PASCHAL LETTER - Metropolitan Anthony

To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics, Philoptochos Chapters, Choirs, Youth Organizations, and All the Faithful of the Metropolis of San Francisco:

It is the Day of Resurrection: let us embrace one another!
Let us call even those who hate us brothers and sisters,
Let us forgive all things in the Resurrection!

(Great Paschal Doxastikon)

My Beloved Children in the Lord,

On Pascha, we stand at the juncture between two kingdoms. On Holy Thursday, we watch as the kingdom of this world--the power of human treachery, brutality, and hatred--rises to its apex, and in the bruised and battered face of Christ we behold as if gathered in one all the sufferings of humanity. The Feast of Holy Pascha offers us a vision of another dominion, the Kingdom of God, which transcends the grasp of human injustice and enmity. In the glorious face of the Risen Christ, who is Himself the “Land of the Living”, we catch a glimpse of that realm beyond the reach of death and suffering.

As the hymnography of the Feast reminds us, the most profound sign of God’s Kingdom in our midst is our willingness to forgive, to be reconciled with one another, to love even our enemies and those who hate us. Christ willingly suffers and forgives His persecutors, and in so doing breaks the cycle of violence and retribution stretching all the way back to Cain and Abel. By His Resurrection, He overcomes the fear of death, which imprisons us within the limited horizon of this world, within our own petty enmities, jealousies, and hatreds. The Feast of Holy Pascha thus represents a journey of reconciliation, a passage from this world towards the life of the world to come.

The Paschal light of Christ blazes forth in the night, and we are summoned to receive this light and bear it forth into the world. On Pascha, the blind darkness of this age is dispelled, illuminated as it is by the light of the Kingdom that is to come. As the Paschal Gospel of St. John proclaims, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

It is the Day of Resurrec- tion! Let us therefore receive the Paschal flame within our hearts, to burn there undying and unquenched. In the midst of a world torn by enduring enmity, let us embrace as brothers and sisters both “those who hate us and those who love us.” Let us show that the power of love is stronger than that of death by loving and forgiving our enemies in the promise of the Resurrection. And thus, may we proclaim:

Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and bestowing life to those in the tombs.

Paternally,

Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco

Maria Anna Ossipoff Allen: Our 2004 Woman of the Year

As our March 25th Luncheon got underway, Father Stephen proclaimed our 2004 Woman of the Year. As customary, some biographical material was offered. What follows is a fuller biography of this most worthy individual -- Maria Anna Ossipoff/ Allen.

Maria was born on May 7, 1962 in San Francisco, California to Alexander and Lula Ossipoff, three years before her sister Alexia was born. She was a very happy-go-lucky child and always amazed her parents at how quickly she learned things. She went to school at West Portal Grammar School and had been accepted into the Gifted Program when she was nine years old. Unfortunately, she did not have the opportunity to enter that program because the family moved to Burlingame in 1971.

Maria was a very good student from grade school through high school. In high school she loved being in the drama department, and participated in quite a few productions at Mills High School and also some other theater groups after high school.

After graduating from high school, she entered the College of San Mateo, and then transferred to Canada College, where she received her AA degreee. All the time she was going to college, she kept working. As a youngster, growing up, she was always interested in work, so she did a lot of odd jobs: babysitting, tending youngsters, cleaning homes, cater ing, etc. After graduating from Canada, she worked at Macy’s in Hillsdale, where she had an opportunity to grow with the company, but chose to go back to school and get her teaching credentials, so at the age of 24 she entered San Francisco State and continued to work.

It took her a few years to finish, but she did it and her first job was a second grade teacher at Woodside Elementary. After several years, she moved to Antioch and started working for the Brentwood School District, teaching first grade. Maria has now been teaching for 13 years and loves it.

For Maria, her church and religion were always very important. Starting from a baby, for her 40 days and then when she was baptized at the Annunciation Cathedral, her parents took her to church with them. She was fortunate to have been exposed to two churches: the Greek and the Russian. It was always comical, when the family went to church, the girls would ask, “Are we going to the church where we sit or stand?”

When she was old enough, Maria attended Annunciation Cathedral’s Sunday School, where she was taught by two of her cousins, Emily Tamaras and Tom Nuris, and was probably close to being one of Mrs. Vellis’ original students. When the family moved to Burlingame, they chose to stay at the Annunciation because that’s where all their roots were: her grandparents, Arsanes and Anna Tamaras (may have joined the church in 1929), her aunt and uncle, Teia and Manuel Nuris, and cousins Tom and Annamarie Nuris (Balian).

