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Message from Father
John
 Dear
Friends: On June 1st,
I will be here in Appleton for
one year. Let’s look at our accomplishments thus far. A year ago when
I arrived, we had about 25 stewards, that number
has increased to about 50 families, 39 of which are pledged stewards this
year. On a typical Sunday a year ago, the average attendance at Divine
Liturgy was around 15. Now the usual Sunday attendance is up around 30, and
sometimes higher. And we cannot forget our beautiful choir that sings so
lovely every Sunday under the direction of our Lawrence
students, Evan Bravos and Andrew Cardiasmenos,
who we are extremely blessed and fortunate to have! We now have a bookstore where the
faithful can purchase books, icons, and incense. Also, we have an adult
catechism class every Thursday and weekly attendance is between five to ten
people. We have Saturday evening Vespers where we have around seven to ten
people each week. For the first time ever, a full Lenten schedule was
offered to parishioners, along with a full Holy Week schedule. Also we
celebrated several joint Lenten services with our sister Orthodox parish,
St. Matthew’s, in Green Bay.
And lastly, several sacraments were performed that brought in several new
members to our community. Therefore, there is much to thank God for in the
past year.
However, we have only just begun! In the next year the focus will be
outreach and growth. We will
host several “Intro to Orthodox” lectures that will be
advertised and open to the public. We hope, as more people find out what
Orthodoxy is all about, we will attract more new members.
I will be having regular office hours at the church on
Fridays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., if you need to see me about
anything or just want to talk.
Give me a call or just stop by. Fr. John+
Bookstore - Open to the Public
Bookstore is open during normal church activities, Fr.
John’s office hours, or by appointment.
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.
Regular Weekly Schedule
Thursday – 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!
Saturday – 6:00-6:45
p.m. Vespers
service.
Sunday – 10:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy (conducted in Greek, English; some Serbian)
Sunday School – 10:00
a.m. May 27 and June 3 (graduation celebration). Classes resume
in September.
Parish Council Meeting – 2nd Sunday of the Month
Ladies’s Group (Philoptochos) Meeting – 3rd Sunday of the Month
Upcoming Activities & Events
Saturday, May 26
Starting 10:00 a.m. Landscaping spruce-up! Come for as
long as you can to help pull weeds or take turns mowing the lawn (it takes
several hours!), we will also have paint to spruce up our wooden sign out
front and vinyl concrete patch to fix the porch!
Thursday, June 14
7:00-8:00 p.m. LECTURE “What is
Orthodoxy” OPEN TO
PUBLIC
Invite your friends!
Saturday, June 23
11:00 a.m. – 7:00
p.m. 4th
Annual Greek/Serb Fest, Pierce Park
Pavilion, Prospect Avenue, Appleton
Saturday, August 18
8:00 a.m. – 4:00
p.m. Ladies’
Group Rummage Sale, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Put it on your
calendar.
Stewardship Corner
St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Church
Annual Operating
Budget
$98,500
Monthly financial statistics are posted on the church
bulletin board.
To date, 2007 stewards (members) of St. Nicholas are:
Fr. John Pilafas
Jason & Amy Fotopoulos
Mike Blatseas
John & Liz Fotopoulos
Kathy Gostas Theodore Gaudynski
Stavros & Jan Kodis David
& Tina Herbeck
Daniel & Nancy
Kohlman Georgia
Jimos
Bob & Tania Phillips Gabriel &
Donna Karadimos
Mark & Pam Schedler Smiljan & Jasna Kaurin
Tim & Snezana Wensits Theodore & Judith Keneklis
Patrick & Debbie White Persa Kusserow
Christopher Apostoulou Andy & Elina Pfaffenbach
Nick & Soula Bourantanis Iris
Pilafas
Evan Bravos George
Pilafas
Andrew Cardiasmenos Ekaterina
Retson
Jim & Koula Cristofil Bessie
Tsausis
Jovanka (June) Crnojevich Stan
& Cleo Venetos
Dorothy Dobrenic Jeff &
Lonnie Warner
Nikos & Kristin Efthimiou John
& Effie Xanos
Yianna Efthymiou Spiro
& Pam Yfantis
Paul & Molly Endter
How Old is the Orthodox Church?
If you are a Lutheran, Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the
Catholic Church, founded your religion in the year 1517.
If you belong to the Church of England, King Henry VIII
founded your religion in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant him
a divorce with the right to re-marry.
If you are a Presbyterian, John Knox in Scotland
founded your religion in the year 1560.
If you are a Congregationalist, Robert Brown in Holland
originated your religion in 1582.
If you are Episcopalian, your religion was an offshoot
of the Church of England, founded by Samuel Senbury
in the American colonies in the 17th century.
