Bookstore - Open to the Public

   Bookstore is open during normal church activities, Fr. John’s office hours, or by appointment.

Regular Weekly Schedule

      Thursdays – 7:00-8:15 p.m.  “Orthodoxy 101”. Open to members and the public. Learn about the Orthodox Faith and Traditions. Open discussion. All are welcome! Class will resume Thursday, August 2.

      Saturdays – 6:00-6:45 p.m.  Vespers service. Vespers will resume Saturday, August 4.

      Sundays – 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy (conducted in Greek & English; with some singing in Serbian)

      Sunday School – Classes resume in September.

      Parish Council Meeting – 2nd Sunday of the Month

      Ladies’ Group Meeting – 3rd Sunday of the Month

Upcoming Activities & Events

      Sunday, July 22 - Parish picnic at St. Nicholas GOC, 12:00 p.m.

      Thursday, August 2 - Orthodoxy 101 Class resumes every Thursday, 7:00 p.m.

      Saturday, August 4 - Vesper services resume every Saturday, 6:00 p.m.

      Saturday, August 18 - St. Matthew Orthodox Church picnic, Green Bay – we’re all invited.

      Saturday, August 25 - Ladies Group Rummage Sale at church, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Office Hours

Father John has office hours at the church on Fridays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.  Feel free to stop in and chat or to talk about any concerns or issues you may have.

How to Contact the Parish Council – see home page

Ladies’ Group

The Ladies’ Group is busy with activities.  In June, they presented our graduates with a copy of the Orthodox Study Bible.  They also ordered and prepared pastries for the Greek/Serb Fest.  They have donated money to support Will Martin on his mission trip this summer, and are now gearing up for a rummage sale at the church in August.

For the rummage sale, please collect items from around your home that you may wish to donate to the sale.  Pricing and organizing will take place on Friday, August 17.

Molly Endter has graciously agreed to coordinate this event. If you wish to find out more, you may reach her at 993-1906.

Rummage Sale at church on

Saturday, August 25

from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

St. Nicholas Church Picnic

Put Sunday, July 22, on your calendar for our church picnic.  Pack your favorite lawn chair in the trunk before you come to Sunday morning service and hope for good weather.  The church will provide brats and hamburgers, soda and beer, but we ask that everyone bring a side dish or a salad. 

Landscaping Update

You may have noticed a little bit of pruning has taken place around the front of church – the two trees along the driveway and the shrubs have been pruned, some dead bushes have been removed; weeds were pulled but seem to grow back as quickly as they’re picked – part of the reason is that landscaping fabric tears over time and there are some areas that don’t have fabric under the stone.

If you ever tune into HGTV programs, it’s a well known fact that curb appeal is important to attract buyers when someone is selling a house. Well it is also important to attracting people to walk in our front door at church.

Joe Meulemans at Van Zeeland’s Landscaping has drawn an appealing plan for around the front of the church using the existing plants and bushes.  Recommendations for additional plants or shrubs will be included, as well as using mulch instead of stone…one of the best ways to control weeds is with a 4-inch layer of mulch.  Mulch also keeps moisture in the ground – something our landscaping can use because we do not have a grounds person to water regularly. 

Look for more information posted at church soon.

Stewardship Corner

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

2007 Operating Budget - $98,500

Monthly financial statistics are posted on the church bulletin board.

Stewardship Summary as of June 3, 2007

We strive to keep track of our pledged stewards of the church; those are individuals who complete an annual stewardship form.  The form is a tool for us to identify what financial resources we can count on for operating and budgeting purposes for the year.  In some cases, people may not have completed a pledge form, but we would still like to recognize those who have given. Here is an updated list.  If we are missing anyone, please let us know. 

Baptisms

We would like to recognize two families who have had baptisms.  On Saturday, May 26, Andy and Elina Pfaffenbach had their son, Eric, baptized. Deb White is the godmother.  On Sunday, June 24, Stephan and Anastasia Reetz, baptized their son, Alexandr. Godmother is Lena Batsko. May God bless your children.

4th Annual Greek/Serb Festival a Success! 

What does it take to host a successful festival?  God’s will, Good food and support of many dedicated parishioners!

