august 2014

THE WORD

Featured Article The Gifts of the Magi: The Spirit of Stewardship By Fr. Luke A. Veronis

The Gifts of the Magi icon presents the Wise Men offering gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ Child. These wealthy scholars and priests of the East endured numerous dangers, and traveled great distances to offer their treasures to Christ, the newborn king. What a beautiful and meaningful example of stewardship they set for all future generations, helping us to understand the blessing of properly using and sharing God’s gifts.

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CHECK US OUT AT WWW.KIMISISNY.ORG

…continued on page 5

The Monthly Newsletter of the Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church, Poughkeepsie, NYAugust 2014

The Word | Ο Λογος August 2014

Table Of Contents !Contact Us 3 Get Involved 4 Featured Article (….continued from cover page) 5 Father’s Corner 7 Featured Feast 10 The Sayings of our Holy Fathers and Mothers 11 Liturgical Schedule 12 Parish Calendar 14 Featured Saint 15 President’s Corner 16 Ministry Updates 18 Financial Report 21 Stewardship List 22 From The Church Registry 23

�2Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church


Contact Us !Our Office (Tues-Thurs 10am-2pm for Aug & Mon-Fri 10am-2pm beginning in Sept )

Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church (845) 452-0772 [email protected] 140 South Grand Avenue Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

!Our Priest:

Father Gregory Patsis (845) 475-5673 [email protected]

!Our Parish Council:

Anestis Karpalis (845) 464-4516 [email protected] President

George Tsinias (845) 464-2539 [email protected] Vice President

John Giogakis (845) 901-7582 [email protected] Treasurer

Georgia Verven (914) 475-6007 [email protected] Secretary

Marian Rassias (917) 655-4059 [email protected] Corresponding Secretary

Dixie Moustakas (914) 475-4650

Hrisoula Papadopoulos (845) 264-1307 [email protected]

Telly Simou (914) 475-5480 [email protected]



Get Involved


Items Needed! Each year brings us new hopes and new opportunities; yet there are some things that remain constant and they are the upkeep of our Holy Altar and the upkeep of our liturgical vessels as well as other items unique to the Holy Altar. Below is a list of items and expense for the various liturgical items required for the upkeep of our Holy Altar. My hope is that you will support our Liturgical Ministry by making a donation towards one or several of the various needs listed. May God continue to bless you and your family!

• Altar Candles (Natural Beeswax) $1,000.00 (Annual)

• Gold-plating of Liturgical Vessels $1,000.00 (Annual)

• Repair/Replacement of Altar Cloths $2,000.00 (Seasonal)

• Flower Decorations (Icons for Feast Days throughout year) $500.00 (Annual)

!When making payment, please indicate that your donation is: ALTAR DONATION

Volunteers Needed! As a home, our church home here at Kimisis has its needs as well. The first step in getting involved is, of course, stepping forward. Then it is off to work! So what can you do to help your Church?

Interested in Ministry? Currently there are a number of active church ministries. These include: Stewardship Ministry (1st Thursday of the month); Building & Maintenance Ministry (3rd Tuesday of the month); Finance Ministry (2nd Thursday of the month); and the Hellenic Center Ministry (2nd Tuesday of the Month). Please come and join any of these ministries or if there is a particular need that we need to address, please let us know so that we can begin the process of filling this need. All the aforementioned ministry meetings begin at 7pm. More ministry information is available in the ministry reports below.

Would you like to help us before, during and after church services? There are many things that happen during a service. We need: Greeters, Ushers, Candilonaftes (Take care of candles)

Handy with Floorwork? The women's bathroom on the second floor of the church needs some floor repairs. Think you can help and have some free time to give a hand? Please let us know.


