ON OUR COVER
Hierarchs from the various Orthodox Churches around the world are gathered in Liturgy in Chambesy-Geneva this past January, to finalize the agenda of the up coming “Holy and Great Council” of world Orthodoxy which will convene as we celebrate Pentecost this year, being held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari of Chania, June 16-27.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate has tirelessly labored to convene a Pan-Orthodox Council since the early 1900s. Preparations for this council began in earnest in 1961 and continued through the 1960s, while pre-conciliar conferences, tasked with forming the council’s agenda and its rules of operation, met in 1976 through 1986. After a long hiatus created by immense political and ideological changes throughout the world, as well as the unprecedented social and religious challenges resulting from the collapse of the Iron Curtain, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patri-arch Bartholomew revived the process in 2008.
So, after almost a century, the agenda was finalized, the documents were edited, and the pro-cess was completed in January 2016. Never before in the history of the Orthodox Church have so many Orthodox churches – fourteen from around the world – assembled in one and the same place. His All-Holiness asks for our prayers for the work of the Council just ahead……
“We fervently ask the plenitude of the Church – clergy and laity, men and women, old and young – to pray for this unique and historical event.
We especially ask that you implore God to strengthen and inspire the leaders of the Church to manifest their unity in a world afflicted by conflict and division.
May God bless the Holy and Great Council. And May His abundant grace be with all of you.”
– His All-Holiness, Bartholomew
Five Hierarchs from our Archdiocese will be in attendance…His Eminence Archbishop Deme-trios, Geron of America and the Metropolitans of Denver, Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco, who currently serve this year on the Holy & Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
To follow the Council’s news briefings:
Website: www.orthodoxcouncil.org
Facebook: @ecumenicalpatriarchate
Twitter: @EcPatrPress
Flicker: @patriarcahate
Youtube: @Patriarchate
THE GREEK FOOD FAIR
TO ALL THAT ATTENDED & VOLUNTEERED
It gets harder and harder these days to get the number of volunteers we need, but so many of you made time in your busy schedule to step up. That means even more as every year gets busier. Our Annunciation volunteers don’t neces-sarily have the time, but they have the heart. All of you are unselfish, giving and ready with a can-do spirit. Thank you to all that attended this joyful event making it possible for another successful FOOD FAIR 2016!
Metropolis Award to Roula & Gus Proyous
The parish council has selected Roula and Gus Proyous to be this years recipients from our par-ish of the Metropolis of Boston Award for service to the local parish in recognition of their long time volunteering in so many areas of parish life, over the years. The Awards Banquet will be held on Sunday June 12th at Lombardo’s in Randolph, MA and is open to the public. Reception at 5:30PM and dinner at 6:30PM. Donation is $75.00 payable to the “Annunciation Church”, memo line “Metropolis Awards Dinner.” Submit your check to the parish office before June1st to reserve your seat.
OUR PARISHIONERS
Congratulations to Chief Warrant Officer 4, Steven Rothemich, who is retiring after 36 years in the Army National Guard. He has done 5 tours overseas and received many awards, including the prestigious Gold Medal Award of the St. Michael. The award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the promotion of Army Aviation by his subordinates and peers. These individuals must demonstrate the highest standards in integrity and moral character.
God Bless you and “THANK YOU” for serving our Country
June 18th Luncheon Under the Tent
Come and Support the Hellenic Nursing & Rehabilitation Center on Saturday, June 18th on the beautiful grounds of Hellenic Nursing Home. The event runs from 1:00 –4 PM and includes a wonderful meal and music by The Delinia Ensemble also a dance performance by the Sons & Daughters of Alexander the Great Dance Troupe. The address is 601 Sherman Street, Canton, MA, just about 30 minute drive from Providence. If you are unable to attend, consider purchas-ing a luncheon ticket at a donation of $25.00. Contact Diane Mitrelis at 946-3339.
Play Golf & Support Hellenic College / Holy Cross—July 18
The HC/HC 24th annual Golf Classic is just ahead—Mon July 18th at Kernwood Country Club – Salem, MA / 18 holes, raffle prize trip to Greece (and others), steak & lobster closing dinner and more. Single golfer $295.00 / Foursome $1,180.00. Dinner only—$75.00.
