St. Sophia/Ss. Faith, Hope & Agape

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF VALLEY FORGE

Special points of interest:

Sights and Sounds 2014.

Spring 2014

Grecian Festival.

Inside this issue:

President’s Message 2

Additions to Iconography 2

Philoptochos 3

Senior Parea 3

Youth Ministries 4, 5

Stewardship 6

Greek Dance Groups 8

Sponsorship Items

Update

10

Bricks and Pavers 11

Community Registry 12

Upcoming Services

and Events

13

Community Newsletter

Spring 2014

Volume 2, Issue 1

“This is the Day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

This verse from the psalm is chanted as part of the Service of the Resurrection. The feast of Pascha is the feast of feasts that celebrates the vanquish-ing of sin and death through the life giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The New Day, the Day of Resurrection, ushers in a new and joyful meaning to our lives as faith-filled Christians.

This New Day shows us the triumph of Christ over the devil. His victory is a victory for all of us. We celebrate this New Day through joyful sing-ing and celebration in the church and in our homes. This New Day is celebrated in the church for Forty Days as we sing and greet one another with the words, “Christ is Ris-en!” We verify and hold true that statement in responding “Truly He is Risen” This New Day is celebrated with magnif-icent feasting with friends and family with tables full of fel-lowship and food. “No one goes away hungry...” as St.

John Chrysostom says in his catechetical homily of Pascha.

The celebration of this New Day should not end with the Feast of the Ascension. It must carry on throughout the whole year both in the Church and in our daily lives. This New Day is celebrated each and every Sunday. The hymns of Orthros and the Liturgy are all about Resurrection. We celebrate the living God, not one made of statues or paint-ings, but the Lord of Life, the everlasting God, the one who created us and the one who calls us back, the God of Abra-ham, Isaac, and Jacob and of us all.

This New Day should be pro-claimed each and every day. We should proclaim it through our faith, our actions and eve-ry ounce of our being. We must proclaim it through our love for all peoples. Our will-ingness to forgive those who wrong us must also be fol-lowed with the humility to ask those whom we have wronged for forgiveness. This New Day is celebrated by our love for our fellow man, by promoting

peace and harmony, and let-ting the Light of God radiate through us. We must triumph over hate, gossip, gluttony, greed, indifference so that this New Day may be bright, victo-rious and never ending.

“This is the day that The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

Father Peter

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

To Our Stewards and Friends,

With the long-awaited arrival

of spring and now summer

fast approaching, there are

many opportunities for all to

get involved in what St. So-

phia Church has to offer.

We welcome all who would

love to worship with us in our

new Byzantine church. Even

with the arrival of summer

and its respite from Sunday

School, each week presents a

new opportunity for you and

your children to continue to

learn more about your faith.

Our annual Spring Festival

beginning May 28 to June 1 is

an important event; our great-

est fund raiser of the year and

a way to help your church by

volunteering your time and

talent. It is also another form

of outreach to our community.

In addition to food and fun,

all who visit will have a chance

to learn more about Ortho-

doxy.

Of course we continue to

make progress with the

church building itself. This

past February our icono-

grapher, Dr. George Kordis,

completed the hand-painted

icons on our icon screen, Pul-

pit and Bishop's Throne. In

addition new murals on the

western walls were completed.

New marble mosaic medal-

lions have just arrived and will

be installed later this summer.

We are also working on a plan

for new narthex furnishings

which we hope to order just as

soon as funds are available.

Many of these items are avail-

able for sponsorship. Please

consider doing so, as our pro-

gress would not be possible

without your continued sup-

port for which we are truly

grateful.

Sincerely,

Dean W. Laskaris Parish Council President

President’s Message

the Virgin and Christ child, St.

John the Baptist, St. Sophia,

Ss. Faith, Hope and Agape,

and the Archangels Michael

and Gabriel. The Beautiful

Gate (often mislabeled as the

Royal Doors) is decorated

with the image of the Annun-

ciation and the symbols of the

Four Evangelists which are:

The Angel (St. Matthew); The

Lion (St. Mark); The Ox (St.

Luke); and The Eagle (St.

John).

The Bishop’s Throne has the

icon of Christ the High Priest.