If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets of your
religion to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam
in 1606.
If you are of the Dutch Reformed Church, you recognize Michelis Jones as founder because he originated your
religion in New York in
1628.
If you are a Methodist, John and Charles Wesley in England
founded your religion in 1774.
If you are a Mormon (Latter Day Saints), Joseph Smith
started your religion in Palmyra, New
York, in 1829.
If you worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began
with William Booth in London in
1865.
If you are Christian Scientist, you look to 1879 as the
year in which your religion was born and to Mary Baker Eddy as its
founder.
If you belong to one of the religious organizations
known as "Church of the Nazarene, Pentecostal Gospel," "Holiness
Church," or
"Jehovah's Witnesses," your religion is one of the hundreds of
new sects founded by men within the past hundred years.
If you are Roman Catholic, your church shared the same
rich apostolic and doctrinal heritage as the Orthodox Church for the first
thousand years of its history, since during the first millennium they were
one and the same Church. Lamentably, in 1054, the Pope of Rome broke away
from the other four Apostolic Patriarchates, Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch
and Jerusalem, by tampering
with the original creed of the Church, and considering himself to be
infallible. Thus, your church is 1,000 years old.
However, if you are Orthodox Christian, your religion
was founded in the year 33 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It has not changed since that time.
Our church is now almost 2,000 years old. It is for this reason that
Orthodoxy, the Church of the Apostles and the Church Fathers is considered
the true "one Holy, catholic, and apostolic church." It is also
the greatest legacy we can pass on to the young people of the new
millennium.
Parish Council Update
 March
and April kept everyone, including the Council, very busy. We made it through our first full
schedule of Lenten services, which included a visit from His Grace Bishop Demetri Kantzavelos in March.
We have been truly blessed to have a full-time priest – it was an
amazing season!
The Council is now beginning to focus on outreach into
the community – we will be advertising our Orthodoxy 101 class, our
Father John, along with Father John from St. Matthew’s in Green Bay,
will be planning some lectures about Orthodoxy that will be geared toward
our communities at large. We
will be planning more activities together with St. Matthew’s to
support each other and work toward growth for both parishes.
On another note, we’d like to make you aware of a
couple of needs. After Divine
Liturgy on Sunday, May 20, we took two free-will offerings to support a couple
of our members. The first was
for Jeff and Lonnie Warner, whose bank accounts were drained due to
identity theft. Banks can take a long time to help facilitate any recovery
efforts, and the Warner’s have an immediate cash flow need. Both the Ladies’ Group and the
Parish Council have approved donations. The second was for Will Martin, one
of our Lawrence students who
help at the altar; he is preparing for an Orthodox mission trip to Tanzania
this summer and has started his effort to raise the needed $4,200. We will have baskets available for
each of these members at church. If you wish to make a donation, you may
make out a check to the church and we will combine and forward to the
appropriate person.
As we continue our journey as a parish – let us
each evaluate our dedication and commitment to taking part in some new way
toward the life of our parish.
4th Annual Greek/Serb Fest
June 23, 2007,
at Pierce Park
in Appleton
Our 4th annual Greek/Serb festival is just weeks away
and if the previous three years are any indication of community interest,
this year will be outstanding!!
The festival will take place at the Pierce Park Pavilion
on Prospect Avenue near
Richmond St. in Appleton
on Saturday, June 23 from 11:00 a.m.
to 7:00 p.m.
In addition to the excellent food (gyros, souvlaki/raznjici, chevapi, tiropita/gibanjica) and delicious pastries (baklava, kataifi, melomakarona, kourabiethes, koulouria), we
are working on an exciting entertainment program. We have confirmed that
the wonderful Hellenic Dancers from Annunciation
Church in Milwaukee
and our local Fox Valley Folk Dancers will both participate again this
year. We are still working on the music and an iconographer and would love
to see Chef George back in action if he can spare the time.
Success of the festival will require support from each
and all of us, be it in preparation, day of
assistance, donations or just by attending. You can help in any of the
following ways:
• Thursday,
June 21, 6:00 p.m. Food preparation.
• Friday,
June 22, 6:00 p.m. help with
preparation, such as chop tomatoes & onions, arrange pastries, cut feta
and bread, and load the truck.
• Saturday,
June 23, help with cooking, serving and entertaining. We will have shifts
working the grills and each of the serving tables (drinks, food,
café, tickets) as well as for setup and cleanup. The more of us that
participate, the easier it will be for all. Please sign up for a shift or
two. Signup sheets are posted in the church lobby or contact Snezana
Wensits at 920-996-0216 or Amy Fotopoulos at 920-822-3671.