IN HONOR OF OUR GRADUATES
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our 2016 graduates. They have accomplished a great deal in completing an important segment of their education. We pray that the Lord our God continues to bless their future, with much happiness and greater achievements. These graduates will be hon-ored June 12 at our special “Graduates Coffee Hour” sponsored by our Yal.
Student School Graduating From Future Plan
Alexis Danielle Arsenis LaSalle Academy Bryant University (Accounting) Eleftherios “Teddy” Baziotis Wheeler School Tulane Inv. New Orleans (Business & Psychology)
Dean Costakos LaSalle Academy Bryant University National Honor Society Nicholas Costakos LaSalle Academy Bryant University National Honor Society Allison Cross Bay View University of New Hampshire National Honor Society
Mary Daiaa Cranston West RIC (Early Childhood Education)
Andronikis W. Fidas Scituate High School New England Tech.
James Kappatos Seekonk High School Lasell University, Newton Mass (Communications)
Jonathan William Lehourites Middle Bridge School
Alexa Nicole Papigiotis North Providence High School Aveda Institute National Honor Society, Voted Most Outgoing & Voted (1) of the Top 20 Cheerleaders in RI
Christian Soucy West Greenwich High School URI (Business Finance)
Estelle Vamvaketis Coventry High School CCRI (Law)
Andrew Vose Cranston West URI (Engineering)
College & Universities:
Laura Vican Haney UCLA PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics Teaching Physics & Chemistry in Pasadena
Alexander E. Mihailides URI Landscaping Architect
Tessa Pliakas Boston University Biology & Generics
David Rodin URI MBA
C.J. Tsoumakas URI/Masters in Business Dunkin Donuts Center Operations Sports Management
Graduate School:
Ariana Mihailides Atlantic University Doctorate of Veterinarian Prince Edward Island, Canada
Andrew Otto Holy Cross Seminary Masters of Divinity (MDiv) With high distinction and also awarded a “Certificate in Byzantine Music”
Dr. Mary Despina Lekas Endowment Fund News
Financial Report for the period ending 4/30/16
Endowment Fund Portfolio: $767,455.22
Endowment Fund Checking Account: $2143.28
In memory of Solon Chris a donation made to the Endowment Fund:
By M/M Michael Haralambides, M/M Emmanuel Mihailides,
M/M Ernest Pappas, M/M Constantine Rougas, M/M Peter Simone
What is an Endowment Fund?
An Endowment Fund is similar to a church Savings Account. The money invested into the fund re-main secure, never to be touched. Only the interest earned by the fund can be used to help support the church. As our Endowment Fund’s value grows, the contributions made to our General Fund (budget) will grow as well. With your continual support, we can ensure that our parish will always be financially secure!
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Samaras, Endowment Fund Secretary
Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church
In Newport, RI will be having their Hellenic Festival 2016 on July 29, 30, & 31. Save the date for the Assumption’s 89th Grecian Festival
Assumption Church, 97 Walcott St., Pawtucket, RI. Greek Food, pastry, live music, and greek dancing— August 19, 20, & 21.
ΕΣΠΕΡΙΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΝΤΗΚΟΣΤΗΣ
Στίχ. “Οτι παρά τφ Κυρίφ τό έλεος, και′ πολλή παρ ‘αύτφ λύτρωσις• και’ αύτδς λυτρώσεται τόν Ίσραήλ έκ πασών τών άνομιών αύτοι3.
Τό Πνεύμα τό άγιον, ην μέν άεί, καί έστι, καϊ έσται, ούτε άρξάμενον, ούτε παυσόμενον, άλλ ‘ άει’ καϊ ΤίΦ συντεταγμένον, καϊ συναριθμούμενον • ζωή, καϊ ζωοποιοΰν • φώς, καϊ φωτός χορηγόν• αύτάγαθον, καϊ πηγή άγαθότητος• δι ‘ ού Πατήρ γνωρίζεται, καϊ Τίός δοξάζεται, καϊ παρδι πάντων γινώσκεται, μία δύναμις, μία σύνταξις, μία προσκύνησις, τής άγίας Τριάδος.
