The Spirit Official Publication of:

St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church Proistamenos: Rev. Fr. Philip Armstrong

2716 N. Dobson Rd., Suite 101 Chandler, Arizona 85224

Office Phone & Fax: (480) 899-3330

Website: www.st-katherine.org

Email us at office@st-katherine.org

February 2019

from our beginnings ……..

The Presentation of Our Lord

and Savior in the Temple

February 2

Apolytikion of Presentation of Our Lord

Hail Virgin Theotokos full of Grace, for Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, has dawned from you, granting light to those in darkness. And you, O Righteous Elder, rejoice, taking in your arms, the De-liverance of our souls, who grants us Res-urrection.

Kontakion of Presentation of Our Lord

Your birth sanctified a Virgin's womb and properly blessed the hands of Symeon.

Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to Your common-wealth in troubled times and strengthen

those in authority, whom You love, as only the loving One.

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Church Office Hours:

Monday-Friday 9:30 am –3:30 pm

Closed for Lunch 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Sunday Worship

8:30 am-Orthros 9:30 am-Divine Liturgy

10:40 am –Sunday School

Weekly Bulletin Deadline 12:00 p.m. on the Wednesday, one week prior to

publication.

Spirit Deadline Please note that the deadline for submission of articles or for

the Spirit is the 15th of each month for inclusion in the follow-ing month’s issue. Please remember all submissions are sub-ject to approval. Also, please help us ensure the accuracy of

your material by submitting everything in a Word document or email with pictures attached in JPG form.

Bookstore Hours

Sundays following Liturgy (in the upstairs room adjacent to choir loft)

Church E-mail Addresses

Fr. Phil: skcpriest@yahoo.com

Office: office@st-katherine.org

Church Office Administration– Marjie Thorpe

Stewardship – Gary Boyce

Church Ministries

Altar Boys…..….Nicholas Kretsedemas

Bookstore.. .Michael & Chryss Danielek

Psalti……………….....Thanasis Filippis

Dance Groups……..….Lisa Bafaloukos

GOYA………..Nick & Lisa Bafaloukos

Hrisi Parea……………..Linda Kotsakis

JOY/HOPE………... Fr. Phil Armstrong

Philoptochos………...……Linda Blazev

Sunday School……….….Maria Morton, Nicolette Wright

YAL………………….Stephanie Venetis

Church Organizations

AHEPA …………………...Leo Condos

Daughters of Penelope……..Niki Pallas

Greek Festival……...…Vange Archuleta

Hall Rental……………Vange Archuleta

Websites of Interest

Greek Archdiocese of America:

www.goarch.org

Metropolis of San Francisco: http://sanfran.goarch.org/

Rev. Philip Armstrong, Proistamenos

Parish Council

Officers:

President—Demetrios Deliz

1st Vice President -

Evangelia Archuleta

2nd Vice President -Athena Light

Secretary - Todd Wright

Treasurer-Gary Boyce

Assistant Treasurer– Marina Ambus

Members:

Chris Asbill

Zoi Benton

Mike Delos

Vicki Lampropoulos

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that hinders us from meditating on God. Inevitably, children lose their early angelic state during these teenage years, and we are to be ready for this, and not to become upset, because this is the period when we are to help them develop their minds and widen their intellectual horizon. They are to master the huge heritage of culture, of the physical sciences and humanities, and it would be a naïve and strange thing to encourage them in mysti-cal life only. We find in the holy fathers the axiom that faith is born by knowledge, and at this period we adults need to give our children a world view devoid of inner contradictions: for instance, the problem of the origin of man, the creation of the world, human history, philosophy. Page 226: Doing too much While thinking of the “doing too much” problem, I have noticed that parents today, yes Orthodox parents, sign their children and themselves up for way too many activities, so the entire life of the family revolves around these activities and not around the family and Christ. My children love days when they can just relax and read a book or play a board game together. They loved this in childhood and now too as teens and adults. Stop running them and yourself ragged. The world does not need more baseball players, soccer players, actors, and the like. Many of these sports activities cause permanent physical injuries that will be magnified and painful when they are older. If the child has a gift and can’t live without whatever it is; well, that is different. But they don’t need to be exposed to everything in the world and they do need more quiet time to discover who they are and how Christ fits into their life. Maybe the really are scientists and not soccer players.

