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Bookstore - Open to the Public
Bookstore is open during
normal church activities, Fr. John’s office hours, or by appointment.
May Calendar
Sunday, May 18
 Last Sunday School class
Sunday School graduation
Sunday School Parent meeting
after coffee hour
June Calendar
Thursday, June 5, 6:30 p.m.
Festival
Preparation at church
Friday, June 6, 6:30 p.m.
Festival Preparation at church
Saturday, June 7
GREEK / SERB FESTIVAL at Pierce
Park in Appleton 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Regular Weekly Schedule
Saturdays
10:00 a.m. Adult Orthodoxy class and bible
study. Open to 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.
Please see church calendar.
Parish
Council Meeting – 1st Wednesday of the month
Ladies’ Group Meeting – 2nd
Sunday of the month after coffee hour
Church Directory
A directory of parish members is available at church.
Need a ride to a church event or service? If you live in Appleton or a nearby
community, contact a parish council member; and we will make every effort
to help out!
How to Contact the Parish Council – see home page
Message from Father John
Xristos Anesti, Christ is Risen, Dear Parishioners: As we just
completed our second Lenten season, Holy Week, and Pascha together I have a
few thoughts I would like to share. First, for those who attended the Holy
Week services they all commented how inspiring they were. Also, many
commented that they truly felt the mystical presence of Christ throughout
the week. We thank our choir (Andrew Cardiasmenos, Evan Bravos, Kathy
Gostas, Jan Kodis, Dorothy and Bernie Olson, Persa Kusserow, Tula Douvalis,
Nick Kalinosky, and Iris Pilafas) for their beautiful singing and
especially Andrew and Evan for all their tireless work and time they put
into preparing for Holy Week. We also thank Nick and Will for their help in
the altar.
For anyone that has not heard of the Holy Fire on
Orthodox Easter, look up holyfire.org to read what happens every year in
Jerusalem. God Bless, Fr John+
5th Annual Greek/Serb Fest - June 7th - Pierce Park, Appleton
The festival committee is busy organizing our 5th annual
Greek/Serb festival, which will take place at Pierce Park in Appleton on
June 7 from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Our festival is quickly becoming a local tradition with many people
looking forward to it year after year.
Neven Tamburitza Orchestra, who performed for a brief
period during last year’s festival, and our local Fox Valley Folk
Dancers are confirmed performers for the festival. Also, Drazen Dupor, the iconographer
who’s participated at all of our previous festivals will be available
to discuss and sell his icons.
Our previous festivals were successful because of the
generosity of our donors and benefactors – either through donations
of food, money or time – and in many case all three!
Like previous years, we are counting on our parishioners
to take part in making this festival a success as well.
How can you help?
Donate time on Thursday, Friday,
and/or Saturday
On Thursday, June 5, we will
start cutting onions and tomatoes.
On Friday, June 6, we will
need everyone’s help to skewer souvlaki and finish chopping tomatoes,
onions, and feta, arranging pastries, and loading the truck.
On Saturday, we will have
shifts working each of the tables:
tickets, drinks, food (grilling and serving), café, lottery,
and will need help both setting up early in the morning and cleaning up at
the end of the day. The more of
us that participate, the easier it will be for everyone. Please sign up for a shift or
two. Signup sheets are posted
in the church lobby.
Donate
food or supplies
The festival supplies are
endless – we need 300 lbs. of gyro meat, 100 lbs. pork tenderloin,
200 lbs. chevapi, 100 lbs. tomatoes, 100 lbs. onions, 1,200 pieces of pita,
10 gallons of tzatziki, 300 bottles of water, 600 cans of soda, 2 dozen
bottles of wine, 3 kegs of beer, not to mention the pastries, napkins,
forks, etc.! If you’d
like to donate any item, let us know so that we do not purchase it (We are
placing orders on May 10.)
Donate
money
If you are not able to donate
any specific item from the supply list above, please consider donating
money – any quantity – to help offset the costs.
Spread
the word
Tell your friends and
neighbors about the festival!
You can pick up fliers for distribution at the church!
Be
there
Come and enjoy the festival,
enjoy the food, enjoy working with each other, meet our guests, and make
them feel welcome.
If you have any questions or ideas for the festival,
please contact any of our committee members: Snezana Wensits (snezana@new.rr.com),
Tina Herbeck (herbzhut@sbcglobal.net),
Debbie White (patandeb@yahoo.com) ,
Jan Kodis (jkodis@new.rr.com),
Dorothy Olson (dorothyjane@new.rr.com),
Tania Phillips (atphilli@mennlaw.com),
Theo Gaudynski (tadziunadom@milwpc.com), Kathy Gostas. If you don’t have e-mail, you
can call Snezana at 920-996-0216.
Hope to see you on June 7th for some great food and
entertainment.
April 6 General Assembly Meeting
Copies of the minutes of the April 6 General Assembly
meeting are available at church on the information table.
Committee Updates
Real Estate Committee
(Dave Herbeck, Bernie Olson,
Mark Schedler, Christopher Apostolou)
Meeting schedule (to be determined).
First meeting next week. Topics to be discussed will be the
impact of the April Aire trailer park next to the church property and also
short-term ideas to meet Sunday school space needs for Fall.