I am pleased to report that for a fourth consecutive year, we hosted a successful Greek/Serb Festival.  Not only did we make money (cleared over $5,000), but we further promoted our heritage and culture across our Fox Valley community. I’d go as far as to say we have become a landmark in the community as many look forward to our festival year to year. 

The entertainment was top-notch. Music was provided by the Panopoulos Orchestra from Chicago and the Valley’s own, Neven Tamburitza Orchestra. The dancing was exceptional with the Hellenic Dancers from the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Milwaukee, as well as our own Fox Valley Folk Dancers.  Worth noting is that the Hellenic Dancers, Neven Tamburitza Orchestra and the Fox Valley Dancers all performed for free – for which we are extremely grateful.

We also had the honor of admiring Iconographer Drazen Dupor’s beautiful icons and Nicole Johnson’s art and hand-crafted jewelry. In addition, Saint John Chrysostomos Greek Orthodox Monastery from the Kenosha area sold some of their natural homemade products, icons, and bakery.  Books from our own bookstore were also made available to the public and sales were good.  In addition, information packets about the Orthodox Church and our parish were handed out to all who stopped at the book table!

All of the above would have been for naught, had it not been for the continued support and generosity of our donors and committed and dedicated volunteers.  Thanks to them, the quality of food was excellent; it was cooked to perfection and served with a smile.  Here is a list of the generous donations from our blessed parishioners and friends of St. Nicholas:

      Mr. & Mrs. Elias Dimitrakakis of Chicago donated 300 pounds of gyro meat, 8 cases pita, 3 pails of tzatziki sauce, and 100 hot dogs and buns

      Mr. Anagnos of Lake Geneva prepared and donated 300 chicken souvlaki and the special sauce

      Milica Madjun made (from scratch) 10 huge pans of gibanjica (tiropita) and donated many of the ingredients

      Chris Apostolou and Mark & Pam Schedler donated money to cover nearly ½ of the cost of the music

      Mihailo & Marica Kasterovic donated money to cover the cost of 100+ lbs of tomatoes

      Irene Gamsky & Georgia Dimitrakakis made and donated over 100 packets of Koulouria cookies

      Pat & Debbie White donated much of the soda

      Stavros & Jan Kodis from the Apollon Restaurant in Appleton donated the white wine

      Tim & Snezana Wensits donated 100 lbs chevapi

Please patronize the businesses of our donors and thank them for their continued support and generosity.

As for the volunteers, they worked long and hard contributing collectively over 300 volunteer hours (that’s equivalent to over 13 days of round-the-clock work).  We were blessed with an excellent volunteer turnout this year which helped immensely in providing efficient service while spreading the work load. 

The parishioners who helped make our Greek/Serb Festival a success are: 

In addition to our parishioners, we had some help from our friends and colleagues.  A special thank you to Andrea’s school friend, Carly Hyatt; Snezana’s dear friends, Tammy Schafhauser and Ellen Thompson, and her sister and brother-in-law, Mira and Mico Sijeric, who worked many hours straight and always had a smile on their faces and in their voices; Bob Phillip’s friend, Willy; and Theodore’s friend, Dale Johnson.

Save the date … Saturday, June 7, 2008

We hope to see you at our 5th Annual Greek/Serb Festival on Saturday, June 7, 2008.  Due to our sister parish, Holy Trinity, in Fond du Lac, scheduling their festival on the fourth Sunday in June, St. Nicholas will strive to schedule ours on the first Saturday in June each year.

Did you know that collectively it takes:

      Over 10 hours to clean and prepare grills and refrigerators?

      Over 30 hours to slice/chop 90 pounds of onions, 100 pounds of tomatoes, 30 pounds of feta, and cut 35 loaves of bread?

      Over 10 hours to fill 1,100 cups of sauce?

      Over 40 hours to load the truck, unload, and set up?

      Over 40 hours to grill the meat and pita?

      Nearly 100 hours to serve the food and drinks?

      Over 30 hours to pack, unpack, and clean up after the festival?

      Over 30 hours to sell tickets, run the raffle and errands?

Please consider helping next year - there’s always room for more hands!

Teens & Young Adult League /

Sr. GOYA

Father John will be working to form a group of our teens and young adults in the very near future.

We should hear more from Father John by the end of August.