EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
COFFEE HOUR TODAY! According to the new Metropolis Directives, we are now able to have coffee hour after services! Beginning today, please join us after church in Hall A for a cup of coffee, a donut, and some good fellowship!
BLOOD DRIVE CANCELLED: Unfortunately, not enough people signed up to give blood, and our American Red Cross Blood Drive, originally scheduled for Monday, May 24th has been cancelled. We are looking to schedule another blood drive around the Christmas holiday, when the blood supply is traditionally extremely low, and the need very great. Thank you to the several people who did sign up, we appreciate your effort!
MEMORIAL DAY CEMETERY VISITS: Father Teodor will be offering cemetery visits on Sunday, May 30th and on Monday, May 31st, at Parkview and Grandlawn cemeteries – schedule to be announced. For Glen Eden, Oakland Hills, or any other cemetery, Father will be available by special appointment, as his schedule allows.
NEWS AND NOTICES
NEW COVID 19 DIRECTIVES: YOUR SAFETY IS IMPORTANT TO US.
Due to the recent guidance offered by the CDC, the ensuing relaxation of restrictions in the states of the Metropolis of Detroit, and the recent guidelines from the Archdiocese (to the Direct Archdiocesan District), the Metropolis of Detroit will be following these new protocols beginning May 20th, 2021:
- Those who are fully vaccinated may wear a face-covering and social distance but are no longer required to do so in churches.
- Those who have not been fully vaccinated are to continue wearing face-coverings and to practice social distancing to protect themselves and others in churches.
- Parishes do not have the responsibility to verify who is and who is not vaccinated.
- Pews are marked indicating where people may sit to maintain social distancing.
- When receiving communion, please open your mouth and tilt your head back as the priest will drop the sacrament into your opened mouth, careful that the spoon will not come into contact. Please do not close your mouth around the spoon.
- No tray will be passed for collections, we appreciate your donations in the box located near the exit door.
ADDITIONAL COVID 19 PARISH PROCEDURES AND DIRECTIVES ARE POSTED ON THE PARISH WEBSITE www.stcons.org
COLLEGE and HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES: We are proud of our graduates! Please help us to honor them after the Divine Liturgy service on June 20th! Submit the following to the church office before the end of May: a photo (headshot) of your graduate, the name of school they are graduating from, the school they will attend (HS grads) or the degree they have achieved (College grads) and their course of study, and the parents’/grandparents’ names. Please forward as a digital file if possible to: stcons2@gmail.com or drop off photo and information to the church office.
FEAST DAY THANKS: Many thanks to the visiting clergy who joined us for Sts. Constantine and Helen Feast Day services this week: His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, Fr. Nicolaos Kotsis, Fr. Paul Patitsas, Fr. Nicholas Marcus, and Fr. Anthony Cook. We are most of all thankful that we have Fr. Teodor back serving with his brother priests, getting stronger each day, as we celebrate the feast day of our parish! Thanks also to Olga Drummond and the ladies of the St. Helen Philoptochos for preparing and serving loukoumades after the vespers service on Thursday evening. We all enjoyed our “carry out” treat!
MOTOR SCOOTER DONATION: One of our parishioners has donated an electric motor scooter to be used by handicapped adults and a car hitch for it, in outstanding condition. Cost of these machines range from $900 - $1,800. In need of a battery ($85 - $100). Please contact the church office for more information if this donation would be a blessing for you or a family member.
ICONOGRAPHY UPDATE: You may notice 12 holes across the top of our Iconostasis this week – the spaces have been opened up to accommodate the 12 new feast day icons to be installed. 8 of those icons have already been received and should be installed this week! We are expecting delivery on the 4 remaining small icons across the top and the 4 large icons by the end of May, beginning of June. The icons of the Evangelist St. Matthew, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Cyril of Alexandria are still available for sponsorship, and we are still in need of general donations of any amount to complete our Phase One fundraising. Those interested in sponsoring an icon, please talk to Father Teodor or contact the church office for more information.
