March 16, 23, 8;20 a.m. Orthros; 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Those remembering loved ones long gone, should bring plate of kollyva with list of names  by 9: 30 a.m.

March 17: 

40 days for Sophie Pasalis, wife of George, mother of Dimitra, Katherine & Valerie

Coffee Hour is hosted by the family.

Coming up:   March 31: Giolekas; Theodosion

Sun., March 17, celebrate his feastday with Divine Liturgy, followed by a family-friendly gathering in the Fellowship Room. Since it is also Cheesefare Sunday, adults can enjoy cheesy charcuterie while children can enjoy mac-n-cheese, and work on a seasonal craft which will illustrate how St. Patrick taught about the Holy Trinity.

Sunday, March 17,  attend Forgiveness Vespers at 6:00 p.m. for the start of Lent (Clean Monday/ Καθαρά Δευτέρα: March 18) 

Mark the first week of the Great Fast be hearing the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete:  March 18, 19 & 21, 6:00 p.m.

Pre-Sanctified Liturgies,  Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in St. Demetrios Church,  followed by a potluck meal and a guest speaker in the Cultural Hall.

Date           Speaker                                   Potluck Host

March 20  “What NOT to do during Lent ”-Fr. Jim Doukas                     Philoptochos

April 3     “#1 Priority: Our Relationship with God”- Ted Cherpas          GOYA

April 10    "Stewardship during the Great Fast"  Stacey Stathulis                                                                    Yassou Club

April 17    "The Curtain"  - Deacon John Pantelis             Daughters of Penelope

April 24    “Women in the Church” -Alyssa Kyritsis                               Choir

Rehearsals during Lent will be on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the church. Anyone wishing to join in order to sing the beautiful hymns of the season leading up Pascha, is welcome!

Thanks to everyone who supported last week’s spaghetti luncheon! You can still purchase jars of meat sauce from the spaghetti luncheon for $13 and freeze them for after Lent. 

Again this year during Lent, with the blessing of Father Andy, we continue a tradition started a few years ago at St Demetrios:  reading the Psalms. The Psalter is the book of Psalms divided into 20 sections called kathisma (singular) or kathismata (plural). Each kathisma is comprised of 8 Psalms.

 Our group would be comprised of twenty people (or more), each being assigned a different kathisma. (For example, on Day 1 of 40, I’ll read kathisma 1, you’ll read 2, Eleni will read 3, and so on.) This way the entire Psalter gets read each day by each group. By the end of the 40 days, we’ll each have read the entire thing twice! 

 Before you read the day’s Psalms, read the Trisagion prayers and at the end pray for everyone in our group by name.

 Many of our saints, including the greats like St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil have written extensively on the importance of daily Psalter reading. These groups are a wonderful way to make praying the psalms part of our daily routine, not just during fasting periods, but year round. It’s such an incredible feeling knowing you’re praying along with other Orthodox faithful all over the world. You may pray your Psalm anytime during the day, whenever you can fit it in! Maybe you can do half at one time, and the other half later.  If you miss a day, no worries, just pick up on you next scheduled day’s Psalm.

 So, if you’re interested in joining us, please  email Maggie Steffas at   maggiesteffas@gmail.com  with: YOUR BAPTISMAL NAME and EMAIL ADDRESS.

 Right before Clean Monday, March 18^th, you will receive the list of Psalms, the number you are assigned to, and the names of everyone who signed up.

FYI, our bookstore has a nice Psalter available to buy,  Songs of Praise, A Psalter devotion is also available on Amazon,  or you can just use your own Bible.

May we have a blessed Lent!

Fridays, March 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19 at6 p.m.

Those who are able to read the prayers or decorate the icon, please contact the church office.

Registration forms now available for all three Hellenic Dance groups. Returning and new dancers can receive information about rehearsals as we prepare for our festival.  Aeraki (ages 6-8, as of Jan. 1);  Kymata (ages 9-12, as of Jan. 1);  Kyklonas (ages 13 to young adult)

Rehearsals are now on Thursdays 6:45 -7:30 p.m. for Kymata (gym)  and Kyklonas (hall)

Sun., March 24,   bring your children and their favorite icon to St. Demetrios' annual celebration of the restoration of Icons. The Procession of Icons at ST. Demtrios will be at the end of Divine Liturgy. Please arrive for Divine Liturgy at 9:30am so you and your children can hear from the hymns and sermon why this celebration is so important. 

