|
The Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in the Temple
|
The Holy Prophet
Zacharias (Zachariah)
|
Theodore the Tyro,
Great Martyr
|
|
Sunday of the
Publican and Pharisee
|
The Holy Great Martyr Photine, Samaritan Women
February 26 |
|
|
 |
|
Dear Family and Friends,
"How Narrow is THE WAY"
Have you ever heard anyone say "Take it easy...make sure you don't work too hard." When using these words we are emphasizing that life should be easy, that we should enjoy what we are doing in life and not have to "over do it." It is this attitude that makes life difficult for us as Orthodox Christians. We are called to not walk on a wide path but a very narrow one!
Let us remember the words of Christ, that gives us direction on this narrow path, "Take up thy cross and follow me." This is not a statement, this IS a Command! How many times do we hear the words from Scripture and we prefer to grumble when things don't go our way, or we don't want to listen to Christ when He says "the servant is not greater than his Master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you."
In life we seek compliments and recognition.We try our hardest to create comfortable settings for us and our loved ones and we do our best to isolate ourselves from pain and sorrow. And where does our complacency sometimes show?...in our attitude towards our neighbor. How little we care to exert ourselves for the sake of another...but how else are we to expect to show our love for Christ?
The Gospel gives us no excuses! "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." How many times have you thrown up your hands and said..."that's it. I'm done...why do I always have to be the nice one?" We must not try...BUT DO! Even without love, try and make an effort to reach out to a neighbor (not someone you know very well or there is mutual respect) to make even a small gesture of concern. Remember...if we struggle to take this first step, we shall with the help of God, gradually grow in love!
We must also remember that we are in this life to please our Lord and NO ONE else! Our efforts must always be made for His sake, and not because we hope that others will think well of us or return the favor. We have therefore no reason to be proud of ourselves when we accomplish something good because we hear in Luke 17:10 "When you shall have done all those things which you are commanded, say 'we are unprofitable servants for we have done that which was our duty to do'.'" We can avoid falling into the pitfall of pride by clinging to our Lord and His Church.
With love in the Lord,
Father Demetri Costarakis
|
|
Children's Word
Written by Presbytera Alexandra Houck
|
|
|
Dear Saint Nicholas Parish Family:
This is an exciting post to step into, especially with the extraordinary 2016 Parish Council in place:
Leo Panagiotou (vice president), Judy Gray (secretary), Marcy Norse (treasurer), Tony Gray (stewardship), Elie Tamer (finance), Leto Papadopoulos (assistant secretary), Robert DeVasto, Rick DiOrio, Meli Papayannis, Alyssa Psyhojos, Bill Sager, Pam Saledas, Joan Tarkulich and Nicholas Zervoglos.
Congratulations to the Greek School students that recently presented on the life of the Three Hierarchs following Divine Liturgy and later continued the celebration at the Maleotis Center where they received certificates for having completed the Ellinomathia exam last May. Bravo!
Kudos also to our Health & Wellness ministry members for completing Blizzard Blast, a 5K winter obstacle course, with flying colors!
We are in the process of collecting 2016 Stewardship forms and not asking for your commitment payment now, but for you to complete the pledge form which also allows us to know more about you and your family and how to better plan our activities.
May we continue to receive God's blessings as we work at making St. Nicholas our sacred place of love and joy for our families.
Thank you,
Maria Decoulos
617-645-1684
|
|
STEWARDSHIP
Dear St. Nicholas Parish Family,
From Stewardship Sunday in December to the present, there has been a great response with the number of individuals and families submitting a completed Stewardship Pledge form. Thank you! If you have not yet had the opportunity to do so, please take a moment, with prayerful guidance, to download and complete the Stewardship form, also found on the home page of our website.
And to those who have already submitted their forms, please again review your commitment and in particular, the Time and Talent portion of the Stewardship form. There are a great number of ministries that could benefit from your time and talents! Baking Proforo, welcoming new members of our parish family, several outreach ministry possibilities and all aspects of maintenance, to name a few!
Finally, I would like to thank my St. Nicholas family for allowing me to again serve on the parish council and in the role of Stewardship Chair. I am humbled by this opportunity and welcome others who may be interested in this exciting ministry!
With God's blessings,
|
|
GREEK SCHOOL
Kalo Mina! The Greek School is doing very well. The students come to class prepared and work hard to complete their lessons. Recently, some of the students showed an interest in mythology. In addition to their workbooks they will also have a short lesson on mythology. Other young students play games and sing songs in order to sharpen their learning skills. It is amazing how much they learn in a year!
On January 31 after the Divine Liturgy ,we celebrated the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day. Ellie Pandekidou, and Rena and Sofia Khoury presented the life of each of the Three Hierarchs. They all did an amazing job. Later on that day, there were presentations, poems and dances at the Maleotis Center in Brookline . The students who took the Ellinomathia exam last May received their certificates. Congratulations to all the students.
