Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church | 2501 South Wolf Road | Westchester, Illinois708.562.2744 www.holyapostleschurch.com

M O S A I CM O S A I CComing Together In Church And From Our Homes,Coming Together In Church And From Our Homes,

We Form An Icon Of God’s KingdomWe Form An Icon Of God’s Kingdom

October 2020Volume 26 No. 8

From Fr. Nicholas

Kindling Our

Flame Of Faith

!ese unique and challenging COVID times have limited the num-ber of parishioners attending church. Some that are not able or do not feel comfortable coming to the services are visiting the church to light candles. !is simple act of lighting a candle is an act of prayer and important part of our faith life. !e importance of light is found in the Holy Scriptures that describes the sight of the Lord “like a burning "re on the top of the mountain.” God is a con-suming "re according to Paul. Jesus is portrayed as light throughout the Gos-pel of John. He is the “light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus said “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.” !e #ame reminds us of Christ’s light that illumines our souls. St. Nicodemus reminds us that “our souls should have that sweet aroma of Divine Grace” similar to the beautiful scents we experience as the beeswax candles burn on Holy !urs-day evening. !e so$ness of the candle should be a picture of us with

supple and so$ souls. Pure beeswax candles remind us of our soul’s purity. !e #ame #ickers reminding us of struggles in this life. !roughout trials and tribulations, the #ame continues to burn. !is shows the Lord’s con-stant presence with us – always! Light dissolves the darkness. Christ’s light banishes the darkness. !ink of mice – they scatter when they see light. St. John of Kronstadt calls the candle a “burnt o%ering to the Lord. Let it be a gi$ to God from your whole heart and remind you that you yourself should be a burning and shining light.” Shine among the people as lights in the world. We are encouraged to “walk as children of light.” !e candle illumines a person in darkness. !e light of the virtues, love and peace characterize us. Our heart’s inner light can only be illu-mined with the help of God. !e Book of Proverbs reminds us that “the spirit of a person is the candle of the Lord.”

Our souls will not be satis"ed until the divine #ame touches them. Candles must be lit to be useful. !e wax that feeds the wick and keeps burning are our prayers and relationship with the Lord through the Sacraments, the Holy Scriptures and Divine Liturgy. !e wick is the soul. !e #ame or "re is the Holy Spirit who lights the wick and keeps it burning. Protecting and keeping the wick of Christ’s light burning is our challenge. St. Seraphim of Sarov wrote: “when both the intellect and heart are united in prayer, and when the thoughts of the soul are not scattered, the heart is warmed by a spiritual heat, the Light of Christ enlightens it and "lls the interior person with peace and joy.” As we light our candles we can pray as St. Gregory Palamas did: “Lord, enlighten my darkness.” Keep lighting your candles!

August Parish Council Highlights

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 2M O S A I C

Treasurer’s Report•Tom Gregory said that July was a good month for tray collections and ful"lled pledges but due to monthly expenses of $67,806 the monthly loss was $40,840.•Alicia Magas reported that operating cash forecasts for the year would be $562,781 assuming we have the $102,000 PPP loan forgiven. Our net operating revenue forecast for the year is a -$149,862 loss.•Norm said that this projected loss is not bad considering all that has happened this year, but next year’s budget has to balance so we will have to face di&cult choices.•Nick Kouchis has completed the paper ap-plication for forgiveness of the PPP loan. Our bank, BMO Harris, wants us to use the newly released online form. Nick said he hopes to have that "nished by our next meeting.Correspondence Report•Nick Kouchis said that Sts. Constantine and Helen of Reading, PA thanked us for donat-ing Bible guides. •Fr. Nick received a thank you card from a major donor for making Holy Apostles such a welcoming and comforting community.Ecclestiastic Report•St. Piasios said, “the desiring e%ort must come from you and God will provide power and resolve.”•We are very blessed to have two incredible chanters: Deacon Perry and John Anton. Both are excellent role models for our chil-dren and Deacon Perry is a gi$ed teacher and lecturer.•!e Metropolis gave the blessing to give out antidoron. Parishioners should sanitize their hands and should not kiss the priest’s hand nor are they obligated to accept the bread. !e antidoron bread is to be eaten outside the church where you can take your mask o%.Old Business•An announcement was made to the parish saying we were looking for a bookkeeper. We received 3 additional applicants and his committee plans to interview 2 of them next week. He plans to have 3 candidates to pres-ent to the full Parish Council. Roof Report•Norm Pomrening said that there was a “walk through” on August 12 with the roof manufacturer John’s Manville, Steve Savas, the sheet metal company and the roof con-sultant from McBrady. A punch list of seven-teen items was created to get the warranty for the roof.