Στίχ. Αι’νείτε τόν Κύριον πάντα τά έθνη, έπαινέσατε αύτδν πάντες οι’ λαοί.
Τό Πνεύμα τό άγιον, φώς, καϊ ζωή, καϊ ζώσα πηγή νοερά. Πνεύμα σοφίας, Πνεύμα συνέσεως, άγαθόν, εύθές, νοερόν, ήγεμονεΰον, καθαΐρον τά πταίσματα. Θεός, καϊ θεοποιούν • πύρ, έκ πυρδς προϊόν, λαλούν, ένεργοΰν, διαιρούν τά χαρίσματα • δι ‘ ού προφήται άπαντες, καϊ Θεού άπόστολοι, μετά μαρτύρων έστέφθησαν. Ξένον άκουσμα, ξένον θέαμα, πύρ διαιρούμενον, είς νομάς χαρισμάτων.
Τό Δοξαστικδν
Ήχος πλ. β′
Δόξα Πατρι′ και′ Υι’φ και′ Άγίφ Πνεύματι, και′ νύν και′ άει′ και’ είς τούς αίώνας τών αίώνων. Άμήν.
Βασιλεύ ούράνιε, Παράκλητε, τό Πνεύμα τής άληθείας, ό πανταχού παρών, καϊ τά πάντα πληρών, ό θησαυρδς τών άγαθών, καϊ ζωής χορηγός • έλθέ, καϊ σκήνωσον έν ήμϊν, καϊ καθάρισον ήμάς άπό πάσης κηλΐδος, καϊ σώσον άγαθέ τάς ψυχάς ήμών.
2016 PLEDGE PROGRAM REPORT
We have to date 301 parishioners with the pledge of $155,212.00
The Actual amount received to date is $113,959.74
M/M/ Zisis Arsoniadis, David Cragin, M/M Robert Devlin, M/M George Fidas, M/M Gregory Fraginis, Eleni Hatzinikolaou, M/M Benjamin Herman, Dr. & Mrs. James Hodg-es, M/M Theodore Kacharo, M/M Peter Kapanakis, M/M Richard Kidd, M/M Mark Lavoie, Maria Markos, Christopher Massenzio, M/M Harry Nicolopoulos, Vasel Papa, M/M Michael Papigiotis, M/M Nikolaos Petropoulos, M/M Anthony Pierson, Christopher Sheehan, Mr. & Dr. Leonard Wood.
A father once took his little daughter to see the Statue of Liberty. She was awed by the sight and size of it. She gazed in wonder at the great arm holding the torch. That night she was rest-less and couldn’t sleep. Her mother asked her, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I keep thinking of the lady with the torch,” she said. “Don’t you think someone should help her hold it up?”
Today, the Lord Jesus holds the only light that can dispel the world’s dark-ness. The call of Stewardship is for us to help Him keep holding up the Light.
SPECIAL EVENT AT
Sts. Sahag & Mesrob Armenian Parish
70 Jefferson Street—Providence
The Rev Dr Daniel Findikyan, Director of the Zohrab Center of the Armenian Church Easter Diocese will give a talk on the “History, Theology, Meaning and Purpose of the Canonization of Saints” in the Armenian Church— Wed, June 22 at 7PM.
10 MINUTES A DAY
Parishioners are reminded and urged to spend 10 mins a day at home on bible reading (or other religious literature) for enrichment to be connected to Christ in a more vivid manner. Answers to todays issues and life in general are all there.
RECENT DEATH
Solon Chris, age 90, the father of Rev. Dr. Emanuel Chris, passed away unexpect-edly on 4/24/16 (Palm Sunday) in Florida. His funeral and burial was on 4/27/16 in Boca Raton, Fl. We extend fervent condolences to Fr Manny and his entire family during this time of loss and sorrow.
