ross c · 2014. 4. 15. · christos yannaras, in his book “elements of faith,” shares the...

CURRENTSChurch Newsletter

November 2007

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Transposing Our Lifeby Father Peter Salmas, Pastor

Christos Yannaras, in his book “Elements of Faith,”shares the inspiring thought that “Christ gave himselfup to death, forsaking totally every tendency and aspi-ration for physical self-existence of the created and trans-posed the event of existence and life into a relationship with the Father.”

As Orthodox Christians we are also called to imitate Christ ourLord and transpose the event of our existence and life into a relationshipwith the Father. But where does one begin? By not separating our life asan Orthodox Christian from the life we live in the world. Our relation-ship with the Father must be first and the priority of our existence for it istruly existence itself. There is not life apart from our Creator and this iswhat our Lord tells us through His action of incarnation, suffering, anddeath. His is not an epic story of old but a wake up call for renewed lifein Him.

Our children need to understand this. This message is what theChurch teaches and preaches. It is not learned on the basketball court orthe soccer field. It is not learned in the kitchen making baklava. It iscertainly not learned on the dance floor or learning some ancient dancefrom a mountain village in Greece. It is learned only through the ex-ample of practicing the faith in prayerful worship over and over again.

The relationship with the Father begins with the relationship ofthe family and its priorities. I am concerned that our event of existence isnot being transposed into a relationship with the Father but a relationshipwith self and therefore will not transcend our earthly existence.

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(to be continued in the next Cross Currents)

Cross Currents - page 3

Cross CurrentsThe Monthly Newsletter of the Church of the Holy Cross

900 Alameda / Belmont, CA 94002-1604 (650) 591-4447 / fax (650) 508-9846

[email protected] / http://www.goholycross.org

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

President’s Report ..................... 2 Festival 2007 ......................... 4Philoptochos ............................. 6 Youth & Parents .................... 7Outreach News.........................10 News & Information ............11Advertise in the 50th Book ......12 Meetings & Events .............. 16Upcoming Services ..................18 Announcements................... 21PieceMeal & New Year’s ... 22-23 Sponsors ................ 9,14,17,20

Articles and ads for Cross Currents are due on the 15thof the month prior to the month of desired publication.

page 2 - Cross Currents

PRESIDENT’S REPORTby Gary Brenner, Parish Council President

As President of the Parish Council I have given a report tothe General Assembly on three previous occasions. In De-cember I will complete 2 terms as Parish Council Presi-dent and I will then support another member of the Parish Council as Presi-dent next year.

It has been a wonderful opportunity and a great privilege to servethe past 2 years. Last year we celebrated our 50th Anniversary with a num-ber of events and then our Golden Gala on December 29 highlighted a memo-rable year in our Parish. I also believe that the most significant event in thehistory of our parish was receiving the relic of the precious and life givingcross of our Lord and Savior. It was so appropriate that this historic gift wasreceived by our Parish in our 50th year. Our church was truly blessed in2006.

This year has been less eventful as we have gone back to the plan-ning for next year and the future of our beloved church. Many generous

parishioners have come forward to help us with our iconography project. Itis critical to complete the icons behind the altar in the next year because ouriconographer, Mr. Tonelli has offers from other church’s that may preventhim from returning here in the near future.

We must take measures to prevent the deterioration of the infra-structure of our church buildings. Maintenance of our property and build-ings can be expensive and if we defer that project then they can cost a greatdeal more in the future.

Earthquake insurance has become one of the most expensive lineitems on our budget. We have worked diligently to find the best coverage atthe lowest possible premium dollar. We can only afford coverage that willprotect us in a catastrophic quake. We would still have to pay a deductiblewould exceed a million dollars. We believe that there are many Orthodoxchurches in Northern California which do not have coverage due to the in-creasing premiums.

The costs of operating our church have certainly increased at a pacethat exceeds our stewardship contributions. Our Stewardship campaign for2008 begins in November. We must step-up and meet the financial chal-lenges of the coming years. The members of the General Assembly heretoday understand the challenges we face. We ask you however to reach outto those in our parish who are not here and be proactive as an arm of ourstewardship committee. Talk to your friends and kombari about increasingtheir pledge so that our budget many keep pace with inflation. Tanya willhave graphics in her report.