Featured Article (….continued from cover page) !To begin with, the Magi represent a sincere desire to seek after God, searching through science, nature, and their cultural traditions to communicate with their Creator and discover His will for them, even when it was something so unexpected. Imagine their long, arduous journey, possibly a 1500 mile expedition from Persia to Bethlehem, over mountains and deserts, a journey that took many months. Surely on such a trip they faced numerous dangers from nature, from bandits, and from the fear of the unknown.

What faith, determination and sacrifice they must have had. They surely faced questions and skepticism at the start. During their journey, unexpected challenges and discouraging setbacks would have been commonplace. Yet they persevered. They overcame the difficult trials and tests of their journey, and persisted in their search for God’s truth.

When they finally met the Christ Child, they bowed down in worship. They offered Jesus the most precious of their gifts. Although they were the “wise men” of their day, they didn’t allow their ego to interfere with their unexpected discovery. Even when the journey surprisingly took them beyond the king’s palace in Jerusalem to the insignificant village of Bethlehem, they went forward in faith. Everything seemed so astonishing, and yet in humility they approached the Christ Child to worship Him and offer the best of their gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Story of the Magi is not simply a cute part of Christmas, but it represents central characters who model a path of faith and stewardship worthy of imitation. They offer an example of a sincere search for God using the intellectual gifts they possessed; a willingness to overcome any obstacles or challenging inconveniences in their journey towards God; and the witness of offering the best they had once they encounter the Christ Child.

In connection with this inspiring story of the Magi, we can also reflect on St. John Chrysostom’s words, “The rich man is not the one who has much, but the one who gives much. For what one gives away, he keeps for all eternity.” Both the Magi and Chrysostom offer a challenging perspective of Christian Stewardship. We are called to understand that all we have in life - from life itself, to our intellectual abilities and specific talents, as well as to our faith experiences and material possessions – all we have in life is a gift from God, and each of us is called to act as a proper and good steward of these gifts.

Think about how the Magi were conscientious stewards with their knowledge, experience and wisdom, as well as stewards of their time and effort, which culminated in their good stewardship of their treasure. St. John Chrysostom highlights that true wealth comes through sharing what we have first received from God Himself. Ultimately, whatever we have isn’t ours! All is God’s, and we are simply caretakers of His riches. As we learn to generously give of ourselves, of our time, talents and treasure, we only increase our wealth and make eternal investments.

Christian Stewardship is all about becoming good caretakers of all that God has given us. Think about all that God has given us – our health, our family, our opportunities in life, our intelligence, our talents. God has given each of us special and unique gifts. And through Holy Scripture He teaches us all that we have is a loan. He lends everything to us, and reminds us that one day He will ask us



to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with the gifts He has given us. How have we used our time, our talents, and our treasure? Have we used them in a self-centered way or God-glorifying ways? Archbishop Anastasios of Albania has noted that “we find ourselves by offering ourselves.” Have we learned the blessedness of generously giving to others of all we have?

Everything we have is temporal. We don’t know for how long we have it. The fundamental question, though, is how will we use all that we have for the glory of God?

One day, a person complained to his priest that the Church and Christianity is one continual “give, give, give.” To which the priest replied, “Thank you very much for the finest definition of Christianity I have ever heard. Your right, Christianity is all about a constant “give, give, give”; God giving His only Son to the world to show His unconditional love. His Son Jesus giving His life on the cross to forgive our sins and destroy death. Then our Lord’s disciples giving all they had to make sure God’s Good News of love was preached to all people everywhere. They not only gave away their homes and businesses, but even gave up their lives as martyrs in gratitude to God! And after all that giving of God to the world, yes, God does ask His followers of today to imitate His own generosity by giving – by offering back from all that He ultimately has given each person! So, yes, the Church and Christianity is one continual “give, give, and give,” but from a good and holy perspective!

The Gifts of the Magi and the words of St. John Chrysostom help clarify our understanding of Christian Stewardship and what it means to act as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.



Father’s Corner Thoughts and Reflections by Rev. Gregory S. Patsis, Proïstamenos Kimisis tis Theotokou, Poughkeepsie, NY

!Is the Church an Organization or is She an Organism?