•!ere was a leak behind the altar which occurred 2 days before the inspection. !e roo"ng company did a repair and we will tuckpoint the wall.•We’re not paying the last bills, $200,000, until we have certi"cation of the roof. !is should be resolved, and we should be paying that in the next few weeks.•Nirk Kirkeles, Peter Bell and Norm all agreed that the roo"ng consultant, McBrady, was worth every penny we paid them.Roof Fundraising Report•We are 2 ½ weeks into the $200,000 Chal-lenge which will end at the end of September. Prior to the challenge we had contributions from 115 people, and since it started, we have had 120 people contribute. So, the Challenge has been a success so far. •!e range of contributions has been from $20 to $20,000 and Father Nick said people have been very generous.•George Alex and Peter Bell have put togeth-er a “phone tree” to make solicitations but it has been put on hold because the Challenge money is a steady stream of funds, and they would like to wait until the momentum has subsided.Stewardship Report•Lou Ka(es reported that through July 31, we have received 576 pledges, 14% less than 2019.•$635,000 has been pledged which is only 5% less than 2019.•We’ve collected $534,000 which is only 1% less than last year. •!e average pledge is $1,103, which is 11% higher than 2019.•!e median pledge is $600. •!e Stewardship letter went out July 27 to the stewards who have not pledged this year. Since then, there have been 21 more pledges for $14,000. We collected $26,000 since 7/27/20 and the year to date total collections is ahead of last year.•He thanked Father Nicholas, Freida Varlas and Anastasia Moxon for their help on the July 27 communication.Worship/Ushering Report•Val Dranias said that we need more mem-bers of the Parish Council to sign up as ushers.•A Mosaic article will ask for more ushers from the parish.

...Gavel to Gavel continued on pg. 3

Gavel to GavelFrom Fr. John

Spiritual Study

Most parents want their children to have successful careers and to "nd professional paths

which they will enjoy and to earn a com-fortable living. In order to achieve this goal, parents understandably push their children to succeed academically. We insist and plead with our kids to study hard and to devote themselves to learning. We tell them that if they commit to learning, they will be successful in their professional lives. Indeed, studying hard is a fail-safe way to achieve many career goals. For the most part, this is a holy desire. God blesses self-su&ciency, the cultivation of our gi$s, and hard work. Whether through read-ing, writing, or problem-solving, committing ourselves to learn the subject matter at hand is essential. It’s reasonable to argue that the same prin-ciple is true in our spiritual lives. Success (i.e. coming to know God in a real way) doesn’t seem possible without study. It doesn’t seem likely that everything else worthwhile in life is achieved through hard work, but coming to know God can be accomplished without any exertion at all. In his "rst letter to Timothy, a$er he pro-vides lengthy instructions on various topics, St. Paul commands his beloved disciple, “Study these things and devote yourself to them!” (1 Tim. 4:15) Even in the New Testa-ment era there was the sense that in order to succeed in the spiritual life, studying was nec-essary. In more recent times, St. Seraphim of Sarov, (a Russian saint who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries) read the entire Gospel each and every week. And Elder Aimilianos of Simopetra (d. 2019) describes spiritual books as the “lenses which enable us to gaze steadily on the sun, on Christ himself.” How do we do this? How do we read Scrip-ture and become familiar with the Church’s interpretation of it? How do we learn the lives of the Saints or the explanations of the church services? How do we increase our love and devotion for God? Fortunately, consuming spiritual material has never been easier. Of course, we can sim-ply read in the traditional way. But there are countless books written or translated that are digestible and easy-to-understand. !ere also exist many organizations dedicated to the

...Spiritual Study continued on pg. 5

Jim Maragos, Secretary

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 3M O S A I C

George, Son of !omas & Alison Ka(es Sponsors: Demetra & Peter Georginis

October Registry of Sacraments BAPTISMS

!omas Mouroukas & Olivia Jachymiak Sponsor: Steven Mouroukas

WEDDINGS

Patricia MavrickSpiro Pashos

FUNERALS

MEMORIALSMarika Xinos

!omas SkalkosDemetra MannosGeorge Mannos

Discoveries in Orthodoxy teaching

continues...!e Discoveries in Orthodoxy teaching ministry will be held

on !ursdays: Oct. 8, Oct.22, and Nov. 5 from7:00 – 8:15pm. !e theme will be “Discovering Life,” and we will be digging into Metropolitan Nathanael’s recently issued

“Archpastoral, Teaching on Life.” Deacon Perry will lead the discussion on Zoom. Go to

https://us02 web.zoom.us/j/85943352199?pwd=NGNs OEZX dm9EzG54VVAw REVKZG1hQT09

Meeting ID: 859 4335 2199Passcode: 682920

....Gavel continued from pg. 2

Greek School Report•!e plan is to start online and then move to in-person class instruction.•Argiro will send out a communication to the parish asking more people to partici-pate than the current families.•An online adult Greek School is also planned for a 10-week trial period this fall. !e desired class size is 5 people with beginning and intermediate groups.•One teacher who has been on materni-ty leave is not coming back. Argiro will not "ll that position unless enrollment requires it.Sunday School Report•Father Nick spoke to Amelia Lozano two days ago and they will start with virtual instruction a$er Labor Day with the goal of returning to in-person instruction.•2nd Grade and under will have the material sent to the parents to do the instruction.•!e fee has been reduced from $30 to $25 due to the Covid situation.•!e teachers will use the free Zoom application which is for meetings less than 45 minutes. !is corresponds well with the children’s attention span.Communications Report•Freida Varlas reported that we should be able to demonstrate the new website by our next meeting.•Marianna Georgiou has been working very hard on the content for the website.•!e focus of the new website will be for both internal use and external to showcase our church on a Google search.Missions Ministry Report•Norm Pomrening made a motion to give a $1,500 donation to the Metropolis of Korea and $3,000 to the Hoppe mission in Albania. !ese are both in the budget for this year. !e motion passed. New Business•Lou Ka(es wanted to know if there was interest in a virtual 5K event to raise mon-ey for the roof. Participants, on their hon-or, would give a donation to submit their times. Father Nick said he didn’t think it should raise money for the roof but an event to raise money for the Philoxenia House. •!e Metropolis made an appeal to send money to the churches in Beirut, Leba-non. Peter Poteres made a Motion to send $1,000. !e motion passed.

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 4M O S A I C

A V!y W"m Thank Y# To O$ H%y Apostles Family!

Holy Apostles now has new roofs and domes! !is multi-year and multi-phase project is now at completion. Here is a brief review of what has been completed:

May 2019 Replacement of windows in the nave ceiling

May 2020 Flat roofs completed; begin replacement of domes August 2020 Domes completed !e new roofs use Johns Manville roo"ng system materials and have recently been inspected by a representative of that company, which is necessary to receive the manufacturer’s warranty. Also, starting next year, we will have an annual in-spection of the roof as required by the warranty. !e recent rains have tested the new roof and we are happy that the leaks in the nave and sanctuary have disappeared. A small leak in the exo-narthex revealed defective masonry in the wall above it; this has been repaired. As of this writing our roofers and consultant are inspecting that area to make sure there are no other problems. !e cost of the project is estimated at $1,150,000. Final bills are not yet in. Also, we will not make "nal payments until the leak is resolved and we have received our warranty. !e $200,000 Roof Challenge was met – and exceeded - by our community. !anks to the generosity of over 330 families and stewards of Holy Apostles, we will be able to repay our loan. Any money that remains a$er the "nal bills are paid will be put into the Capital Fund. !is has been a long and complex project, but the results have made it worthwhile. Our church is dry. Holy Apostles will not need new roofs for at least twenty years. Holy Apostles will not need new domes for one hundred years. We, the Roof Team, thank the Holy Apostles family for your generous and unfailing support during this long project. As always, if you have any questions please ask any of us.

Peter Bell Tom Gregory Norm Pomrening Steve Savas

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 5M O S A I C

The Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross was celebrated on Monday, September 14. Father Nicholas, below, blessed the basil for parishioners. The Feast Day

mother of the Emperor Constantine.

...Fr. John’s Spiritual Study con-tinued from pg. 2creation of Orthodox material in various media platforms (videos, podcasts, call-in shows). Studying and learning about holy things has never been easier. Of course, your priests will gladly help and o%er recommendations if this seems too daunting a task to begin. Preparing for our careers through study is a noble endeav-or. But preparing for eternal life through reading and learning is most necessary. May our spiritual books always be open before us!

A SAINT IAKOVOS RETREAT CENTER FUNDRAISERDRIVE-IN MOVIE NIGHT

OCTOBER 10, 2020 | 6:30 PMSaint Iakovos Retreat Center

920 224th Avenue, Kansasville, WI

SOCIALLY DISTANCED, SPACE IS LIMITEDFirst come, "rst served parking begins at 6:00 PM

Space Limited. Reserve your spot by October 7www.gosirc.org/events

BOXED DINNERS & CONCESSIONS AVAILABLE FOR SALELawn chairs and blankets encouraged

IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHERCheck event website at 3 PM on October 10 for alternate rain date

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 6M O S A I C

On September 9th at 12:00 noon ET, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros convened the "rst ever virtu-al, and the largest Clergy Laity Congress ever, in the history of the Holy Archdiocese of America. With almost 1200 registered delegates, the "rst day was "lled with messages from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Keynote Address of Archbishop Elpidophoros, the Message of the Archdiocese Council Vice-Chair John Catsimatidis, and the Welcome from the Secretary of the Archdiocese Council, the Hon. Judge !eodore Bozonelis, who presided at the Congress on behalf of the Archbishop.  Day One included the meetings of the Finance and Administrations Committees, as well as a special Forum on the Pension Plan in the evening. !roughout Day One, there were special Ministry Webinars that followed the usual program of an in-person Clergy Laity Congress. !ey were as follows: • Center for Family Care, Presenter: Father Alexander Goussetis • Youth Safety, Presenter: Father Earl Cantos • Ecumenical O&ce, Presenter: Father Nicholas Kazarian • Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Presenter: Steve Christoforou • Church Music, Presenter: Vicki Pappas • Internet Ministries, Presenter: Jamil Samara • Religious Education, Presenter: Father Tony Vrame • Greek Education, Presenter: Dr. Anastasios Koularmanis In his Opening Remarks to the Plenary Session, Archbishop Elpidophoros o%ered the following remarks:“At this 45th Clergy Laity Congress, let us commit to our God and to one another that we will embrace our high calling in Christ. Let us ‘li$ up our eyes unto the hills from whence our help comes.’(Psalm 120:1) Let us pursue a course for our Church in America that gives back without ever giving up. !at gives sacri"cially. !at gives because we have been so very blessed. I thank you all for your commitment to sacri"ce and to service. May the Lord bless each of you, your families and Parishes, as we journey together in fellowship to the ev-er-growing Kingdom of God.” !e three main concerns along with the passage of a balanced budget for 2021-2022 were: 1. !e construction and opening of the St. Nicholas National Shrine at Ground Zero. It is sched-uled to be dedicated on 9/11/2021 during the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. St. Nicholas was the only religious site destroyed on that day. 2. !e funding and continued accreditation of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of !eology. 3. Addressing the under-funding of the Archdiocese Pension Plan for priests and lay employees of the Archdiocese. !e 45th Clergy Laity Congress, a "rst-ever virtual event concluded on September 10 a$er a successful Ple-nary Session. All necessary resolutions for the proper operation and administration of the Archdiocese were e%ected in an atmosphere of professionalism and Christian brotherhood. !e 45th Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Clergy Laity Congress concluded with an Archiepiscopal Exhorta-tion and "nal Blessing.