~May His Memory be Eternal~
BECAUSE OF YOUR OFFERING WE THANK YOU FOR A MEMORABLE PASCHA
Josephine Aliferakis, Elaine Allendorf, M/M Christodoulos Andriotis, Christodoulos Andriotis, M/M Dionysius Argeris, M/M Dimitrios Arsenis, M/M Ilias Arsenis, Theo-fanis Arsenis, Haralambos Arsenis, Christina Arsoniadis, Dr. & Mrs. Peter Baziotis, Nicholas Bouris, Donna Broccoli, M/M Michael Campopiano, Rebecca Cardillo, Sue Cimino, M/M George Coclin, M/M Constantinos Dafoulas, M/M Gaby Daiaa, M/M Wilfred Demars (in memory of Harriet Butler) M/M James Demetriou, Louis Dostou, Cynthia Driscoll, Constantine Georgeadys, Argiri Ghionis (in memory of Eleftherios) M/M Constantine Grammas, M/M George C. Grammas, Helen Hamilton, M/M David Hansen, M/M Elias Haralambides, M/M Michael Haralambides, M/M James Harritos, M/M James Harritos II, M/M Nicholas Janikies, Julie Karahalios, M/M Arthur Kazi-anis, Zoe Kazianis, James Kripotos, M/M Spiro Kyriakakis, Niki Kyrou, M/M Mark Lavoie, Angelo Lazarides, M/M William Lehourites, Catherine Louth, Jason Maintanis, Dr. & Mrs. James Manis, Peter Manis, Artemis Mantsos, M/M Christos Mantsos, Smaro Mantsos, M/M Kyriakos Marantidis, Elizabeth Marses, M/M Emmanuel Mihai-lides, M/M George Moragemos, M/M Theodore Moran, Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth Morris-sey, M/M Harry Nicolopoulos, Theodore Nicolopoulos, M/M Christo Pakuris, Vasel Papa, Evangelia Papaioannou, M/M Ernest Pappas, M/M John Paraskevakos, Mary Pereira, M/M Demetrios Petrou, M/M Kevin Phelan, M/M James Photopoulos, M/M Carroll Promades, Angela Provost, John B. Quinn, M/M Stamatios Revis, M/M Steven Rothemich, Nanci Sarganis, M/M Nicholas Sarkis, M/M Richard Scott, Shirley Sears, M/M Robert Senerchia, M/M Michael Sotirakos, Elle Strekouras, Ethel Strekouras, M/M Edward Tarbox, M/M George Theodosiou, M/M Angelos Trombettas (in memory of Presv. Maria George), M/M Aristotelis Tsonis, Dr. Golfo Tzilos, Antonia Vanikiotis, M/M Peter Vassilopoulos (in memory of M/M Vassilopoulos & M/M Kanelos), Dr. & Mrs. Michael Vezeridis, M/M Kenneth White, Katherine Xiarhos, Zambeta Xiarhos, M/M Charles Xynellis, M/M Peter Yidiaris, M/M Socrates Zafiriades, Jr., Eugenia Zaha-rakos, Drs. John & Eleni Pappas-Zervos (in memory of M/M Charles Pappas & M/M Charles Zervos).
TOTAL OF $3908.00
EPITAFIOS OFFERINGS
M/M Ilias Arsenis, Georgia Fortunato, M/M George Grammas, M/M James Harritos, M/M John Hatjopoulos, James Kripotos, Jason Maintanis, M/M Harry Nicolopoulos, Vasel Papa, M/M Gus Proyous, Dena Reall, James Rosaki, M/M Basilios Tsimikas, M/M Charles Xynellis, Eugenia Zaharakos. TOTAL OF $3,950.00
JESUS HAVING RISEN FROM THE GRAVE
AS HE FORETOLD
HAS GIVEN UNTO US ETERNAL LIFE
AND HIS GREAT MERCY.
SUMMER IS ARRIVING / BE SAFE
We are grateful for the summer months ahead, and grateful for the summer joys, the laughter of the children in our families, our schools and our parishes. Bless our children during these next months, may they grow in grace through play and picnics, camps and friendships, family visits and vacations.
AS SUMMER BEGINS—THINK—GREEK FESTIVAL
The initial wave of baking sessions is ready to begin—your help is needed especially from the under 50 crowd. The past two years or so we truly had a nice age range of people, including people (including men) in their 40s, 30s, 20s and a number of teenag-ers as well. We pray this will continue and that we will see even more new faces to come and bake.
One of the biggest complaints we have at the festival is on Sunday when we run out of pastry. This can ONLY be solved when we have more people to come down to bake more product. Although we have increased in recent years the amount made (due to the new and younger hands coming) it just still is not enough.