Seeing the Church with a different set of eyes

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping,

administrating and various kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:27-28)

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, (Colossians 1:24)

!First, I want to share with you the great joy that I feel that we are finally “back online”; yes, it’s taken nearly one year. It is a stark reminder of what we suffer as a parish when we lose a strong, committed member, in this case Nicholas Sialmas of blessed memory (may his memory be eternal). Amongst the myriad of stewardship activities that Nick was involved in, not only here at the parish but also on the national and regional level, one of them was overseeing our monthly newsletter. I know that our beloved Niko, who assists us now from his blessed place in heaven. shares my joy in this newsletter.

I know that Nick would also appreciate the topic that I have selected, the one that begins with the question: is the Church an Organization or is She an Organism? I know this because Nick understood that our very salvation depends on answering it correctly; this means that it is a very important question. As you can see by the verses of Scripture above and so many more that I could have selected, the answer is a decidedly and emphatic “YES!!” the Church is an organism and as an organism, She has Her own principles and characteristics that give Her life making Her a living, breathing organism; and as such, She needs to be properly nourished and taken care of. And the type of organism the Church is most often understood to be is that of a body, the Body of Christ.

Okay, what does this mean then that the Church is an organism, a Body, the Body of Christ? Well, for one thing, it really compels us to look at Her as one requiring tender loving care; one whose health is important. For which body does not need to be healthy? So, when we look at ourselves, the living breathing presence of Jesus Christ in the Mid-Hudson region as the Parish of Kimisis tis Theotokou, what is our immediate sense; can we say that the Body of Christ, our parish, that which we have been given responsibility over to take care of, is a healthy body?

I would think that most of us, if we were absolutely honest with ourselves in assessing the health of the Body of Christ, would say that although there are some good and healthy aspects of our church, there are some other trends, “lagging indicators” that suggest we have serious health issues; a few of the more apparent of these are: the decrease in worship attendance, especially that of Sunday



and the major Feast Days of the Church along with the diminishing number of stewards meaningfully dedicated to ministry and the decreased amount of giving, the amount of money received by the parish. These are some very serious issues strongly suggesting that our parish, the living and breathing presence of the Body of Christ in our community, is not as healthy as we would like Her to be. So, I think that we all agree that our parish, the living, breathing Body of Christ in our area, is in need of some immediate TLC; yet do we know exactly what “medicine,” what treatment She needs?

There are those that counter that these trends, the so-called “lagging indicators” of a parish’s health are not unique to our parish of Kimisis tis Theotokou here in Poughkeepsie, NY and in some cases, are more prevalent than not throughout the entire archdiocese; well, those who counter in this way may, for the most part, are correct: indeed, we are not the only parish whose needs a healthy “check up.” Well, does this mean; that we must accept “reality” and give up; that our beloved Body of Christ, our parish of Kimisis tis Theotokou is too “sick” to doing anything about it?

Perhaps, the best way to answer this question is to ask ourselves: Have we done everything that needs to be done to get our “patient,” our church to be healthy? Have we exhausted every option to make our parish the parish that we have always envisioned her to be? If you have answered “yes” to either of these questions, meaning we have exhausted all possibilities and there is nothing more that we can do to make our parish the healthy, vibrant, and growing church that we know She can be, then the only thing I have to suggest is: get out of the way and let those who can tend to Her provide Her with the love that She needs. I know firsthand that there are some, perhaps not many but a good number of parishioners who believe otherwise; those who know that there is more that we can do to get our “patient,” our church to be healthy and that there are more options yet to be exhausted that will make Her to be what we have always envisioned her to be.

It is these kind of parishioners that I look forward to working with as we give our great and holy parish a thorough “physical” and determine what needs to be done to not only make Her healthy again, but to be the very best Christ-centered witness of Orthodoxy anywhere.

