KOINONIA Volume XVI, Issue III Summer 2021
Holy Trinity GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH Fr. Luke Melackrinos, Parish Priest 900 6th Street Sioux City, Iowa 51101 Telephone: 712-255-5559
Www.holytrinity.ia.goarch.org
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 900 6th Street Sioux City, Iowa 51101 Www.holytrinity.ia.goarch.org
Church Office
Rev. Fr. Luke Melackrinos, Proistamenos
Telephone: 712-255-5559
frlukem@gmail.com
Office Fax: 712-255-1836
Parish Council President: Maria Schultz
Worship Hours: (All Services being streamed live, please check the calendar) Sundays:
Orthros 8:15 a.m. Divine Liturgy 9:15 a.m.
Weekdays:
Orthros & Divine Liturgy 8:30 a.m.
Tuesdays:
Paraklesis Service 6:30 p.m.
Table of Contents
Church Staff
Father’s Message
Page 4
President’s Message
Page 5
Stewardship
Page 6
Philoptochos
Page 9
Calendar
Pages 18-20
Parish Priest/ Editor: Parish Council President: Office Director : Philoptochos President: Book Store: Sunday School Director: Greek Dance Director: Youth Directors: Stewardship:
Fr. Luke Melackrinos Maria Schultz Mary Sharp Mary Baryo Kiki Karras & Dr. Fotene Karantinos Andrea Kjos Andrea Konidas Michelle Bostinelos & Pres. Marusia Stella Daskalakis
Holy Trinity Festival Workshops HELP NEEDED ! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! COME FOR ANY AMOUNT OF TIME YOU CAN GIVE!
Koulouria, 7/22 @ 9 am Diples, 7/23 @9 am Spanakopita 7/24 @ 9 am Summer 2021
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Mission of the Parish: To build our Church Family through bountiful religious services, educational classes, fellowship opportunities and outreach. The pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving will feature prominently in the ministries of the Parish. Vision for the Parish: A Dynamic Church, equally strong at home as at the Parish, fortified by Ministries that bring the faithful closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, His Holy Mother, and all the Saints. Iowa Town Hall Meeting With
His Eminence, Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago Saturday, August 21 7 pm - 9 pm St. George Greek Orthodox Church Des Moines, Iowa "The purpose of the townhall meetings is for His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael to engage with the clergy and laity and describe the progress made by the Metropolis over the last three years as well as his long-term vision for the Metropolis. The meetings are envisioned to be 1-2 hours in
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Thank You!
Fr. Luke Melackrinos Beloved in Christ, Allow me to use this space to say, “Thank you!” Since our last issue of the Koinonia we have had so many events, activities, and church services that are detailed quite well by our wonderful Parish Council President, Maria Schultz in this issue. But I would be remiss if I didn’t say thank you to all of you for all of your hard work the last few months and as always. Metropolitan Nathanael, during his visit expressed that Holy Trinity is a dynamic, connected and vibrant parish. He expressed his amazement at the percentage of active, invested parishioners that would be the envy of many larger parishes throughout the Metropolis and in the Archdiocese. So, as we continue our journey back to our pre-pandemic parish life my gratitude is not just for the things we have done in the past, but for the incredible offerings that you will be making as well. First, and foremost on my mind, is our upcoming Festival. The decision to have an outdoor festival, was not an easy one. Even though so many people, who supported us through our drive-up festivals, clamored for our “regular” festival because they missed their favorite foods, experiences, and atmosphere, how could we possibly pull this off? The restrictions around us here in Siouxland were slowly lifted, and the decision to hold another drive-up festival or a version of our regular festival had to made. So, incredibly late in the game, our Parish Council made the right decision to hold our festival. We need you to make this work, though. The festival that we normally have a full year to prepare for, is already upon us NEXT MONTH. Please consider reaching out to Leah Brockway and Andrea Konidas, our hard working festival chairs and offering more time to volunteer than you normally would. The only way our Festival will be a success is if each one of us helps “pull the rope” so to speak. I pray that all of you have a blessed, Christ filledremainder of your summer. Please do not neglect the sacramental element of your spiritual lives. Christ’s Holy Church offers the perfect medicine for all of our struggles in this life. See you in church!! Summer 2021
