WHAT IS PENTECOST?

Most of us recognize Pentecost Sunday as the day on which the “Kneeling prayers” are said at the end of the Liturgy. These prayers draw to a close our long celebration of the Resurrection of Christ on Holy Pascha.

But the roots of Pentecost are much older than Christianity, and to understand it we have to look at both the Law of Moses in the Old Testament, and also at the great prophets such as Ezekiel and Joel.

In the Torah or Books of the Law, written by Moses, we read that God instructed Moses to keep various

feasts throughout the year. A full list of the feasts is found in Chapter 23 of the Book of Leviticus. One of the most important is Passover, in Hebrew called Pesach (from which we get the Greek word, Pascha).

Passover is an annual memorial of the liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. On this

day the Jewish people remember how their ancestors escaped Egypt. That night, the Angel of Death “passed over” the houses of the Jews, which were marked in the shape of a cross with the blood of a lamb.

To remember the original night of Passover, the people were to sacrifice a lamb and eat it just as they had eaten quickly before their night-time escape from Egypt. They were also instructed to eat unleavened bread for a week, remembering that on the night of the Passover there was no time to allow the bread-dough to rise (see Leviticus 23:6).

The next Feast to occur is called Omer, described in Leviticus 23:9 ff. This feast falls on the Sunday after the first day of Unleavened Bread. On this day the people were to take grain and offer it to God. This feast

is also called “wave-offering” or “first fruits”—so called because on this day in ancient times, the people brought the first ears of grain, usually barley, to the temple to “wave” it before the LORD. It was a way of

remembering that when they reached the Promised Land, the Hebrew people offered the first grain of the first harvest to God.

The Feast of Pentecost, in Hebrew called Shavuoth (sha-voo-OAT), is a Jewish festival which occurs

fifty days after Omer or the Sunday after Passover. By New Testament times, educated Jews throughout the

Roman Empire spoke Greek, and called the Hebrew feasts by their Greek names. Therefore, Pentecosti is the Greek name for the feast, from the Greek words for “fifty” and “day”.

Now we remember that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, which that year was the day on which lambs

were being slaughtered at the Great Temple in preparation for the Passover feast. Then, as we know, on the third day following—the first day of the week, or Sunday—Jesus rose from death.

That day, which was also the third day of Unleavened Bread, was the Feast of Omer. For that reason, St.

Paul calls Jesus “the first-fruits of the dead” (see 1 Corinthians 15:33). In other words, Jesus was Himself an offering of first-fruits on behalf of all people.

(Continued on next page)

Holy WisdomHoly WisdomHoly WisdomHoly Wisdom

St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church,

Founded in 1926

2504 N. St. Mary’s Street,

San Antonio, TX 78212-3799

Office: 210-735-5051

Emergency : 210-788-8797

June/July Newsletter

PAGE 2 ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

According to the Law, the Hebrew people

were instructed to “count” each day for fifty days, beginning on the Sunday following Passover (Leviticus 23:15). Modern Jewish children still

observe this ritual, “counting” aloud each morning with their parents. Then they celebrate Pentecost

with special bread and foods.

It is interesting that the Law of Moses tells the people to begin counting “on the morning after

the Sabbath,” i.e. on Sunday, and not on the day of

Passover itself. Jesus, of course, rose from the dead on Sunday. Thus the Jewish feasts of Pesach and

Omer are prophetic of Jesus’ own death and resurrection: Jesus offered Himself, first as the

Paschal Lamb on Passover itself, and then as a first offering to God on the day of the Wave Offering.

The Jewish feasts were also prophetic of

the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles (see Ch. 1-2)

this occurred on the feast of Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples were assembled

in Jerusalem for the Feast, ten days after Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. On that day it was

customary for Jews from all over the Roman Empire to gather in Jerusalem. The disciples,

including the Mother of God, were all together—a total of 120 people, according the account in Acts.

Suddenly the sound of a powerful wind

filled the room. Mysteriously, something like tongues of fire appeared to rest on the head of each

one of the gathered disciples. Immediately they left the room and began to prophesy in many different

languages, as understood by the crowds outdoors. The Apostles understood the tongues of fire to be

the visible presence of the Holy Spirit, who in Old Testament times was associated with wind and

fire.