In this icon we see Christ vest-

ed as a hierarch and holding

an open Gospel book that

says, “I am the Good Shep-

herd.”

The Pulpit has the image of

Christ surrounded by the four

evangelists. This is done be-

cause it is where the word of

God (Christ), given to us by

the evangelists, is preached

and the sermon which ex-

plains the word is given.

The Western Wall has the

icons of the birth of the The-

otokos, the dormition of the

Theotokos, the icons of St.

Anna, St. Joachim, St. John of

Damascus, and St. Kosmas,

the Poet.

The Gallery Wall was finished

off by adding the icons of No-

ah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

surrounding the image of the

Anapeson (Christ at Rest).

Additions to Our Iconography

This past winter we once

again added to the beauty of

our Naos (church). Dr.

Kordis, Kanellos, and Panag-

iota were back again this past

February to paint the new

icons of the Iconostasion, the

Amvon (pulpit) the Bishop’s

Throne, the Estavromenon

(the crucified Christ) the Gal-

lery Wall and the Western

Wall of the Nave.

The icon screen has the prom-

inent icons of Christ,

Page 2 St. Sophia’s

Each week presents a

new opportunity for

you and your children

to continue to learn

more about your faith.

Dr. Kordis, Kanellos

and Panagiota

were back again

this past February

to paint new icons.

Xristos Anesti! Our Philopto-

chos membership drive for

2014 surpassed our 2013

membership by signing up 53

members. Keep in mind,

Philoptochos isn’t just about

meetings, fundraising and

writing checks to charities; it’s

about using your God-given

talents to enrich the lives of

those less fortunate. Make

2014 the year you truly be-

come a "friend of the

poor". Make a choice to be-

come a member or associate

(men) member of Philopto-

chos. Embrace the opportuni-

ty to live Christ in our daily

lives and practice our Ortho-

dox Faith. Your membership

and our fundraisers help to

fund our donations to various

National, Metropolis, local

and international charities.

Thank you all who helped

prepare and attended the Jan-

uary Vasilopita & Breakfast,

Godparent Sunday Lumber-

jack Breakfast, Go Red Soup &

Sandwich and the Cheesefare

Cheese Pockets (Tiropites)

fundraisers over the past few

months. The highly anticipat-

ed Palm Sunday Luncheon

had 200 parishioners and

friends of St. Sophia join in

Christian fellowship to enjoy a

delicious meal on Palm Sun-

day.

Some of the projects our ladies

have supported so far this year

are St. Basil Academy, St. Pho-

tios Shrine, Orthodox Christian

Mission Center/Support a Mis-

sion Priest, Hellenic College

Holy Cross, Sisterhood of St.

Basil Academy, IOCC,

Sole4Souls and Laurel House.

We are sincerely grateful for

the continued support of our

community which enables us to

carry on our philanthropic

work.

We thank all the Philoptochos

members who have volun-

teered in the past and continue

to serve so willingly and tire-

lessly. We look forward to our

Senior Parea

Our Senior Parea group wel-

comes all senior citizens of the

community. The Cultural

Center is open for fellowship

every Thursday from 10 am to

12 noon.

Recently, the Senior Parea

went to the Regal Cinemas to

see the movie “Son of God.”

Please contact the Parish Of-

fice for more information or

come out and join in the fun

and fellowship.

Page 3 Spring 2014

new members joining us in our

labors of love. Philoptochos

needs your time and talents.

Thank you and looking forward

to seeing you at our next meet-

ing!

“And whatever you do, do it

heartily, as to the Lord and not

to men, knowing that from the

Lord you will receive the re-

ward of the inheritance; for

you serve the Lord Christ.”

Col 3:23-24

Kathy Tsipras Philoptochos President

St. Sophia Ladies Philoptochos Society

“Pistis, Elpis & Agape”

Sights and Sounds 2014

On Saturday, March 29th the 29th Annual GOYA Sights and Sounds Arts Festival was hosted by

St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Media, Pennsylvania. Our parish was well represented

and won several awards:

Senior Dance Group: 1st Place—Small Group division

Xena Karalis: 1st Place—Ceramics; 2nd Place—Iconography; 2nd Place—Guitar

Billy Mackrides: 3rd Place—Woodworking; 2nd Place—Color nature photography

Cole Nikas: 1st Place—Jr. Intermediate Woodwind/Brass

Lexie Watts: 3rd Place—Senior Singing

Thank you to all of the youngsters from our parish who participated in this year’s event.