So let’s make this coming baking season ahead to be even more successful in the num-ber of people coming to help and the end product to be made in larger quantities. See the dates below and mark your calendar….
Tues & Wed June 21 & 22 —Spanakopita / Tyropita
Tues & Wed June 28 & 29—Baklava
Tues & Wed Aug 23 & 24—Koulourakia
Tue Aug 30—Melomakarona / Kourambiedes
Wed Aug 31– Diples
Tues Sept 6– Honey Dip Diples
Wed Sept 7– Packing Pastries
HANDS ARE NEEDED AT 4PM EACH OF THESE DAYS TO PREPARE AND TO LEARN THE PREPARATION PROCESS TO BE READY FOR THE 6PM WORK SESSION.
IN THIS MAILING
You will find enclosed a special offering envelope for the “pastry ingredients.” Donations in any amount help the overall profit and are greatly appreciated. In 2015, the pastry ingredient donations totaled at $3,294.00. The actual expenses were $6,316.12. Thank you to all!
SCAM ALERT
We share with our parishioners below 2 public information pieces:
Grieving Family Insurance Scam
We have had several families recently that have been contacted shortly af-ter the loss of a loved one by people claiming to be either from their loved one’s place of employment or from an insurance company. The caller will tell the family member that the funeral home called and notified the com-pany of their loved one’s passing bu unfortunately their loved one had missed their last few insurance premiums and therefore their life insurance policy would no t be paid out unless the grieving family member paid up the back premiums immediately (they usually ask people to go and pur-chase gift cards because these are untraceable) or they will forfeit any life insurance payment.
Funeral homes do not contact anyone’s place of employment notifying of a death unless you have asked them to take care of filing an insurance claim for you and if that is the case, no one would be asking you for money.
If someone has missed insurance premiums, the insurance policy has lapsed and they will not allow you to pay back premiums to reinstate the insurance after someone has passed.
The same applies if an insurance company calls telling a family member that they have an insurance policy in their loved one’s name that a long-ago employer or even the deceased themselves continued paying the pre-miums on until just recently and if the grieving family member just pays up the few missing premiums then they will receive thousands of dollars in additional insurance.
Insurance companies DO NOT contact families when someone passes. It is up to families to contact insurance companies.
So, if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a former em-ployer of your loved one, or from an insurance company DO NOT send an-yone any money in any form.
They will make you believe that this is an URGENT matter and if you do not take care of it immediately then you will miss out on this insurance.
They do this so that you will not waste time checking them with anyone else. Contact the funeral home or your attorney or a trusted business per-son and ask them to follow up on this information. Do not take any con-tact information from the person who is calling you because they will have a boiler room operation setup to receive your call back making it look and sound like it is legitimate…it is NOT.
Child or Grandchild Accident Scam
The caller will act very upset, crying, claiming to be a child or grandchild of the person they are calling and stating that they’ve been in an accident (possibly DUI) and didn’t want to upset their parents right now so they’ve called asking for help in covering their “bail” or “court cost” and the cost of the “telephone pole” they hit. They will usually refer to the person by a common name like “Gram” or “Grammy” and because they are acting hys-terical people fall prey to wanting to take care of someone they love who they believe is in trouble.
They will ask the person they are calling to go to the bank and withdraw cash and then go purchase either gift cards or a money gram and wire the money (again untraceable) to a person that they claim is the attorney help-ing them. If they are successful in getting someone to send them the first amount of money, they may call back again, stating that they need more money to pay the attorney’s fee or for damage to another person’s car be-fore they can be released.
The common theme for all of these scams is that they always claim that the transaction must take place immediately or in the next few hours and that they always want gift cards or wired funds because once they are gone, it is impossible for the person who has been scammed to retrieve them.
Please protect yourself and your family— share this with everyone you know!
HOPE AND JOY AQUARIUM TRIP
Join us for our Hope and Joy Kick off to Summer Event on Saturday, June 18th. We will be meeting at the church at 11am then driving to Mystic Aquarium. We will be eating at Mystic Pizza. Further details and prices to follow. R.S.V.P with CJ Mitrelis at 401-632-8752.
