Volume 7, Issue 3

March/April/May 2017

Greek Orthodox Ladies’ Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity, Clearwater, FL Saints Martha & Mary Chapter

Volume 7, Issue 3 Editor: Carrie Zervas

Blessed Lent!

Blessed Pascha!

Volume 7, Issue 3 2

Calendar of Events for March, April & May, 2017

DATE EVENT TIME

Tuesday, March 21 Fellowship & General Meeting

6:00pm/7:00pm

Sunday, April 9 Palm Sunday Luncheon Following Liturgy

Sunday, April 16 PASCHA Christ is Risen! Truly Risen!

Tuesday, April 18 Fellowship & General Meeting

6:00pm/7:00pm

Tuesday, May 16 Fellowship & General Meeting

6:00pm/7:00pm

Sunday, May 21 SS. Constantine & Helen Reception

TBA

Sunday, June 4 Pentecost

Monday, June 5 Church Feastday Reception

TBA

Volume 7, Issue 3 3

Outreach Visitation Program This worthwhile program consists of a group of volunteers from Holy Trinity church who want to extend a helping hand to our shut-in parishioners. Volunteering includes going to nursing homes, hospitals & private residence, visiting people who are unable to go out or are recuperating from surgeries or illnesses, or who are just get-ting older and have no family members close by. By volunteering to visit a shut-in just one time per month, a dire connection is maintained for these often lonely individuals. Contact Georgia Mitsis at (727) 733-5158 for more information or to volunteer. Please read in the Newsletter the lovely notes of appreciation from those whom our volunteers have visited and taken food or goodies to share.

FOOD BANK While I was away for February’s food drive, I was blessed to find a volunteer from the Orthodox Men’s Club. Mr. Jim Tsoucaris and his lovely wife, Ann, took charge of the collection. They enjoyed helping and have volunteered to help out again. That’s God’s helpers, for sure. Jim & Ann collected over $400, which will be used to purchase groceries and delivered to the RCS Food Bank. Another member of the Men’s Club, Gus Pantelis, volun-teered to deliver the non-perishable items that were col-lected. Here’s to another of God’s workers stepping up to the plate when needed. A big thank you to all who helped out this month! Fran Glaros-Sharp

The Sunshine Committee This is a small but busy ministry of the Philopto-chos. In the past 6 years we have sent over 725 cards--‘Get Well,’ ‘Thinking of You’ and Sympa-thy--to our members & parishioners. If you know someone who could use a note of cheer, please contact Despina Catsikopoulos at 727-784-3318, Jeannie Demas at 727-786-4929 or the Church office at 727-779-4605. Prayer Corner Do you know someone who is sick, ailing, or at a cross-roads in their life, who might benefit from the prayers of others? Contact Esther Tsikos via

email at kastoriam@hotmail.com to submit the name of your friend or family mem-ber for Fr. Jim’s Prayer List. All personal infor-

Philoptochos Outreach

mation remains confidential.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is work-ing. - -James 5:14-16

Troops Project We are happy to report that we have mailed over 15 boxes to our TROOPS since the first of the year. Their thank you

notes bring tears to our eyes, no doubt. As I continue you

to say, what we do for them takes only a few hours a week, but what they do for us

can’t even be measured. They put their lives on the line 24/7, to help

protect our country and our people. Be-tween our members here at Holy Trinity and friends and neighbors here at On Top of the

World, donations are constantly coming in. Boxes are sent out on almost a weekly ba-

ses. What a blessing this is! Fran Glaors-Sharp

Sewing Group We are so blessed to have our ladies who help us sew & stuff our bears for local children’s organiza-tions that we support. I’m not sure how long this project has been going on, but I believe it was

started by Chris Prokos several years ago. It’s been a wonderfully reward-ing outreach program. This past year we were joined by another little help-er--Fr. Jim’s daughter, Vasi. She not only helps us stuff bears, but she earns credit at school for this service

project. She does a great job. THANKS VASI. We distributed about 75 bears and bags for Christmas last year. So a big thanks you to all our helpers. Fran Glaros

**Monetary donations for these Ministries may be made payable to “HT Philoptochos” and mailed to the church office** Thank you!