Beside Sunday School, Maria learned a lot about religion from discussions with her parents and her yiayia. She and her sister attended the summer camps for many years and then, as she got older, she became a counselor for quite a few years. She also joined the choir where her mom was a member, followed, in a few years, by her sister.

Maria was always very active in the Annunciation food festivals and worked in many capacities: setting up, tending various booths, serving, and now, for many years, on the cashier team. She was a member of the Audit Committee for two years; she has been a coordinator in the TGI Pascha program; has been on the committee for preparing our children for the Oratorical Festival; plays an integral part in preparing our children for the Christmas play. Maria travels over an hour each way, every Sunday, as she teaches Sunday School, and this will be her third year of teaching.
Maria has a great relationship with her Godmother, Chrisula Asimos, and is a Godmother herself to two girls, Molly and Anna. And now her Goddaughter, Anna, the daughter of Maria’s sister and brother-in-law, Alexia and Richard Kleinekorte, is attending Sunday School at the Annunciation.
Aside from being active in church, Maria was very involved in the Maids of Athens and, at one time, served as a District Governor.

Maria is very happily married to a wonderful man by the name of Andy, who is so thankful she came into his life. He and Maria’s family are very proud of her achieving this beautiful recognition.

Axia!

PASCHA IN THE GYM

We tried it last year and it was great -- Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy in the gym, rather than in the chapel. Why, some asked, didn’t we continue to have services in the gym, especially the Paschal Liturgy, when our chapel is literally filled to overflowing? One reason is that we need to re-set the gym for the Walddorf High School. The other reason is that we need the gym for the magheretsa (the meal) following the Paschal Liturgy. This year, however, since Western and Orthodox Easters coincide, and Waldorf School has the week off, we thought we would try having all our services in the gym.

Then, what about the magheretsa (or Paschal meal)? Well, the chapel is really a multi-use facility (it’s not the church--which we still expect to build down the road-- and it is not consecrated), so we’ll have the Paschal meal there (buffet style, for the most part, with a few tables and chairs). So, that’s it: Pascha in the gym. Now, as for parking, we will have the attended parking services of California Parking for the large services (Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Pascha night). They will direct our parking in our lot as well as in the Armory, which we will be renting for this purpose.

In addition to having Father Gregory Ofiesh with us for Holy Week and Pascha, we will also have The Reverend Deacon Dr. John Chryssavghis, who will assist with the chanting and serve in the Liturgy. You may recall, Deacon Jon was with us just before the beginning of Lent. He spoke to on the topic of forgiveness at our pre-Lenten retreat and delivered the homily during the “Godparents Sunday” Liturgy. We invite you to participate in Holy Week and Paschal services at the Cathedral this year, beginning with Palm Sunday, April 4.

OFFICIAL: PARISH ASSEMBLY WEDNESDAY, MAY 19

Members of the Cathedral who are in good standing, as defined in the Uniform Parish Regulations, are invited to our first Parish Assembly for 2004. The Assembly will take place at the Annunciation Cathedral Wednesday, May 19, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Coffee will be served at 8:00 p.m.
The Agenda for the Assembly is as follows:

Opening Prayer
1. Opening of the Assembly - Election of Assembly Chair
2. Minutes of the November 19, 2003 Parish Assembly
3. Treasurer’s Report including 2003 Year-End Report
4. Stewardship Update
5. Dean’s and President’s Remarks
6. Election of Nominating Committee
7. Election of Board of Elections
8. Election of Board of Auditors
9. Election of Delegates to the July 25 - July 30 Archdiocese Clergy-Laity Congress
9. Old Business
10. New Business
Closing Prayer

APRIL 25: HONORING PAT ALECK

Most recently, you have received an invitation to attend a testimonial dinner honoring Pat Aleck as Past President of the Parish Council. The dinner will take place at the Cathedral, Sunday, April 25. We certainly hope you are planning to be in attendance, to honor Pat for a lifetime of dedicated service. In addition to her having served the Parish Council for many years, Pat was President of our community for six years. Pat has demonstrated her tireless commitment to our parish as well as to the Hellenic Community of the Bay Area, the Metropolis, the Metropolis Philoptochos Board, and numerous institutions. The dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. The donation for the dinner, preceded by no-host cocktails and an abundance of mezethes at 5:00 p.m., is $40.00 per person. Please mail back the reply portion of your invitation. If you have misplaced your copy, the Cathedral office will be happy to send you another copy. Simply call, 415 864-8000.

The dinner is being sponsored by the Cathedral Parish Council. Tom Nuris, as President of the Parish Council, is serving as chairman of the event and toastmaster for the evening.