Congratulations to Alex Karras on receiving the Servant Leadership Award from His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael! Page 4
President’s Message Holy Trinity Faithful, A short time ago, a parishioner shared that she was approached by a recent patient at MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center, across the street from our church. The recently-discharged patient shared that she was very ill and was experiencing some very uncomfortable nights while in the hospital. Her room happened to face our church. Once she realized that, she stated that at night she laid on her side, so that she could face Holy Trinity. Had it not been for the cross illumined on top of our church, she doesn’t know if she could have made it. Our cross brought her hope, comfort and strength. The weekend of April 10th, our parish was visited by Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago. During his visit, he bestowed upon Alex Karras one of the Bronze Cross Metropolis Servant Leadership Awards. Each parish in our metropolis was asked to nominate a parishioner who demonstrates exceptional service and inspires others to get involved in the life of the church. Even though several of our parishioners would qualify for this award, it was unanimous that Alex should receive the first nomination from our parish. Also during the Metropolitan’s visit, he met with the parish council to discuss how our parishes overall survived the year of Covid-19. Thanks again to Kosta Antonopoulos and those who served on the parish Covid-19 team, they led us in following the State and Metropolis health guidelines, with the utmost safety precautions. His Eminence expressed that he’s extremely pleased with our active, positive and dynamic parish and encouraged us to continue the ministries that we have and to even add more! Father Luke and the parish council discussed and are implementing a new Random Acts of Kindness ministry. Small cards will be given to parishioners, who in turn can perform random acts of kindness for people. It could be purchasing coffee for the person ahead of you in line, paying for the meal of a person at a restaurant, the possibilities are endless. The card would then be given to that person stating that the random act of kindness was provided by a parishioner of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. I truly believe that one of the greatest random acts of kindness we’ve been providing, without even realizing it, has been the illumined cross on top of our church. We will never know how many people it has touched over the years! Random acts of kindness were provided by those who helped make our Lenten, Holy Week and Pascha services so beautiful and meaningful! You are truly appreciated! Several of you have provided random acts of kindness by supporting our recent fundraisers for our Accessibility Ramp Project. Some of you donated generous monetary contributions, some of you donated treasures to our community rummage sale and others of you attended, supported and cheered on the project. Many thanks to Julie Konidas and Presbytera Marusia for spearheading these super-successful events. They definitely help put the FUN in FUNdraising! Lastly, we encourage everyone to provide random acts of kindness by signing up to help prepare for, staff and support our upcoming Greek Fest Drive-Up on June 26 and 27, and our three-day Greek Fest on August 20, 21 and 22. Reach out to our event chairs, Leah Baryo and Andrea Konidas, and let them know you’re kindly ready, willing and able to help! Many blessings for a wonderful summer! Maria Schultz, Parish Council President Summer 2021
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Stewardship Corner HOW MUCH SHOULD I GIVE TO MY CHURCH? True Stewardship is giving back to Christ’s Church (for the perpetuation of God’s work) a percentage of your financial resources – in proportion to the blessings you have received. The amount each family gives will be different, because the resources of each family are different. Give in proportion to what you have been given; but give sacrificially.