This strange event parallels what is described in the Book of Numbers 11:24-25, in

which seventy elders gathered together by Moses were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to

prophesy. When Moses was urged to rebuke two of the “prophets,” he replied that he wished all of

God’s people would prophecy. Thus the event of Pentecost described in Acts, is a fulfilment of that

wish. The Christian Pentecost was also a fulfilment of a vision of the Prophet Joel.

Today in the Orthodox Church, at Great Vespers on the night before Pentecost we read

aloud from the passage in Numbers as a background to what is described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Then we read from the Prophet Joel, who was told by God that one day, the Holy Spirit would fall

upon ordinary people and they too would become prophets (see Joel 2:28-30).

Finally, we read from the prophet Ezekiel, who wrote that one day, God would take out the

“stony” heart of the people and replace it with a “heart of flesh”—in other words, they would no

longer be judgmental but would begin to love God and one another.

Acts 2:5 also says that each person in the

crowd “heard them [the apostles] speaking in his own language,” a point which is repeated in Acts

2:8. This could mean that the disciples were not necessarily speaking in other languages, but that the

people were hearing in other languages. Either way, the point is that miraculously, the disciples began

preaching to the crowd about the resurrection of Jesus in ways that everyone could understand,

regardless of their native language.

The Church has always understood this

strange event to be a reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel, recounted in Genesis 11. In this

story, God mixed up the languages of the people because of their idolatry. Before that, people were

cooperating to build huge towers (which archaeologists call ziggurats) to reach the heavens.

God mixed up the language of the people so that they could not cooperate to build their towers. At

Pentecost, however, this punishment was reversed so that people could understand one another even

when they were speaking in different languages.

The point here is that in the Genesis story, the people were exalting themselves as powerful

beings who could reach the heavens on their own. But in the story of Acts, the disciples were

humbling themselves before God, and were pointing their listeners to Jesus Christ, the Savior of

the world. Moreover, the disciples were filled with such love that people wanted to hear their message.

Their example was so powerful that thousands were baptized in a single day (Acts 2:41).

PAGE 3 ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

There is no question that the gift of “tongues” to the Apostles was miraculous. St. Paul mentions

“speaking in tongues” in 1 Corinthians 12:30 and again in 1 Corinthians 14:2 ff, as spiritual gifts.

He compares tongues-speaking to prophesying, and says that prophesying is more important

because it builds up the Church (1 Cor. 14:5). Tongues, he says, must always be translated.

We also note that “prophesying” can mean “preaching,” and probably has that meaning in the

Pauline letters.

In the mid-19th century in Europe, and a

few decades later in America, churches sprang up which called themselves “Pentecostal.” These

off-shoots of Protestant churches emphasized the experience of speaking in tongues, or ecstatic

speech, as proof of salvation. However, in general the experience of “speaking in tongues” meant

uttering sounds which had no known meaning.

In the Orthodox Church we would point out that the biblical phrase, “speaking in

tongues” (expressed by the Greek word glossolalia) does not mean uttering nonsensical

sounds. In Greek literature it means to speak in a different language, or to speak poetically, or to

speak powerfully (prophetically). Furthermore, it could mean all three of these things at the same

time.

From Church history we learn that very early, the phenomenon of “speaking in tongues”

was not permitted at the celebration of the Eucharist, that is, the Lord’s Supper. This

followed Paul’s injunction that preaching the Gospel of the resurrection is more important, and

also that any utterances in a church gathering must be understandable. The spiritual gift of “speaking

in tongues” therefore came to be used in the primitive Church either for private prayer, or for

supernatural prophesying when the apostles did not know the language of the persons to whom

they were preaching. In the latter case, what they said could be translated for others standing nearby

because they were real languages. But Paul argued that whether he spoke in “tongues of men or of

angels,” the real point would be to communicate the love of God; otherwise the experience would

be worthless.