!Some Thoughts on the Parish

This past July, something unprecedented happened here at our parish that gives me a great deal of hope that our beloved parish of Kimisis tis Theotokou is on the verge of experiencing a rebirth, on the verge of experiencing true and authentic parish growth and that was simply the attendance and presence of Mr. Anestis Karpalis, your Parish Council President to the Clergy Laity Congress in Philadelphia, Pa. You see, with Anestis’ attendance, he became the first delegate ever from our parish to attend a national church meeting; and when he did, he became the first parishioner to cast a vote for changes to our UPR and other matters related to church life that effect each and every one of us. But it was more than this, it meant that you, the church parishioner, came to meet delegates and other faithful parishioners from across the archdiocese to discuss issues concerning their parishes and to learn from each other what is available to grow and make our parish healthier; this was done through and by Anestis Karpalis as now you can approach him and ask him questions about what he saw and what he learned about our church in America, the living and breathing presence of the Body of Christ here in our nation.



!Yes, it was Anestis who attended the national meeting of the church also referred to as the Clergy Laity Congress, but it was your parish council, your parish leadership that approved and supported his attendance by securing the finances necessary for his attendance; so, yes, it was only one of us, in this case Anestis, who sacrificed his personal time (which also means lost income and opportunity) to attend this important and critical meeting of our church, but one is better than none; and it also was our parish council willing to demonstrate and provide true leadership that permitted him to attend. So, we have one parishioner willing to sacrifice his time for the good of our parish and we have a parish council willing to provide leadership that all adds up to one thing: we have a beginning; I’d say that this is a very, very good thing, one that will lead us towards parish health that leads to parish growth.

It only a beginning and yes, more will be required; but every good and useful outcome has a beginning and this was certainly our beginning. As your pastor, I couldn’t be more proud and delighted about our parish. So, I strongly urge you to take Anestis aside and ask him about his experience at the Clergy Laity meeting and ask him what you can do to keep the momentum going in the right direction; I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be delighted to share with you the insights he gained and what he learned of what we can do together to address the concerns and issues we face as a parish. I leave you with this quote from the Apostle Paul:

!Unity in the Body of Christ

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit,

just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

!But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift…The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to

equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full

stature of Christ.

(Ephesians 4:1-13)

!Ὁ Θεὸς να σας φυλλάσει!

May God protect and keep you all!



Featured Feast !Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Our Lord had spoken to His disciples many times not only concerning His Passion, Cross, and Death, but also concerning the coming persecutions and afflictions that they themselves would endure. Since all these evils were near at hand, but the enjoyment of good things which they hoped to receive in their stead was yet to come, our Savior desired to give them full assurance, evidently and openly, concerning that glory which is prepared for those who endure to the end. Therefore, fulfilling that which He had promised shortly before, that "there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom" (Matt. 16:28), He took His three foremost disciples and ascended Mount Tabor, where He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light. Suddenly, together with this dread and marvelous effulgence of light, there appeared those pinnacles of the Prophets, Moses and Elias, who spoke with the Lord Jesus concerning His saving Passion which was about to take place. Standing before Him as reverent servants, they showed that He is the Lord of both the living and the dead, for Moses came forth from Hades, having died many centuries before, and Elias, as it were from heaven, whither he had been taken up while yet alive. After a little while a radiant cloud overshadowed them and out of the cloud they heard that same voice which had been heard at the Jordan at the Baptism of Christ, testifying to the Divinity of Jesus and saying: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased; hear ye Him" (Matt. 17: 5).

Such are the marvels, truly worthy of God, celebrated in this present feast, which is an image and prefiguring of the future state of the righteous, whose splendor the Lord spoke of, saying: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun" (Matt. 13:43). It is because of this that the Kontakion of this Feast is said daily (when there is not a great feast) in the Service of the Typica in perpetual commemoration of the glory that will be the lot of the Saints. According to tradition, the Lord's Transfiguration came to pass forty days before His Crucifixion; this is why the Transfiguration is celebrated forty days before the Exaltation of the Cross.