It is recommended that each parishioner review the cost of operating the Church before submitting their pledge. Remember; most Greek Orthodox parishes require an average of $20 per week from each family ($1,040 annually) to maintain an Orthodox Church with active ministries. This is only a recommendation, the Holy Trinity Stewardship program has no set minimum. The Bible encourages tithing as a guideline for giving. Tithing is when one gives cheerfully and voluntarily 10% of one’s annual income for the glory and support of His Church. If you cannot give 10%, begin at 2 or 3% and challenge yourself to increase the percentage each year. God will honor your commitment. God will provide. My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude! It has truly been my honor to get the ball rolling again on the wheelchair accessibility ramp project. These past few months have been a testament to the love, kindness and generosity of the Holy Trinity family. The success of Yia Yia’s Attic, dinner at Table 32 and the pizza buffet and auction at Buffalo Alice could only have been possible with all of your love and support. A special thank you to all of you who donated to this project. Especially the generous donors who donated $20,000; $5,000; $2,000 and $1,000! Your generosity is a blessing and inspiration to us all. Together we raised over $35,000!! Combined with what we have raised up to now, we can finally make our goal of having a wheelchair accessible ramp become a reality! Let us always remember to keep our love for God, our church and each other at the center of all we do and we’ll be unstoppable!! With love, Julie Konidas Summer 2021
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Holy Trinity 2021 Stewards
Fr. Luke & Presbytera Marusia Melackrinos Mrs. Bessie Klimiades Brother Amphilochios (Yianopoulos) Mr. & Mrs. George Klimiades Dr. Kosta & Dr. Valerie Antonopoulos Mr. & Mrs. Kolintzas Mr. & Mrs. Perry Antonopoulos Ms. Anna Kounas Mr. & Mrs. Michael Antonovich Mrs. Cheryl Kounas Presbytera Vasiliki Balomenos Mrs. Connie Kouris Mr. Michael Barazia Mr. & Mrs. Lyle Listamann Mr. & Mrs. Athanasious Bariatakis Mr. & Mrs. Paul Madsen Mr. & Mrs. John Baryo Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Margeas Mr. & Mrs. Emmanuel Bikakis Mrs. Daisy Margeas Mrs. Chris Bikakis-Miller Mrs. Virginia Margeas Mr. & Mrs. Dimitri Bostinelos Mr. & Mrs. Tim Margellos Mrs. Martha Bostinelos Mr. & Mrs. Mike Michelakakis Mr. & Mrs. Greg Boucher Mr. & Mrs. Ted Michelakakis Mr. & Mrs. Pete Bovis Mrs. Sophie Milbrodt Mr. & Mrs. Beau Brockway Mrs. Karlie Mobley Ms. Stella Daskalakis Mr. & Mrs. Craig Morfas Mr. & Mrs. George Demetroulis Mr. & Mrs. George Paradise Mrs. Georgia Diavastes Ms. Secia Porreco Dr. Stilianos Efstratiades Mr. & Mrs. George Poulos Mr. & Mrs. Vasilaki Emmanuel Ms. Annette Prewitt Mr. & Mrs. Isidoros Garifalakis Mrs. Georgia Reusch Mr. Vaios Gennatos Mrs. Maria Rigas Mr. & Mrs. James Giasafakis Mr. & Mrs. Roger Schultz Mr. & Mrs. Casey Glanzer Mrs. Mary Sharp Mr. & Mrs. Craig Golden Mrs. Helen Siganos Mr. & Mrs. Tom Haddad Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Stevens Mr. Christos Iordanou Mrs. Catherine Sutherland Mr. Chris Jones Mrs. Anna Theros Mr. & Mrs. Rick Jones Mr. Dorwin Tompkins Dr. Fotene Karantinos Mr. & Mrs. Costa Tsiobanos Mr. & Mrs. Alex Karras Mr. & Mrs. James Vlahakis Mr. & Mrs. Alex Kazos Mrs. Joan Vlahoulis Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Ketchelos Ms. Julie Kinnaman 69 Stewardship Families as of June 28, 2021 Mr. & Mrs. Dave Kjos
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Support St. Iakovos Retreat Center - Metropolis of Chicago Commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago’s St. Iakovos Retreat Center with your life-time legacy and be a part of the heritage at the Retreat Center. Honor your family, children, grandchildren, business, corporation, association or provide a lasting tribute memorial for a loved one by gifting a personalized brick. It will be installed in the chapel area leading up to the front doors and on the cottage sidewalk to help beautify the grounds and enhance our place of retreat. Your gift helps the St. Iakovos Retreat Center achieve its mission to provide a place of retreat for faith, fellowship, and rejuvenation to inspire personal growth within the peace and beauty of nature. To donate and learn more, please visit: www.gosirc.org.