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS - Angie Leventis, President

Easter Bake

Easter Bake time is here once again. We will be happy to prepare tsourekis (Paschal egg-butter bread), koulourakia (“S-shaped” cookies), and colored eggs for your Easter table. To place your order, please use the form which was sent to you recently with the Easter service schedule.

Kids ‘n cancer Project

Recently, we delivered 100 Bears and blankets to the Pediatric units at San Francisco General, and UCSF and 50 Bears and blankets to California Pacific Medical Center for their pediatric unit. The Agape Bear Care Package is part of the Kid n’ Cancer Project, which we are carrying out in conjunction with the Metropolis Philoptochos.

We met with Renee Cibulka, Executive Director of Volunteers to SF General Hospital, who told us that we could volunteer in the neo-natal intensive care unit in which a volunteer would assist the staff with the care of all newborns by holding, feeding, rocking and changing diapers. This happens to be a very popular program and one that we think any volunteer would enjoy. The majority of these infants are born to mothers who have difficulty caring for their own babies and also some of these babies have to remain in the hospital for a considerable amount of time while the mother is released to go home.

Another area that we can volunteer in ia Child Care where volunteers assist the staff with children care while their parent is participating in a support group.

Anyone interested in volunteering at San Francisco General Howpital, please see Angie Leventis and she will give you the application form to become a volunteer. You need not be a Philoptochos member to participate in this program. Anyone can apply.

Mother’s Day Luncheon & Fashion Show

Let’s not forget the 45th Annual Mother’s Day Luncheon, “A Bridal Affair,” which will be held on Saturday, May 8, 2004, in our community hall. Please mark your calendars to hold this day for a very memorable event. The cost will be $40.00 per person. Tessie Obester is chair of this event. In addition to an invitation to the luncheon, we recently mailed out raffle tickets to all parishioners. The “Mother of the Year” will be announced, and we hope you will all be able to attend the luncheon. However, in the event you are unable to be with us, we hope that your will purchase some of the raffle tickets. You need not be present to win the prizes. The proceeds of the raffle tickets will go to the Kids n’ Cancer Project - a most worthwhile project.
Scholarship

This year the Philoptohcos is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a college student, preferably a 4-year college student. Request an application by writing Angie Leventis, Philoptochos President, or Anne Mountanos, Philoptochos Scholarship Chairman, 245 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. The winner will be notified and the scholarship will be presented when we also honor the Father of the Year, on June 20..

COME JOIN US. . . . . FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2004, 6:00 p.m.

This is the day when we will celebrate an evening Presanctified Divine Liturgy. For the first time, the readers will include teachers and students from our Sunday School, as well as participants in our Lenten program. For many people, participation in this ancient Liturgy will be a first-time experience. At the conclusion of the Liturgy, everyone is invited to partake of the Lenten meal, which will be prepared by Effie Vellis and her crew, on behalf of the Sunday School. The light supper will begin at 7:30 p.m.

RECENT SERVICES AT THE CATHEDRAL

BAPTISM

Georgios Dimitrios, son of Dimitrios G. and Georgia Gialia Tsokas, was baptized at the Cathedral on March 6. His sponsors are George, Eleni, and Maria Kalligeros.

Na Mas Zisi!

FUNERALS

Ann Thanos, who fell asleep in the Lord on February 25, was buried March 1. Next of kin are her daughter Georgia Vlahos, and her family.

Helen Zorbas, who fell asleep in the Lord on February 28, was buried March 4. Next of kin is her nephew, John Zorbas.

Nick A. Moulas, who fell asleep in the Lord on March 3, was buried March 8. Next of kin is his wife, Vaso Moulas, and children Tom and Dean.

Marie Eliopoulos, who fell asleep in the Lord on February 29, was buried March 11. Next of kin is her executor, Marc Calderon.

Aionia afton i mnimi! May their memory be eternal!

The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society of the Annunciation Cathedral

Request the pleasure of your company

At the 45th Annual Mother’s Day Luncheon and Fashion Show

A Bridal Affair

On Saturday, the eighth of May

Two thousand and four

At eleven thirty in the morning until three thirty in the afternoon

Annunciation Cathedral Korinthias Hall

245 Valencia Street

San Francisco

Reservations $40.00 per person

For reservations please call 415 864-8000

Attended parking available

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
RSVP

Name_____________________________________________________________

Address____________________________________________________________

Telephone Number___________________________________________________

Please reserve ___________ seat(s) at $40.00 per person or table of 10 for $400.00

Make checks payable to Ladies Philoptochos Society and return by April 25, 2004, 245 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California 94103

Tickets and seat assignments will be waiting for you at the door the day of the event

April 2004 Herald
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral.