WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday, April 3rd

3rd Sunday of Lent, Orthros & Divine Liturgy —8:00 a.m. Solemn Vespers at

Ascension in Lincolnshie—7:00 p.m. Monday, April 4th

Great Compline—5:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 6th

The 9th Hour & Pre-Sanctified Liturgy —6:30 p.m. Friday, April 8th

The 9th Hour & Pre-Sanctified Liturgy —8:00a.m. Salutations to the Theotokos—7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 9th Divine Liturgy at the

Greek American Nursing Home—10:00 a.m. Sunday, April 10th

4th Sunday of Lent—St. John of the Ladder Orthros & Liturgy—8:00 a.m.

Solemn Vespers at St. John the Baptist in Des Plaines—7:00 p.m.

Monday, April 11th Great Compline—5:00 p.m.

Saint Spyridon Hellenic Orthodox Church

12307 S. Ridgeland Avenue, Palos Heights, IL. 60463 Phone 708-385-2311 * Fax 708-385-0166

Website: www.Saint-Spyridon.org * E-mail: office@Saint-Spyridon.org

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Rev. Tilemahos Alikakos, Protopresbyter ~ Mr. James Korbakes, Parish Council President

COMING EVENTS Sunday, April 3rd

Sunday School *Loukoumades Sale *100th Anniversary Album * Myrofores Planning Metting—12 noon

Monday, April 4th Archangels—9 a.m. * Greek School—4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 5th Archangels—9 a.m. *Christian Philoxenia

Soccer Practice—5:00 p.m. *Parish Council—7 pm Wednesday, April 6th

Archangels—9:00 a.m. * Cherubs—10:30 a.m. Basketball Practice—5:00 p.m.

Lenten Meal hosted by Handmaidens Thursday, April 7th

Archangels—9:00 a.m. *Volleyball—7:00 p.m. Bible Study—7 pm Friday, April 8th

Archangels—9:00 a.m. * Greek School—4:30 p.m. General Assembly—8 p.m.

Saturday, April 9th Visit to Greek-American Nursing Home

Sunday, April 10th Sunday School

STEWARDSHIP 2016 Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, rever-ence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheer-fully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards. Each year the Steward is expected to carefully review his or her personal circumstances and make a com-mitment of time, talent, and treasure to support the Parish and her Ministries, which in turn support the National Ministries of our Archdiocese, Metropolises, and institutions. We thank the 166 stewards who renewed their pledge for 2016. Stewardship cards are avail-able for everyone who wishes to pledge their 2016 stewardship. The stewardship materials is also available on www.Saint-Spyridon.org. Please consider making your 2016 Steward-ship pledge today or give a stewardship card to a friend or family member.

ANNOUNCEMENTS WELCOME— If you are visiting with us today, we welcome you and hope that you will join us regularly for prayer and fellowship. Everyone is invited to the fellow-ship hour featuring fresh loukoumades prepared by the Philoptochos. All proceeds will benefit Philoptochos min-istries. Great Lent & Pascha Flowers—The Great Lent and Easter Season is here and once again we are asking for your contributions and donations towards the adornment of our St. Spyridon Church. Please call the Church office if you are interested in donating toward the flowers. Your generous assistance will be appreciated. Pascha Candles— The P.T.A. is once again selling Pascha candles for $20 each, every Sunday & during Greek School up until Pascha. The candles are available at the P.T.A. booth and in the office. Myrofores Meeting - Today, all girls 3rd-12th grades are invited to meet in the Archangels Room after Sunday School to enroll for Myrofores. New robes will be meas-ured as the girls prepare to serve during the Holy Week Services. Eleni Alexakos is the advisor. Greek Independence Day Parade - This year’s Greek In-dependence Day Parade in Greektown will be taking place on Sunday, April 17th, at 2:30 p.m. Athletics— In preparation for the Junior Olympics, regis-tration is now open with forms available in the office and the community center. Practices for our basketball, vol-leyball, and soccer teams are underway. Basketball, coed, 7-13 years old, Wednesdays– 5p.m. Soccer, coed, 7-18 years old, Tuesdays—5:00 p.m. Volleyball, boys & girls, 13-18 years old, Thursdays—7pm Please consult the parish calendar for details. Philoptochos Scholarship: The St. Spyridon Ladies Philoptochos Society invites all interested high school seniors and current college students to apply for the St. Spyridon Philoptochos Scholarship. The winning appli-cant will receive a $1000 scholarship from Philoptochos. Applications and information are available on St. Spyri-don’s website: http://www.saint-spyridon.org. The dead-line for the completed application and supporting docu-ments is June 15, 2016. The recipient will be notified by September 1, 2016. We encourage all interested students to apply for this worthwhile scholarship! Spring General Assembly—The Spring Annual General Assembly meeting will be held on Friday, April 8th, im-mediately after the 7:00 p.m. service. It is our obligation and responsibility as parishioners of St. Spyridon Church to attend and participate in the decisions of our Church and Community. Church Bell—In preparation for the 100th Anniversary, we are starting a new project which centers around our bell and bell tower. The old Saint Spyridon Church in

Roseland had acquired a cast iron bell from the Zion Evan-gelical Lutheran Church of Chicago which had suffered a fire in the 1950’s. We hope that as we journey toward the 100th Anniversary, we can take on this endeavor and have our Saint Spyridon Bell ring once again. You can see the bell in the hallway by our bookstore. The cost of the project is $40,000, which includes the replacement of the bell-towers roofs. There is a donation box there for anyone wishing to donate toward the bell restoration, or you may contact Fr. Tilemahos at the church office. Pre-Sanctified Liturgy & Dinner—Every Wednesday during Great Lent, our church calls us to celebrate the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, which is an evening service accompanied by Holy Communion. At the conclusion of the liturgy, every parish organization hosts a pot-luck dinner for all who attend. Free will donations will be accepted to be benefit our Orthodox Missions.