4:00 p.m. Great Vespers at ST. Theodosius Cathedral, 733 Starkweather Ave., Clevleand. Chief celebrant and homilist MEtropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis. All encouraged to bring Holy Icons and the children will carry them in the procession. Refreshments to follow. Free will donations for humantarian relief efforts in Gaza. 

Sun., March 24, the Balourdas Hellenic Cultural School invites all parishioners to the hall for the annual program celebrating Annunciation and Greek Independence Day with music, drama and folk dances. Starting at 11:30 a.m. Refreshments courtesy of PTO

 March 26-27:  Pastitsio    (please note this is a Tuesday and Wednesday. We are NOT working on Monday, March 25 due to Annunciation) 

April 1-2: Moussaka

Wed., March 27, 6 p.m. in the  Cultural Hall, join Daughters of Penelope to learn more about this serious issue from Guest speaker Anna Beck, RN from MetroHealth.  Open to all in the community .

The  annual NE Ohio parade will be on Sat., March 30 in Tremont. Doxology at noon in Annunciation Church, 2187 W. 14^th St., Cleveland. 1 pm. Kick off from the parking lot. The route will be along W. 11^th to Lincoln Park and back up W. 14^th. Post-parade festivities in Annunciation hall.

Grand Marshall comedian Yianni Pappas! All Hellenic clubs welcome to register (no fee) by March 15 by contacting Emmanuel Ermidis (216-323-4092.) and note if you are marching with a banner or driving a vehicle or float.   Prizes for the Best Float and Best Participation! 

The Pan-Icarian Brotherhood's annual Independence Day dance will take place at Annunciation ballroom later that evening.  Dinner 7:30 p.m. $55 (pre-sale only until 3/16)  Dance 9:30 a.m. $25 at the door. Live music by Stigma. 

Sun., March 31, after Liturgy, parishioners are invited to remain in the church for the annual public speaking competition. Students in grades 7-12 will present inspiring speeches which they wrote. For list of topics, go to goarch.org/oratorical  Speakers should register by contacting Kim Veras (kosu100@aol.com) 

 This year’s film series explores thewording and application of the 10 Commandments. II Commandment says “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the 7^th day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” 

April 1, 6:00 p.m. The Bishop’s Wife (1947; 1 hour & 49 minutes) Amidst intense fundraising for a new church building, an Episcopalian bishop (David Niven) and his wife (Loretta Young) struggle to take a day off and keep a holiday holy. A debonair angel- who looks a lot like Cary Grant- may or may not be the answer to the bishop’s prayer for rest. Join us in the hall to see it on the big screen.

The Chosen   April 15, 3 p.m. in the Library(Conclusion of Season 3) 

SERVING DINNER AT ST. HERMAN’S Volunteer to feed the homeless with your parish family:

Anyone who can donate the daffodils for Holy Cross Sunday (April 7),  for the Epitaphio, or any of the Holy Week icons, please call Eleni at 440-331-2246 ext. 2

Please take a moment to fill out your 2024 Card and make your payments even more powerful.  All pledged parishioners will be formally thanked for their stewardship and generosity in May. It would be a blessing to have 100% stewardship participation toward our parish goal of $385,000

We are reading Engaged:The Call to Be Disciples, Reflection on what it means to be a Christian. By Fr. Stavros Akrotinianakis.  

Please note that each chapter is only a couple of pages and  always begins with a reading from the Scriptures and concludes with appropriate prayers from the Orthodox Church. We will read  four chapters a week.

 In addition to the readings, we also watch videos on YouTube to stimulate discussion. (For Example: Fr. Barnabas Powell, and presentations from reliable Orthodox Christian resources.) We deeply love our Faith. We are a group that enjoys praying, discussing scripture and readings that stimulate discussion.  All our welcome. If you have questions please contact Angie Giallourakis or Maggie Steffas.