Cara Dowzicky

Xena Karalis

Billy Mackrides

Athena Nazarro

Cole Nikas

Nicholas Papadimitriou

Vanessa Papadimitriou

Stephanie Pogas

Alexandra Poloway

Dena Swope

Lexie Watts

Sunday School

revolution ended in 1829

when the Treaty of Edirne

established an independent

Greek state.

On March 30th, the children

of the Greek School program,

instructed by Erietta Fotiadis,

performed a play in celebra-

tion of Greek Independence

Day. The children reenacted a

scene in Naoussa, a city full of

natural beauty, in the region

of Macedonia during April

1822. The city had been un-

der siege by the Turks, and on

April 18, 1822 Naoussa was

taken and even as the Turks

stormed the city, the Greeks

fought to the death. Rather

than being sold as slaves,

many of the women with their

children in their arms,

jumped to their deaths from

the cliffs above the Arapistas

River.

Today we honor the struggle

of those who fought, many

giving their lives, for the free-

dom of Greece.

The Greek School program

had a very successful 2013/14

Greek School

On March 25th, we celebrated

the 193rd Greek Independ-

ence Day. Greek Independ-

ence Day commemorates the

start of the War of Greek In-

dependence in 1821, to gain

independence from the Otto-

man Empire. The Greek re-

volt was precipitated on

March 25, 1821, when Bishop

Germanos of Patras raised the

flag of revolution over the

Monastery of Agia Lavra in

the Peloponnese. The cry

“Freedom or Death” became

the motto of the war. The

Page 4 St. Sophia’s

Youth Ministries

school year, and planning for

next year is underway. The

2014/15 Greek school schedule

is being finalized and will be

available shortly. If you are

interested in learning more

about the Greek School Program

please contact Erietta Fotiadis

at 484-716-6059 or eriettafoti-

adis@gmail.com. For questions

about Greek school registration

please contact Christine Bailey

at 610-256-1087 or christinebai-

ley@outlook.com.

Our St. Sophia Parish hosted the annual

Bible Bowl, on February 15th. Well over

40 children from many surrounding

parishes as well as our own, came to-

gether for a friendly competition testing

their knowledge of the Bible. The high-

light of the day was seeing the world-

renowned Iconographer, Dr. Kordis,

demonstrate icon "writing" with the

children, and later seeing the children

create their own special icons.

On March 22nd, Joy and Hope groups

participated in a Lenten Community

Service Project at Cradles to Crayons.

Cradles to Crayons is an excellent or-

ganization that provides children from

birth to age 12 living in homeless or

low-income situations with the essen-

tial items they need to survive and

thrive both at home and school! Sev-

eral children and their parents volun-

teered for this great organization,

helping to put together bundles of

hats, gloves and scarfs. The boys and

girls had a great time, and more im-

portantly were very proud to have giv-

en their time to helping others.

Saint Sophia’s JOY/HOPE

The children of our parish

enjoyed many activities the

past couple of months!

In February we hosted the

annual DVYC Joy/Hope Bible

Bowl. The children brought in

non-perishable food items to

benefit the Jerusalem Luther-

an Church Food Bank in

Schwenksville. The morning

began with a Lenten breakfast

and fellowship. After break-

ing into groups they decorated

team posters and competed in

a friendly bible question and

answer game. Afterwards the

teams paraded around the

cultural center displaying

their team posters. One of the

highlights of the day was a

lesson on iconography by one

of our talented iconographers,

Dr. Kordis, working on our

church!

On Lazarus of Saturday, the

children were together again

to celebrate Christ’s biggest

miracle; the raising of Lazarus

from the dead. They enjoyed

a delicious pancake breakfast

followed by traditional palm

folding. What a beautiful way

to teach our children the joy of

helping our parish prepare for

the beginning of Holy Week.

This year’s Good Friday Re-

treat was a lot of fun! After

Father Peter’s lesson, the chil-

dren broke into groups where

they made crafts and played

games. Following the retreat,

many of the children stayed

for the Service of the Apoka-

thelosis.