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The Sayings of our Holy Fathers and Mothers St. Cyril of Alexandria Homily on the Parable of the Sowers

!Luke 8:4-8. And when a large multitude was gathered together and some of every city came to Him, He spoke by a

parable. “The Sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell by the way side and was trampled upon and the

birds of heaven devoured it. And other fell upon the rock and when it had sprung up, it withered away because it had no

moisture. And other fell among the thorns and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And other fell upon the good

ground and it grew up and brought forth fruit a hundredfold”. While saying these things He cried out, He that hath

ears to hear let him hear."

!“…And as to the cause of the seed on the pathways being snatched away, we see in a moment that it is the hardness of the ground. A pathway always is hard and untilled because it is exposed to everyone’s feet, nor is any seed admitted into it, but lies rather upon the surface, ready for any birds that will to snatch it away. All those therefore, whose mind is hard and unyielding do not receive the divine seed: for the divine and sacred admonition finds no entrance into them, nor do they accept the words that would produce in them the fear of God and by means of which they could bring forth as fruits the glories of virtue. They have made themselves a beaten and trampled pathway for unclean demons, yea, and for Satan himself, such as never can bear holy fruit. Let those therefore awake, whose heart is sterile and unfruitful: open your mind, receive the sacred seed, be like productive and well-tilled soil, bring forth unto God the fruits that will raise you to an incorruptible life: guard your mind, shut the entrance against the thief, drive away from your hearts the flocks of birds, in order that the seed may abide with you; that ye may be ground luxuriant in corn, and very fertile, and rich abundantly in bringing forth fruit."

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Liturgical Schedule !FRIDAY, AUGUST 1ST PROCESSION OF THE HOLY CROSS

Orthros: 8:00am"

Divine Liturgy: 9:00am"

!SUNDAY, AUGUST 3RD Eighth Sunday of Matthew

Altar Group One"

!WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6TH TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD, GOD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

Orthros: 8:00am"


!SUNDAY, AUGUST 10TH NINTH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW

Altar Group Two"

!THURSDAY, AUGUST 14TH FOREFEAST OF THE DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS

Great Vespers: 7pm"

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 15TH DORMITION OF OUR MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, THE THEOTOKOS

Orthros: 8:00am"


!SUNDAY, AUGUST 17TH TENTH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW

Altar Group Three"

!SUNDAY, AUGUST 24TH ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW

Altar Group One"

!SUNDAY, AUGUST 31ST TWELFTH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW

Altar Group Two"

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In honor of the “Fourteen Days of August,” a time of strict fasting and constant remembrance of the Holy Theotokos, Paraklesis will be offered to the Holy Mother of God each Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening beginning August 2 through August 12 at 7:00pm. Consistent with the practice of “Worship Night at Kimisis,” Pot Luck Dinner and talk by Fr. Gregory to follow services.


….Liturgical Schedule Continued!SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th SUNDAY BEFORE THE HOLY CROSS

Altar Group Three"

!MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th THE NATIVITY OF OUR MOST HOLY LADY, THE THEOTOKOS AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY

Orthros: 8:00am"


!SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th FOREFEAST OF THE ELEVATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFE-GIVING CROSS

Great Vespers: 7pm"

Church of the Holy Cross, Middletown, NY"

!SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14th ELEVATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFE-GIVING CROSS

Altar Boy Group One"

!!!!!!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st SUNDAY AFTER HOLY CROSS

Altar Group Two"

!TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd CONCEPTION OF THE BAPTIST JOHN

Orthros: 8:00am"


!FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th TRANSLATION OF THE EVANGELIST JOHN

Orthros: 8:00am"


!SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th FIRST SUNDAY OF LUKE

Altar Group Three"