GOYA NEW YORK TRIP
Goya will be going on a day trip to New York City on Saturday June 25th. Further details and prices to follow R.S.V.P with CJ Mitrelis at 401-632-8752.
VACATION CHURCH SCHOOL
(for children age 5—thru 5th graders)
Mon – Fri / August 1 – 5, 2016 = 9:30am – 2:30PM
Feast Days of Christ
Beth Nicholas will once again serve as coordinator. Those who would like to assist her should contact her directly nichols22@verizon.net 401-383-6708
REMEMBER OUR CHURCH SUMMER CAMP PROGRAMS
Metropolis Of Boston Camp (in Contoocook, NH – north of Concord)- (for children ages 8 – 18)
visit www.mbcamp.org or Telephone: 603-746-2132 “Cranston Week at Camp” is the July25th session but parishioner youth may pick any of the 6 sessions good for them. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Summer Camp in Greece -(IONIAN VILLAGE) For 7th-12th graders / e-mail: ionianvillage@goarach.org, Telephone: 646-519-6190
THE FINANCIAL CORNER
In last month’s Annunciator we indicated how successful the annual Greek Food Fair has been. Our Greek Food Fair for this year was just completed last weekend. Below you can see the financials now which in-clude this year’s results.
Gross Revenues Total Expenses Net Profit
2010 $15,857.00 $5,132.32 $10,724.68
2011 $19,732.76 $7,492.40 $12,240.36
2012 $27,571.50 $7,358.54 $20,212.96
2013 $29,692.50 $12,540.52 $17,151.98
2014 $31,119.75 $11,086.52 $20,033.23
2015 $34,788.54 $12,815.53 $21,973.01
2016 $44,182.59 $12,873.00 (Estimated) $31,309.59
As you can see this event continues to get larger and more successful each year. I would like to thank everyone who has worked and participat-ed in this fundraiser. Rather than list every item sold at the event I can give you an idea what the best sellers were.
Gyro Sandwiches 1533 sold $12,264.00 in receipts
Lamb Dinners 340 sold $ 4,760.00 in receipts
Baklava sold 941 sold $ 2,823.00 in receipts
Rizogalo (Rice Pudding) 538 sold $ 1,614.00 in receipts
Again thank you all for your support and help. Now we can concentrate on the summer festival which is scheduled for September 09, 10 and 11, 2016.
Please consider working at the festival, it is a lot of fun.
The article below appeared in the June 12, 1998 edition of the Base paper in Naples Ita-ly. It was written from the heart then and it still applies to all of us who are sons. Read, think, be thankful for your earthly father, but more importantly, be thankful for your Heavenly Father who loves you. Fr. Andrew
THANKS FROM A GRATEFUL SON
I sit here facing my computer screen wondering what to write about this month. I have mulled over several ideas, none of which catch my fancy. Then it hits me, Father’s Day is coming up. I usually don’t write about a “Hallmark Cards Holiday,” but I’ll make an ex-ception this time. Fathers are to be nurturing leaders in their homes; nurturing their spouse and offspring to be the best they can be and encouraging them at every turn. Fathers are to be understanding, firm, giving, and lov-ing. Fathers are to be men of faith and strong character, instilling godly values in their children. Or at least we ought to be.
I thought about my own father. I slipped back through the years to the Spring of 1975 when my father became a single parent. My mother died from cancer and Dad was without his soul mate to raise three budding teenagers alone. My two sisters, ages 16 and 11, with me in the middle at 13, were well prepared by our parents for this eventuality. No secrets were kept from us about Mom’s health.
At that time single parent families were alone in a world that did not always understand the stresses of doing the several jobs of parenting. (disciplinarian, tutor, confidant, friend, tour guide, housekeeper, chef and chauffeur). Yet, through those first few months my father showed us that with a quiet faith and good family values we could move forward and succeed as a family. He showed us something in those formative months that has stuck with me and remains a part of me today. He valued our thoughts and feelings about family business. He allowed us to make decisions and learn from our mistakes. He allowed us to become individu-als, and respected our differences.
