THE ORTHODOX WAY
April 2017
 Dear St. Nicholas Family,

With Great and Holy Week just around the corner, please see the schedule of services to attend, and remember to invite a friend. Kali Anastasi!
Archdiocese and Metropolis News



Internet Ministry Department Helps Families with Internet Safety

Please join us on Lazarus Saturday, April 8, following the Divine Liturgy for:
A pancake breakfast, palm cross making and candle cup placing! Church clean up and prep for Great and Holy Week!
 
We will also be offering a Prosforo workshop to bake all the offering breads to be used during Great and Holy Week. If you plan to participate, please bring a bowl, spoon, kitchen towel and measuring cup. The workshop will be going on while others are participating in the above activities.


PASCHA EGGS - A sign up roster is posted for those who would like to donate one or two dozen red, cooked eggs for Easter. Eggs should be delivered to the Church during Holy Week, but no later than Holy Thursday morning, April 13. Your response to this appeal is greatly appreciated.
 
MARK YOUR CALENDAR -
Many Hands Needed!
 
  • Tues, April 11, 10am - Prep flowers for Epitaphion
  • Holy Thursday, April 13, 10:30am - Wrap Easter Eggs
  • Holy Friday, April 14, 9:00am - Decorate Epitaphion


Godparent Sunday, April 23rd (Sunday after Pascha)
All Godparents are invited to attend the Divine Liturgy to pray with thei r Godchildren and to Receive Holy Communion with them. Be in Church on this special day and let the Godparents thank the Lord for their Godchildren, and let the Godchildren renew their love and devotion for the Lord and their Godparents.

We also encourage all Godparents to attend Church School with their Godchildren. There will also be a special breakfast for all to enjoy in the Church Hall.  
In This Issue
Quick Links
Parish Council
Contact Info
Sunday Worship
Orthros 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 9:30am
Did you know EFT and credit card payments can be made online to 
St. Nicholas?
Support Lou's PMC Ride

Be the Bee

Lives of the Saints


Fifth Saturday of Lent

Lazarus Saturday
  
Great and Holy Pascha

Renewal Tuesday

Thomas Sunday
April 23
Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women
Father Demetri's Message
Dear Parish Family Member,

Most of us know that Pascha and Christmas are two times during the calendar year that people are most likely to attend church, yet, did you know there are far more people who would attend if they had a simple invitation?

Recently a Christian blogger and researcher polled over 300 non-churched people, and found that ninety-six percent of them are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited! That's an astounding statistic as the translation is that 9 out of 10 would at least consider attending if someone would take the time to invite them.

This is both challenging and sobering at the same time. When we think about the times we have "thought about" inviting someone to attend services here at St. Nicholas, and just put it out of our minds quickly as too difficult, this statistic brings us back to reality... an exciting reality! Even if only 1 out of 10 invited would come and enter into a relationship with Christ, aren't they worth the effort? Absolutely!

This year, this letter, is meant to encourage you to take the time to make a list of people you will invite to services for Great and Holy Week. We are not referring to people who already have a church to attend, but someone who has not attended church recently, have never attended services in the Orthodox Church or perhaps has never attended church. That may be difficult to fathom, but there are still people who have never attended church for anything other than a wedding or a funeral.

Think about it... someone you know could thank you for all of eternity for that time you took out of your schedule to invite them here to St. Nicholas, where they will witness the beautiful services, the readings and hymnology of Great and Holy Week and who knows, maybe become members of our Parish family.

Psalm 121:1 (122) says, "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." Let us make sure that we invite and welcome those who are thirsting for The Truth, The Way, The Life and The Light!

Let us fill our Lord's House with people excited to be here, and those who may not be sure about it, but will figure it out as The Divine Services speaks to their hearts!

With Love in the Lord,

Fr. Demetri Costarakis            Maria A. Decoulos
Presiding Priest                      Parish Council President

Please consider offering your gift of love to support Christ's work here at St. Nicholas. We ask that you prayerfully and faithfully make your donation to our Church which is always in need of your prayers and love. In addition, please know that your financial support helps enable all the ministries we offer to the members of our parish family. You may donate online here. Thank you.
Orthodoxy in the News
Holy New Martyr Paul the Russian and Freedman
Children's Word
Written by Presbytera Alexandra Houck
How do you serve?
Ministry News
CHURCH SCHOOL 
Be a part of St Nicholas' Holy Friday Retreat!

We need parents to assist in organizing and running our Church School Retreat. The more help we have, the better the experience is for our children. Please be a part of this beautiful day -  contact Lariza or Amantha.  

Lariza Panagiotou: larizap@earthlink.net
Amantha Tsaros: amanthatsaros@gmail.com 
GREEK SCHOOL 
Καλό Μήνα. April has arrived and we already see some signs of spring in the air. On April 8, we will not have classes. Instead we would like the children to attend Church for Saturday of Lazarus. Afterwards, they will make the crosses for Palm Sunday and enjoy a pancake breakfast. April 15th is Holy Saturday and we will not have classes.  

On March 26 we celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation and Greek Independence Day. The students presented their poems and sang patriotic songs, and finished the program with some beautiful dances. We are very proud of them because they worked so hard to prepare for this event. We thank all the parents and grandparents, Godparents and friends for staying.
 
