DON'T FORGET: We spring forward one hour on Sunday, March 12. Remember to change your clocks, and to make it to Church at the right time!
TODAY, Fellowship Hour is sponsored by the Wolfe family
CHURCH CALENDAR
Weekly Services During Lent
Mondays (5:30 to 6:30 pm): Great Compline Service
Wednesdays (6 pm) and Fridays* (9 am): 9th Hour followed by Presanctified Liturgy.
(*No Pre-Sanctified Liturgy on Friday, March 24)
Thursdays (6 to 7 pm): Great Compline Service.
Fridays (7 to 8 pm): Salutations Service * Akathyst Hymn on Friday, March 31
(*Great Vespers of Annunciation, on March 24 with the 4th Stanza).
Byzantine Music Workshop and Choir
Meetings are usually on Saturdays following Liturgy. For confirmation, please contact our cantor Stathis directly or through email (stathisleon@gmail.com) with subject matter "Byzantine Choir."
Education: Sunday School: The St. Anna Sunday School and Community are invited to take part in an Almsgiving project for the Lenten season. We are collecting the following items for the Hunterdon County Family Success Center (www.hcfsc.com). Look for collection station in the hallway to the Community Center. See today’s insert for more information. Donations will be received through April 9. If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Douvris at aimeedouvris@gmail.com.
Grades 7 through 12 are requested to begin preparing for the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival which has bee rescheduled for Sunday, March 26 after Church. List of questions can be found at (http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/religioused/sjcof). We welcome all Parishioners to join us for the St John Chrysostom Festival
Greek School: Reminder that our Greek School Independence Day program will take place following services on Sunday, March 26.
Philoptochos News:
Easter Bread
Pre-orders being taken for Easter Tsourekia from Feb. 26 - March 19. Cost is $17 (price increase reflects the cost increase from bakery - Agia Skepi Monastery). Tsourekia will be available for pick-up on Sunday, April 9 (Palm Sunday). See Aimee Douvris after church services in the Fellowship Hall or contact Aimee at 908-339-2511 or aimeedouvris@gmail.com
Palm Cross
Palm Crosses will be available for sale on April 2 and 9 in the Fellowship Hall. Cost is $10.
Holy Cross Luncheon
On Sunday March 19 the Philoptochos will sponsor a potluck, free offering luncheon to benefit the College of the Holy Cross. Please see sign-ups for contributions of Lenten dishes during Fellowship hour or via Sign-up Genius.
Spring Yia Yia's Attic
Spring is near and that means it's time to clean out those closets, basements, and garages for donations to the Saturday, May 20 Yia Yia's attic. This will be the only Yia Yia's attic for the year, so don't put it off! Donations will be collected starting the week of the event. See Margaret Panageas with any questions or contact at 908-246-7527.
Goya News: On behalf of the GOYA Advisors, we wish everyone a Blessed Lenten Journey.
Sights and Sounds: Congratulations to our GOYAns who participated in the Westfield Sights and Sounds Festival last Saturday. We are very proud of you!
In Sights, Grace Trumpy won first place for printmaking.
In Sounds, our Religious Singing Group placed 4th, and Marisa and Anastasia Soteropoulos placed 3rd in Singing Duets, a new category this year.
Special thanks to the advisors, Nick Vosinas, our Greek dance teacher, Mr. Fred Trumpy, our band director, and the parents who prepared our kids for their performances. They couldn't have done it without your help. Great job everyone!
Lenten Retreat: Save the dates, March 31-April 1, for our GOYA District II Lenten Retreat at Camp Tecumseh in Pittstown. Registration details will be available very soon. Our focus this year is Holy Week. We've gotten responses from a few churches that will be attending. We are hosting this event with St. George Asbury Park/Ocean so we'd like to have a good showing from our Church.
Fellowship Hour sponsors needed! Please sign up outside the Church office, or contact Dr. Nikolaos Kritharis at nikolaos.kritharis.dmd@gmail.com or 201-572-3420.
Scholarship News: The Hellenic University Club of NY Annual Scholarship offers scholarships to deserving Greek-American students who have exemplified high scholastic achievement. Applications due on April 1, 2017 . http://www.hucny.com/ (letter uploaded to e-bulletin).
Heritage Greece: Greece (HG) is a two-week cultural and educational immersion odyssey for accomplished Greek American college students that share their experience with a peer group of exceptional students from the American College of Greece (ACG) in Athens, Greece. Applications are due on March 15, 2017. http://www.nationalhellenicsociety.org/program-overview.html.
PC Corner: On Tuesday March 7, the PC and Ministries held a combined meeting to discuss planning for the year and challenges facing the various ministries. Some notes from our Ministry meeting:
- PTO graciously offered to pay for corkboards for all the classrooms.
- GOYA needs new Advisors, as Maria Georgeles is stepping down after 4 years of phenomenal work and leadership. We ask that Parishioners consider coming forward to take on an Advisor role with the GOYA organization. You do not need to do it all. There is a list of things that can be divided among a few people and Maria can explain. GOYA CANNOT RUN without Advisors.
- HOPE & JOY is without leadership also, as Leoni DiAndrea is stepping down. We need someone to take over this Ministry.
Other PC Notes:
- PC has scheduled St. Anna Clean Up and Fix Up Days: Saturday, March 18 and Saturday, April 1 (8 am – 12 pm) Please come for an hour or two to help spruce up the Church and Community Center. All are welcome and any time you can give is appreciated.
- The PC has decided to offer the Palm Sunday Luncheon again this year after Church services. If you liked the food offered last year, please join us again this year. The cost is the same as last year: $12 for adults and any children who order the fish plate. Otherwise, the Children’s menu will be spaghetti with sauce and will cost $5. We will take reservations starting this Sunday.
- Stewards will soon be receiving letters with details about the upcoming GA meeting scheduled for April 2 in the Community Center starting at about 11:30 am. Please make the effort to attend.
- The PC has authorized the purchase of a few religious items from the religious items account. We will also purchase some equipment for handling the tables and the chairs in the Community Center to prevent injuries, and we will also replace the wooden kitchen tables with Stainless Steel and the cost will be paid from the gym budget and the kitchen budget respectively.
- Remember! September 2, 2017, we will celebrate our 15th Birthday as a Parish. From our 2002 humble beginnings, we managed to build this beautiful Saint Anna Greek Orthodox Church. The PC has dedicated a significant amount of time and effort to finalize the May 7, 2017: “Destiny Fulfilled.. an Appreciation Celebration”: Hall Dedication and Donor Recognition program by organizing the event, selecting the displays, sending out invitation letters, planning for the activities for the day, etc. The leaders, Dr. Douvris and Diana Grina are doing an excellent job in progressing such an important milestone for our church. If you think you can help please reach out to them and offer your time and talent.
- The Greek School program is another area under the PC radar. Joanne Diver will schedule an Education meeting for all families with children to ensure that we understand your needs and expectations and to try to improve the program and increase participation. Please make every effort to attend.