Evangelism and Outreach Committee
(Dorothy Olson, Jan Kodis)
Meeting scheduled (to be determined)
Dorothy contacted the Appleton
Post-Crescent to advertise our Holy Week schedule and have an article in
the paper, which ran on Saturday, April 26. Hopefully, you caught the article!
Stewardship Committee
(Jan Kodis, Nick Karras)
Meeting schedule (to be determined)
Interested in having one or two
more committee members who are interested in helping our stewardship
grow. We will continue to raise
stewardship awareness through our newsletter. A Stewardship drive will be prepared
for Fall to prepare for 2009.
Building and Grounds Committee
(Mike Blatseas, Nick Karras,
Jan Kodis) Meeting schedule (to be determined)
There was some wind damage to
the front façade of the roof the week before Holy Week, a strip of
flashing blew off, which was repaired by Bernie Olson. Thanks, Bernie!
Gravel is in the process of
being added to the driveway and to expand the parking area, lessen the
grass to be cut, and help alleviate the wet mud in the spring. Thanks to Bernie Olson, Mike
Blatseas, and Bob Phillips for the work done so far. Also Mike has added new reflector
posts at both driveway entrances!
50th Anniversary Committee (Year 2010)
(Tania Phillips, Dorothy Olson) Meeting schedule (to be determined)
The first meeting held and
ideas were discussed about location, who to begin talking to about history
and photos, a commemorative album, etc.
Stewardship Corner
"Upon the first day of the week lot everyone of you
lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him." (I Corinthians 16:2)
St. Paul speaks not only to 1st century Christians but
to 21st century Christians, as well. He encourages us to set aside for the
work of the Church some portion of our income in proportion to God's
blessings bestowed upon us.
This concept of Christian giving is the very essence of
Church support. Each of us should return to the Lord a portion of our
blessings so that the Church may continue to grow and provide a spiritual
place for the faithful. This concept, known as Christian Stewardship, is
not new to us.
St. Nicholas 2008 Operating Budget is $83,000
The expenses of our Parish are vital to our Church for:
Keeping
in Touch With You
Maintaining
our Buildings
Those
Who Serve Us
Worship
and Education
National
Ministries Commitment
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Through April 2008
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Total Income
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$6,143
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Total Expenses
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$8,948
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Net Income
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-$2,805
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A detailed report is posted on the bulletin board at
church.
Everyone should have received a 2008 Stewardship Pledge
Form. If you don’t have one, you may pick up a pledge form at the
church. Please return forms to
Mark Schedler or Jan Kodis. These are kept in strict confidence.
Stewardship Questions
Participating in the life of the Church is a highly
symbolic act. It constitutes a call to which one responds and a commitment
to be faithful to Christ and the Gospel. To see the life of the local
Church only in terms of a human organization is to miss the reason and purpose
for which the Church exists.
Question: What about single working adults?
Answer: Each working, self-supporting adult over
18, should make his/her own commitment.
Question: How do we make our commitment?
Answer: After prayerfully and sincerely considering
our commitment, complete the stewardship form.
Question: How shall I pay my commitment to my
church?
Answer: In the manner that suits your financial
situation. A commitment may be paid weekly, monthly, quarterly,
semiannually, or annually. Weekly or monthly offerings are suggested
because it helps us meeting our constant financial obligations in a timely
manner, but the decision is yours.
Do you have a stewardship question? Submit your question
to Jan Kodis, who will post a response in the next newsletter.
Sunday School
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Xristos Anesti!
It's hard to believe that we have only two classes
left in Sunday School this year.
The graduation ceremony will be held on May 18th after
liturgy. It has been a very
busy year for all and we want to thank everyone who has helped with the
program and those who have helped in teaching our children – Tania,
Tina, Deb, Samantha, Elina and Andy. A very special thank you also to Jan
Kodis and Molly Endter for taking the time to make the Sunday School area
warmer with the wonderfully painted walls. It looks great!
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Thank you to all who have supported our community
service projects of the toy and food drive this year. The food was donated to St Joe's
food pantry and the toys were given to Bnai Brith a home for unwed mothers
and their children.
The Sunday Schoolers would like to also thank Fr. John
for a fun and informative Good Friday Retreat. We had a great talk about Jesus and
what his death and resurrection meant to us. And we enjoyed watching the cartoon
of the Easter story. We also
made a craft of our own hands as a symbolic gift to Jesus and placed them
at the foot of his cross. The
retreat ended with the church service at 2:30.
After counting up all of the coins in our Mission boxes
that we have collected during lent, we are proud to announce that we were
able to collect $86.00 to donate to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center
for all of their good works.
Great job, Sunday schoolers!
We will have a brief organizational parents meeting on
May 18th after the last Sunday School class. The discussion will include the year
in review, ideas for next year, and
planning a possible summer Sunday School outing/retreat. Please bring your suggestions!
Congratulations
To Jeff and Lonnie on the birth of Brody Alan, on May 1,
who weighed in 8 pounds, 11 ounces!
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Do you have any ideas to support the efforts of our
parish? Are there any topics
you would like the Parish Council to discuss? Let us know! Drop us a line or give any one of
our Parish Council members or Father John a call.
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