Today, many Christians, including Orthodox, may experience “tongues-speaking” in

private prayer. Sometimes this occurs even when the person has never heard of modern Pentecostal

Christians or their practices. There are also accounts of missionaries speaking in a language

which they did not know, to people in a mission field. This has been testified to both by

missionaries and by natives of areas where Christian mission is taking place.

Recently, tongues-speaking among

Pentecostals has been studied by linguists. They point out that ecstatic speech occurs in a variety

of religions, not just among Christians. Sceptics also claim that Pentecostal-Christian

tongues-speaking does not follow the structure of real languages. However, this could not

explain how the phenomenon works in Christian mission, either historically or today.

As Orthodox Christians, we note that if non-Christians speak in tongues, it does not mean

that they have received the same Holy Spirit as the Apostles. Just as ordinary speech can be used

for good or for evil, ecstatic speech is pointless if it is not to the glory of God, the Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ. We also preserve the tradition that the Liturgy is not to be interrupted by

ecstatic speech. Apart from the sermon, we should not talk aloud (and that includes gossip!)

during the Liturgy or inside the worship area.

Finally, it is important to realize that the most significant dimension of Pentecost was not

speaking in tongues, but the love of God which was imparted to the disciples and their joy in

telling others about Christ. St. Paul writes about this to the Corinthians, to say that tongues will

cease, but love never ends. Our goal as Christians is to be Spirit-filled, so that our lives overflow

with divine Love for God, for everyone we meet, and for all that God has made.

+Fr Brendan

ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 4

Saturday of Souls

June 18

PHILOPTOCHOS

Philoptochos extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone in our St Sophia Parish Community.

We appreciate all of our dedicated and hard working members and volunteers who give selflessly of their

time and talents for all our endeavors in fundraising and in service to our community. Thank you to all our

fellow parishioners and organizations who have responded generously with donations for our collections that

support many charitable organizations such as our Holy Cross Seminary, St Basil’s Academy, San Antonio

Food Bank, CAM, Warrior & Family Support Center just to name just a few.

We had a very active year with bake sales, coffee hours, serving Makarias for grieving families, making

over 1100 sandwich lunches feeding over 1000 homeless and the hungry in need through Mobile Loaves and

Fishes.

We assembled and shipped 98 hygiene kits to IOCC for relief to people displaced by natural disasters in the

US and overseas.

We have taken time for fun and social events, with our Festival of Tables Luncheon, Founders Day luncheon,

and Valentine Bingo Luncheon honoring our senior citizens.

In February, we visited Holy Archangels Monastery in nearby Kendalia and learned about the growth of

Orthodox monasticism in America and Texas in particular.

In May we hosted our first afternoon of artsy fun and mingling with friends while enjoying delicious light

refreshments and drinks. We were guided step by step, by our local artist Marie Claire Valdez, to create a

starry night on canvas that we took home.

With our summer months, comes a brief reprieve from planned activities and a slower pace that allows time

for reflection, and relaxation. We invite all women to join us in the Fall as we serve our Lord, our Church

and our Community.

A preview of some our planned activities in the fall are listed below.

September 10, Saturday General Membership Meeting and Brunch at 10:30 am

October 8, Saturday General Membership Meeting, & trip Botanical Gardens (weather permitting)

October 30, Sunday Philoptochos Founders Memorial Service & coffee hour

December 3, Saturday Holiday Brunch at Magnolia Haus

May God bless you and keep you safe in His care over the summer months and always.

Lauri Dunn

Holy Ascension

June 9

ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 5

On May 15, we had a great day recognizing the work of our dedicated students and teachers. The dedication

of our teachers, as well as the love they have for their students helped make our Sunday Church School year a

great success. We also want to thank Tomi Papanikolaou for organizing and leading the preparation of the

delicious lunch.

We have a Director for SCS, Agape Wisenhant. Please meet her! It would be nice, however, if we had a

small team (two or three) who would like to offer their time and talents in that role. Please contact Father

Brenden if you would like more information, or if you are interested in being a teacher.

As you enjoy your summer, we are looking forward to our Vacation Church School which will take place on

August 1 - 5!

S%&'() C*%+,* S,*--.

