st. basil greek orthodox church the...

ST. BASIL GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

THE BASILIAN JUNE 2018 Volume 22, Issue 6

Strengthening our Relationship with Christ During the SummerAs we enter the summer months, many of us will be taking trips and going on vacation. One of the best parts of vacations is the opportunity to strengthen our relationships with those who we’re travelling with and this holds true for our relationship with God! Christ is one of our travel companions because He Himself reminds that “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [a](Matthew 28:20).

As we prepare to take our trips, here are some ways that we can strengthen our relationship with God during this time:

1) Be alone with God

Vacations often afford us the opportunity for more down time than we may have during our normal routine at home. Let us take advantage of this down time by being alone with God. Let us find some time to experience silence with God and while doing so, pray (talk) to Him and share with Him what’s on our hearts. During this time, we can reflect on the assigned biblical passages of the day. God speaks to us through the scriptures, prayer and meditation. This time alone with God can also be greatly enhanced if we happen to be surrounded by the beauty of His creation, such as by the ocean or river, in a forest, or some other majestic context.

2) Deepen our connection with others

Strengthening our relationship with God also happens when we strengthen our relationship with others. The mere fact that we’re spending time with loved ones and friends in and of itself contributes to growing closer to them. Having said that, merely being in close proximity with our travel companions is not enough. We also strengthen our relationship with others when we treat them with love, respect and kindness. We strengthen our relationship with others when we connect with them on a deeper level besides the usual pleasantries, games and superficial conversations (which are fine too). We can connect on a deeper level with them when ask them how they’re doing, by intently listening to them, by seeking to learn more about them, their interests, their hopes, their fears, etc. When we seek to form a deeper connection with others, we simultaneously form a deeper connection with God.

3) Visit another Orthodox Church

Going on vacations allow us the opportunity to visit other Orthodox Churches that may be in close proximity. It doesn’t have to be a Greek Orthodox Church either—it can be Antiochian, OCA, Serbian, ROCOR or any other Orthodox Church we are in communion with. However, if we are unable to find a Church close to us, we can always read the assigned Gospel and Epistle/Apostolic reading on that Sunday as well as the Orthros service for that Sunday by going to agesinitiatives.com, then clicking on AGES DCS.

As many of us prepare to take trips with family, friends and loved ones this summer, let us take the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with them and God. Even if we’re not travelling somewhere, applying these approaches will hopefully grant us greater peace, purpose, love and joy in our lives.

May you and your loved ones have a beautiful summer and if you’re travelling be safe!

With love in Christ,

Fr. Panagiotis

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THE BASILIAN JUNE 2018

parish council

From the Desk of… St. Basil Parish President, Donna Vasiliou

The Parish Council is the body of practicing Orthodox Christians in good standing sacramentally with the Church, elected by the members of our parish for the purpose of working together with the priest in fulfilling the goals and needs of our parish. This brief description of the local governing body also describes the fundamental structure of the Orthodox Church. That is, that we, as clergy and laity together, are the “People of God,” seeking, to the best of our human abilities, to fulfill the mission entrusted to us by our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. The members of the Parish Council are elected every December for a two year term. We meet on the third Tuesday of every month, 6:30 p.m. at church.

Did you know:

The Parish Council has one vacancy we are seeking to fill. If interested, contact Fr. Pete so eligibility can be confirmed.

Th e 2018 Parish Council

Executive Board Members

President Donna Vasiliou Emily Cliff ord Rick FogleVice President Ken Jochimsen Lori Koulouris Kathy KaplanisTreasurer Tim Wiesner Maria Karapanos Chris PapasSecretary Viviana Bandy Cynthia Pascarella Vacant

Matthew Jouthas was raised in Castro Valley, CA where he grew up in the Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church. During that time, he was involved with various youth ministry programs such as: GOYA, Sunday School, Acolyte Service, and Greek Dance. Matthew is in his final semester at Holy Cross, completing his Master of Divinity this month, May 2018. He transferred into Hellenic College in his junior year and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. While at HCHC, Matthew has spent time at St. Nicholas Ranch as a counselor, and at FDF as an announcer and representative of the school at various retreats around the country. Matthew has enjoyed his time at HCHC surrounded by everything Boston has to offer and is looking forward to continuing to serve Christ and His Church in Saint Basil’s community.

Dear Faithful and Friends of St. Basil’s, It is with much excitement that we share with you the following news: on May 1st, the Parish Council held a special meeting and voted unanimously to offer the full-time position of Pastoral Assistant with a youth focus to Matthew Jouthas. Matthew will graduate this month with a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and will assume his duties before, by or near July 1, 2018.

This is an exciting chapter in the life of our parish and we thank all those who made this possible: our anonymous donor, the 2nd Ministry Leader Committee, the Parish Council, the participants of the Fall Parish Assembly and the entire parish! We eagerly anticipate Matthew’s arrival and look forward to having him join Fr. Pete, our lay leaders, youth workers and volunteers to work together to continue building up the Body of Christ at St. Basil’s!

pastoral assistant matthew jouThas

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philoptochos

Philoptochos has had another successful month, and we are looking forward to June events. In May, we celebrated Mother’s Day at The Old Spaghetti Factory with nine members, two husbands, Fr.. Pete, Erene and Justin Sotiras. It was delightful to have Justin and Erene.

Our general membership meeting was held at the lovely home of Litsa Mandarakas, where she spoiled us with delicious food and beverages. On Sunday the 20th ,,Litsa sponsored a delicious lunch in memory of her son, Dimitrios (Jimmy). We were blessed to have Fr. Tom Paris serve Liturgy and join us for lunch.

One of the items on our agenda last month was the request for a donation to finish paying for the new ovens recently installed in the kitchen. As these are an item the whole parish benefits from, we decided to ask for small donations from parishioners. The amount requested is only $1400. We suggest that 100 families give $14.00 each (the cost of two venti drinks at Starbucks). That would cover the requested amount. We have already received a few donations each more than $14.00 and are a little closer to the goal. Check should be made out to St. Basil Church with “ovens” in the memo space.

On June 5th,, Patty Frangadakis will host the memorial luncheon in honor of her mother. Please call the office to confirm your reservation. I would like to remind all the women of the parish that you are welcome to join Philoptochos. We do good works a and have fun. We would love to have you join us.

God bless you all,Mary

religious education

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2018 greek festival fundraiser

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st. basil food festival

FESTIVAL 2018 WORK PARTIES

June 5, Tuesday Memorial Lunch at Patti Frangadakis’ home

June 12, Tuesday DOLMADES 9:00 am, continuing 4:00 pm supper providedJune 13, Wednesday DOLMADES 9:00 am

June 18, Monday SPANAKOPITA & TIROPETE prep 9:00 amJune 19, Tuesday SPANAKOPITA prep continues and assembly 9:00 am June 20, Wednesday SPANAKOPITA & TIROPETES 9:00 am

TBA TSOUREKI 9:00 am

July 19, Thursday Tent Set-upJuly 20, Friday Tent Set-upJuly 21, Saturday Festival Fund Raiser

July 23, Monday KOULOURAKIA 9:00 amJuly 24, Tuesday KOULOURAKIA 9:00 amJuly 30, Monday PAXEMADIA 9:00 am

August 7, Tuesday MELOMAKARONA 9:00 am

August 17, 18, 19 Festival Tent & Grounds Set-up; Sunday following Liturgy, if neededFriday, Saturday, Sunday

August 20, Monday ALMOND PREP 9:00 amAugust 21, Tuesday ARGOLAVOUS 9:00 am

August 27, Monday KOURAMBIEDES 9:00 amAugust 28, Tuesday Pack KOURAMBIEDES 9:00 am

August 31, Thursday ALMOND BAKLAVA 9:00 am

September 4, Monday WALNUT BAKLAVA 9:00 am(LABOR DAY)September 5, Tuesday AEGINITIKA 9:00 am Pack Almond & Walnut Baklava

September 6, Wednesday Dip & Pack Melomakarona and continue packing Walnut Baklava & Aeginitika

September 7, Friday GREEK FESTIVALSeptember 8, Saturday GREEK FESTIVALSeptember 9, Sunday GREEK FESTIVAL

September 10, Monday Festival Cleanup (trays, utensils, pans, etc.)

