Philoptochos:
Join us this Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm for a special meeting. Dr. Ted Kolias will speak on “Heart Health in Women”.
The Philoptochos invites all of the women of our parish to join our St. Nicholas Philoptochos Society. Please stop by our membership table in the social hall and see what we are all about.
There is still some spanakopita left. Please contact any Philoptochos member if you are interested in purchasing. The cost is $20.
Also, mark your calendars for our annual used book sale on Sunday, April 3 following the Divine Liturgy. Please start collecting your books.
St. Nicholas Adult Religious Education Day:
Join us for our first Adult Religious Education Day on Sat., Feb. 27, 2016 from 9:30am—3:00pm here at St. Nicholas. Fr. Mark Sietsema, the Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Lansing, MI will speak about the Bible and how the Orthodox Church approaches the task of Bible interpretation. Professor Brendan Haug, Assistant Professor of Classical Studies and the Archivisit of the Papyrology Collection at the University of Michigan will introduce participants to the study of ancient papyri and focus on documents that attest to the early Christian intellectual life and worship. The retreat is free of charge, but everyone must register by calling the office or on-line at www.detroit.goarch.org/rsvp. The deadline is this Wednesday, February 17. Lunch will be provided.
Flowers:
If you are interested in purchasing flowers to decorate the icons for any upcoming feastday, please contact Lambrini Lagos or the Church office.
GREEK FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIPS.
It’s time to start thinking warm weather and this year’s Ya’ssoo Festival—June 10-12. We would like to kick off our Sponsorship Campaign by offering you the opportunity to write a personal message. For $25 your message will be included in our Event Guide. Please note that this is not intended for business purposes. Forms are available today in the hallway next to the Ya’ssoo Greek Festival box. Please return your form with payment to the Ya’ssoo box. More sponsorship information will be available soon.
Prosforo needed April 10, 17, and all of May. Fellowship Hour sponsors needed February 21, March 20 and April 10, 17. Please call the office if you are interested.
At the Bookstore:
Come and visit our book and gift shop in the church hall, which is well stocked with Bibles and commentaries on Holy Scripture, prayer books, books on history, culture, and faith, children's literature, greeting cards, icons, charcoal and incense, and other home altar materials to support learning and a rich spiritual life. We also have a wonderful new book The Names of Jesus: Discovering the Person of Jesus Christ through Scripture by the late Orthodox theologian Thomas Hopko. It is based on his popular podcast series, a set of reflections on 50 different names and titles used for Jesus in the Bible. Learn what each name uniquely has to tell us about the character of the Son of God, His role in our salvation, and the relationship we can choose to cultivate with Him.
Church School:
Our St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival will be held on Sun., March 13. Please make every effort to encourage your son or daughter to attend. The speeches are due on Sun., Feb. 28th and Fr. Nick will return them to your son our daughter by March 6th.
GOYA:
Our dance group needs to sew new costume pieces to get ready for the Greek Festival performances. If you have any experience in sewing and would like to help, please contact Athena Papageorgiou by February 26 by email: stnicksgreekcostumes@gmail.com or by phone (734) 368-4668. The sewing group will meet in March and April.
The Greeks:
The Parish Council, Daughters of Penelope (DOP) and the AHEPA are sponsoring a one day bus trip to the Chicago Field Museum on Saturday, April 2, to visit the exhibit "The Greeks." The cost is $35 per person for the bus. Each individual is responsible for their own museum admission of $21.50 for adults or $18 for seniors and students. Make your reservation by calling Perry Katsikas at (734)995-4766 or Liz Mitropoulos at (734)207-2009.
AHEPA:
Once again, the Order of AHEPA District #10 Educational Foundation will be awarding educational scholarships to high school students who are graduating in 2016, and to current college students. Please pick up the “New Revised” 2016 scholarship applications from the office.
SAVE THE DATE for the Greek School Mardi Gras Dinner Dance Sat., March 5 at 6:00 pm. Come dressed in your best costume and enjoy homemade Greek appetizers, dinner, and desserts, along with much music and dancing! Ticket prices are $30/adults 19 and up, $20/college students, $15/children ages 5-18 and free for children under 5. For tickets, please call Stasi (734)693-3277, Nia (734)657-8487, Toula (734)369-0154, Marilyn (734)657-5501, Teddy (734)945-2372 or Inez (734)395-9939.
Rides to Church: If you, or anyone you know, needs a ride to church, please call the office. We will either send a fellow parishioner to pick you up, or call a cab for you. Also, St. Nicholas is compiling a list of individuals who would be interested in picking up fellow parishioners who do not have a ride to church. If you are interested in helping us in this very important ministry, please call the office. It is our hope that everyone who wants to come to St. Nicholas will be able, whether they can drive or not
DOOR (Detroit’s Own Orthodox Radio) can be heard each Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm on WNZK Radio 690 AM. Today, Sun., Feb. 14, Fr. Dimitrie Vincent, Pastor of St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Farmington will be interviewing famous recording artist, Grammy Award Winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Mr. Chris Hillman, concerning his faith in God, his personal journey to Orthodox Christianity and how it has changed his life. If you would like to learn more about DOOR, please visit their website at www.DOORradio.org.
Modern Greek:
U-Michigan's 14th Annual Dimitri and Irmgard Pallas Lecture in Modern Greek Studies will be given on Thurs., March 10, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Kuenzel Room, Michigan Union, 530 S. State Street. Ann Arbor. The lecture, "Language and Politics in Greece Today: The New Face of an Old Problem," by Marina Terkourafi (Associate Professor of Linguiatics, University of Illinois) focuses on the rise of Golden Dawn, a far-right party recently elected to the Greek Parliament under conditions of economic crisis coupled with the influx of refugees and migrants. It draws on the findings of the "Youth and History" project carried out in 27 European countries, which argues that the discourses of xenophobia and Western superiority manifested in linguistic ideologies left Greek society vulnerable to political extremes when faced with tremendous problems. This is a free public event.