On February 14, there will not be any Greek School because of Winter Break. We have begun planning the annual Apokreatiko Glendi which will be held on
March 5
The children practice dancing every Saturday after classes in order to perform their best for you. There will be a DJ and lots of delicious Greek foods. We hope that you will come to have a good time and support the Greek School. More information will be in the weekly bulletin prior to the event.
|
|
ST. IRENE'S PHILOPTOCHOS
Vasilopita Sunday was a great day and enjoyed by all. Fr. Demetri's idea to have parishioners bake the Vasilopitas using their own recipes produced an excellent variety of very delicious pitas. We had 27 of them and we collected $300 for the St Basil's Academy. Thanks to all for their generous donations.
For our other National commitments - the Social Services Fund, the Cancer Fund, the Autism Assistance Fund, St. Photios Shrine - we have sent a total of $400. We also voted to send $50 to Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry. This money will be used for prayer books and bibles for the prisoners
By now you have all received our stewardship letters. We invite all women over 18 to join our ministry and help us meet the National and Metropolis per capita requirements and the growing list of 30-40 charities we support. Thanks to Pam Brown for chairing the stewardship and to all of you who support us.
At the National Convention of 2014, our St. Irene's Chapter was one of those chosen (one from each Metropolis), to implement a service project for two years. We have decided to conduct food drives, in a bigger way, to help out with the Food Pantry at the Church of the Redeemer. We have been delivering food to the pantry and donated $100 to the Lexington Eat Together project. However, we need to find more effective ways to support this ministry and remind all about the real need for food to needy families in Lexington. So, please remind the young people to bring something for the food pantry as they come to Church on Sunday. We will report to you more at our next monthly.
We also received a call from the Metropolis of Boston to participate, once again, in the "Operation Housewarming". Operation Housewarming was established several years ago to assist homeless veterans in their transition to independent living. Today this ministry is thriving and growing stronger with each passing day due to the overwhelming support and generosity of all the Philoptochos chapters and parish communities at large. The overwhelming response to this ministry has enabled the Metropolis of Boston Philoptochos to assemble and distribute approximately 200 large housewarming baskets to date to VA Medical Centers within our Metropolis particularly the Medical Centers in Bedford and Brockton. St Irene's Chapter has delivered baskets in the past to the Bedford Medical Center. We would like to undertake this project once again. Details and flyer with the "wish list" will follow in the near future.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday, February 7, following the Divine Liturgy. Hope you can make it!
Thank you and God Bless,
|
|
TEEN & ADULT CHOIR
Meets Thursday nights at 7:00pm. Join us!
|
PRAYER LIST
Pondering on the words of St. Paul, "Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's wellbeing. (I Cor. 10:24).
Give rest to the weary, visit the sick, support the poor, for this is also worship. Aphahat
For any prayer concern (salvation, health, employment, stress and anxieties, etc.) please send baptismal names only to:
st.nicholas.lex@verizon.net
We may not be able to help others materially or medically, but God does hear our prayers and always asks us to pray for each other and so build up the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).
|
|
|
Messages
|
Souper Bowl of Caring
GOYA Red Carpet Semiformal Dance
Saturday
, February 27
flyer
Apokreatiko Glendi
Saturday, March 5 See
flyer
Sunday Fellowship Hour
During the year, many have come forward to host a Sunday Fellowship Hour and we thank them so much. It is part of our Sunday and we all look forward to it as an opportunity to meet and greet fellow parishioners and visitors. However, there are some Sundays that no one has signed up and the decision is made to serve only coffee. Should this occur, no one should feel the need to run out and purchase anything. Although this appreciated, it is not necessary. Thank you.
Not Receiving Church Material?
If you have not been receiving church material/mailing or emails, please contact the church office at
781-862-6453 or email st.nicholaslex@verizon.net Thank you.
Monthly Bulletin Personal or Business Ad
If you are interested in placing a personal or business,
please contact the church office at 781-862-6453 or email st.nicholaslex@verizon.net
|
|
|
Events & Photos
|
Members of the Health & Wellness ministry recently completed Blizzard Blast, a 5K winter obstacle course. Sure looked like fun! See
Photos
|
|
|
|
Baptism
On January 2, 2016, the son of Anastasios and Vera Theodorou of Dallas, Texas was baptized and given the name Apostoli Stone. The sponsor was Christina Kalafatis.
|
Baptism
On January 16, 2016, the son of Peter and Allson Katsoulis was baptized and given the name Nikolas. The sponsor was Alexander Meletakos.
|
Falling Asleep
On January 6, 2016, a funeral service was celebrated for Peter Philliou, husband of Helen Philliou and father of James, Thea and Christine Philliou.
|
|
|