Excerpts from Orthodox Christian Parenting Cultivating God’s Creation Available for purchase at: http://www.zoepress.us/ Page 222: Teenagers are spontaneous, and often find it hard and tiresome to pray with prayer books. What can you do if they find prayer boring? We have books from former centuries depicting the deep prayer of teenagers, even the Jesus Prayer. For example, in a famous story retold

by a pilgrim to his spiritual father, in The Way of the Pilgrim we glimpse the atmosphere of old Russian society and some interesting references to youth. But these are exceptions, because they came about

owing to the pleasing atmosphere of a nearby monastery or an ex-tremely pious family, when a teenager is surrounded not only by icons, but sees holy people with his on eyes He is imbued with piety, and

prayer becomes an inner life for him. Saint Basil the Great writes that children have a unique nature, that they are mostly physical beings. This means that they manifest themselves in outward movement, and it

wouldn’t be wise to call them to strict inner concentration, telling them to keep their minds free of thoughts and images and everything

Holy Baptism: December 27, 2018 James Molloy

Parents: Robert & Janet Molloy Godparent: Christopher Garlick

Sacraments and other services

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MESSAGE FROM FATHER

The effects of anger can be detected in all walks of human life. The tragic fruits of anger are evident to all. It has destroyed many relationships and has served as the cause of much hurt, pain and sorrow. Yet, modern thinking purports that we have a “right” to be angry. It is seen as a catalyst to motivate one to respond to apparent injustices; it is viewed as a way to swing the scales of justice in the other direction. Modern psychology says that when we fail to express our anger we bring mental and physi-cal harm upon ourselves. Yet the expression of anger toward others seems to do little in the way of building good will. We see a growing number of people that seem to have developed a liking to getting “in touch” with their anger. They find pleasure in venting and blowing off steam. We identify them as angry people. We all know them; they are readily detectable. In spite of all the knowledge that is readily accessible to man, he has made little headway in “getting a handle” on his anger. Man is confused on how to understand his anger. Is it sinful? Are there situations when it is appropriate? Is it simply a human emotion? All these questions beg an answer. The Holy Scriptures and Holy Fathers have spoken considerably on this topic. St. John Cassian teaches us that anger is a sinful passion. Anger is spiritually harmful; it hinders prayer and one’s ability to acquire or know spiritual knowledge; it prevents the ex-perience of God’s peace (St. Theophan the recluse). The anger that is ascribed to God in the Holy Scriptures is different than the fallen passion anger that we experience. You see God’s anger is directed toward the fallen spirits (demons) who aim to thwart His purposes. The an-ger directed toward fallen man is really His abandonment and the withdrawal of His protec-tion and provision; it is His discipline, not anger in a sinful sense. It is clear from the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers that we are to rid ourselves of the passion and sin of anger. The problem with anger is it is rooted in the desiring passions, especially pride (St. Mark the Ascetic) and gluttony (St. Neilos the Ascetic), when one is angry he places himself as judge over others, displaying an unawareness of his own human failure and the true dynam-ics of spiritual life. Remember the words of Jesus: “Whoever is angry with his brother hall be in danger of the judgement” (Mt. 5:22). It is common for new, zealous Christians to be tripped up by anger when they judge others who do not display the same zeal. When one is dealing with anger, he is also dealing with evil. The Holy Fathers teach us there is a demon of anger (Evagros the Solitary). He will trigger our anger through images/thoughts aimed at insulting us or others dear to us. However, there is an anger that is natural or appropriate to man. It is called “anger of the in-tellect” which assists one in obtaining purity (St. Isaiah the Solitary). This anger is directed toward the demons and one’s own passions and thoughts, not toward our fellow man. It mo-tivates one to fight the cause of sin. Continued on page 5

“Overcoming Anger through the Grace of God”

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Continued from page 4

How does one rid himself of anger?

• One must first acknowledge his anger when it is present.

• Expel the initial provocation of anger through prayer and attentiveness.

• If anger is present, it must be rid of in one day to prevent feelings of vengeance. Our anger

must not be internalized. We must seek to arrest and quench it.