ST. SOPHIA G REEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 6

The first year of Greek Language

School has been truly welcomed

by our community. The Fall

Semester will begin September

11 from 1-3pm. In order to able to offer this

service to all who are interested, we even need

more teachers! Any one able and willing to help

please contact George Manolopoulos after church

service or via email (giorgosmanolo@hotmail.com).

Thank you and God Bless.

GREEK SCHOOL

2016 Church Organizations2016 Church Organizations2016 Church Organizations2016 Church Organizations

Parish Council, Toni Grauke, President…….......210-452-3800

GOYA

Katerina Papanikolaou, President………..…....…....210-452-5822

Danny Organ, Advisor…………….……….…........210-545-7597

YAL

Juleen Sanftner, President ………………..…....…...210-872-0844

Stewardship Committee

Doyle Dunn……………………………...……….....210-320-6343

John Lyons………………………………….........…682-556-2372

Philoptochos

Laurene Dunn, President ……………….….....…….210-320-6343

Sunday School

Tomi Papanikolaou…………………...……....…….210-542-5822

Outreach Committee Chair

Gus Vangelakos……………………...……...……...210-577-0254

Librarian/Archivist/WEB Master

Marlene Graham…………….……...webmaster@stsophiagoc.org

Hellenic Organizations

AHEPA

Costa Sgagias, President ……….....……...………210-659-2677

Daughters of Penelope

Kathy Kaberides, President ………………...….....210-381-8135

PARISH COUNCIL

• Antoinette (Toni) Grauke

President

• Costas Sgagias

Vice-President

• Sandra Salas

Treasurer

• Pam Layden

Secretary

• Steve Brown

• Stan Masters

• Harris Papahronis

• Roger Sanftner

• Christina Welzbacher

Holy Pentecost June 19

ST. SOPHIA G REEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 7

DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE

Hello and Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!

Our May meeting on the 9th was very productive and lots of fun! If you missed it, you missed our big Bingo game. Our winners were Pam Layden and Nickie Frey.

Our slate of officers for next year was also set: President – Kathy Kaberides, Vice-President – Lisa Griffith,

Treasurer – Meredith Rokas and Secretary – Olga Fafoutakis. If you, or anyone you know would like to

serve in one of these key positions, or another position, please let me know. We will be installing these four

officers in June.

Please remember that we will be supporting our AHEPANS by baking baklava on June 6, 7 and 8 for their

upcoming Texas Folklife. Toni Grauke will lead the baking and begin at 9 each morning.

Our annual Rummage Sale will be held July 29th and 30th this year. We are now collecting donations in the

double classroom. We also provide tax receipts for your donation. So, please donate your gently used items

to us!

Members who have not sent in their 2016 dues, please do so now. Dues may be mailed to the church office.

Please annotate “2016 Dues” on the memo line. Dues for this year are $47.00. If you are not current with

your dues, but want continuity in you membership, you will need to include your past year(s) dues at the new

current rate of $47.00 for each year or you may complete an application for reinstatement and include the

$15.00 reinstatement fee with your payment and application. .

Our next scheduled meeting is June 11th at 7:00 pm in the double classroom.

In Theta Pi,

Kathy Kaberides

President

Editor’s Note

Remember that the Newsletter deadline is JULY 15 for the AUGUST 2016 issue. Please e-mail your

articles or items before the deadline to the Church Office. (email address is on the calendar). If your name

does not appear in the birthday or anniversary lists, please fill out a Church Register form located in the Hall

pamphlet rack and return it to the office. If you know anyone who is ill and not on the Prayer List and

would like their name listed, call the Church Office at 735-5051.

ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 8

AHEPA

Our current Chapter Officers were reelected for the 2016 - 2017 term: President –

Constantine Sgagias; Vice-President - George Hathaway; Secretary - John Graham;

Treasurer - John Fotopoulos and Board of Governors - Jim Vamvakias.

The Ahepans were thrilled to

Host the bar for Philoptochos’

“Canvas by You” Event.

A BIG thank you to all the Ahepans

that helped us recognize “AHEPA Day”

by sponsoring coffee hour on Sunday.

We had a great spread - -the mimosas were a hit.