Sunday School Graduation is

on June 8th. A special

“Thank You” to all the Sunday

School teachers who volun-

teer their time and talent to

the children of St. Sophia.

Have a great summer and see

you in September!!

The first half of the calendar

year was chock full of fun ac-

tivities for our GOYA. Our

youth enjoyed snow tubing

and skiing in the winter, a

Valentine's Dance where we

hosted youth from other par-

ishes, trampoline fun at Sky

Zone and our annual camping

trip to Knoebels.

But our GOYA is more than

just fun social activities. We

also did quite a bit to serve

our community. Our youth

made casseroles for Manna on

Main Street, assembled care

packages for our troops, wrote

letters to activate military

thanking them for their ser-

vice and more.

Moving forward, we will have

our annual Splash Party in

June and then a Summer food

drive to help food pantries

when supplies are at critically

low levels.

If you are in middle school or

high school and would like to

learn more about GOYA, then

please contact John Pogas at

johnpogas@gmail.com or you

can call him at 215-703-0118.

Saint Sophia’s GOYA

Page 5 Spring 2014

The Department of Youth and Young Adult

Ministries has expanded into the social me-

dia sphere! Join the conversation!

Stewardship

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! We joyously celebrated the triumphant Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ a few weeks ago. It was wonderful to see the church so full for Holy Week and Pascha. We also welcomed many visitors this year—it was terrific to see so many new faces as we celebrated our third Pascha in our new church.

Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life that acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.

True Stewardship begins with giving of our time-especially by attending services regularly—as well as volunteering (sharing our talents). God has blessed us all with many talents. We have many ministries that could use yours! There is always much to do. Your service is much appreciated!

From a financial perspective, our Stewardship contributions support all of our various ministries and pay our bills. Based on the budget approved by the Fall General Assembly, we need to achieve an average Stewardship giving of $2,080 per family ($40 per week), to fund the day to day operations of our parish (over $400,000 per year).

Did you know that it costs us about $1,200 EVERY DAY, 365 days a year to run our parish? That does not include principal payments to our mortgage and other building related expenses.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported our parish thus far in 2014 with your Time, Talent and Treasure. If you have not yet become a steward for 2014, there is still time! Cards are available at the Pangari, in the Hall or by calling the Parish office at 610-650-8960.

God Bless you for your support of our parish and His ministries!

“A Rich Man is not one who has much but one who gives much.

For what he gives away remains his forever.” - St. John Chrysostom

AHEPA Bus Trip

Byzantine Art Exhibit

In February, the Valley Forge AHEPA sponsored a bus trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC to see the exhibit

“Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections.” In the first-ever exhibition of Byzantine art at the Gallery, some

170 works of art, many never before lent to the United States, were on view—among them mosaics, icons, manuscripts, jewelry,

and ceramics. The works included newly discovered and unpublished objects that reveal the rich and multifaceted culture of

Byzantium.