We must also plan a capital campaigns in the near future to expandour facilities to meet the demands of our growth. The General Assembly hasauthorized a project to build facilities for religious education, senior activi-ties and youth ministries. It is a significant project and every year that wedelay the cost goes higher. It will need large fits from key donors to get theproject started but we will still need the support of every parishioner to com-plete the project.

We will with God’s blessing meet our challenges. Thanks to all ofyou who have supported me with your prayers and your good wishes. I willcontinue to donate my time and effort to our beloved church in a differentcapacity in the coming years.

Please continue to support those who will step into leadership rolesin the future. Thank you.

Cross Currents

FESTIVAL 2007 -EFHARISTOby Bob Nemchik, Festival Co-Chair,a worker amongst workers

For those of you who did not have the opportunity tojoin us yesterday at our Church’s Fall General Assembly, the followingwas reported… Income for the Festival 2007 was off by just a little.This had nothing to do with your great efforts or less number of guestsat the Festival. We have identified the areas where this has occurred,and believe we have a handle on how to fix this for the future. Thegood news is our overall net profit appears to be above last year’s,which I have been told makes ‘07 a record high. This happened be-cause of our good control on Festival Expenses, since everything ispretty much on computer. This helps tremendously to control cost andsets our Festival prices. The last figure I last gave you is not a firmsince some of our providers of goods are slow in their billing. But withabout 95% of all bills sent in, it looks good that this will be our bestyear yet.

The Festival now only represents approximately 1/5 of ourChurch’s annual budget. Stewardship, stills remains our number onesource of income to balance the budget!

I further reported that we are establishing an on going FestivalCommittee for the betterment of our Festival. If you would like to be-come a member please contact either myself or Peter Bibbes, or if youhave any ideas that you think can add to and enhance the Festival, yourideas and recommendations will be welcomed. Again, all I can say isthank you for all you hard work and cooperation!

workers amongst workers

PHILOPTOCHOS

- CIRCLE OF FRIENDS“Circle of Friends” crocheters and knitters will resume in February,2008. Watch for exact dates and details. All are welcome!

- BOOK CLUB UPDATEWe have had some wonderful discussions at our recent book clubs.Due to very busy November and December months, our next bookclub will be in January. Look for more details in December! In themeantime, we would love your help at the upcoming Metropolis Holi-day Tea on Saturday, December 1, which will be held at our parish.Please contact Mary Peros or Claire Gagas ([email protected]) ifyou are able to help. Thank you!

- BACKPACKS COMING SOON!Holy Cross has volunteered once again, to donate backpacks to theSafe Harbor Homeless Shelter in San Francisco. We will also be doingour Family Sharing as well. However, we are still awaiting informa-tion on our “families”. In the meantime, toiletries for men and womencould be gathered to put into the backpacks. Holy Cross will purchase90 backpacks (so we can get a quantity discount), and ask that ourparishioners purchase the backpacks and fill them. We will have a check-list for your use and scarves you may choose and include in the packs(made by our “Circle of Friends” knitters and crocheters). This year wewill have (60) back packs for men and (30) women.


YOUTH & PARENTSPHILOPTOCHOS

RELIGIOUSEDUCATIONby Khara-Maria Kalamaras,Youth Religious Education Coordinator

The Religious Education staff was re-cently privileged to welcome Dr. EveTibbs, Director of Religious Educationof the Metropolis of San Francisco. Wewere inspired to develop our individualtalents, to know that the Holy Spirit isworking through us as we teach and thatwe will be very effective teachers if we proceed with this understand-ing. We are grateful for Dr. Tibbs’ willingness to travel and impart tous from the wealth of her knowledge and experience.

ANNUAL PIECEMEAL- NOVEMBER 13All our families are invited to gather on Tuesday, November 13 at 6PM in The Oaks for our annual PieceMeal. Bring a salad, potatoes,stuffing and/or dessert. The turkeys will be prepared by our expertchefs. Let us give thanks for the blessings and fellowship we enjoyhere at Holy Cross. Call Konstantine Salmas (591-4447 or 483-2995)for details. [See the flyer on page 22.]

BOUNCE! SWISH!The 2007-08 OYAA basketball sign ups are on NOW! Boys and girlsages 8-14 are welcome to play. Please sign up with Konstantine Sal-mas (591-4447 or 483-2995).

IONIAN VILLAGEPRESENTATIONSunday, November 18

IV is a travel abroad, camping program of the Arch-diocese, for youth between 7th and 12th grades.Come hear our resident alumni - Konstantine Salmas, AlexandraNemchik, and Jason Craighead - talk about the impact this programhas on its participants. The presentations will be from 12:15-1 PM inthe Contos Library. Call Konstantine at the church office (591-4447)for details.

GREEK FOLK DANCEAs we continue our mission to assist our children to grow spiritually,socially and in our Greek culture, our dance program has begun a newdance year. We have had several workshops and are learning new dancesand songs from different regions of Greece.

Practice schedules can be found on our websitewww.goholycross.org just click on the link for dance (near bottom offirst column).

For further information about the program, please call KathyRoque-Albert at 302-5773.

GREEK SCHOOLby Tonia Spyridi, Greek School PTO president

- NEWS FOR THE MONTHGreek School started in September, with many new and returning stu-dents, extremely supportive parents and dedicated teachers. We are alllooking forward to a successful, inspiring and productive school year.

The mission of the Greek School is to provide education andinstruction of the Greek language, culture, and heritage; to enhance bi-


THANK YOU CROSS CURRENTS SPONSOR!

DISC JOCKEY MUSIC RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL WEDDINGS, BAPTISMS, ANNIVERSARIES, SOCIAL EVENTS GREEK AND AMERICAN MUSIC

cultural and bilingual awareness; and to promote the moral and ethicalvalues of the Greek Orthodox families.

Greek School has programs for both children and adults. Theprograms for children offer instruction at various degrees of exposureto the Greek language, ranging from Greek as second language to Greekas mother tongue. The adult classes are offered at the beginner andintermediate level.

This year Greek School welcomes a new teacher from Greece,Ms. Dora Zoiopoulos. Ms. Zoiopoulos will be teaching in all children’sprograms and will also be working on the music curriculum for theentire school.

The Greek School community is very proud of the two gradu-ating students from last year: Vicki Papadakis and Chrysa Perakiswho passed the level 1 examination for the certificate of attainment inGreek. Their hard work paid off and they are setting an example for allthe younger students to follow.

For detailed information on the Greek School please look atour web site: http://belmontgreekschool.com/

Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 11

drivers. A light Lenten dinner will be served at 6:00 PM. Deliverieswill follow. We meet back at the Church to tun in paperwork and havedessert. If you have never participated in this ministry, please considerthis your invitation to do so. The past participants have always had awonderful experience. Please join us.

- Backpacks for Safe Harbor Homeless ShelterIn conjunction with our Family Sharing Program, we will be purchas-ing 90 backpacks for a South San Francisco Homeless Shelter whichwill also be delivered December 17. A checklist will be available forrecommended contents. Scarves made by the Circle of Friends Knit-ting and Crotchet group will be included in each backpack. We antici-pate having backpacks available for purchase in early November.

- Circle of Friends Knitting and Crotchet GroupThank you to Mary Metropulos’ friend Jeanne for her monetary con-tribution to the group. We would also like to thank Dee Sperow for hergenerous donations of yarn. We have made good use of both. If youhave left over yarn and would like to donate it to Circle of Friends,contact Brenda Visas 917-0827.

- Baptism Blankets AvailableBeautiful, handmade blankets appropriate for baptisms are now avail-able in the Holy Cross Bookstore. A heartfelt thank you to EnaamGabor for her talented hands and giving heart.

JOIN THE LISTSo many of us spend a lot of time on our computers for shopping, e-mails and work. Now, you can receive a daily dose of inspiration overe-mail with a religious daily study.