I can honestly say that I had a unique relationship with my Dad in my teen years. The usual rebellion took place, but I viewed my Dad as more than just a parent; I viewed him as a friend. We were and are in some ways more deeply connected than other fathers and sons. Our rela-tionship, like all relationships, has grown and matured over the years. We talk on the phone every once in a while; share news of family, our thoughts on world events, and I know that Dad respects my opinion on issues of life and faith.
I think back over those years (24 to be exact) and come away with a sense that Dad gave me a great gift which I now give to my own children; the gift of unconditional love and compassion expressed in many ways. It is almost Fa-ther’s Day. What are you going to get for your dad? I think the greatest gift I could give my dad is the thanks of a grateful son for the greatest dad in the world. I’m going to call him right now.
Defeating Debt— Together
While my husband, Brian, and I never had a screaming match over money, we certain-ly struggled with tension in our marriage prior to paying off our debt. If that’s where you find yourself today, may I suggest a few tools that I frequently return to?
Treat debt as an enemy. When Brian and I decided to fight our debt, we found that if we compared our experience to a battle and under-scored it with a fairy –tale theme, we were in-spired to attack our debt together. We dubbed our debt the “dragon,” employing any and every strategy to defeat this foe that intended to de-stroy our marriage, finances, future and our very souls. Our decision to personify the debt helped us to fight against our money monster-not each other.
Pray. The first prayers I whispered during our journey were along the lines of “Please God, take all of this away.” I’m so glad that His wisdom is higher than mine, because it was the process of paying off debt that truly loosened debt’s chains in our marriage. Had God answered my prayers for easy relief, we probably would have bor-rowed again and never dealt with our heart issues. Instead, He provided for us through extra jobs, sacrifice and perseverance. I cannot underscore enough the power that prayer had in our financial experience.
Dream Big Dreams. Brian would ask, “What could we do if we weren’t putting so much money toward payments every month? How would our family look different? How could we impact our community and the world with the gospel?” Brian’s ques-tions tugged on my heart. Rather than pointing out the many areas where I needed to legitimately make changes, Brian captured my heart with a dream. Together, we learned that dreams can motivate us toward change. They provide a spark of hope in the future when the present seems scary and uncertain.
To pay off all your debt, you and your spouse must dream big dreams. Cast the vision and make plans for your goals—together.
– Cherie Lowe / Focus on the Family Publication
THE 12 APOSTLES—June 30
“Christos Anesti!” For forty days following the Resurrection of our Blessed Lord which we celebrate at Eastertime, Orthodox Christians throughout the world greet one another with this beautiful and traditional phrase “Christos Anesti”- Christ is Risen—and invariably the reply is “Alithos Anesti” – Truly He has Risen. This is a wonderful custom in our church, and these inspiring words are repeated during our daily conver-sation with others for forty days until Ascension Thursday. These words were first spoken centuries ago after the faithful had heard the wonderful news of the Resurrec-tion of Christ from the dead from His Apostles.
Have you ever wondered what ever happened to the Apostles after Jesus bid them farewell and ascended to His Father in Heaven? Let us look into history and see what became of the famous Twelve. They were amazing men who gave their lives for Christ and the Christian Faith.
James (the greater) the son of Zebedee was killed by mobs in Jerusalem
James (the less) the son of Alphaeus) was crucified in Egypt
Matthew was killed by the sword in Ethiopia.
Philip was hanged in Phrygia (Asia Minor).
Bartholomew was flayed alive in Armenia.
Andrew was crucified in Achaia (Greece).
Thomas was run through with a lance in East India.
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows in Armenia while hanging on a cross.
Simon (the zealot) was crucified in Persia.
Peter likewise in Rome.
Matthias (he took the place of Judas Iscariot) was beheaded in Judea.
Only John escaped a martyr’s death and died naturally.
These gallant soldiers of the Christian Church gave their lives for Christ. This is the greatest of all sacrifices.
Today, however, we are not called upon to make such a great sacrifice for Christ. We are urged to pay heed to the words of the Resurrected Christ who beckons us to live a Christian life according to the divine command-ments of the New Testament. We should live our Ortho-dox Christian Faith intently. We should uphold the cus-toms and traditions of our wonderful Church which has so much to offer us during these trying times. Let Christ be a part of your life daily, thereby honoring the example of the 12 Apostles and their sacrifice.