GREEK SCHOOL RESUMES ON JANUARY 9

We are pleased to announce that Greek School will resume on Saturday, January 9. This session will run from January 9 to June 13, and then resume again in the Fall. Classes will meet at Noon and conclude at 2 p.m, with a short supervised recess in between. They will be taught by Demetra Armenakis and by Ioanna Pagani. Demetra will teach the younger children and Ioanna will teach the older children. We will also have a substitute teacher (tentatively, this person is Ilectra Anagnostopoulou). In addition, we are especially pleased that we will have the assistance of Evdokia Andreadis. Evdokia is a daughter of Ambassador Ioannis Andreadis, Consul General of Greece, and Mrs. Andreadis. The teachers will obtain the books and supplement the texts with other materials, such as songs, hymns and prayers. The tuition for this session will remain the same as last year, i.e. $220, with half price for siblings.

Our parents’ support group is headed by Pamfilia Zambelis (pzambelis@yahoo.com), with the assistance of Philip Athanasiades and Anna Kapetanakos. Please e-mail Pamfilia with your questions or concerns, or to enroll your child(ren). You may also do so by calling the Cathedral at 415 864-8000. Won’t you join us as we endeavor to preserve our Hellenic faith and heritage by teaching the language and culture of Greece to our youth? Help spread the word; encourage your friends and relatives to take part in this stimulating educational program being offered by the Annunciation Cathedral. 864-8000. Won’t you join us as we endeavor to preserve our Hellenic faith and heritage by teaching the language and culture of Greece to our youth? Help spread the word; encourage your friends and relatives to take part in this stimulating educational program being offered by the Annunciation Cathedral.

GETTING READY FOR FDF IN SAN JOSE, CA JANUARY 14-18

As noted, our dancers and directors, advisors and parents, are hard at work preparing for the Greek Orthodox Folk Dance and Choral Festival, which will be held in San Jose, CA over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, January 14-18. This will be the 34th annual FDF. Typically, the event, which draws over 2,500 young people and their families and friends, is held over the Presidents’ Day weekend. However, because Pascha this year will fall on April 4, FDF will be held approximately one month earlier. Parents are encouraged to go ahead and register for themselves and their children.

Meanwhile, costumes are being made. The cost of making the costumes is being underwritten by the parish budget but also by donations and fundraising events by the parents themselves. In addition to funds raised at our recent festival, dance group parents participated in the recent Alzheimer’s walk, raising an additional $2,000 for the program.

Our groups Ekrixi and Erini practice on Tuesday evenings, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ekrixi (jr. high school) is being directed by Michael Garibaldi and Nicole Georgiou. Erini (ages 7-10) is being directed by Katerina Loufas, Alyssa Obester, and Jimmie Stavrakaras. Seizmos practices on Tuesday evenings, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. Seizmos (high school/adult), is being directed by Leah Stavrakaras. Our adult dance group, directed by Deacon Nikos Bekris, practices Tuesdays, at 7:30 p.m. Spithes (ages 5-10) practices on Sundays, following the Divine Liturgy. Spithes (ages 5 to 8), is being directed by Irene Kyriacou, Lea Lyberopoulos, Lea Papavasiliou and Nicholas Balian. Thisavri (ages 3and 4) practices on Sundays, following the Divine Liturgy. It is taught by Irene Kyriacou, Lea Lyberopoulos and Shareen Saddick.

CATHEDRAL GOYA CHRISTMAS PROJECT: HELPING THOSE IN NEED

On December 22, the Annunciation Cathedral GOYA held its annual Christmas Project for the community. Consisting of young people in junior high and high school, under the leadership of Katerina Loufas and Alyssa Obester, our GOYA met at the Cathedral that evening, bringing clothing, toiletries and linens for the homeless, which were then given to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to distribute to those in need this winter. Following the clothing drive, we went Christmas caroling at an old folks home, followed by dinner at the home of the Misthos family. Helping others is an act of joy and love, and something that benefits the soul. As such, it is a calling of every Christian, just as much as prayer, fasting, and going to church.

It is the goal of our GOYA to do a community project every three or four months, with discussion meetings at the Church and fellowship events in the meantime. If you are interested in being a part of this beautiful ministry, please contact Deacon Niko Bekris at (415) 864-8000, or visit the “Youth of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral San Francisco” Facebook group page.

YOUNG ADULTS MEET FOR NIGHT OF CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

Our Cathedral Young Adult Group once again met on December 18 and together prayed a Vespers service in the Cathedral chapel, followed by dinner at Ristorante Capri on Market Street. A wonderful time was had by all, and we are proud to say that since starting in March of 2009, our young adult group had at least one meeting each month, including a church service during a festive season of the Church (August and December), with at least one new face at each event.

If you are interested in being part of our young adult events (for those ages 18-35ish) for 2010, contact Deacon Niko Bekris at (415) 864-8000, or visit the “Youth of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral San Francisco” Facebook group page.

JOY GROUP TO BEGIN THIS MONTH!!!

The Annunciation Cathedral is set to begin a JOY group this month! The youth group, in effect, would be for children between 3rd and 6th grade, and would consist of fun activities, faith lessons, and some outdoor events. If any parent is willing to volunteer for this ministry, please contact Deacon Niko Bekris at (415) 864-8000, or deacon@annunciation.org.