Ceramic plate, late 12th–early 13th century 6th-7th Century Gold Bracelet

Stewards of Saint Sophia’s 2014

Mr. & Mrs. James Agrian

Mr. & Mrs. Eron Ahmeti

Mr. & Mrs. Harold Anagnostopoulos

Mrs. Tessie Arapolu

Mr. and Mrs. George Argiris

Mr. & Mrs. Nick Argyropoulos

Mr. & Mrs. Don Avgerinos

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Bachman

Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Bailey

Mr. & Mrs. Eustratios Bananis

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Bannon

Mrs. Calliope Bavelas

Mrs. Frieda Bell

Mr. & Mrs. Angelo Bragitikos

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Bratic

Mr. & Mrs. James Caravoulias

Mr. & Mrs. Elias Christou

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Collias

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Colyvas

Mr. Alex Colyvas

Mrs. Betty Cooper

Mr. & Mrs. George Coutavas

Thomas & Catherine Cox

Miss Maureen Curcio

Mr. Eric DeLapp & Miss Persefoni Tiliakos

Mrs. Marie A. DelViscio

Mrs. Iris Demas

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Dimitriadis

Mr. Alex Donatelli & Miss Christina Sheridan

Mr. & Mrs. Steve Dowzicky

Mr. Athanasios "Saki" Evagelou

Ms. Eleni Evangelopoulos

Mr. & Mrs. George Evangelopoulos

Mr. & Mrs. Kosmas Fotiadis

Mr. & Mrs. David Gaskin

Mr. & Mrs. A. George Gazonas

Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Gianginis

Mr. Kosma Gianginis

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Giannakarios

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Godfrey

Mr. & Mrs. Erik Gross

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Guano

Mr. & Mrs. Art Happas

Dr. & Mrs. Constantine Harris

Ms. Vela Hatzipavlides

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Hatzipavlides

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hatzipavlides

Mr. & Mrs. Garry Holstein

Ms. Konstantina Hronis

Mr. & Mrs. Evangelos Kakos

Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Kaldes

Mr. & Mrs. Andreas Kamaratos

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Kamateros

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Kane

Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Karabots

Mr. & Mrs. Christos Karagiannopoulos

Mr. & Mrs. George Karagounis

Dr. Omiro Karalis

Mr. & Mrs. John Karistinos

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Karros

Miss Laura Katsafados

Mr. Harry S.(Bob) Keares

Ms. Evangelia Klapakis

Mr. & Mrs. Bart Kline

Mr. & Mrs. Konstantinos Kontroubis

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Koser

Mr. Haralambos Kourtidis

Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Kourtidis

Mr. & Mrs. Timothy Kusniez

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Lafakis

Mr. & Mrs. Philip Laskaris

Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Laskaris

Mr. & Mrs. Dean Laskaris

Mr. & Mrs. Ioannis Lathiris

Mrs. Eleni Lazoglou

Mr.& Mrs. Kyros Leondis

Mrs. Effie Liacouras

Miss Aphrodite Liantis

Mr. Nicholas Liantis

Drs. Anthony & Maria Limberakis

Dr. & Mrs. Cary Limberakis

Mr. Mike Lopez and Miss Maria Thornberg

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Lowry

Mr. William Mackrides

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Mackrides

Ms. Irene Malagari

Dr. & Mrs. Paul Matsiras

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Migdalias

Mrs. Mary Moukoulis

Mr. & Mrs. George Mylonas

Ms. Phidella Natale

Mr. & Mrs. William Neatherly

Mr. & Mrs. George Neofotistos

Ms. Annemarie Nicholas

Hon. William & Catherine Nicholas

Mr. Alexander & Dr. Marianne Nikas

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Nikolaou

Mr. George Nikolaou

Mr. & Mrs. Serafim Notaras

Mr.& Mrs. Anthony Pantazopoulos

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Papadakes

Ms. Sophia Papadakes-Frangakis

Mr. & Mrs. John Papadimitriou

Mrs. Evelyn Pappanastasiou

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Patukas

Dr. & Mrs. Peter Patukas

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Pavlou

Mr. & Mrs. James Peoples

Mr. and Mrs. Aram Piligian, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. John Pogas

Mr. & Mrs. David Poloway

Ms. Maggie Popesco

Mr. George Prieston

Mrs. Margie Prousi

Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Prousi

Mr. & Mrs. Rami Richie

Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Ruser

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Sabia Jr.

Mr. Dimitri Samaras

Mr. & Mrs. John G. Samaras

Mr. & Mrs. Constantine Samios

Miss Catherine M. Sandilos

Drs. William & Elaine Sandilos

Mr. & Mrs. George P. Sarianos

Mrs. Margaret Callipolites Scandalios

Miss Christina Shiomos

Mr. & Mrs. Sam Sinoimeri

Mrs. Sofia Sitsis

Mr. & Mrs. Philip Sitsis

Mr. Konstantinos Sitsis

Mrs. Anna Skylakon

Drs. Charalambos & Melpo Solomides

Mr. & Mrs. Nicholaos & Yvonne Sotiropoulos

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Soutos

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Stern

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Stolarczyk

Mr. & Mrs. Keith Swope

Matushka Aniela Sydek

Mr. & Mrs. Vasilios Tatsis

Dr. & Mrs. Vassilios Theodorides

Miss Alexandra Thomloudis

Mr. & Mrs. Ilias Thomloudis

Fr Peter and Presb. Katherine Thornberg

Dr. & Mrs. Arthur Topoulos

Mrs. Anna Trantas

Ms. Linda Tripolitis

Mrs. Shirley Tripolitis

Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Trontsios

Mr. & Mrs. Socratis Tsipras

Mr. & Mrs. Seraphim Tsipras

Ms. Katherine Tsipras

Ms. Maria Tsipras

Mrs. Irene Tsokas

Mr. Nikolaos Tsouros

Mr. & Mrs. Anastasios Tzivekis

Mr. Peter Tzivekis & Miss Donna Thompson

Ms. Helene Vellios

Mrs. Anastasia Ververelli

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Watts

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Whitson

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Williams

Mr. & Mrs. Roger Witt

Mrs. Ita Zaferes

Mr. Gregory Zarcone

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Zarcone

Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Zavitsanos

Dr. & Mrs. George Zavitsanos

Thank you to all of our Stewards for sharing your Time, Talents and Treasure!

WE NEED FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS! Our Spring Grecian Festival is 1 ½ weeks away. Thousands of dollars (for supplies, ingredients, advertising, etc…) have already been spent towards this event, not to mention the countless hours of planning and preparation that are necessary. In order to have a successful festival, we need YOUR help to organize it and to ensure that it runs smoothly. We need the help of everyone -- young or old – for as much or as little time as you can offer. The indoor restaurant will be open Wednesday through Sunday, Mykonos by Night each evening from Thursday to Sunday, and the tent from Friday evening through Sunday. Please take a moment to review the available volunteer slots, and sign up for as many as you are able. All help is appreciated! To sign up, go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C044FAAA72AA20-stsophia8/10610254 If you don’t want to sign up online, please take a moment to sign up on the Volunteer Sign Up Sheet that was mailed to your home and bring/send it in as soon as possible. It is important that we know who is coming so that we can best plan for this very important event of our parish.

Spring 2014 Grecian Festival

St. Sophia’s Greek Dance Groups

St. Sophia’s Asteria Greek dance groups have

proudly represented our church at several

events over the past several months.

The Senior Dance Group won 1st Place in the

Small Group division at Sights and Sounds

earlier this year.

While the children have fun learning the danc-

es, they and their instructor, Carnation Karros

have worked hard preparing to represent our

parish. Please come enjoy the groups’ perfor-

mances at our Spring Festival and let them

know how much you appreciate their efforts.

During the summer the dance groups will take

a well deserved break. But they will be back in the fall for more fun, fellowship and performances. If you are interested in partic-

ipating and would like more information, please contact Carnation Karros at 215.917.5014 or falia@karrosfamily.com.

Religious Bookstore

The religious bookstore has many religious books and articles as well as gift items for children. Please take a moment

to stop by the bookstore during Coffee Hour on Sundays. If you are looking for an icon that we do not carry, please

speak to Aram Piligian (at the bookstore) or call the Parish office and ask Elaine about placing a special order.

An Update of Recently Sponsored Items

And Sponsorship Opportunities

We are happy to report that many generous stewards and friends have stepped up and sponsored many of the available icons and

furnishings in our church.

The most recent items sponsored are: the Royal Doors, all six icons on the Royal Doors, all five icons on the Pulpit, the icon of

Christ on the cross in the Altar and the icon of Christ on the Bishop’s Throne. Also recently sponsored is the “Lamb” (Christ in

the chalice with the six-winged angel) in the center of the back wall of the Altar. In addition most of the recently painted icons by

Dr. Kordis on the western wall of the Naos (Nαός) have been sponsored. They are: the large icon of the Dormition of the Theoto-

kos (Κοίμησις της Θεοτόκου), the large icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos (Γέννησης της Θεοτόκου), the full-figure icon of St.

Anna and the icon of St. John of Damascus, the Hymnographer. The large icon of The Anapeson (the reclining Christ as a young

man) on the front wall of the balcony (loft) has just been sponsored. The large medallion of the double-headed eagle on the solea

has also been sponsored.

As one can see we have been blessed and thankful for the many faithful and generous parishioners and friends.

There are still many items available for sponsorship, both icons and furnishings. Other items available in the Naos (ναός) are:

The Bishop’s Throne, The large cross in the altar holding the icon of the crucified Christ, the Pulpit, the psaltes’ seat (στασίδια),

the analogion, an octagonal carved table for the solea and several icons.

The next area that we will be concentrating on will be in the narthex. We have already received sponsorship for one of the pan-

gari stands and one of the sand candle stands. This area is where the first impression of our church is made and needs to be up-

dated. Please help us by sponsoring one or more of the following items in the narthex: icon stands (προσκυνητάρια) - two need-

ed, sand candle stand – one more needed, votive candle stands – two needed, one information table, one more pangari stand and

the large medallion of two peacocks drinking from the Life Giving Spring (Ζωοδόχου πηγή).

For other available items, please see the display in our Father John A. Limberakis Cultural Center foyer. For more information

call the parish office or see Dr. Peter Patukas, 610-304-4774 or email Peter.Patukas@Verizon.net.

Content for Sunday Bulletin

Any information or announcements for the Sunday bulletin must be received by 3pm on the Wednesday prior to

publication. Please e-mail information to elaine.stsophia@verizon.net. Thank you. Elaine Piligian

NEW BRICK & PAVER INSTALLATION

DEADLINE

TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014

St. Sophia invites you to become part of the church’s “Give-A-Brick” program. Bricks and pavers will be added to the already

started plaza/flagpole area in front of the church.

Your brick or paver can be inscribed with a message in honor or memory of a loved one or to commemorate a special date or event.

Applications available at parish office.

If you didn’t get your brick or paver

in time for the first installation,

now is your chance.

Get your message to the Parish office

as soon as possible.

St. Sophia’s Community Registry

(November 2013 through May 2014)

Baptisms

November 2 Mr. Erik DeLapp – Adult Baptism (Baptismal name – Demetrios)

Godparent: Varvara Maritsis

December 28 Kalista Maria Smith

Parents: Benjamin and Olga (Migdalias) Smith

Godparent: Maria (Migdalias) Walters

February 16 Tyler Nicholas Kusniez (Baptismal name – Timothy)

Parents: Timothy and Stephanie Kusniez

Godparent: Laura Katsafados

May 4 Miss Donna Thompson – Adult Baptism (Baptismal name – Iordana)

Godparent: Catherine Voultsis

May 4 Joseph Leo Bachman (Baptismal name – Iosif Leonidas)

Parents: Joseph and Emelia

Godparent: Anthony and Aleka Pappas

Weddings

April 27 Anthony Prousi and Ann Whitebread

Koumbaro: George Prousi

May 10 Catherine Sandilos and Demetri Economedes

Koumbara: Madeline Stone

May 17 Maria Thornberg and Mike Lopez

Koumbari: Michael and Stella Harrison

Necrology – Eternal Memory

September 4 Mrs. Kay Pavlou (funeral done at St. Demetrios, Upper Darby)

(This listing was inadvertently omitted from the Fall, 2013 Newsletter)

December 11 Mrs. Eugenia Szebold

January 10 Mrs. Vasiliki Angelidis

February 28 Mrs. Georgia “Gigi” Reynolds

Please visit our website:

www.saintsophiachurch.org

St. Sophia Church Mortgage

Our Current Mortgage Balance is $1,450,938.07.

On this chart you can see the progress on our mortgage which is still nearly $1,500.000. Thank you to all of our stewards

and friends who have contributed in helping to reduce this balance. Please help the church reduce its debts. All donations—

large and small are much appreciated.

Schedule of Upcoming Services and Events

May 28—June 1 18th Annual Spring Grecian Festival

May 29 Holy Ascension – Divine Liturgy 9:00 am

June 7 Saturday of Souls –Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

June 8 Pentecost / Sunday school graduation

(Summer Hours Begin - Orthos 7:45 am; Divine Liturgy 9:00 am)

June 18 American Red Cross Blood Drive 2 pm -7 pm

June 30 Synaxis of the Holy Apostles –Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

900 South Trooper Road

Jeffersonville, PA 19403

Phone: 610-650-8960

Fax: 610-650-8961

E-mail: stsophia@verizon.net

www.saintsophiachurch.org

St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church

REV. ECONOMOS PETER J. THORNBERG,

PROISTAMENOS

www.facebook.com/groups/stsophiavalleyforge/