Another REALLY BIG thank you to everyone that donated

“the gift of life” during our blood drive. We even recruited

visitors from New York (Alexandra Gavallos) to donate!

Don’t forget signup sheets for the Texas Folklife Festival are still available in Mangos Hall. This year’s festival will be three days: Friday - June 10, 5pm to 11pm, Saturday - June 11, 11am to 11pm, and Sunday June 12, noon to 7pm. Please consider signing up to help.

Following the festival, we are off to Houston, TX, for the 85th AHEPA Family District 16 Convention on June 24 – 26. Visit www.ahepad16.org for additional information.

Our next AHEPA meeting will not be until September 12, 2016, 7pm. Till then please check your email/mail for information about our events.

In July, AHEPA will once again start collecting 20-inch box fans for the “Project Cool” event

hosted by the City of San Antonio. Also, you may donate monetary contributions toward the

purchase of box fans for senior residents. Make checks in any amount payable to "AHEPA".

Please help a needy citizen by donating a new fan!

We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable summer.

Thank you and God Bless,

Constantine Sgagias

ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

PAGE 9

DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE ANNUAL RUMMAGE SALE

IN CHURCH HALL

8:00AM TO 4:00PM - JULY 29TH

AND 8:00AM TO 4:00PM – JULY 30

TH

BE SURE TO COME AND HELP SUPPORT OUR SALE. ALL PROCEEDS WILL HELP FUND NEXT YEAR’S DOP

PROJECTS.

DONATIONS OF GENTLY USED ITEMS WILL BE APPRECIATED.

TAX RECEIPTS WILL BE AVAILABLE

WE WILL BE ACCEPTING DONATIONS AFTER THE DIVINE LITURGY ANY SUNDAY BEFORE THE SALE IN

THE DOUBLE CLASS ROOM.BEGINING MAY 29th

.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR HELP! POINT OF CONTACT:

KATHY KABERIDES 210-381-8135

ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 10

2016 Stewardship Pledges As of May 20th

NativityofJohntheBaptist

Mr. & Mrs. Barclay Anthony

Mrs. Chrissy Anthony

Mr. & Mrs. Nick Anthony

Mr. Peter Anton

Mrs. Vasilica Arcanu

Mr. & Mrs. Greg Asvestas

Miss Stephanie Asvestas

Mr. & Mrs. Rudy Bagnato

Mr. & Mrs. Jack Bellos

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Bergquist

Mr. & Mrs. Edward Bishop

Mr. Christopher Bond

Mr. Argie Bonduris

Mr. & Mrs. Nasr Botros

Mrs. Estelle Bournias

Mrs. Nena Bratianu

Mr. & Mrs. Steven Broadaway

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Brown

Ms. Charlotte Bullock

Mr. Steve Calamars

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Callins

Mrs. Olga Callins

Mr. Louis Cardenas

Mrs. Catherine Carson

Mr. Chris Carson

Mrs. George Carson

Ms. Niki Cascio

Mrs. Annette Cash

Mrs. Katherine Catsifas

Mrs. Katherine Copas

Mr. & Mrs. John Costa

Mr. & Mrs. Nick Costas

Mr. & Mrs. Jason Crandall

Mr. & Mrs. David Crane

Mrs. Anastasia Dale

Mrs. Lynda Dale-Roos

Mr. & Mrs. Dean Danos

Mr. John Danos

Mrs. Beatrice Demitre

Mr. Phillip G. Demitre

Mr. & Mrs. Dimitrios Dimas

Mr. & Mrs. Dan Dimitriu

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Dolan

Mr. & Mrs. James Dracopoulos

Mr. & Mrs. Doyle Dunn

Mr. & Mrs. Mike Eldred

Mr. & Mrs. Kalliopi Evans

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Fadrowski

Mrs. Maggie Flannery

Mr. & Mrs. Sostenes Flores

Mr. & Mrs. John Fotopoulos

Mr. & Mrs. George Gavallos

Mr. & Mrs. James Georgoulakis

Ms. Mary Ellen Georgoulakis

Mr. & Mrs. Victor Gerleman

Mr. & Mrs. William Goodwin

Mr. Basile Goungetas

Mr. & Mrs. John Graham

Ms. Antoinette Grauke

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Green

Mrs. Christina Hamblin

Mr. Nickolas Hamblin

Mr. George Hathaway

Mrs. Aspasia Hensley

Ms. Jean Homitsky

Mrs. Athena Houghtaling

Mr. & Mrs. Marq Hughes

Col. Harry Jaffers

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Kaberides

Mr. & Mrs. Bill Karras

Mr. & Mrs. Kostantinos Kastis

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Kastis

Fr. & Mrs. John Kondratick

Mr. & Mrs. Iraklis Kouroumousis

Mr. Jerry Kouroumousis

Mrs. Eunice Kritsidimas

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Kylitis

Mr. & Mrs. Constantinos Kylitis

Mr. & Mrs. Ralph LaRochelle

Mrs. June Laurel

Mr. & Mrs. William Layden

Mr. Albert Lymberry

Mr. John Lyons

Mrs. Fran MacDonald

Mr. & Mrs. Constantine Malouf

Mr. & Mrs. Sam Maropis

Mr. & Mrs. Stan Masters

Mr. William Mastoris

Mr. & Mrs. Symeon Michaelidis

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Morrell

Mr. & Mrs. Manuel Munoz

Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Nelson

Mrs. Helen Nelson

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Organ

Mr. & Mrs. Roland Oslund

Mr. & Mrs. Harris Papahronis

Mr. & Mrs. Nikos Papanikolaou

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Papatonis

Dr. Chris Paris

Fr. & Pres. Brendan Pelphrey

Mr. & Mrs. Tony Pena

Ms. Ellen Pepps

Mrs. Mary C. Petrutsas

Ms. Donna Jean Philbrick

Mrs. Carrie Postolos

Mr. & Mrs. Howard Quinton

Mr. & Mrs. Noam Rand

Mr. & Mrs. Dale Reeves

Mr. & Mrs. John Reeves