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Parish Calendar


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Featured Saint !The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary Concerning the Dormition of the Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Savior was well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the Mount of Olives, where she prayed continuously. Giving thanks to God, she returned to her house and prepared whatever was necessary for her burial. While these things were taking place, clouds caught up the Apostles from the ends of the earth, where each one happened to be preaching, and brought them at once to the house of the Mother of God, who informed them of the cause of their sudden gathering. As a mother, she consoled them in their affliction as was meet, and then raised her hands to Heaven and prayed for the peace of the world. She blessed the Apostles, and, reclining upon her bed with seemliness, gave up her all-holy spirit into the hands of her Son and God.

With reverence and many lights, and chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them, and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But one Jew, moved by malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called Gethsemane, they buried there with honor the all-immaculate body of the Theotokos, which was the source of Life. But on the third day after the burial, when they were eating together, and raised up the artos (bread) in Jesus' Name, as was their custom, the Theotokos appeared in the air, saying "Rejoice" to them. From this they learned concerning the bodily translation of the Theotokos into the Heavens.

These things has the Church received from the traditions of the Fathers, who have composed many hymns out of reverence, to the glory of the Mother of our God (see Oct. 3 and 4).!



President’s Corner !Dear Beloved Parishioners in Christ,

It has certainly been an eventful year [a long year] here at Kimisis with its share of blessings and challenges. What is both wonderful and uplifting is that the Lord is always present in His Church and is willing to help us in our struggles and celebrate with us in our joys; that is, if we allow Him. This has been a personal experience for me this year as well as a humbling and ongoing one as well. If we choose to go to Christ with our challenges whether they are personal or otherwise, answers come that bring us peace and we learn something about ourselves; we learn patience and humility that bring us closer to Christ. This experience, along with what I saw and learned in this year’s Clergy-Laity Congress in Philadelphia with Father Gregory has really solidified and strengthened my view of the organic nature of God’s Church and the very real presence of God in our lives.

The Clergy-Laity Congress really stressed the organic nature of the Church this year. As a matter of fact, the theme of this year’s Congress was “The Orthodox Christian Family: A Dwelling of Christ and a Witness of His Gospel”. This very appropriate theme clearly illustrates the Orthodox Christian family as a small representation of the Church with Christ as its head just like Christ is the head of the entire Church. In this context, we are all part of this big family as Orthodox Christians, through our baptism and participating in the sacramental life of the church through Liturgy, Confession, Holy Communion, as well as the other sacraments.

When you think about it, what can be more organic than the family? This is the way we must see the Church; as an organism. In our modern age, we often trap ourselves and view the Church through secular eyes. We tend to see it as an organization, as a corporation, and as a building. This is not what the church is. It is a living body. It is a family. It is an organism. It is driven, empowered, and guided by the power of the Holy Spirit through our love for one another and our love and desire for God. The various lectures and panels at the Clergy-Laity Congress stressed the strong correlation between the Church and the family and how one cannot really exist without the other. It really brought everything into perspective, especially in a world where the family is deteriorating and where people are becoming less and less involved in the Church and less and less connected to Christ our God. Our own world is a witness to this correlation! Another mistake we often make is that we tend to think of the Church’s health and success in terms of money and material things rather than the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit and our individual involvement in the Church through faith, worship, and doing good works. We are all called to be lights in the world and follow God’s commandments, some of which are loving, trusting, and forgiving each other as well as helping the poor, the orphan, the sick, those in prison, etc. If we do this then the human, material, and monetary resources we need to do God’s work will be provided as long as God is the focus. It is a matter of putting our faith and trust in God, through whom all things are possible.

Continuing with the momentum from this year’s Clergy-Laity Congress, Father and I are in communications with Fr. Luke Veronis (Author of this month’s Featured Article) and Fr. Jim Kordaris (Director of Stewardship at the Archdiocese) on how we as a parish can better allow and desire



Christ in our lives in order to transform them as well as our parish and the surrounding area here in Poughkeepsie, New York. God willing, they will be visiting our parish as well to grace us with their knowledge and experiences.