If you are not able to contribute time, please consider
donating food, supplies or even money to help offset the costs of the
festival. If you cannot donate time or money, then please still come out
and enjoy the day and support your church by just being there. Let's
demonstrate our heritage and pride to our community.
In any case, please make copies of the enclosed flier
and spread the word! Tell your friends and neighbors to come out and be
Greek for a day! Additional fliers are available at the church.
Congratulations to our Grads!
We wish to recognize our 2007 graduates!
Nick Wensits, son of Tim and Snezana
Wensits, will be graduating from Appleton
North High School. He has been accepted to attend the University
of Wisconsin – River
Falls.
Malerie Volkman, daughter of Tom and Annette Volkman, will be graduating from Appleton
East High School. She will be attending the University
of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
in the fall.
Vesna Tomic, daughter of Mladomir
and Rajka Tomic,
graduated from University of Wisconsin
– Oshkosh.
Our best wishes go out to Nick and Malerie
and Vesna!
Sunday School News
A big thanks to Father John for
his lessons during Lent and Easter and especially for the Good Friday
Retreat. The retreat began with
the children enjoying lunch together, followed by lessons from Father John
about Jesus, the crucifixion, and his resurrection. The children enjoyed working on a
couple of projects and watching a video about the story of Easter. The date
ended with the beautiful service of the Lord's Descent from the Cross at 3:00 p.m.
Our Sunday Schoolers want to
thank everyone that shared their generosity by contributing to our Lenten/
Easter food drive for the needy.
The year has gone by quickly, and we can't believe there
are only two Sunday School classes left! Mark your calendars so the
children can be sure to attend on May 27 and June 3, which will be our
graduation celebration!
We are planning now for the start of Sunday School in
the fall. As many of you know,
Deb and Pat have a new baby on the way and we will need to look at a number
of new volunteers to teach Sunday School in the fall. We can work a rotating teacher
schedule if we have at least 3 volunteers.
As we have seen at the Good Friday Retreat, our children
are learning a lot about our Orthodox Church and our Lord and they are the
future of our parish, we really need to keep our Sunday School going.
Those of you (women or men) who are single or have grown
children – you would be perfect to consider volunteering to teach
Sunday School!
To volunteer for Sunday School, call Deb White at
920-779-4248 or Tina Herbeck at 920-832-1417
within the next couple of weeks so there is adequate time to plan.
Ladies’ Group (Philoptochos)
Next monthly meeting, Sunday, June 17, after after coffee hour.
First of all, a big thank you to all members and
visitors who made contributions toward our Easter flowers this year. Thank you to Katherine Retson and Kathy Gostas for
decorating the Epitaphio! It was beautiful.
To help rebuild the treasury so we can continue to
support the parish and chosen charity work, we are planning to have a
rummage sale in August; start saving items you can donate. Contact Kathy Gostas
with any immediate questions at 739-2883!
Rummage Sale
at church on
Saturday, August 18
from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Landscaping Spruce Up
As noted on the first page under Upcoming Activities and
Events, we will be having a landscaping spruce-up day at church on
Saturday, May 26. We’ll meet
around 10:00 a.m. and work no
later than 2:00 p.m. Stop over anytime. This is one way to get involved in
the parish.
We may have a few more days scheduled like this –
we’ll notify those with e-mail and put announcements in the Sunday
church bulletin – to be sure our grounds are maintained, as we do not
currently have one person who is able to handle all that needs to be
done. We can all do a little
part and it makes the whole job easier!
For your information – mowing the lawn (around 4
acres) is a huge task. Over the
years Bill Karras and Ted Gaudynski
have done their share of mowing.
Bob Phillips is currently helping, as well (and I am sure other men
in the parish have also contributed their time to this task). Please recognize these gentlemen
(and others you may know who have done this job). However, we would like to consider
some creative alternatives to getting this job done, so that it is not the
responsibility of just one person.
The springtime is busiest as the lawn grows quickly and tapers off
as summer progresses. You may see a sign-up sheet at church soon.
Get Your St. Nicholas Polo Shirt!
 Here
is a way you promote our parish in the community!
Two very nice-quality polo shirts with a church logo
were donated by Lori Hays, who has a cottage embroidery business out of her
home.
If you are
interested in ordering a shirt, and you want to have it in time for the
Greek/Serb Fest, please complete and return the order form (attached) by
May 31 to Jan Kodis. Order forms are also available at
church.
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. Expect to hear more from Father
John soon!
Parish Directory
Molly Endter will be putting
together a parish directory to be available at church, very soon. If you have any input or questions,
please call or email her at 993-1906 endter@netzero.net.
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