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Holy Trinity Philoptochos Hello from Philoptochos! We want to wish all the community a wonderful summer. The Philoptochos of Holy Trinity and the Metropolis of Chicago has been busy as usual. We had a successful Pascha sale of tsourekia, Koulouria and Easter ‘baskets’ for purchase. Thank you to all who made, donated and supported us in this venture. I participated in the Metropolis President’s meeting in February and a full report was sent to the members, but a few highlights are worth sharing here. Aid to Greece and Cyprus is needed now more than ever. The Archbishop and National Philoptochos President are meeting to see which is the best way to continue to give our support. Metropolis wide, 77,000 meals were served to the needy in the past 8 months. Whether is be by soup kitchens, sack lunches, etc.. We participated locally by making and giving away nearly 200 sack lunches this spring. Philanthropic donations in the sum of $42,000 were made thus far this year. The Metropolis membership currently stands at 3246! A major fund raiser has been the ‘Men in Black’ cooking event, in which our Metropolis priests sent in a video of them preparing a recipe which was then downloaded for anyone to watch for a donation to the Philanthropy fund. Watch our favorite priests, Fr. Luke, Fr. Dimitri and Father Tilemahos on the site! Go the the Metropolis website chicagophilo.org to find the info on this. We had our elections, which are help every 2 years. Our board met and elected myself as president, Julie Konidas as V.P., Maria Schultz as treasurer and Jessica Bariatakis as secretary. Thank you everyone for your support as we plan for the following years ahead. If you have a college age student, please give me their contact info so that we may share it with the OCF, Orthodox Christian Fellowship. October 7th is the Clergy/Laity Conference in St. Louis in which Philoptochos participates and November 6th is the National Children's Medical Luncheon in Indianapolis. If anyone would like to attend, please see me. We encourage you all to consider becoming active members of the Ladies Philoptochos of Holy Trinity. Men and nonOrthodox women can join as auxiliary members as well! At our final official meeting this spring, I brought up the below outreach project to our members. It is a wonderful way we can support our local community, which in turn has helped us over the years. Please see below. More information available on how to begin this project will be shared in the near future. If you would like to chair this committee, please see me. OPERATION CLASSROOM: The mission of the Operation Classroom Initiative is to assist and offer support to teachers and students in underserved or underfunded schools and provide resources that would not have been available through the local school district. The US Department of Education has announced that over 94% of public school teachers provide school supplies for their classrooms out of their own resources without any expectation of reimbursement. What if every Philoptochos chapter across the US adopts an underserved school in their community and provides needed support? Multiply the number of schools served by the number of students and imagine the lives we could reach and positively impact! For a small financial investment, Philoptochos stewards can affect the next generation of scientists, artists, religious leaders, teachers, and perhaps even a president. Our President challenges every chapter to get involved and adopt a school! Thank you! With sisterly love, Mary Baryo, President Summer 2021
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Holy Trinity Springtime Memories
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Please join us for weekly Festival Meetings Mondays at 7, to discuss the upcoming festival. This includes previous committee members and also open to any who would like to be involved. If you have suggestions please contact us or join us at the meeting. Meetings will take place at the church. If you are unable to attend in person, please join us via the link below: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85397263847? We are looking for interested and committed dancers for festival. Practice will be held on Sundays from 4-6 and possibly Thursday evening as well. If you are high school through adults and would like to participate please contact Andrea Konidas as soon as possible. Text or call 1-505-280-7663
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Sunday School Education Greetings Everyone!
Summer is in full swing, yet we know that Fall is just around the corner and that means the beginning of a new Ecclesiatical year - Happy New Year!! Save the date First day of Sunday School: September 19, 2021, 100% in person following Communion. Grades - Preschool - 12th Grade are invited. Note: Please feel free to wear a mask If you wish - it is now a choice not a mandate.
Teachers: Ms. Eleni Melackrinos - Preschool - 1st grade Mrs. Andrea Kjos - 2nd grade - 4th grade Mrs. Mary Bariatakis - 5th grade - 12th grade Mrs. Cassie Ketchelos - Sunday School Admin. Please join me in welcoming back these wonderful ladies who are happy to share and volunteer their time for the spiritual welfare of your children. I am excited and I hope you are also to get back together in person and celebrate Christ. So ‘let your light shine’ and come back to Sunday school and church and re-ignite your friendships and make new friends too!
Fun Times with the Sioux City Musketeers at Holy Trinity Hockey Night Summer 2021
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Recap of Virtual Sunday School 2020-2021 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and the students for their flexibility during the pandemic in participating and reciprocating interest in having your child receive their weekly Sunday school lesson via email from either myself or Mary Bariatikis. In addition, I extend my gratitude to Fr. Luke and the Parish Council for their support in all areas of outreach. My teachers were absolutely incredible - nothing was too much and their flexibility was off the charts. Thank you and God bless you all! ***Pandemic Accomplishments*** *Sunday school lessons - prepared and sent Weekly. *Christmas - a variety of gifts were mailed to each child such as a personalized Christian Christmas Ornament, books, or Christmas themed items. *Pascha - The annual Easter Egg Hunt was held at the church on Easter morning. Many, many eggs were scattered about that contained an array of fun things toys, stickers and even $$. Outreach - Sunday school also reaches those who haven’t had the opportunity to attend for a variety of reasons or their locale is further than most - for a student body of 40! Thank you Parents! See you this Fall. *End of School Year/Graduation: Sunday School students that attended this service including graduates received a gift from the Sunday School Department. Have a safe remainder of the Summer, ‘see you in September.’ God bless you all. In Christ, Andrea Kjos, Sunday School Director +++ Summer 2021
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