The question we must now ask ourselves is whether we want Christ in our lives and whether we want a relationship with Christ and one another to strengthen this organic body which is the Church. As mentioned earlier, it is our choice and our calling as Orthodox Christians. Please continue looking at the website (http://www.kimisisny.org), your emails, and future mailings for details on lectures, events, ministry meetings and worship services so that we can all come and glorify God together. Please also keep in mind that in addition to the Orthros Service and the Divine Liturgy offered every Sunday, Paraklesis to the Theotokos has been offered every Wednesday now for the past three years beginning at 7pm. This usually has been followed by a pot luck meal and discussion on the faith. I pray that you and your loved ones are doing well and pray to see you come and worship with us soon so that through prayer we can do what God has called us to do together as a family and as a Church, the body of Christ, the living God.

In Christ,

!!!Anestis Karpalis

President, Parish Council


Charity of the Month : Orthodox Christian Mission Center Spirit of Giving:

If you are interested in supporting an Orthodox charity that supports Orthodox Christians throughout the world, consider the OCMC, Orthodox Christian Mission Center. During 2013, the OCMC missionary families began their service in Albania, Kenya and Guatemala. It also welcomed back missionaries from Maldova and Tanzania. For more information and to make a donation, visit www.ocmc.org or call (904) 829-5123. OCMC, 220 Mason Manatee Way, St. Augustine, FL 32806

* Father Gregory recommends and supports that this is a legitimate charity.


Ministry Updates


Stewardship Ministry The Stewardship Ministry has the following in store for the parish for the near future….

Parish Picnic: Sunday, September 7th at Bowdoin Park at 1pm. Please prepare a basket for yourself as well as to bring something to share with others.

Stewardship Sunday: Sunday, October 5th after the Divine Liturgy. Come and see what Kimisis has to offer and get involved!

Kimisis Celebration Youth Night: Friday, October 17th. Come and help us prepare for our Kimisis Celebration together with our kids and have a good time.

Kimisis Celebration Luncheon: Sunday, October 19th. Be a part of our Kimisis Celebration and celebrate Kimisis’ 90 years here in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Finance Ministry The finance ministry has been in the process of developing a budget for this November’s General Assembly.

Building & Maintenance Ministry The building & maintenance ministry has been busy making sure that our beautiful property has been maintained and taken care of. The new chandelier has been put up in the nave of the church using the insurance monies we received. Also, new lights have been installed in the Narthex thanks to part of the money generously donated by Mr. John Zacharias to the Church. May God Bless him and his family and loved ones.

Sunday School Ministry June 1 was the last day of Sunday School followed by the annual picnic at Greenvale park. Thank You all for taking part in this important ministry. Also one of our own Bradley Delmar participated in the Oratorical Festival this year and made it to the district level. Congratulations Bradley!

Greek School Ministry Following a meeting with teachers and parents, it was decided that it would be beneficial for the Greek school classes to be held once a week on Fridays beginning in September. Graduation was held on June 5.


….Ministry Updates Continued


Youth Ministry GOYA

GOYA welcomes all youth in grades 6 - 12 to join us. Upcoming Bulletins will include information about monthly meetings and events.

Co-Advisors:

Valerie Delmar (845) 463-0610 [email protected] Teddy Karathomas (845) 473-4008 [email protected] !SAVE THE DATE!! SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20thDISTRICT GOYA EVENT AT HOLIDAY HILL RESORTProspect, CT 11:00am - 7:00 pm Join GOYA groups from the Hudson Valley, Metropolitan NY and Western CTfor a day of friendship, faith, food and fun!! More details to follow.

Greek Dance Ministry The dancers performed at the Glendi, the March 25 Greek School celebration, the May 2 Dance, International Day in Kingston, and the June festival. They have ordered new costumes and a video camera and donated to the Festival.