Volume 7, Issue 3 4

A Message from Fr. Jim

"Most assuredly, I say unto you, unless one

is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom

of God.--John 3:3

As Orthodox Christians, we believe, read,

study, venerate, and live Sacred Scripture. For

us, it is far more than history, philosophy, wis-

dom literature, and ancient, sacred text; it is

bread for life. It is the Word of God that must

take root in our heart and bear fruit in our

conduct, demeanor, and deed. We put this

Faith in practice, and we make it tangible, vis-

ible, experiential, and memorable through the

time-honored and revered Tradition of the Or-

thodox Christian Church handed down to us

for two thousand years.

One such rich ritual and symbolism comes to

us through the Mystery of Holy Baptism--

namely, the Baptismal

Font. The Font itself

symbolizes a sarcoph-

agus, a tomb, which

from the Greek literal-

ly means a "flesh eat-

er" since the candidate

will ostensibly disap-

pear in the Font as if

he or she had been

eaten. Often carved

out of a white natural stone or marble, the cat-

echumen disappears from view into this Font.

The ritual recalls Joseph disappearing in the

dark well, having been betrayed and forced to

listen to his own brothers' taunts and negotia-

tions to sell him into slavery before his deliv-

erance and exaltation to the highest position

of Egypt to deliver his own people from their

enemies and oppressors. It recalls Daniel in

the dark cave of the Lion's den, surrounded by

those who would devour him, before being

delivered from bondage into the light and

freedom. It recalls the Prophecy of Jonah and

the whale in which Jonah was devoured, hav-

ing seemingly disappeared while dwelling in

the darkness and captivity of the Great Fish

for three days before being disgorged into the

light for renewal and life.

These Prophecies, among others, were provi-

dentially fulfilled in Christ Who willingly

submitted, in His Divine Humility, to be bap-

tized by His own creature, John the Baptist

and be covered by the waters, thereby disap-

pearing from sight before rising up into the

light. Thus, in action, Christ foretold His own

voluntary death and Three Day burial in the

Tomb. For after His voluntary death on the

Cross and Three Day Burial in the Tomb,

Christ resurrected from the Tomb, darkness,

and death as our Resurrection, our Life, and

our Light.

The Baptismal Font thus symbolizes the Tomb

of Christ, His Three Day Burial, and His Res-

urrection. Furthermore, the Baptismal Font

symbolizes the womb from which we will

emerge, being born again from above by the

Power of the Holy Spirit with Christ and the

Love of God the Father. The Trinity works to-

gether in unison, in perfection, in harmony, in

symphony, and in peace, symbiotically.

Through the Divine Love and Power of the

Holy Trinity, we emerge from the waters of

this womb according to the Spirit, like we

emerged from the darkness and water of our

mother's womb according to the flesh. This

time, however, we emerge into light and life

From Womb in Time, to Tomb in Place, to Womb beyond Forever, by His Grace

Volume 7, Issue 3 5

A Message from Fr. Jim

for eternity and not just for a time, for we are

born again from above. It is not a carnal birth

of flesh and blood, but rather, it is a spiritual

birth of water and Spirit.

Thus, our ancient ritual and symbol at the

Mystery of Baptism answers in action the the-

ological and existential questions put to Jesus

by His secret disciple, Nicodemos,: "How can

a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a

second time into his mother's womb and be

born?" Yes, indeed, a man can again enter the

womb and be born again, as we are at baptism

in the Orthodox Christian Church. Only this

time, we are born not for a time, but for eterni-

ty, not for this world, but for heaven, not in

space, but in infinity, not in blood, but in Spir-

it, for this birth is from above, in Christ, and

with this birth we all have a Father through

Christ, and we all have Mother by Christ, and

we all have a brother in Christ.

Christ entered time to make us eternal. Christ

entered space to make us infinite. Christ as

God, became Man, so we can become god by

His Grace. In Christ, we have everything. In

Christ, we need nothing. In Christ, all is ac-

complished, fulfilled, and perfected. With

Christ, we are not alienated, marginalized, or

forlorn. We are all found; we all belong; we all

are heirs. With Christ, we have a community

on earth and a community in Heaven. With

Christ, we have all the Angels, the Mother of

God, each other, all the Saints that are, and all

the Saints that ever will be. We have a com-

mon identity and a shared destiny as One in

Christ. We become His children by His Grace,

and we all have an equal, and--albeit mysteri-

ous--infinite inheritance, not by blood, but by

the Promise.

