MEN’S CLUB MEETING: TODAY, March 26, there will be a meeting of the Men’s Club following the Divine Liturgy service in the Hall. Please plan to attend.
LENTEN SEAFOOD BUFFET Friday evening March 31st and Friday April 7 are the two final Lenten Seafood Buffet suppers at the HCC. The delicious Lenten Seafood Buffet Supper is served from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Please invite your friends and neighbors to join you for supper, no reservations are required.
PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY/ LECTURES: For the final Wednesday of this Lenten period, Wednesday, March 29, following the 5:30 pm Presanctified Liturgy service, Father Mark Sietsema, Holy Trinity Church, Lansing, will make a presentation on the life of St. Nektarios. The service and presentation will be available via live video-feed on the parish website, www.stcons.org, if you are unable to attend in person.
HOLY FRIDAY YOUTH RETREAT: From the Mystical Supper to Christ’s final moments on the cross and burial in the tomb, our youth will spend April 14th, Holy Friday afternoon from 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm in learning, reflection, and prayer. Please contact the church office by next Sunday, April 2nd to let us know your young people’s availability to participate in this special Holy Friday Retreat. Stcons2@gmail.com or 734.525.6789. The church will provide a letter signed by Father Teodor requesting an excused absence for your child from school on that day.
PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON: Our parish will hold its traditional Palm Sunday fish luncheon on Sunday, April 9th, immediately following the Divine Liturgy service. We have delicious new menu items in our buffet! Plan to stay after service and attend with your family, as we begin Holy Week together. Tickets will be on sale after church and in the church office.
PRAY WITH US: All are welcome! Each Tuesday morning during Lent at 10:00 am, please gather with us, as we read prayers honoring one of the Church Hierarchs featured in our newly installed Iconography. We will meet in the Board Room. Our small group will also pray for those on our parish prayer list.
EUCHRE TOURNAMENT: Our Men’s Club is planning its annual Euchre Tournament onSaturday, April 22nd. Cost is $45/per, which includes cash prizes, keg beer, wine, pizza, hot dogs, slider, snacks and a contribution toward Feed the Needy and other church-related programs. Contact Paul Stavropoulos by phone at 248.709.9876 or by email at paulstavropoulos@att.net.
NEWS AND NOTICES
RED EGG DYE: We are expecting a large shipment of Anatoli brand Red egg dye from Greece, which will be available for sale in the Church Bookstore on Palm Sunday and through Holy Week. (Our last shipment sold out immediately at the GreekFest.)
MDSC SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: Our parish will sponsor $100 for each St. Cons child who is registered for the Metropolis Detroit Summer Camp program to assist with registration fees. Please talk to Fr. Teodor or the church office for more information.
CHILDREN’S LAMBATHES: Our Mom’s Group is selling personalized lambathes this year! Order forms are available in today’s bulletin, or at the church office. You have many selections to choose from – they are made to order, and no two are exactly alike! Lambathes are $20, plus an additional $5 if you would like them personalized. Orders must be received by March 26th, for a Holy Week pick up. For more information, contact Corrin at cstamatakos@gmail.com
DANCE COSTUMES - WE NEED YOUR HELP! As our parish re-establishes the Greek Dance program, we are in need of female and male dance costumes of all styles in children’s and adult sizes. If you, or one of your children, have participated in Greek Dance and have a costume you can donate, please bring it to the church office before April 8th (Saturday of Lazarus.)
MEMORIAL SERVICES: Please call the church office to schedule all memorials and coffee hour sponsorships at least two weeks in advance. On the day of the service, please bring a list of family names you would like Father to remember in prayer. Coffee Hour sponsorship is not required, however the church is grateful to those who wish to make a sponsorship donation of $150, and the HCC will set up a table with cloth and coffee, etc. for your family.
AHEPA DISTRICT 10 SCHOLARSHIPS - AHEPA District 10, which encompasses Michigan, is offering scholarships for graduating high school students and for current college students! Sixty scholarships totaling $80,000 were distributed in 2022. Applications are available now at ahepadistrict10.org/educational-foundation and are due on April 1, 2023.
WE’RE HIRING! WE NEED YOUR HELP! As we move into the very busy spring and summer months, our Hellenic Cultural Center needs more staff! The HCC is hiring servers, dishwashers, and kitchen prep workers now. If you are interested, or if you know somebody who would like to apply for work, please contact Kathy McMullen at helleniccc@gmail.com or 734.525.3550. These would be good jobs for people looking for some extra income, but not a full-time commitment; for college students and older teens during the summer months; or anybody who wants to join a great team and work hard for the benefit of our parish.
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. Their loving legacy made a big difference! May their memory be eternal.
DID YOU KNOW? St. John Climacus
On March 30 and on the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church commemorates a great luminary and holy father, Saint John the Sinaite, also known as Saint John Climacus or Saint John of the Ladder. He is called Climacus due to his authorship of the great spiritual work The Ladder of Divine Ascent. The Ladder is the most famous book written by Saint John, and describes in beautiful and simple language how an Orthodox Christian can develop the virtues that lead closer to God. During the whole period of Great Lent, The Ladder is being read in all the Orthodox monasteries around the world. Even though the book was written for monastics, it is a valuable spiritual guide for all Orthodox Christians – monastics, clergymen, and laypeople alike. His commemoration is designated by the Church on one of the Sundays of Lent as his life and writings affirm him as a supreme bearer and proponent of Christian asceticism. The ascetic example of this great Saint of the Church inspires us in our Lenten journey.