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Rokas

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Rosca

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Rosenkranz

Mr. & Mrs. Earl Ryburn

Mr. & Mrs. Mark Saenz

Mr. & Mrs. Luis Salas

Mr. & Mrs. Roger Sanftner

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Sauerwein

Mrs. Dorothy Sawyer

Mr. & Mrs. Costas Sgagias

Mrs. Assimo Sidler

Ms. Annie Sierra

Mr. & Dr. Peter Skountzos

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Brent Smith

Mrs. Helen Stanley

Mr. & Mrs. James Stanley

Mr. & Mrs. Sotirios Stathakis

Mr. & Mrs. James Stutzman

Fr. & Prsv. Dan Suciu

Mr. & Mrs. Yeshewadar Teferra

Mr. & Mrs. Aynalem Tegene

Mr. & Mrs. Spyros Ticoras

Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Tingas

Mr. & Mrs. Dan Titerle

Mr. & Mrs. Kline Torres

Mr. & Mrs. Ioannis Tsapakis

Mrs. Aliki Tsevdos

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Tsirigotis

Ms. Beth Tsounakas

Mr. & Mrs. John Tsouvalas

Mr. James Tsouvalas

Mr. & Mrs, Augustus Vangelakos

Mr. & Mrs. James Varelas

Mr. & Mrs. John Velentzas

Mr. & Mrs. Panagiotis Velentzas

Mr. & Mrs. James Verreos

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Vlattas

Mr. & Mrs. Floyd Walker

Mr. & Mrs. John Watkins

Ms. Christy Welzbacher

Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Wiegreffe

Ms. Stephanie Wilkinson

Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Wolf

Ms. Elly Xenakis

Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Yiannos

Mrs. Georgia Zannaras

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Zgonis

PETER AND PAUL, THE HOLY APOSTLES

JUNE 29

ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PAGE 11

bâÜ V{âÜv{ YtÅ|ÄçbâÜ V{âÜv{ YtÅ|ÄçbâÜ V{âÜv{ YtÅ|ÄçbâÜ V{âÜv{ YtÅ|Äç

1 Luminita Ellis

1 Constantinos Zachariades

2 Aaron Berlint 2 Popi L. Butler 2 Janet Goodwin

2 Nikolas Presses

2 Corbin Presses

3 Vicky Hood 3 Joaquin Smith 3 Elianna Vasquez

4 Nathan Kocurek 4 Clayton Rogers

4 Haimanot Teferra

5 Olga Callins

5 Louis Constandine

5 Aimee Kypreos 6 June Laurel 6 Jonathan Marcantoni 6 Mary Saflekos

8 Kevin Edwards

8 Juanita Krause

8 Michael Naggles

9 Anna Dracopoulos

10 Sophia Kastis

10 Bill Mastoris

11 Anna Khory

12 Despina Barrera

12 Natalie Boehme

12 Elizabeth Dolan

12 Selah Ellis

12 Nicholas Koutras

12 Kaitlyn Mayo

12 Mary Ellen Michaelidis

13 David Crane

13 Tracy McCalla

13 John Watkins III 15 Mary Beth Georgoulakis

15 Eathan Marschall 15 Dimitri Michaelides

16 Sophia Erian

16 Arianne Fadrowski 16 Sofia Mezei 16 Christa Reilly

16 Sotirios Stathakis

17 Matthew Asvestas

17 Alice Koutras

18 Hayllie Fekkos

18 Monica Nikolaou

18 Dylan White

19 Carmen Dracopoulos

19 Laurene Dunn

19 Eliot Erck

19 Kalli McQueen

20 Rudy Bagnato

20 Courtney Berquist 20 Emily Dolan

20 Iraklis Kouroumousis

20 Alexander Malouf 21 Stormy Janavares

22 Dia Alyfantis

23 Beth Tsounakas

24 Gerorge Manolopoulos

24 Ciprian Mezei 24 Ismene Zachariades

24 Ioanna Zgonis

25 Anastacia Brown

26 Kathrine Crandall 26 Danielle Rappaport 26 Virginia Skountzos

27 Kathleen Kouloudis

27 Katie Nelson

27 Rebeka Papanikolaou

27 Serafina Smith 28 Meghan Crabtree 28 William Layden

Happy Anniversary !

