you

haven't made a contribution, we are still in need of

funds to reach our 25,000 meal goal. Cash, checks

and on line donations are welcome.

https://stophungernow.secure.force.com/events/

SA_EVENTS__Home?id=70170000000d5AXAAY

Don't forget to bring a hat to the meal packaging

event!

Thank you to everyone for their support of this won-

derful ministry.

Irene Sotiriou and Jimmie Stasios - co-chairs.

WITH GRATITUDE!

We wish to thank Fr. Eugene Wozniak and Presvytera

Toni for their wonderful service and contribution to

our community life and faith over the past two years.

Fr. Eugene is retiring as a chaplain at the end of De-

cember and will be moving away from the area in the

near future.

Flag Ministry As we celebrated Veterans Day last

month, we would like to thank Pam Hale and Louis

Batuyios for donating the flags (Pam has been doing it

in memory of her husband Harry Eugene Hale) we

have raised on our flagpole all these years! We greatly

appreciate their contribution to our Community.

CONFESSION

As your parish priest and spiritual father, I make time

for confession every Saturday night before or after

Great Vespers. During the Nativity Fast it is always to

the glory of God that we seek his forgiveness. If Sat-

urday evening does not work for you please call me

on my cell phone at (910) 685-0080 to schedule a

time. Also, we are trying to find a time for Father

Christodoulos to join us here for confessions.

~Fr. Jon


12

OCMC

Around the world there are adults and children long-

ing to learn more about the Faith. There are women

who want to offer their time and talents to the Church,

but need guidance on how best to serve. There are

people desperate for healthcare. In 2016, Orthodox

Mission Teams from the OCMC will do these things

and more. Your service on one of these teams is need-

ed! Mission teams will be serving in seven countries

this year including Alaska (USA), Albania, Guatema-

la, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, and Uganda. Please see

last month’s newsletter for more information!

OCF

Please make sure to welcome all of our college stu-

dents in the area. His Eminence has directed us to re-

new our host family program. Fr. Jon needs 26 fami-

lies to step up and host one student for the academic

year. Please see Fr. Jon to discuss any questions and

interest you may have in this wonderful ministry.

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

DONATION REQUESTS

Olive oil for the vigil lamp is in need. If you would

like to make a donation, please bring any size bottle to

the church. Thank you.

We are accepting donations as we continue to improve

our Hellenic Center. Any donations would be greatly

appreciated. Items needed include new banquet

chairs.

Please donate all weekly coupons from newspapers &

ads to the Hellenic Center. This will be a new ministry

that will help our parishioners save money on prod-

ucts. For more information, please see Benjalee

Pittman.

*** We are looking for volunteers to host coffee hour.

If you are interested in hosting coffee hour please con-

tact Mary Ann Vavalette. For the weeks when we do

not have a volunteer we will still have coffee and

juice.

Congratulations

For all the people celebrating their birthday, anniver-

sary, and name day in the month of December, may

you have many happy years! Many Happy Years!

Congratulations to Alex Lazaridis & Alexia Lardis

who were married in the church on October 24th.

Congratulations to Demetri Brown for retrieving the

cross at the Family Weekend Spiritual Retreat &

Cross Dive!

Congratulations to Austin Hale, grandson of Pam

Mavros Hale and the late Harry Hale, on passing his

bar exam in Virginia. He is now a lawyer! His grand-

mother is very proud and we know his grandfather

would be so proud.

Congratulations to Courtney

Malahias and Maria Poulos

for receiving the Archangel

Michael Awards for our par-

ish! They were honored in

Atlanta mid-November.


13


14

Hosted by Pan-Ikarian Chapter Therma

Please join us on

Thursday ~ December 31, 2015

St. Nicholas Hellenic Center

Doors open at 8:30 pm

Food, Fun, Raffle Prizes & Dance

DJ with Greek & American Music

Set ups will be sold at the bar.

Tickets at the door:$40 Adults ~ $10 Students 13 - 21

$5 Ages 12 and under

For additional information contact: Peter Malahias at 910.799.7714 or Jack Poulos at 910.617.3086

We're throwing a New Year's Eve party, you'll have such a blast

as we bring in the new year and say goodbye to the last!

1 4:30PM Christmas program practice6:30PM Parish Council meeting6:30PM Adult dance

2 10:30AM Womens’ Bible Study6PM Paraklesis + pizza7PM Zoyra practice

3 4:30PM Christmas program practice7PM Choir practice

4 St. Barbara the Great Martyr8AM Orthros/Liturgy5PM Hellenic School

5 9:30AM Part 3 of lecture of Isaiah at St. Basil10AM Stop Hunger Now6PM Great Vespers for St. Nicholas + Artoklasia + Reception

6 10th Sunday of Luke St. Nicholas8:30AM Orthros10AM Liturgy10:30AM Youth Sunday sermon12PM Zoyra practice12:15PM Christmas program practice

7 8 11AM Forever Young Christmas social6:30PM Adult dance

9 Conception of the Theotokos8AM Orthros/Liturgy10:30AM Womens’ Bible Study5:30PM Christmas program6PM LOVE event

10 7PM Choir practice

11 5PM Hellenic School

12 St. Spyridon the Wonderworker8AM Orthros/Liturgy5PM Hall reserved6PM Great Vespers

13 11th Sunday of Luke 8:30AM Orthros10AM Liturgy12PM Zoyra practice1PM Philoptochos Christmas social1PM Romiosini practice

14 15 St. Eleutherios8AM Orthros/Liturgy6:30PM Adult dance

16 10:30AM Womens’ Bible Study6PM Paraklesis + Pizza7PM Zoyra practice

17 Prophet Daniel & Three Holy Youths8AM Orthros/Liturgy7PM Choir practice

18 5PM Hellenic School

19 6PM Great Vespers

20 Sunday before the Nativity8:30AM Orthros10AM Liturgy12PM Zoyra practice5PM Christmas caroling

21 22 6:30PM Adult dance

23 10:30AM Womens’ Bible Study7PM Zoyra practice

24 Nativity Eve8AM Royal Hours/Orthros7PM Vesporal Liturgy of St. Basil

25 Nativity of Christ/Christmas Day9AM Orthros/Liturgy

26

27 Sunday after NativitySt. Stephen the Great Martyr8:30AM Orthros10AM Liturgy12PM Zoyra practice

28 29 6:30PM Adult dance

30 10:30AM Womens’ Bible Study7PM Zoyra practice

31 New Year’s Eve7PM Choir practice8PM NYE dance

Fasting: Strict fast

Wine/oil Allowed

Fish Allowed

Fast Free

Parish Calendar December 2015SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

For a complete and up-to-date version of our Parish calendar, please visit us online at: http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/ParishCalendar.html

GOYA Winter Youth Rally

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID WILMINGTON, NC PERMIT NO. 634

ST. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

608 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Tape must overlap line

Tape must overlap line

december 2015 monthly newsletter

Documents