Message from Father John

On November 15th my fellow Christians, we enter the Advent Season. This is the 40 day period that prepares us spiritually for the Nativity of Our Lord on December 25th.This period has been designated as such by our church to prepare our hearts for the birth of the Savior. It is a fast period where our fasting should increase and also our reading of both sacred scriptures and religious books (Lives of the saints, etc) should increase...some great books are available from Holy Cross and St Vladimirs Press.

In November we celebrate the Saint's Nicholas, Nektarios, Katherine, and Andrew. On Tuesday evening December 5th.we will celebrate our own St Nicholas feast day with a vesperal Divine Liturgy at 7pm. Please plan on attending to ask our patron Saint to intercede on our behalf for our spiritual and physical health.

On Christmas Eve, December 24^th, we will celebrate the birth of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ with a beautiful liturgy and candlelight service and Christmas carols. On this day all Orthodox in good standing SHOULD receive communion. Of course, this is only after proper fasting and spiritual preparation.

Also, please make an effort to attend our weekly Orthodox 101/ Bible study every Thursday evening… what a great way to end 2006 and begin 2007… learning about our Precious Orthodox faith and The Holy Scriptures.

I have blessed many of your homes with many more to still complete. Please call Fr John to schedule a blessing. Our membership continues to increase at a steady rate. PLEASE return your pledge forms for 2007.  With your support we can achieve many things for the Lord.

Also we can not forget that in November we celebrate Thanksgiving. On this great day we Thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed on all of us, but especially for our great nation. Whether our families came from Greece, Serbia, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Ireland, Germany or anywhere else, this nation has given all of us many opportunities and especially our freedom to worship freely as we please. Let us remember to be THANKFUL for all these gifts!!

Congratulations

Several of our parishioners are taking advantage of a full time priest and are receiving the sacraments that they were not able to do earlier.  In addition to the home blessings, Fr. John has performed several baptisms, chrismations and weddings.  Bob (Lambros) Philips was baptized Orthodox.  Bob Phillips, Liz Fotopoulos and Jan (Ioanna) Kodis were chrismated into the Orthodox faith.  Bob & Tania Phillips and Stavros & Jan Kodis blessed their marriages by going through the rituals of an Orthodox wedding.  Congratulations to all of the new Orthodox Christians! May God grant you many happy years!

Birthday wish

Mrs. Georgia Jimos will celebrate her 95^th birthday on October 28, 2006. Happy birthday yayia!!

Stewardship

Like other Greek Orthodox Churches and in accordance to the Archdioceses regulations, St. Nicholas has initiated the stewardship drive for 2007.

Christian Stewardship is a life-style, which acknowledges accountability and responsibility before God. Becoming a Steward begins when we say we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust. We affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewards are motivated as recipients of God's abundant love, to respond by participating and supporting His plan of salvation and the ministries of the Church, which make salvation possible for them and for others.

Our Church relies on the Christian Stewardship Program as the primary income to cover the operating budget estimated at over $98,000 for 2007.  Please complete your 2007 stewardship pledge form and return to the church office by November 5th 2006 so that we can prepare a 2007 financial report and present at the General Assembly Meeting on November 12th 2006. 

General Assembly Meeting – November 12^th 2006

Only stewards of the church are able to vote at the general assembly meeting on November 12^th and serve on the parish council. 

Please note that while donations are welcome, they do not constitute stewardship without the completed pledge form stating that you want to be a member of the church. Thank you for your understanding.  If you need a form, please pick one up at the church or contact a council member and we will mail one to you.

Ladies Group (Philoptochos)

St. Nicholas Philoptochos (Ladies Group) will host a luncheon after the General Assembly meeting on November 12th for all our members.  Also, on Sunday, December 10th they will host our annual names day – St. Nicholas - Lenten luncheon.  Please join us for a good meal and fellowship.

Christmas stockings will be distributed to all of our children after the St. Nicholas liturgy, compliments of the Jimos children’s fund.

Also in December, the Ladies Group will once again have their annual dinner at the Apollon Restaurant in Appleton.  Information on the evening will be sent to the Ladies Group members separately. If you’d like to join in the festivities, please notify Ekaterina Retson or Kathy Gostas.