• Learn to be silent.

• Be charitable; be gentle and forgiving; show God’s love.

• Strive to not be angry through words (venting is not the answer).

• Decide not to allow anything or anyone to anger you.

• Do not be surprised and angered at the sin of others.

• Be indifferent to the treatment rendered to you by others.

• Accept the thing that causes you anger. Realize that God has sent this test to you.

• Suffer the evil. “To suffer is to gain a crown of victory.”

• Meditate on the consequence of your anger.

• Remove all angry and malicious thoughts from the heart.

• Remember Christ’s humiliation; remember the Last Judgement and how anger will impact

our judgement.

• Show reverence to God with all one’s heart and faith.

• Bring our suffering to the sacraments and the life of the Church.

• Allow God to transform our anger into love.

May these reflections enable us through God’s grace to rid ourselves of anger. In Christ’s Love, +Fr. Phil [The above was taken from: Armstrong, Fr. Philip- Aspects of the Orthodox Christian Faith, Vol-ume 2: Passions, Chapter 5: Anger, 1995 (Unpublished)]

In Christ’s love,

+Fr. Phil

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DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE

Daughters of Penelope Aegina Chapter #340 News

February 2019

Our chapter will be hosting the 34

th annual Sisterhood Conference on Saturday, April 6

th,

2019 for Districts 17, 20, 21 & 22. The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Phoenix Airport. Dinner & entertainment will be “western style” at Rustler’s Rooste. District 20 Convention will be at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino this summer. More infor-mation coming soon! The Daughters of Penelope is open to all Christian women. Our objectives are to promote Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family & Individual Excel-lence. We meet on the 3

rd Monday of the month at 7p from September to June.

If interested in joining, contact Niki Pallas (480) 200-3069 or Carol Bafaloukos (480) 404-5242.

Kyra Sarakosti

*Lent begins March 11th*

Kyra Sarakosti, No mouth has she, she neither talks nor eats. She has no ears, she

does not hear gossip or idle speech. Upon her chest her crossed hands rest. All day Christ she entreats. And 7 feet, no more, no less,

has she to count the weeks.

Each Saturday of Lent we cut away one of her 7 feet. The last one we hide and the person

who finds it receives special blessings! (All proceeds to benefit St. Katherine

Church)

Available in the Church Office $10.00 each

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St. Irene Philoptochos To Keep in Touch with our St. Irene Philoptochos

*by email: saint.irene.philoptochos@gmail.com

*on Facebook: Saint Irene Philoptochos

Thank you to all who supported the 2019 Agape Ball! The funds raised through your generosity will go toward providing children and their families an all-expense paid, memorable experience at Camp Agape There is no cost to these families who otherwise may be buried with medical debt and emotional burdens. From the bus ride to and from the camp – to all the amenities at camp – all are provided. It gives the parents a chance to visit and share with other parents who are going through similar crises and it gives the children and siblings a chance to play, swim, relax – and experience other camping activities at whatever level they are able. It also provides a chance for the family to be together and relax in an environment away from hospitals and doctors offices.

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St. Irene Prayer Group

Pray simply. Do not expect to find in your heart any remarkable gift of prayer. Consider yourself unworthy of it – then you will find peace. (Elder Marcarius of Optina)

The St. Irene Prayer Group is a group of St. Katherine’s parishioners committed to pray for the needs of anyone who asks us. It was started as a group of St. Irene Philoptochos but is not limited to our members. We do not meet together to pray – we each pray individually. We are notified by email and each member is committed that when we receive an email we will go as soon as is pos-sible in our own homes, before our own icons and light a lamp or candle if we have such, and pray for the need. The emails are only sent when we receive a request for our prayers, so even though there are many needs inside and outside our parish that we are all probably individually praying about, the emails are only sent when a specific request has been received from an individual or their family. These requests are not only for health concerns but for all sorts of challenges and difficulties that arise. The Prayer Group is also committed to keeping all prayer requests and concerns confidential un-less we have permission from the person for whom we are praying to share it with others. If you would like us to pray for a specific need you can reach us through email at saint.irene.philoptochos@gmail.com or you can call the church office at 480-899-3330 and speak to Marjie who will relay the message to us. If you would like to join our group and join your prayers to ours you can use the same contacts above.

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Update from Luke

Hello All!

I hope everyone is doing well. Now that the winter break is over. Me and the GOYA

kids have been getting back into the groove of school and GOYA meetings. For this

month, I wanted to do something that would make the kids ponder and think, something

that is enjoyable, and something that is very relevant to today's environment and society.

So this month for GOYA we started watching and discussing the movie “The Help”. If

you have never seen or heard of it before, it is a fantastic movie set in the year 1963 in

Jackson Mississippi, right in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. It deals with the

topics of racism, oppression, equality, doing what's right, and many many more.

Although we have only seen the first half as of the writing of this article and will finish

the second half in our second GOYA meeting this month, the input of the kids has been

spectacular. In a world where doing what's right and standing up for fairness and love

has become more and more difficult, I was very happy and touched that the kids in our

GOYA group can see what right from wrong, and it has been my honor and pleasure to

help guide them to the right path. So, if you have seen the movie, please don’t spoil it

for us quite yet! I'm very excited to see what all the kids have to think after we finish it.

Anyways, I hope you all have a great month, and God bless.

-Luke Andruchow

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Children’s Coloring & Activity Page:

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The Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in the Temple

Apolytikion of Presentation of Our Lord

Hail Virgin Theotokos full of Grace, for Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, has dawned from you, granting light to those in darkness. And you, O Righteous Elder, rejoice, taking in your arms, the Deliverance of our souls, who grants us Resur-rection.

Kontakion of Presentation of Our Lord

Your birth sanctified a Virgin's womb and properly blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to Your commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom You love, as only the lov-ing One.

When the most pure Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary's forty days of purification had been fulfilled, she took her first-born Son to Jerusalem on this, the fortieth day after His birth, that she might present Him in the temple according to the Law of Moses, which teaches that every first-born male child be dedicated to God, and also that she might offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons, as required by the Law (Luke 2:22-24; Exod. 13:2; Lev. 12:6-8). On this same day, a just and devout man, the greatly aged Symeon, was also present in the temple, being guided by the Holy Spirit. For a long time, this man had been awaiting the salvation of God, and he had been informed by di-vine revelation that he would not die until he beheld the Lord's Christ. Thus, when he be-held Him at that time and took Him up into his aged arms, he gave glory to God, singing: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master. . ." And he confessed that he would close his eyes joyfully, since he had seen the Light of revelation for the nations and the Glory of Israel (Luke 2:25-32). From ancient times, the Holy Church has re-tained this tradition of the churching of the mother and new-born child on the fortieth day and of the reading of prayers of purification.

The Apodosis of the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple is usually on the 9th of Febru-ary. This, however, may vary if the Feast falls within the period of the Triodion. Should this occur, the Typicon should be consulted for specific information concerning the Apodosis of the Feast.

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Get a FREE BOOKLET and start planning today.

Lakeshore Mortuary

Phone: 480-838-5639

1815 S. Dobson Road Mesa, AZ 85202 Kristen Y. Robbins

Kristen.Robbins@DignityMemorial.com

www.LakeshoreMort.com

Place your business ad here!

Contact the Church Office (480) 899-3330

Prices will begin the first month your add will run and will run for 11

issues!

Size Pricing (11 issues) Per Year

Full Page $ 500.00

½ Page $ 300.00

¼ Page $ 150.00

Business Card $100.00

Square Ad $50.00

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St. Katherine Community Center

Call us today to book your Special Event!

For contact information regarding availability and costs, please call the Church Office at: (480) 899-3330

Facility Amenities

• Seating capacity for 350 plus dance floor, stage, and bar

• Full kitchen with walk-in refrigerator

• Plenty of parking • Tables and chairs available • Auditorium seating for 400 people • Reception packages available

The Spirit St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church 2716 N. Dobson Rd. Chandler, AZ. 85224

Facility Uses

• Wedding Receptions • Baptism Receptions • Quinceniera Receptions • Wedding & Baby Showers • Birthdays & Anniversaries • Banquets • Business Meetings & Conferences • Inside Basketball Court