The schedule of our Wednesday evening hosts is as follows: Wednesday, April 7th—Handmaidens

Wednesday, April 14th—Choir & Psaltes Wednesday, April 21st—Altar Boys

On Friday, April 23rd, the Philoptochos will host the final Pre-Sanctified Liturgy & Dinner with His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos presiding. St. Spyridon to host Metropolis Solemn Vespers—Every Sunday, during Great Lent, faithful from throughout the Chi-cago area gather in various churches to observe the Solemn Vespers service. On Sunday, April 17th, Saint Spyridon will be hosting this service with area priests and faithful being led by His Eminence. Fr. Demetrios Kounavis will be the homi-list. A small reception will follow, hosted by our Philopto-chos.

100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Our gala celebration will take place October 15, 2017, but our preparations have already begun. Beginning today during the Coffee Social, the 100th An-niversary Commemorative

Album Committee will be available during the Coffee Social to introduce parishioners to our plans for the Commemora-tive Book. The committee will show parishioners how to be a part of this very special keepsake book with family stories. Look for The Commemorative Album Committee to be available at the Coffee Social every Sunday to assist parishioners and answer questions. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to be a part of the St. Spyridon 100th celebration!

St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-6 BRETHREN, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "Thou art my Son, today I have be-gotten thee"; as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek."

The Gospel of Mark 8:34-38; 9:1 The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

Veneration of the Precious Cross On the Third Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Services include a spe-cial veneration of the Cross, which prepares the faithful for the commemoration of the Crucifixion during Holy Week. The commemoration and ceremonies of the Third Sunday of Lent are closely parallel to the feasts of the Veneration of the Cross (September 14) and the Procession of the Cross (August 1). Not only does the Sunday of the Holy Cross pre-pare us for commemoration of the Crucifixion, but it also reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ. As we have “crucified the flesh with its passions and de-sires” (Galatians 5:24), and will have mortified ourselves during these forty days of the Fast, the precious and life-giving Cross is now placed before us to refresh our souls and encourage us who may be filled with a sense of bitter-ness, resentment, and depression. The Cross reminds us of the Passion of our Lord, and by presenting to us His exam-ple, it encourages us to follow Him in struggle and sacrifice, being refreshed, assured, and comforted. In other words, we must experience what the Lord experienced during His Pas-sion - being humiliated in a shameful manner. The Cross teaches us that through pain and suffering we shall see the fulfillment of our hopes: the heavenly inheritance and eter-nal glory. As they who walk on a long and hard way and are bowed down by fatigue find great relief and strengthening under the cool shade of a leafy tree, so do we find comfort, refresh-ment, and rejuvenation under the Life-giving Cross, which our Fathers “planted” on this Sunday. Thus, we are fortified

and enabled to continue our Lenten journey with a light step, rested and encouraged. Or, as before the arrival of the king, his royal standards, tro-phies, and emblems of victory come in procession and then the king himself appears in a triumphant parade, jubilant and rejoicing in his victory and filling those under him with joy, so does the Feast of the Cross precede the coming of our King, Jesus Christ. It warns us that He is about to proclaim His victory over death and appear to us in the glory of the Resurrection. His Life-Giving Cross is His royal scepter, and by venerating it we are filled with joy, rendering Him glory. Therefore, we become ready to welcome our King, who shall manifestly triumph over the powers of darkness. The present feast has been placed in the middle of Great Lent for another reason. The Fast can be likened to the spring of Marah whose waters the children of Israel encoun-tered in the wilderness. This water was undrinkable due to its bitterness but became sweet when the Holy Prophet Moses dipped the wood into its depth. Likewise, the wood of the Cross sweetens the days of the Fast, which are bitter and often grievous because of our tears. Yet Christ comforts us during our course through the desert of the Fast, guiding and leading us by His hand to the spiritual Jerusalem on high by the power of His Resurrection. Moreover, as the Holy Cross is called the Tree of Life, it is placed in the middle of the Fast, as the ancient tree of life was placed in the middle of the garden of Eden. By this, our Holy Fathers wished to remind us of Adam’s gluttony as well as the fact that through this Tree has condemnation been abolished. Therefore, if we bind ourselves to the Holy Cross, we shall never encounter death but shall inherit life eternal

HIS EMINENCE

METROPOLITAN IAKOVOS AT ST. SPYRIDON

FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND, 6:30 P.M. His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos will officiate at the

Divine Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts.

Following the service, the Philoptochos will be hosting the Lenten Meal. All faithful are invited to attend.

Church Etiquette ♦ In order to partake of Holy Communion, one must be a baptized/chrismated Orthodox Christian, and must have prop-

erly prepared according to the instructions of his/her Confessor. ♦ Please turn off cell-phones during Church services. ♦ Enter the church only when the priest is not facing the congregation. Allow ushers to guide you. ♦ Refrain from unnecessary conversations during divine services. ♦ If your child is distracting to others, do not be embarrassed. They are only children. If they continue to disturb, how-

ever, you are requested to take your child to our ‘cry room’. ♦ Faithful that are visiting for a memorial are to sit in the reserved front pews. The reserved pews may be filled on a first

come basis. ♦ Once the Divine Liturgy has already started, please refrain from coming up to place candles in the ‘kolyva’ tray.

Please join us on

Sunday, April 24th

Immediately following the Divine Liturgy the Philoptochos Invites you to a

Palm Sunday Luncheon

Adults $20.00 Children $7.00

Please make your reservations by April 19th