If you are interested in hosting a coffee hour following the Liturgy, please sign up on the bulletin board by the kitchen. This is a great opportunity for you to do a little extra for your church family. 

Mark your calendars

·         Sunday, November 12^th, 2006 is the General Assembly meeting.

·         Every Thursday Night at 7:00 is religious education where Fr. John will alternate weekly between Orthodoxy 101 and Bible Study.

Welcome!

Let’s extend a warm welcome to Will Smith, son of Father Paul and Nikki Smith from Chicago, and Evan Bravos, son of Angelo and Cynthia Bravos also from Chicago. Will and Evan are both attending Lawrence University and will be attending St. Nicholas and helping Fr. John in the alter and with the choir. Welcome Will and Evan!

Also, we are glad to have Andrew and Graham back.  It is wonderful to hear their voices in the choir in addition to Andrew’s skillful playing of the organ.  We are truly blessed to have such talented young men with us.

Let’s also welcome Andrew & Elina Pfaffenbach and their lovely children: Katrina, Alexandra, Eric and Aryana. (Elina is John & Effie’s daughter).

Sunday School

Our Sunday School year has begun in our two classes with lessons on God's love for us and our love for each other.  Our 4 and 5 year olds are learning the basic principles of what we see and do in the orthodox church through stories, songs and art projects.  The older students follow a more advanced lesson plan that includes learning about events and people in the bible.

Our students will also be learning about helping others through a community project this year.  To learn more about love and giving, our Sunday schoolers will be sponsoring a Food Drive at our church.  They will be setting up an area in our hall where they will be collecting food items for our local food pantry.  All parishioners interested are welcome to donate nonperishable food items and the students will help prepare and deliver the items in early December.  This is a project that can teach the students about loving those in our surrounding community that are in need.

A tree trimming pizza party is planned for our Sunday schoolers on Saturday December 2^nd from noon to 3 pm.  It will be a day to have fun with friends while preparing and decorating God's house for the holiday season.  We hope they can all attend!

And don't forget, our annual Christmas pageant will be held on Sunday, December 24^th immediately following the morning liturgy.  The students are always excited at this time of year and are appreciative of your support in the singing of the Christmas carols.

We hope to see you all there!

Pleasant farewell

Where has the summer gone!! It seems just like yesterday when Stan and Cleo Venetos returned from Florida, yet, October is here and they are already headed back for the winter.  We are very fortunate to have had Cleo with us this summer to continue to grow our choir and we look forward to their return next year.  Safe travels Stan & Cleo!  We will miss you!

Despite the cold and rain - Oktoberfest was a success!

Thanks to the support of our dedicated parishioners, donors and special guests, despite the rain, we had another very successful Oktoberfest!

First and foremost, a special thank you to our generous donors whose contributions of food, supplies and money made for a very profitable festival:

§         Stavros & Jan Kodis, and the Apollon Restaurant, Appleton

§         Soula Bourantanis, and the Golden Basket Restaurant, Appleton

§         Blueberry Hill Restaurant, Appleton

§         Eilleen’s Candies, Green Bay

§         Mladomir & Rajka Tomic

§         Pat & Debbie White

§         John & Effie Xanos

§         Tim & Snezana Wensits

When you patronize the Apollon, Golden Basket & Blueberry Hill Restaurants, please tell them that you appreciate their contributions and continued support of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Next, a special thank you to the dedicated parishioners and friends who collectively contributed over 300 hours of labor to make the festival a success: Elias Dimitrakakis, Tula  Dovalis, Jason, Amy & Yannis Fotopoulos, John & Liz Fotopoulos, Theodore Gaudynski, Kathy Gostas, Tina Herbeck, Jasna, Smiljan, Goran & Daniel Kaurin, Jan Kodis, Daniel & Nancy Kohlman, Rachel Rozman, Milan Kojcinovic, Tammy Kostoulas, Bob & Tania Phillips, Fr. John Pilafas, Mladomir & Rajka Tomic, Stan & Cleo Venetos, Snezana, Nick & Andrea Wensits, Kova Kolondzic, Debbie White, John & Effie Xanos, Travis Johnson, and John & Jack Raether.

Thank you donors and volunteers for making the festival a success.