On April 30, we hope that you join St. Nicholas to march in the Independence Day Parade.

We wish all of you Καλή Ανάσταση and that you enjoy Easter with your family and friends. Καλό Πασχά! 
PHILOPTOCHOS  
Thank you to all who have sent in their stewardship for 2017. We will be submitting names to National Philoptochos at the end of April. If you have not already submitted your stewardship, please do so soon.

Our flower collection for the Kouvouklion and the icons flowers went well. There is still time to send a donation, if you would like.

Our March commitments to National were: OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center) $150; SAMP (Support a Mission Priest) $200. On March 19, we passed a tray for the Hellenic College/Holy Cross Lenten Event. We collected $350 which we will match and send another $350 directly to the Hellenic College. We also voted to support Lou Saledas' ride for the Pan Mass Challenge with a $300 donation.

Our April commitments will be to the Sisterhood of Saint Basil Academy, and to IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities).

Upcoming events:
On April 30th, our parish will participate in the March 25th Boston Greek Independence Day Parade. We have booked a bus to take us there after the Divine Liturgy and bring us back. Please call the office to reserve your place on the bus.

St. Irene's will be hosting the fellowship hour on Palm Sunday.

Holy Thursday morning, we will be wrapping the eggs for Pascha. Many hands make light work, so please join us!

Holy Friday we will be decorating the Kouvouklion.  Again, many hands are needed to finish this task in time for the service in the afternoon.

Hope to see many of you during Holy Week, and then at our Next Meeting Tuesday, April 18!

Lela Digenis, President 
STEWARDSHIP REPORT
"To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritual needy, ever dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, and your food and the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing that no day should pass without fervent prayer of thanksgiving, for guidance and forgiveness and strength sufficient for each day's need. " Harold B. Lee, "Decisions for Successful Living"

All that we have, all that makes us who we are, are gifts from God. Are we good stewards of what the Lord has given to us? Will we hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Matthew 25:23.

Please prayerfully consider the talents you have, and how you can use them to glorify God. If you have already submitted your 2017 Stewardship Commitment form, thank you! Now that the first quarter of 2017 has passed, please consider reevaluating your commitment. If you haven't submitted your form, there are 9 months left in 2017 to express your stewardship, and the form can be found on our homepage and here. 

Stewardship is intensely personal and different for each of us. Is a commitment of the equivalent of a cup of coffee each day ($3/per family/day) an accurate symbol of our belief that we are ever dependent on the Lord for all that we have?  What do you prayerfully feel is appropriate for you?

Based on the historical number of families who return Stewardship Commitment forms, $3/day per family would exceed this year's goal by $30,000.  What a powerful thought!

A summary of treasure through 3/28/17:
2017 Stewardship goal: $177,625
Total pledged amount: $132,840
Number of families pledging: 123

A Blessed Lent and Holy Week to all!

With love in Christ,
Tony Gray
awgray.jr.@gmail.com 
HEALTH & WELLNESS
We have been meeting for Thursday afternoon exercise class and it has been fun! During Great Lent, however, we will not be meeting for the Thursday group. Instead, we will be having exercise class after services on Monday and Wednesday and possibly Friday evenings.  
 
We can tailor the exercise to ANY fitness level.  Please join us! Wishing everyone a Blessed Great Lent.
Judy Gray 
2017 ST. NICHOLAS MINISTRY AWARDS RECIPIENTS
We are pleased to announce that this year's St. Nicholas recipients are Lariza and Leo Panagiotou. Congratulations to them both for their many years of service to our church.  

The awards banquet will be on Sunday, June 11 at Lombardo's, in Randolph, MA. Reception is at 5:30pm and dinner at 6:30pm. Tickets: $75. If you would like to purchase tickets, please contact the church office at 781-862-6453. 
AGAPE GROUP
"Wonders of the National Parks" presented by the Agape Group

Do you know how many national parks exist in the United States? How many have you visited? Most people have only been to one or two. To visit them all would take a lot of time and money since they are found all over the country. However, now there is an opportunity to visit them all, at least visually, in the new series of "Lectures by DVD" to be presented by the Agape Group at St. Irene's Hall starting on Thursday, January 12.

The lecturer is Ford Cochran, the Program Director for National Geographic Expeditions and an accomplished geologist. The lectures will include a discussion of the geological history of each park and will be accompanied by beautiful pictures by the National Geographic photographers. Each lecture will be one-hour long from 11:00am to 12:00pm. There will be eighteen weekly lectures.

By the way, there are fifty-nine National Parks in the United States.
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 
 
Sunday Fellowship Hour
A gentle reminder to all Fellowship hosts: Please keep in mind that families hosting coffee hour (children's table and main table) are responsible for clean up after completion. We appreciate your help with keeping our parish clean and treating it as your own home...because it is! 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 ad,  please contact the church office at 781-862-6453 or email st.nicholaslex@verizon.net
Announcements



On March 28, the funeral service for Anna Anargirou was celebrated at St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church. She was the mother of Pauline Sager and grandmother of Amanda and Andrew Sager.
On March 31,  a private service was held for the passing of Eleanor Theodore.




St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church | (781) 862-6453 | st.nicholas.lex@verizon.net | http://stnicholaslex.org/
17 Meriam Street, Lexington, MA 02420