We were born. Therefore, we must die. Christ

condescended to be born in time and space,

and by logical extrapolation, as the Reason and

Logos Himself, although Infinite and Eternal,

He voluntarily accepted the human fate to die

as a perfect human, so that we humans, may

through Him, live as God. For us, death and

the tomb are inevita-

ble, but as ordained

by our Baptism,

through Christ, the

tomb becomes our

spiritual womb by

which we are born

again from above,

not for at time, but for eternity, not for an

earthly place, but for the Heavenly Kingdom.

These are the prophecies fulfilled and accom-

plished by Christ for our eternal salvation to-

gether with Him. This is the Orthodox Chris-

tian Faith we proclaim in word and deed, and

in the beautiful ritual of the ancient Orthodox

Christian Faith that has kept inviolate, in Sa-

cred Mystery, these eternal and cosmic truths

for those who are initiated.

In time and space, but destined by His Grace

for eternity and infinity, I gratefully and joyful-

ly remain, yours in Christ, our Resurrected and

Triumphant God,

†Father Jim

"“Destroy this Temple, and in Three Days,

I will raise It up."“ --John 2:19

IC

NI KA

XC

Volume 7, Issue 3 6

On February 21st, at the monthly

Philoptochos meeting, our mem-

bers prepared Easter gifts for the

Women’s Shelter. Approximately

75 toiletry bags were assembled,

including shampoo, toothbrush,

toothpaste, deodorant and other

necessities.

Easter Project

These gift bags will be

distributed to women

who, for their own

safety, leave their

homes suddenly,

abandoning their

personal effects. This is the 4th year that Holy

Trinity Philoptochos has under-

taken this service project for

Easter. The cost of the toiletries

is underwritten by Philoptochos

and the reusable cloth bags are

sewn by our own Fran Glaros.

THANK YOU

to all who participated!

Volume 7, Issue 3 7

Epiphany Luncheon

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO

VOLUNTEERED AND

ASSISTED IN THIS EVENT!

Volume 7, Issue 3 8

The Fruits of Our Christmas Labors

The Ladies’ Philoptochos

Members, together with their

spouses and the Orthodox

Men’s Club, celebrated the

Christmas holiday with good

cheer and carols performed by

the Byzantine Choir, led by Mr.

George Pappas.

Our Members gener-

ously donated socks

and shoes that were

sorted and delivered to

Clothes to Kids for

Christmas gifts.

Thank you to all

who donated, vol-

unteered, prepared

and participated in

this annual event!

Volume 7, Issue 3 9

Did you know how your Philoptochos Stewardship is used?

$15.00 per person is sent directly to National Philoptochos

$7.00 per person is sent directly to Metropolis Philoptochos So…..from a $25.00 pledge…….

$22.00 leaves our treasury immediately, leaving ONLY working capital of $3.00to help our local community

Save the Date!

Volume 7, Issue 3 10

Save the Date

Volume 7, Issue 3 11

Back by Popular Demand….ORDER PLEASE!

.

Volume 7, Issue 3 12

…..CALLING ALL COOKS….

Continue our time-honored

culinary traditions by sharing

your favorite Greek recipes!

Your family & friends will love

this collection of old favorites from

Parishioners in our

Church community, near and far.

“A Simple Taste of Greece”

makes a wonderful gift for

birthdays, wedding showers

and Christmas.

Visit Fran Mastorides &

volunteers at the

Religious Booth on Sundays

to purchase your copies.

Cost is $18.00 & all

proceeds benefit

Philoptochos service projects

Philoptochos Board, 2015 - 2017

Rev. Fr. James Paris, Proistamenos

Jeannie Demas, President

Despina Garos, 1st Vice-President

Despina Catsikopoulos, 2nd Vice-President

Kathy Pantelis, Treasurer

Sia Zaharis, Assistant Treasurer

Dorothy Xanos, Recording Secretary

Irene Kotsatos, Corresponding Secretary

Katie Diaks

Fran Glaros-Sharp

Tina Drouzos

Peggy Parianos

Sonja Stefanadis