HELLENIC CULTURAL CENTER BOOKING: According to the new state of Michigan regulations, the HCC can now hold up to 50% capacity, and should be at full capacity by the end of the summer. Consider booking your next event at the Hellenic Cultural Center, and help the church get our HCC back into business! We are now booking events for 2021 and 2022. Although they are not yet keeping regular office hours, if you would like to discuss future bookings or other issues with the HCC staff, please contact Kathy at 734.525.3550 or 313.303.6350 or helleniccc@gmail.com
MEMORIAL SERVICES: Koliva that has been prepared for memorial services can now be distributed to parishioners at the end of service. The koliva will be put in small baggies and distributed at the coffee hour. Paximadia and koulourakia may also be distributed at the coffee hour, but must be provided by the families individually pre-packaged for distribution. Please call the church office to schedule memorials and coffee hour sponsorships in a timely manner so we can include the information in the bulletin. On the day of the service, please bring a list of family names you would like Father to remember in prayer.
THANKS, AHEPA OMEGA! This week our parish received two monetary gifts from the AHEPA Omega Detroit Chapter 371! Each year the AHEPA Omega Chapter gives $3,000 to Saints Constantine and Helen on our feast day as a demonstration of AHPEA's long-standing support of Orthodox churches. In addition, the St. Con’s GOYA received a check for $300 to use in any way they wish, to help kick-start activities for the coming year.
AND ONE MORE THANK YOU: Thanks to Lynne Vasiliades, Bill and Fay Skotanis, and Chris and Frances Marinos for planting the beautiful flowers at our church entrances. They really make a difference!
REMEMBER THE CHURCH IN YOUR WILL: You’ve supported the church your whole life, remembering us in your estate plan will help the church when you’re gone. Consult your estate planner or contact the Church office for information. We are grateful to our parishioners who have left bequests to the church in the last few years: Thomas Goffas, Irene Barbas, Anthony Keros, Kris Merikas, John and Alice Koinis, Joan Keker, Katherine Socol, Ted and Demetra Monolidis, Zoe Kokenakes, Peter and Eileen Lekas. Their loving legacy made a big difference! May their memory be eternal!
DID YOU KNOW? Saints Constantine and Helen, Our Patron Saints
This great and renowned sovereign of the Christians was the son of Constantius Chlorus (the ruler of the westernmost parts of the Roman empire), and of the blessed Helen. He was born in 272, in (according to some authorities) Naissus of Dardania, a city on the Hellespont. In 306, when his father died, he was proclaimed successor to his throne. In 312, on learning that Maxentius and Maximinus had joined forces against him, he marched into Italy, where, while at the head of his troops, he saw in the sky after midday, beneath the sun, a radiant pillar in the form of a cross with the words: "By this shalt thou conquer." The following night, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream and declared to him the power of the Cross and its significance. When he arose in the morning, he immediately ordered that a banner be made in the form of a cross, and he inscribed on it the Name of Jesus Christ. On the 28th Of October, he attacked and mightily conquered Maxentius, who drowned in the Tiber River while fleeing. The following day, Constantine entered Rome in triumph and was proclaimed Emperor of the West by the Senate, while Licinius, his brother-in-law, ruled in the East. But out of malice, Licinius later persecuted the Christians. Constantine fought him once and again, and utterly destroyed him in 324, and in this manner he became monarch over the West and the East. Under him and because of him all the persecutions against the Church ceased. Christianity triumphed and idolatry was overthrown. In 325 he gathered the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which he himself personally addressed. In 324, in the ancient city of Byzantium, he laid the foundations of the new capital of his realm, and solemnly inaugurated it on May 11, 330, naming it after himself, Constantinople. Since the throne of the imperial rule was transferred thither from Rome, it was named New Rome, the inhabitants of its domain were called Romans, and it was considered the continuation of the Roman Empire.
As for his holy mother Helen, after her son had made the Faith of Christ triumphant throughout the Roman Empire, she undertook a journey to Jerusalem and found the Holy Cross on which our Lord was crucified (see Sept. 13 and 14). After this, Saint Helen, in her zeal to glorify Christ, erected churches in Jerusalem at the sites of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, in Bethlehem at the cave where our Saviour was born, another on the Mount of Olives whence He ascended into Heaven, and many others throughout the Holy Land, Cyprus, and elsewhere. She was proclaimed Augusta, her image was stamped upon golden coins, and two cities were named Helenopolis after her in Bithynia and in Palestine. Having been thus glorified for her piety, she departed to the Lord being about eighty years of age, according to some in the year 330, according to others, in 336.
Non-Orthodox Visitors Please Note: Holy Communion is offered to Orthodox Christians who have properly prepared themselves. Visitors are welcome to receive the Antidoron (Blessed Bread), which is distributed at the end of the Divine Liturgy.