- A $5,000 ChallengeA very big THANK YOU to Mr.Elias Eleftheriades who has do-nated $5,000 to the Greek School!He has challenged the communityto raise money for the GreekSchool to further the teaching of the language in the community. Shouldfive (5) other individuals each contribute $5,000 each, he will match hisoriginal donation of $5000.

Many thanks to Jim Bogios and his crewof volunteers who served food to the needyat the Samaritan House kitchen in San Ma-teo on the 3rd Friday of every month. Someof the volunteers that helped were: AlKeriotis, Steve Monolakis, AlexMaridakis, Edie Christoforidis, DaisyFernando, Peter Evangel & his granddaughter Annamarie Buono-core, and Vivi Sarantitis & her daughter Liz Latham and granddaugh-ter Demi Latham. The volunteers who have served in the past say thatit is a very rewarding experience! If you are interested in joining theteam, please contact Jim Bogios at 873-4208.

- 2007 Family SharingOnce again we will be participating in the San Mateo Samaritan House’sFamily Sharing Program. We hope to have our information for theGiving Tree by November 25. We anticipate each child receiving twogifts (each valued at approximately $50.) Adults will receive one giftwith an approximate value of $15. Our distribution day is set for Mon-day, December 17. During the day beginning at 9:00 AM, we will sortitems. A sign up board will be posted in The Oaks lobby for volunteer

NEWS & INFORMATION

OUTREACH NEWS

Father Peter puts together aDaily Study on the Saints andScriptures that he sends out on e-mail every day. If you would liketo receive inspirational messagesregularly to begin your day, pleasesend your e-mail address to himat [email protected].

SEND USYOUR FAMILY EMAIL ADDRESSAND HELP US SAVETo save money on printing and postage on some church mailings (likeCross Currents), we would like to e-mail such mailings to our parish-ioners instead of going the expensive, and old-fashioned paper, inkand envelope and stamp way.

If you would like to help us with this expense, please tell us the e-mail address where you receive family e-mail. These e-mailings willbe infrequent but, in the long run, will save us a lot of money. We willnot give your e-mail address to anyone else and will only use it for thischurch mailing purpose. We will identify these mailings with “ChurchMailing” in the subject line.

If you can lend a hand, just e-mail your address [email protected]. Thank you!

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page 14 - Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 15

MARK YOURCALENDARSNov 4 Fellowship LuncheonNov 13 Youth/Family PieceMealNov 18 Ionian Village PresentationDec 1 Philoptochos Holiday BrunchDec 9 Christmas ProgramDec 15 Songs and Stories of ChristmasDec 16 Christmas TeaDec 17 Family Sharing DistributionDec 31 New Year’s Eve Dinner DanceJan 13 Vasilopeta

MEETINGS AND EVENTSPlease check your Sunday Bulletins for the dates and times of all meetings.In the next issue, we’ll be back from summer break, so expect LOTS ofmeetings and events to be listed below. Group leaders : Be sure to get yourorganization’s meetings on the calendar!

first Tuesdays of the month - 11 AM, ORAfirst Tuesdays of the month - 7 PM, Philoptochos Boardfirst Thursdays of the month - 7 PM, Youth Councilsecond Monday of the month (usually) - 7:30 PM, Executive Councilsecond and fourth Tuesdays of the month - 7 PM, Youth Groupsthird Tuesdays of the month - 7:30 PM, Parish CouncilTuesdays, 10:30 AM, Bible StudyWednesdays, 7 PM, Studies in the Faithfirst three Wednesdays of the month, 7:30 PM, ChoirDance - please check with your Directors


feel free to call us at


UPCOMING SERVICESsubject to change - please check your Sunday Bulletins

Sunday Services are 8:30 AM, Orthros, 10:00 AM, Divine LiturgySaturday Vespers are at 5:30 PM

Friday, October 25 - Demetrios - 8 AM, Matins and 9 AM, Divine LiturgySaturday, October 27 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, October 28 – 7th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine

Liturgy, 10:00 AMThursday, November 1 – Kosmas and Damian, 9 AM, Divine LiturgySaturday, November 3 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, November 4 – 5th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine

Liturgy, 10:00 AMThursday, November 8 – Synaxis of the Holy Archangels Michael

and Gabriel, 9 AM, Divine LiturgyFriday, November 9 – Nektarios, 9 AM, Divine LiturgySaturday, November 10 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, November 11 - 8th Sunday of Luke Veterans Day - Matins,

8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMTuesday, November 13 – John Chrysostom, 9 AM, Divine LiturgyThursday, November 15 – Nativity Fast BeginsSaturday, November 17 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, November 18 - 9th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM,

Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMWednesday, November 21 – Entrance of the Theotokos & Eve of

Thanksgiving, 7:00 PMSaturday, November 24 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, November 25 – 13th Sunday of Luke & Saint Katherine -

Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMFriday, November 30 – Saint Andrew, 9 AM Divine Liturgy

Saturday, December 1 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, December 2 – 14th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM,

Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMTuesday, December 4 – Barbara, 9 AM, Divine LiturgyWednesday, December 5 – Savas, 9 AM, Divine LiturgyThursday, December 6 – Nicholas, 9 AM, Divine LiturgySaturday, December 8 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, December 9 – 10th Sunday of Luke & Conception of St.

Anna - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMWednesday, December 12 – Spyridon, 9 AM, Divine LiturgySaturday, December 15 – Eleftherios, 9 AM, Divine LiturgySunday, December 16 – 11th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM,

Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMSaturday, December 22 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, December 23 – Sunday before Nativity - Matins, 8:30 AM,

Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMMonday, December 24 – Christmas Eve, 7 PM, VespersTuesday, December 25 – Nativity of Christ, Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine

Liturgy, 10:00 AMThursday, December 27 – Stephen the First Martyr, 9 AM, Divine

LiturgySaturday, December 29 – Great Vespers, 5:30 PMSunday, December 30 – Sunday after Nativity - Matins, 8:30 AM,

Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AMMonday, December 31 – Saint Basil, 7:00 PM, Vesperal Divine

Liturgy


We joyfully invite our Holy CrossFamily to participate in theHoly Baptism of our son

Peter Daniel

whose Godparents will beDon and Kathy Craighead

11 November 2007Holy Sacrament of Baptism

4:00 p.m.

Church of the Holy CrossReception to followin the Holy Cross

Community Center

“The righteousshall flourish

likea palm tree…”

Psalm 92:12

Daniel and Khara-Maria Kalamaras

RSVP 5 November 2007650 654-7394 or

[email protected]

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BAPTISMSAug 25 - Nathan, son of Christopher and Katina Chiochios, John C.

Condos and Moriah E. Condos, sponsorsAug 25 - Quinn Constantine, son of Christopher and Katina

Chiochios, John C. Condos and Moriah E. Condos, spon-sors

Aug 29 - Anna Maria, daughter of Nicholas and Ereni Argeris, MarieArgeris, sponsor

Aug 29 - George Nicholas, son of Nicholas and Ereni Argeris,George Chairakakis, sponsor

Oct 6 - Matthew Rossi, son of Matthew and Gail Love, VanessaCraighead, sponsor

Oct 13 - Alexia Sophia, daughter of Panagiotis and ChristinaKolotouros, John and Eleni Baxter, sponsors

Oct 14 - Bsviliki, daughter of Theofilos and Marianne Kotseroglou,Vaciliki & Stephanos Papademetriou, sponsors

WEDDINGSSept 15 - Steven L. Violet and Emily K. White; Detra Lee Violet,

sponsorOct 7 - Michael Klobuchar and Georgette Dakis; Connie Morris

(Bovis) and Joy E. Morris (Costelli), sponsors

FUNERALSLucille Saloum-Jacklin who fell asleep in the Lord on August 29Matheos Alafouzos who fell asleep in the Lord on September 22Helen Leontovich who fell asleep in the Lord on October 6Speros Chechopoulos who fell asleep in the Lord on October 24



Cross Currents - page 23page 22 - Cross Currents

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ross c · 2014. 4. 15. · christos yannaras, in his book “elements of faith,” shares the...

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