2 Serafim & Christina Perdikis

4 John & Dora Costa

7 Rolf & Popi Butler

8 Floyd & Nikki Walker

9 Earl & Michelle Ryburn

10 Marvin & Linda Skinner

12 Oscar & Helen Carrisalez

14 Tony & Cindy Obeid

15 Aaron & Maria Geer

15 Eleftherios & Schalamar Giannas

15 George & Elaine Mozakis

15 Morris & Lynda Roos

16 Mark & Gail Saenz

17 Chris & Mary Morrell

19 William & Janet Goodwin

23 Harry & Nina Rokas

26 Symeon & Mary Ellen Michaelidis 27 Demetrios & Vivian Macris

27 Stephen & Vicki Scott

28 Louis & Annette Constandine

28 Frank & Dina Petrutsas

29 Daniel & Anastasia Cavanaugh

30 David & Janis Ketnick

1 Bill & Elizabeth Karras

3 Tom & Katherine Green

4 David & Diane Crane

4 Ciprian & Ioana Mezei

5 Nathan & Andrea Ellis

7 Nicholas & Jennifer Dimotsis

7 Anthony & Carrie Kylitis

8 Danny & Vanna Organ

8 Dimitri & Alicia Tsandoula

10 Garrett & Laurena Johnson

11 Robert & Amy Main

11 Sam & Ruth Maropis

11 Demetrios & Maria Tingas

12 Christopher & Athena Varcados

16 Greg & Cynthia Asvestas

16 Nasr & Connie Botros

17 Gabriel & Effie Gutierrez

17 Nick & Smaranda Papanikolaou

17 William & Nancy Scull

17 Jerome & Diana Wolf

18 Tom & Carri Sauerwein

19 Ioannis & Stephanie Tsapakis

25 Roger & Juleen Sanftner

26 Jack & Mary Jane Bellos

28 Michael & Katie Dolan

30 Steven & Maria Broadaway

30 Nikos & Aimee Kypreos

31 Tony & Elaine Peña

31 Fr. Dan & Prva. Delia Suciu

1 Michael Dolan

1 Socrates Tingas

2 David Umbel

3 Michael Boutsis Jr.

4 Belinda Gavallos

4 Anastasia Stathakis

5 Christopher Paris

6 Lauren Kastis

7 Helen Stanley

8 Evanthia Aivaliotis

8 Pres. Sharon Pelphrey

10 William Scull

11 Kay Sgagias

12 Dante Small

13 Michelle Bagnato

13 Maria Cormier

13 Alezandros Omiridis

13 Tony Pena

13 Leza Chryssovergis

14 Philip Demitre

14 Evangelos Polykratis

15 Sarina Obeid

16 Nikolas Heacox

16 Imane Saliba

17 Helen Carrisalez

17 Christine Catsifas

17 Andrew Edwards

17 Maria Peppas

17 Eleanore Watkins

19 Simona Dimitriu

19 Christopher Reeves

20 Margaret Karras

20 Natasha Tsandoula

21 Stephanie Asvestas

21 Alexander Macris

22 Jack Main

23 Aspasia Hensley

23 Nicholas Potter

23 Peter Romell

25 Kristi Anthony

25 Katherine Danos

25 Sophia Heacox

25 Tyler Janavares

25 Harris Papahronis

25 Carrie Presses

25 Patrick Velentzas

26 Nia Papas

27 Christina Cormier

27 Evangeline Ellis

27 Athena Fafoutakis

27 James Karras

27 Elaine Marschall

27 Alex Stojanovski

28 Catherine Carson

28 Alexandra Dinibutun

28 Gus Kastis

28 Philipios Kypreos

28 Sarah Shannon

28 Christophor Suciu

Happy Birthday ! July

Happy Birthday! June

Remember in your Prayers

Chrissy Anthony

Argie Bonduris

Katie Copas

Dora Costa

Megan Crandall

Phillip Demitre

John Dracopoulos

Doyle Dunn

Kristina Frey

Michelle Frey Gutt

Don Hucthinson

Fr. John Kondratick

Olga Kouchoukos

Fr. John Mangos

Mimi Moultrup

Katie Nelson

Tomi Papanikolaou

Tom Poulos

Harry Rokas

Mina Sidler

Sophia Sotiriou

Helen Stanley

J. Tyler Stanley

Fr. Dan Suciu

Beth Tsounakas

Ismene Valescu

Nikki Walker

Sylvia Wolf

Anthony Zannaras

June July

29 Lela Araj 29 Scarlett Papas

29 Barbara Romell 29 Aynalem Tegene

30 Louis Barrera

30 Mary Ellen Georgoulakis

30 Gabriel Scull 30 Dimitri Tsandoula 30 Reggie Yamanaka

29 Ashley Torres

29 Thomas Smith

30 Christopher Heacox

30 Tomi Papanikolaou

30 Gail Saenz

30 Lucian Tsandoula

31 Lynda Dale-Roos

June Birthdays continued July Birthdays continued

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID San Antonio, TX

Permit No. 1212

Services And Scripture Readings

Change Service Requested

JULY SUNDAY SERVICES

Sunday Epistle Reading: Romans 2:10-16 JULY 3 Gospel Reading: Matthew 4:18-23 Sunday Epistle Reading: Romans 5:1-10 JULY 10 Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:22-23 Sunday Epistle Reading: Titus 3:8-15 JULY 17 Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:14-19 Sunday Epistle Reading: Romans 10:1-10 JULY 24 Gospel Reading: Matthew 8:22-34; 9:1 Sunday Epistle Reading: Romans 12:6-14 JULY 31 Gospel Reading: Matthew 9:1-8

JUNE SUNDAY SERVICES

Sunday Epistle Reading: Acts 16:16-34 JUNE 5 Gospel Reading: John 9:1-38 Sunday Epistle Reading: Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 JUNE 12 Gospel Reading: John 17:1-13 Sunday Epistle Reading: Acts 2:1-11 JUNE 19 Gospel Reading: John 7:37-52; 8:12 Sunday Epistle Reading: Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2 JUNE 26 Gospel Reading: Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30