Greek Festival Ministry The June Festival was a success. We grossed $115,691.00. Our net was roughly $50,000. Thank you to all who gave a helping hand and supported this fundraiser for our parish. God Bless you all.

AHEPA The Christmas Party was cancelled because of the weather back in December. AHEPA aided at the Thanksgiving dinner at St. Basils, along with Philoptochos, and met with GOYA on May 4th . We honored 6 graduating Senior following the June 1st Liturgy. We were pleased to give each Senior a gift from AHEPA. Seniors were Katerina Economikos (Penn State), Christina Karathomas (Manhattanville School of Music), Colette Sofokles (Ohio University), Arianna Salotto (University of Connecticut), Aphrodite Takos (Fashion Institute of Technology), Christiana Psichas (Cornell University).

Hellenic Center Ministry The Hellenic Center is available to our parishioners and friends. If you would like to use the Hellenic Center for any event please contact the church office at 845.452.0772 or Kosta Kaselis at 845.546.4617.


….Ministry Updates Continued


Philoptochos This has been a busy year for our Philoptochos Ladies...All our events were fun and very successful; from our Wine & Cheese, Thanksgiving Dinner for St. Basil’s, Christmas gathering, Vasilopita, District Philoptochos Seminar, Palm Sunday Luncheon, Fashion Show and our End of the Year Luncheon, where we honored several of our ladies for their many, many years of devotion and hard work. It was a wonderful afternoon. We shared many old memories and created some new ones.

Our mission is love, compassion and providing comfort to the less fortunate. This past year, our chapter helped many local families in need, the Lunch Box in Poughkeepsie, shopped and delivered groceries to feed the many hungry of the area. We provided caps and gowns for several High School graduates who couldn’t afford them. This is just a few of the whom we’ve brought some relief and comfort to.

A total of $6,504.00 was gifted locally from September, 2013 through May, 2014. On a national level (400 chapters), 1.6 million dollars was distributed to Hospitals, various charities, needy individuals, national disasters and relief in Greece during their economic crisis.

We all shared in the preparation in our yearly festival and worked hard to make a successful and fun event for all who attended and supported us. As we start back up in September, we look forward to welcoming back our ladies and hope to see some new faces.

Ladies, our mission is to HELP. We need you to be able to answer that call of help when we hear it. We meet on the 1st Wednesday of each month, beginning September 3, 2014. We share fellowship and “chat”. Chat is at 6:30 pm and our meetings start promptly at 7:00 pm. We accomplish a lot and are home by 9:00 pm (in time for BRUSCO)...

November we are planning a Membership Tea to give all of the ladies in our community the opportunity to come and join this most worthy organization. It is an invitation to take a look at our past (90 years), present and our future. We need you in our present and in our future.

I would like to say a heartfelt thanks to all of our members and our community for their support in all our events. A special thanks from the bottom of my heart to our executive board for their devotion and commitment and hard work throughout the year:

Mia Polanchik- Vice PresidentGeorgia Serroukos- 2nd Vice President Georgia Chambers- SecretaryBea Kustas- Treasurer

Thank you for your love and support, for giving your God given talents to the great mission of Philanthropy.

Respectfully and With Christian Love,

Gloria Siderias, Philoptochos President.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Non-Profit Org!US Postage Paid!Newburgh, NY !Permit No. 2667

Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church 140 South Grand Avenue Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 !!RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Save The Dates!!Parish Picnic: Sunday, September 7th at Bowdoin Park at 1pm.

Stewardship Sunday: Sunday, October 5th after the Divine Liturgy.

Autumn Altar Boy Retreat: Monday of Columbus Day Weekend, October 13th.

Kimisis Celebration Youth Night: Friday, October 17th.

Kimisis Celebration Luncheon: Sunday, October 19th.

august 2014

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