The Holy Apostles delegation included: Father Nicholas, Joan Berg, Val Dranias, Nick Kouchis and Ted Theophilos.

Clergy Laity Congress Hosts Largest Participation of This Event in History of the HolyArchdiocese of America

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 7M O S A I C

All in-person events are still suspended in accordance with the Metropolis and State of Illinois guidelines regarding the coronavirus. !e Board continues to meet via Zoom monthly to review donation requests and opportunities and to discuss future activities. !e Masks Matter and Orthodox Store are ongoing initiatives that Philoptochos encourages parishioners to continue to support.

Membership Night on September 24 was canceled, but we encourage all women in our parish to join Philoptochos and support our charitable e%orts. Philoptochos will host a virtual consisting of 17 prizes, to coincide with our Membership Drive. The drawing will be held on October 24 – all entries must be submitted by October 22. Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25. Winners will be noti"ed on the day of the drawing. A mailing with membership information and Fall Ra*e tickets was sent out in early September. You can also join Philoptochos, renew your membership, purchase ra*e tickets and/or view ra*e prizes on the Philoptochos page of the Holy Apostles website. Philoptochos hopes that proceeds from member dues and this Fall Ra*e will help us ful"ll our mission to aid those in need despite the absence of the Fashion Show, which is our primary fundraiser.

Holy Apostles Philoptochos has also been recognized by the Metropolis of Chicago as having served the greatest number of meals to those less fortunate. !e number of meals served comes from a combination of the food collection drives Philoptochos sponsors, the Feed My Starving Children packing events, our annual Feed the Hungry mission in May at Annunciation Cathedral, the meals we provide in conjunction with the Missions Ministry, and our involvement in the Feed6 and Orthodox Store initiatives.

We thank our Holy Apostles community for always supporting our e%orts. We could not do any of this without all of your assistance!

PHILOPTOCHOS HAPPENINGS

FALL

RAFFLE

OCTOBER

24!

Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church October 2020 Page 8M O S A I CHoly Apostles Greek Orthodox Church2501 S. Wolf RoadWestchester, IL 60154(708)562-2744

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We have had an overwhelming interest from our parishioners in attending our Sunday Divine Liturgies. To allow more of our parish family to participate in worshipping together, a second Sunday liturgy was added beginning on Sunday, September 20. We’re looking forward to more of you joining us every Sunday. Make sure to go to SignUP Genius and reserve your spot for either the 9 am or 11 am Sunday liturgy. For those without computer access, please call the church o&ce and Liz will sign you up. Weekday liturgies are also available to our parishioners. Please check the service schedule for dates. It is very important to cancel your reservation if you can’t attend. !is will allow our brothers or sisters to sign up and reserve a spot. If you’re not feeling well, please do not attend church that day. Let’s keep everyone safe and well. Reminder: masks are required.To accommodate the second liturgy, the ushers and parish council members assist our custo-dians in sanitizing the church, narthex, exonarthex, restrooms, etc. !is is a quick turn over and takes at least 6-8 volunteers to accomplish this in 45 minutes. We are still in need of ushers. If interested in helping with this ministry, please contact Spyro Demakis at Spyro@cmv.law or Val Dranias at valdranias@aol.com.

Join us to worship our Lord Jesus Christ together in our parish home.

Additi&al Divine Lit$gy S!vice Added & Sundays at H%y Apostles