Thursdays at 10:30  a.m. in St Philothei Chapel. Contact Diakonissa Amy (apantelisdo@gmail.com or 330-519-3100) to join, or to submit names for whom we can pray.

More copies have been delivered! Pick up on Sundays in the Narthex and weekdays in the office lobby.  

Now on Wednesdays and Fridays , 9:00 a.m. in the Zapis Activity Center.

During construction of the main restrooms, when you are visiting the church, you may use the restrooms in the Zapis Activity Center or lower Narthex.

FRIDAY FISH FRIES   Support our sister parishes, this week 

-Sts. Constantine and Helen, 3352 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Heights. 5:00-7:30 p.m.

-Annunciation Church, 2187 W. 14^th St., Cleveland. 5:00-8:00 p.m. 

GRIEF SHARE Tuesdays  now -May 28,  1-3 p.m. at St. Paul Church, 4548 Wallings Rd., North Royalton. Register at http://tinyurl.com/GriefshareSTP or clal 440-237-8998

 ANTYPAS’ NORTH AMERICAN TOUR Sat., March 16 at Archangel Michael Church hall in Campbell, Ohio. Tickets at www.antypastour.com

COMING ALIVE: A QUARTER CENTURY OF BYZANTINE ART HISTORY Fri., March 22 , 5 p.m.  at the Cleveland Museum of Art lecture hall. Dr. Helen Evans, Mary & Michael Jaharis Curator Emerita in Byzantine Art will discusse her experience presenting Byzantine art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Free lecture. 

 ANNUNCIATION  Celebrate the feastday of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church,  2187 W. 14th St., Cleveland, on Sun., March 24: 7 p.m. Vespers. Coffee social to follow.

 Mon., March 25: 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy.  Plaki fish Luncheon to follow. $25/person. For tickets, call 216-861-0116.

 Pilgrimage to St. Gregory Palamas Monastery934 Cr 2256, Perrysville, Ohio. Join Metropolitan Savas and area clergy on Saturday, March 30:  10 a.m. Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Lenten meal to follow.  If attending, please call 419-368-5335 so they can prepare enough food.

YOCAMA MISSION TRIP  July 13-19, Join others from St. Demetrios on a mission trip to the Navajo Nation in Gallup, New Mexico, through YOCAMA (Young Orthodox Christian American Mission Adventure) Learn more at www.yocama.com/missiontrips and contact Jake Trotter (trotterjake@gmail.com) for more details about our trip.

AHEPA District 11 Buckeye: Available to students currently in college or entering college in Fall 2024, who are OR whose parents are active members of the AHEPA, Daughters of Penelope, Sons of Pericles, or Maids of Athena for 3 consecutive years (2 years plus current year.) Application at www.bsf.buckeyedistrict11.org  Submission deadline: March 31, 2024.

 AHEPA #389 / Daughters of Penelope #321: Available to graduating high school seniors whose families are members of AHEPA or Daughters of Penelope 321, or St. Demetrios Church, who are starting their undergraduate studies in the Fall of 2024. To request the application, email office@saintdemetriosrr.org   Submission deadline: April 19, 2024

The John M Manos, Cleveland, AHEPA Chapter #36 is offering college scholarships to graduating high school seniors of Greek descent who are residents of Cuyahoga, Lorain, Summit, Medina or Lake County. Scholarships are awarded upon merit. Contact Alex Rokakis for a scholarship application at alekomon@mac.com. Hard copies also available in the ST. Demetrios Church office.  Scholarship applications must be completed by May 4, 2024, and will be awarded no later than June 1, 2024. 

Joan Lambros Memorial     Available to women who are members of St. Demetrios Church and pursuing   undergraduate or post-grad studies in the Sciences.  To request the  application, email office@saintdemetriosrr.org    Submission deadline: April 26, 2024

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarships: 

for the 2024-2025 academic year

Applications at  www.goarch.org/scholarships  Submission deadline for all: May 17, 2024.