Bookstore - Open to the Public

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

Regular Weekly Schedule

      Thursday – The adult catechism (Orthodoxy) class is moving to Saturday mornings (on a trial basis) to see if people’s schedules will be more flexible to be able to attend.

      Saturday – 10:00-11:00 a.m. Adult catechism class. Open discussion.  Open to members of the public. Learn about the Orthodox Faith and Traditions. Open discussion. All are welcome!   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. Class will resume for the children on Sunday, September 9, 2007

      Parish Council Meeting – 2nd Sunday of the Month

      Ladies’ Group Meeting – 3rd Sunday of the Month

Upcoming Activities & Events

      Thursday, September 27, 6:00 p.m. – Preparations for Octoberfest (chopping onions and pork).

      Friday, September 28, 6:00 p.m. – Preparations for Octoberfest (chopping tomatoes, skewering souvlaki)

      Saturday, September 29 - Octoberfest

      Friday, October 26, 7:00 p.m. – Vesperal Divine Liturgy for St. Demetrios.

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

Message from Father John

As we begin the new ecclesiastical year on September 1, we reflect on the opportunity that a new church year offers us. Sunday School begins September 9, and with that, the opportunity to inscribe our Orthodox faith and love for Christ, His Mother, the Panayia, and all the Saints, deep into our young people's souls. Please commit to bring your children to Sunday school every Sunday it is offered because our secularist society has many distractions from Christ and the Orthodox way of life. NOW is the time to inscribe Christianity into their psyche and mindset. Also, for the adults in the community, I ask for you all to recommit yourselves this year to Christ and St. Nicholas parish. LEARN your faith and come to the adult catechism class.  On September 8, we will begin the move of the class to Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. to afford more people the chance to attend. This will be an experiment to see if our attendance increases. Many of you have commented Thursdays are difficult after working all day, so we will see if this time is more convenient. Again, this is one of the reasons to have a full-time priest – let’s utilize this time together to ALL grow spiritually together.

On Friday, October 26, we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Demetrios the Great Martyr and Myrrh-Gusher. St. Demetrios was a great soldier for Christ and gave His life for the sake of Christ.  If you ever get to Thessaloniki, Greece, visit the tomb of St. Demetrios. He is the patron saint of Thesssaloniki, and even to this day, healing myrrh flows out of his sacred tomb. May his intercessions keep all of you safe, healthy and growing spiritually.

We will have a parish Open House in the next month that we will announce separately. This will be an opportunity to invite the community at large to come to an introductory lecture on Orthodoxy.  All parishioners should invite their non-Orthodox (and lapsed Orthodox) friends and family to this parish open house. The parish of St Nicholas will only continue to grow if all of you invite others and bring them to events like this. The parish priest cannot do it alone  - it is a synergistic effort.  God bless, Fr. John+

President’s Corner

In support of Father John’s encouragement to us all to recommit ourselves to Christ, this parish, and learning more about, and sharing, our faith – we have many opportunities to become more involved in the life of our parish.  A parish is like any family – we are all ages and at different stages in life, we may agree and disagree with one another, approve and disapprove of what and how certain things may be done, we each have strengths and weaknesses, skills, talents, needs, things that motivate (or don’t motivate) us. 

In this new ecclesiastical year, let us all think about how we can make a deeper spiritual investment in our lives and those of our family and our community alike.  Let us strive to make Christ the center - the reason why we attend church, come to vespers, volunteer for festivals and events, teach Sunday School, direct, play organ, or sing with the choir, sign up for coffee hour…whatever it may be.

Our adult catechism (Orthodoxy) class is currently reading The Orthodox Way by Bishop Kallistos Ware. It’s a heady book that the class agrees is almost best read together to gain a better understanding of our journey.  One of the most ancient names for Christianity is “the Way” (Acts 19:23, for one). As the Prologue states, “The term emphasizes the practical character of the Christian faith. It’s more than a theory about the universe, more than teachings written down on paper; it is a path along which we journey – in the deepest and richest sense, the way of life…we must step out upon this path, commit ourselves to this way of life, and then we shall begin to see for ourselves. So long as we remain outside, we cannot properly understand…”The Creed,” said Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “does not belong to you unless you have lived it.” No one can be an armchair traveler on this all-important journey. No one can be a Christian second-hand. “  We hope to see you at our adult catechism classes on Saturday mornings (10:00 – 11:00 a.m.), as we finish this book.  You can also purchase a copy of this book at our bookstore to read on your own.

Do you have a request or suggestion for our adult class?  Please feel free to share your ideas with Father John as he prepares for the upcoming year.

Stewardship Corner

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

2007 Operating Budget - $98,500

To view details of our financial statistics, please see the church bulletin board.

Treasurer Mark Schedler has spent much of his time this year entering our financial information into QuickBooks software and setting up the various income and expense account descriptions for easier tracking of our financial statistics.  He indicates he is now experiencing the time management benefits of this software.  One of the things he is still working on for the Parish Council is a finalizing budget for expenditures for the remainder of 2007, which will transition us easily into 2008.  Here are June and July income/expense statistics:

Sunday School

Enclosed is a copy of the Sunday School Registration form for this year and the dates for the Sunday School classes and other activities.  Please enroll your children as soon as possible.  Amy and Jason Fotopoulos have volunteered to teach Sunday School this year and have been working with Deb and Tina on preparing the schedule and lesson material. If you have Adobe Acrobat reader, you can download the Registration Form. 

Ladies’ Group

The Ladies’ Group rummage sale was a success on Saturday, August 25.  They raised over $350, which will help support certain church functions and expenses and support special projects.

Thank you to all who donated items, spent the day before pricing everything, and those who spent the day at the sale, not to mention those who boxed everything up that remained.  Molly Endter coordinated the event with the help of Kathy Gostas.

Appleton’s Octoberfest is on

Saturday, September 29

Roll up your sleeves! It’s time to get ready for our major fundraiser – Octoberfest – in downtown Appleton on Saturday, September 29.  As always, our success comes out of the support and generosity of our parishioners.  You can sign up to work on Thursday night (chopping onions and pork), Friday night (chopping tomatoes and skewing souvlaki) or to cook or serve on Saturday.  Signup sheets will be posted at church or you can e-mail any of the parish council members.  If you are not able to contribute time, consider donating food, supplies or even money to help offset the festival costs.

Landscape Update

Joe Meulemans at Van Zeeland’s in Little Chute has provided us with a complimentary enhancement landscape design that adds to our existing bushes and shrubs.  Joe confirmed that adding appealing visual interest along the front of the church will draw positive attention to our building and grounds. 

A summary of Joe’s assessment:

      Soften the landscape line by adding some gentle curves.

      Replace the current fabric (which is a weave that is allowing weeds to grow through) with a new fiberglass fabric.

      Replace the stones from the area with 3 inches of bark (which will retain more moisture).  Question – what would we do with the existing stone? Joe said it looks like there’s about 5 tons of stone (at +/- $20/ton) that can be offered to anyone who wants to haul it.  Other ideas?

      Timeline? Joe recommended, if there is sufficient interest, doing prep work before fall ends, such as stone removal, etc., so planting could start in early spring. 

A copy of the design will be posted at church.  The Parish Council will have some discussions about how we might want to move forward, such as having bushes or shrubs donated in memory of loved ones.  So please provide any comments, questions, and/or ideas to any council member in writing by October 13.

Special Blessings

Congratulations to Pat and Deb White on the birth of their daughter, Callista Georgia White, on July 18!

Happy Birthday to George Pilafas, Father John’s father, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday, September 8!  We will have a little celebration after church on Sunday the 8th!