YOUTH BULLETINS: JANUARY “ A Holy Gift”

Included below is December’s bulletin, in addition to January

Part 3 of 4, By Rev. Deacon Niko Bekris

I’ll admit I’m a huge baseball fan, but I never understood what bases had to do with dating. People refer to first, second, etc when it comes to dating, and I guess the further you go with someone physically, the further you go along the bases, right? It seems there are a lot of messages floating around in our society about relationships, specifically about physical relationships;how far you’re allowed to go, how everything’s okay as long as both people consent, how it’s okay as long as it doesn’t affect your happiness, etc. When a person hears these kinds of messages, you almost say to yourself, “Yeah, I know that the Church teaches to wait until marriage to have sex, but is that even realistic today? Does anyone even do that?”

Two months ago, I shared that true romantic love is just as much a function of the soul as of the body, and some thoughts about what our understanding of love should be. Last month I shared some thoughts about the next step, dating, and how any romantic relationship is fulfilled when it is centered around God and our being selfless, not selfish. This month, I’d like to share some thoughts about another dimension of relationships--physical relations--and to seriously look at this question, because it is something we’re faced with today, and not just in high school. Given the fact that messages about physical relations are thrown around today in TV, movies, music, billboards, everywhere, I feel it’s important that we bring an awareness to our Church’s message about this topic, and ask ourselves, Is this even possible anymore?

First, I would ask the following- Have you ever dated someone, not done anything physical with them, and then stopped seeing them after things didn’t work out? How hard is it to stop seeing that person? Now consider how hard it is to stop seeing someone you have done something physical with, even just kissed? It is much harder to stop seeing someone who you have done something physical with, because physical relations create an even deeper connection between two people. It’s true, and yet we barely ever consider it. When your love, not lust, grows for someone romantically, you want to share something with the person beyond just a hello or a hug. This is something very natural and human that God has given us. And yet, God knows that physical relations between a man and a woman do bring them closer together, and He wants us to experience this in a safe, healthy way, and not get hurt.

If you have sex with someone, or do anything physical with someone, and later that person decides they don’t want to see you anymore, it is very, very hurtful. On the other hand, if two people share physical intimacy within the context of a married relationship, there is safety, security, and commitment there that allows that love to be fulfilled- especially if two people in a marriage do their best to emulate Christ’s love in their love for one another. In other words, God wants you to guard your heart. God has given us something tremendously special, a holy gift, and He doesn’t want us to emotionally burn ourselves out, or disrespect our bodies by treating sex as if it weren’t a blessing. It is not about how many “bases” someone gets to. It’s not about “getting with someone.” If you allow God to guide your relationship with someone- your body and your soul- and you wait until marriage to have sex, you will experience a healthy relationship and God won’t let you down. Dating is a time to just focus on getting to know more about yourself and about what kind of person you gel with, and God willing, who you ultimately will marry.

Which leads me to next month’s topic…“Bless Them, O Lord”

Part 4 of 4 by Rev. Dn. Niko Bekris

“Everlasting God, those who were divided You brought into oneness, setting for them an unbreakable bond of love; You blessed Isaac and Rebecca and made them heirs to Your promise. Bless these Your servants, guiding them into every good work.”

About a month ago I had the rare pleasure of going to a movie with my wife and two other friends of ours. I’ll just come out and say it- the movie was “New Moon” (the sequel to the ultra-popular “Twilight” movie and book series, in case you’ve been living under a rock the last year). There, I said it. Even though I can also say that it was definitely not tailored towards my target audience, I am still amazed at how popular this movie is with female fans of all ages (not just high school, as it turns out), and how this series is capturing American teenagers imaginations. The biggest reaction from these teenagers, though, was at the end of the movie (****stop reading here if you don’t want to know what happens****) when Edward says to Bella, “Marry me, Bella.” Like any successful teenage romance movie, love is the central theme of the movie, and much to the delight of everyone in the theatre, the perfect “happy ending” of many movies is mentioned at the end of this movie- marriage.

People love weddings. We love seeing two friends or family members tie the knot. We love seeing two characters that we’re attached to in a book, movie, TV show, song, etc, get married when they fall in love with each other. In every culture, in every country, in every time period, few events are more joyful than a wedding. The same held true for Jesus’ time, when His first miracle was turning the water into wine at the wedding of Cana, (John 2) which once again affirmed the holiness of marriage in God’s eyes. The same is true in our time and in our faith today. It is a celebration of life and love. Marriage, in its purest form, is two people committing their lives to one another, before God, and allowing God to sanctify them and guide them through life- joy, sorrow and everything in between- to the Kingdom of God.

The sacrament of marriage is where love between two people finds its richest fulfillment in this life. I’ve shared some thoughts these last few months about love, dating, and physical relationships, and the underlying theme I hope I’ve conveyed is that in all of these, God needs to be the central focus. In Jesus Christ, Who is God, and Who is love, our love for another person is strengthened and made full. Even though we don’t hear this message too often these days, I would urge all of us who are not yet married to focus ourselves on this beautiful sacrament. Allow God to guide you in His love to the right person He knows is best for you, even if it is a few years down the road. By doing so, you won’t have to worry about feeling loved or feeling valued, because you will know you are. If we allow God to guide us to that right person, and center our relationship around Him, we will have that “unbreakable bond of love” in our life with our spouse.

During that time, you’ll probably have to go to a movie you don’t want to see at some point, too, but hey, no one said it was going to be easy. But it will be blessed.

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Jan 2010 Herald
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral