THE ANNUNCIATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

THE FIRST GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN CONNECTICUT

The Good
News
FR. EVAN EVANGELIDIS, PASTOR
1230 NEWFIELD AVE, STAMFORD, CT 06905 + TELEPHONE: 203-322-2093 + FAX: 203-968-6632
EMAIL: SECRETARY@ANNUNCIATIONOFSTAMFORD.ORG + WEB PAGE:ANNUNCIATIONOFSTAMFORD.ORG

DECEMBER 2013

WORSHIP SERVICES
IN DECEMBER
Dec. 1st 14th Sunday of
Luke
9:00 am
Orthros &
10:00 am
Divine Liturgy
Dec. 3rd Tuesday
7:00 pm Great Vespers @ St.
Barbaras
Dec. 4th Wednesday - St.
Barbara
8:30 am
Orthros &
9:30 am
Divine Liturgy
Dec. 6th Friday - St.
Nicholas
8:30 am
Orthros &
9:30 am
Divine Liturgy @
Archangels
Dec. 8th 10th Sunday of Luke
9:00 am
Orthros &
10:00am
Divine Liturgy
Dec. 12th-Thursday - St.
Spyridon
8:30 am
Orthros &
9:30 am
Divine Liturgy
Dec. 15th 11th Sunday of
Luke
9:00 am Orthros &
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
Dec. 22nd Sunday before
Christmas
9:00 am
Orthros &
10:00 am
Divine Liturgy
Dec. 24th Tuesday Christmas Eve
6:00 pm
Vesperal Divine
Liturgy
of St. Basil the Great
Dec. 25th Wednesday Christmas Day
9:00 am
Orthros &
10:00 am
Divine Liturgy
Dec. 29th Sunday after
Christmas
9:00 am
Orthros &
10:00 am
Divine Liturgy

Fr. Evans Corner

Continuing our conversation on Holy
Scripture, the Bible contains 82 books,
written by different people over a period
of 1,600 years, from around 1500BC to
96AD. These books include true stories,
parables, songs, poetry, laws, sermons,
letters, events in history and predictions
about the future. The Bible as Gods
Word has a timeless message and the

power to speak to people of any age and

outlook.
The Bible is divided into two parts:
The Old and New Testaments. The Old
Testament is almost twice as long as the
New. The Old Testament is about Gods
chosen people, the Hebrews. It begins
from creation, through Gods promise to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Exodus
from Egypt led by Moses (1313BC), and
the struggles of the Jewish people to
create a Kingdom that flourished under
David and Solomon (960BC). The Old
Testament also tells us about the
Babylonian Captivity, when the Jewish
people were conquered and exiled to
Babylon (598BC), their release by the
Persians and efforts to re-build the
temple in Jerusalem. It ends with the
Maccabean Revolt against the Syrian
Greeks (175BC - 134BC).
The New Testament begins with the
birth of Jesus Christ when Palestine was
under Roman rule. It is about Christs
birth, life, earthly ministry, the Good
News about Gods Kingdom, His
crucifixion, death and resurrection, the
birth of the Christian Church at
Pentecost and Her struggle to spread the
Gospel in an often hostile Jewish and
pagan world (33AD - 96AD). St. Pauls
letters and the pastoral epistles of Sts.
Peter, James, John and Jude tell us what
is necessary for our salvation and how
we should live as Christians until Christ
returns to judge the world and to
establish His heavenly kingdom on
earth. St. Johns Revelation, the last
book of the New Testament, describes
this in greater detail (96AD).
Next month, well talk more about
the specific characteristics of the Bible. I
wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a
New Year filled with happiness and
every heavenly blessing from above!
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Parish Council
The work on our new oil tank
is finished. To date our church
has
collected
$25,730
in
donations from over 55 families
and friends. We will publish the
list of donors in the next coming
months to thank them for their
generosity, so if you havent had
an opportunity to donate, please
do so. If you would like to

remain anonymous, please call

the church office. Our Abuse
Reporting Policy in now in
place. Our annual Family Turkey
Bingo Night was a success as
many young families and their
children attended! The next
Family Turkey Bingo is on
Friday, December 13th at
7pm.
Recently,
Fr.
Evan,
Barbara
Pappas,
Jamie
Philippopoulos
and
Dino
Kallenekos attended the ClergyLaity
of
our
Archdiocesan
District at Holy Trinity Church in
Whitestone,
NY.
Over
65
parishes participated in the
governance of our District to
discuss its finances and to learn
more about the programs and
initiatives offered to benefit our
parishes. Council members will
take a CPR & Defibrillator class
in January 2014 on a Saturday
TBD. Jamie Philippopopulos is
the Chairperson for this
years Annual New Years
Eve Gala on Dec. 31st. Please
look out for the flyer to be
sent out soon! Our next
Council meeting is on Weds,
January 8th, 2014. A Merry
Christmas and a Happy and
Healthy New Year to all!
-----------------------------------------------Philoptochos
Its been another busy month for
Philoptochos! We hosted the Annual CT
Clergy Conference and the Marriage
Seminar. Thank you goes out to Dunkin
Donuts and to Sterling Farms for
donating a delicious breakfast and
wonderful lunch for the clergy. We also
thank Donut Delight and Rons Deli for
donating a delicious breakfast and the
yummy lunch wraps for the marriage
seminar. Special thanks also go out to
Olga Chagaris, Maria Maragos, Pitsa
Maragos, and Olga Benekos who set up
all the food and refreshments for these
two events. We sponsored another meal
at Covenant House on the Saturday after
Thanksgiving. Tony Boutsikoudis and
our GOYA cooked and served a meal for
80
people!
We
thank
Emmy
Koukoulogiannis,
for
cooking
a

delicious meal for the residents at the

Womens Domestic Violence Crisis
Center. They are very appreciative of a
home-cooked meal by our Ladies.
Our National Philoptochos responded
to the tragedy in the Philippines with a
$20,000 donation to the Greek Orthodox
Metropolis of Hong Kong earmarked for
relief aid in the Philippines.
We had a few fundraisers this month.
Our Turkey Basket Raffle was a success,
thanks to Christina Ramoglou. Our
Christmas meeting and party will take
place on Monday, December 9th at
7pm. As always, we will enjoy a
Christmas grabbag swap, delicious food,
and a great time with friends after our
short meeting. This year, Kathy Tournas
will help us decorate our own wreaths to
take home! All are welcome to join us!
-----------------------------------------------School Committee
The School Committee met
with the Director and the
Teachers for a mid-year update
on the functioning of the school.
There are 53 students currently
enrolled in grades Pre-K to 8th.
Classes on Tues, Weds, and Fri
begin promptly at 4pm and end
at 6 pm. Pre-K & K are on Sat
mornings from 10am - 12pm.
Teachers ask that parents try
their best to get their children to
school on time because regular
school attendance is critical for
students' progress in the Greek
language. Parking along the
entrance to the school is
prohibited to ensure student
safety at dismissal and to allow
emergency vehicles to enter if
they are needed. Our next
meeting
is
on
Sunday,
December 15th after Liturgy
during our fellowship hour.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

PTA
We had a great open meeting on
November 8th. Our minutes are posted on
the churchs bulletin board. Our first
PTA Newsletter was well received
within the community and distributed in
both Greek and English. We look
forward to gathering news and
submissions for our next issue, to be out
before the New Year! Our main focus
now is embracing the upcoming
Christmas season, therefore, we are
excitedly preparing for our annual
Christmas Party which will be held on
Sunday, December 22nd, after Liturgy
and the Christmas pageant. Lunch will
be served downstairs with a visit from
Santa, so please bring your appetites and
your cameras! Our next meeting is on
Friday, December 13th during Greek
School. All parents are invited to attend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Greek School
December is a busy and
exciting month for Greek School
as teachers prepare their midterm evaluations. 1st 2nd, 5th,

and 6th grades will receive

their report cards on Dec.
10th & 11th. 3rd, 4th, 7th, & 8th
grades will receive theirs on
Dec. 17th & 18th. Greek School
&
Sunday
School
are
collaborating on our Annual
Christmas
Pageant.
Please
contact George Argyratos, Vaso
Sakellson or Vaso Bakes to
enroll your child in the Pageant.
----------------------------------------------Sunday School
Sunday School now has over
40 children registered! Fr. Evan
continues to teach the children
about the Divine Liturgy and the
sacred objects we use in worship.
Parents are asked to have their
children in church by 10am. Our
annual Christmas Pageant will
take
place
on
Sunday,
December 22nd. Please enroll
your child in the Christmas
Pageant. Sunday School will
resume on January 5th 2014. A
Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year to all!
------------------------------------------------GOYA
GOYA is organizing a Toys for
Tots drive within our community.
Please donate an unwrapped gift for a
child aged 1 to 12 and place it in the
donation box located outside the
classroom area. Congratulations go out
to
Nikki
Boutsikoudis,
Alexi
Nicolopoulos and George Rassias for
competing in the Greek History
Tournament at St. Barbaras. GOYA
served meals at Covenant House on
Saturday, November 30th. This is a joint
ministry with Philoptochos. 5 Goyans, 2
pre-goyans, 4 parents and 1 guest
participated to make this a successful
community service event. GOYA thanks
Tony Boutsikoudis for contributing his
time and talent to cook the 80 meals that
were served. GOYA serves meals at
Covenant House on the 5th Saturday of
every month. Our next meeting is on
Sunday, December 8th right after
Liturgy in our fellowship hall. All
teens 12 &older are encouraged to join
GOYA. ALL are welcome to volunteer
at the Covenant House Soup Kitchen.
-----------------------------------------------Hope & Joy
Sincere thanks to all who
participated
in
Novembers
gathering of HOPE & JOY! We
continued to discuss Making a
Difference and focused on those
closest to us: ourselves and our
immediate
family
members.
Father Evan
and the kids
discussed how showing love,
respect and understanding within
our family is the foundation of all
good works. Each child came up
with specific ideas on how to
improve their relationships with
their parents, siblings and friends.

Last month we had a

discussion about the Food Bank of
Lower Fairfield County and how
soup kitchens in the area rely on
it for meals. The children
decided to start a food drive
and bring donations to the
Food Bank. The donation box
is located outside of the
classrooms. Please do what
you can to contribute!
Thank you to Eleni
Diakogeorgiou
and
Yianna
Dimitroglou for leading the HOPE
children in discussion and arts
and crafts. They did a great job!
The Haritopoulos family (The
Players Club) donated delicious
pizza for dinner and the Dillulio
family brought in ice cream and
donuts. Also, Coach Louie had
lots of fun games planned!
Thanks to everyone who helped!
Our Christmas HOPE & JOY
gathering
is
on
Friday,
December
20th!
All
are
welcome!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

YAL
At its December meeting on
Wednesday, December 11th at 7:30pm,
YAL will elect new officers, begin
preparations for its Tsiknopempti Event and
for restoring our upstairs bathrooms. YAL
has pledged $10,000 dollars towards this
effort! Megan Starson, Anastasia Skroubelos
and Stacie Papaionnou are coordinating
YALs community service efforts with the
Womens Domestic Violence Crisis Center.
YAL meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the
month at 7:30pm. All young adults aged 1830 are encouraged to join YAL!
----------------------------------------------------------------

AHEPA
The 5th Annual Hellenic History
Tournament was on November 16th at St
Barbaras Church. Our two Stamford teams
put up a brave fight but were eliminated in
the first round. We thank them for
representing us and wish them success for
next year. The team from New Rochelle won
first place and the team from Newport
received second place. Our next meeting is
on Wednesday, December 11th at 7:30pm
at the Annunciation Church. We will
discuss upcoming programs and objectives
for next year. A Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year to all!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Scholarship Committee
The Scholarship Committee met
recently and continued their efforts to
have complete information on all
scholarships overseen by the church.
We are making strides in organizing and
centralizing all pertinent information and
records regarding all scholarship funds,
and in creating standardized procedures
for all scholarship applications. We are
also working with Paul Poulos on the
expansion of the scholarship pages of
the Church website, providing more
information
and
a
user-friendly
environment for our community of
students to take advantage of these
scholarship opportunities.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Altar Boys
There will be a miniretreat for Altar Boys on
Sunday, Dec. 29th right after
Liturgy from 12pm-2pm. Lunch
and
refreshments
will
be
provided! Boys aged 10 and
above are encouraged to serve in
the altar. Please let Fr. Evan know
if your son wants to be an altar
boy! An Altar Boy schedule for
2014 will be going out in the New
Year!
------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcements
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs.
Demetrios (Angela) Frazis on the
baptism of their son, Michael. The
Godparents were Mr. & Mrs. Nick
(Eugenia) Frazis.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Stewardship Committee
Our Church has 160 steward
member families and has collected
over $77,250 in Stewardship
pledges in 2013. We will publish
the list of our 2013 stewards in the
New Year to publically thank them
for their support, so if you havent
made your stewardship donation
for 2013, please do so today. If you
wish to remain anonymous, please
let the church office know. You will
receive your 2014 Stewardship
packet shortly. Weve made
changes
that
reflect
your
suggestions and have translated
the stewardship information in
Greek to create a bilingual
stewrdship package. The Church
needs your time, talent AND
treasure in order to survive. If
we dont support our Church
to promote our Orthodox
Christian faith & Hellenic
culture, WHO will?
-------------------------------------------------------------

Election Committee
Candidate appliations for Parish Council
are due on Saturday, December 7th at 6pm.
Parish Council elections are on Sunday,
December 15th between 12pm-2pm
following Liturgy in our fellowship hall. All
steward members in good standing of our
community are elligible to vote. Good luck to all
the candidates!