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st. basil food festival

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stewardshipHold Loosely to Everything

In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon mentions several times how stressful life can be for those whose life’s goal is the pursuit of wealth or riches. Is it wrong to have nice things? Certainly not. But those that are consumed with wanting more live a stress-filled life. Solomon talks about how the poor man has peaceful sleep after spending his day laboring in the field, while the rich man tosses and turns worrying about how to hold onto all his wealth. If you can learn the value of holding loosely to what you have, the pressure will begin to roll off your shoulders Holding loosely does not mean you live flippantly and do not take careful consideration for what you have. It means that you recognize that it is all God’s to begin with anyway.

2018 Stewardship Commitments

Month Pledge Cards

Annual Donation

Quarterly Goals

Apr 146 $215,211

$144,000 May 156 $226,121

Jun

Totals 156 $226,121

2018 Goal $288,000

Received As Of: 05/15/18

profit & loss

fireside room library

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2018 BASILIAN ANGELS

2018 stewards

Chryso AdamsCliff & Georgia AdamsNick & Kiki AftiasRuth & Dean AlexanderSpilios & Georgia AliferisAngeliki AllisonAngelo & Olympia AnagnosJames AnagnosPopi AnagnosSteve AnagnosPhyllis AnthonyJames ArgirosWilliam & Sharon AssadVladimir & Mary Carroll Bandy Ron & Dea BerberianPaul & Stephanie BestolaridesTed & Kelley BestolaridesTeri BlumNick BokidesJim & Mary BravosJim & Angela BrusaTheodore CarademosNick & Kay ChiarchianisSteve & Jodie Chiarchianis Emily Tzilianos CliffordJoseph DominguezAlexandros & Lindsey EconomouJessica EmerySteve & Mary FacarosNick & Jesslyn FarrosKathy Farros-Hoeppner Bill & Susan FiliosMary Zarefakis FischerRick & Karol Lin FogleHelen FotinosBarbara FrancisMike & Patti FrangadakisRay & Anastasia FultonGeorge & Kathleen GalasEstelle GarisAaron & Helen GarnerStephen & Linda GemelosBill & Angela GibsonKostas & Sofia GiourousisElias & Rana GoriyeEd & Sali GrahamStella GrahamTesfa HawariatWilliam & Sylvia Heinrich Ken & Maria JochimsenArt & Barbara JohnsEva KalarasTasso & Gertie KandrisGeorge & Kathy KaplanisKostas & Toula KapiniarisMark & Lisa KapogiannisDimitri & Maria KarapanosTom & Joanna Karelas

Theoni V. SalcedoEvangelos & Irini SellasJohn & Rose Mary SiliverdisTracey SittigJohn & Evette SolaErnie SoppFr. Pete & Pres. Angie Sotiras Alex & Faye SpanosGeorge & Mary SpanosMIchael & Helen SpanosKatherine J. SpathisBill & Maria StamosJim & Janice SummervilleShamla TounouDean & Phyllis TrachiotisGarrett & Alexandra TracyMimi TruccoPaul & Christine TsampisMike & Amber TsarnasEraclis & Marianthe TsirelasPaul & Nikki TsirelasJohn TsirelasDonna VasiliouRodama VezirisMike & Nada VicijanDavid & Camille Von TrachtenbergKathy Walkowiec Steve WaltonOlga Washburn Tim & Lindsay WiesnerPete & Valli WigtCarla WolfEthel XanttopulosNick & Rhonda XanttopulosBobbe XenosAnna YeralisCreighton & Bertha YounnelJohn & Evagelia ZarefakisMathew & Eleni ZarefakisNick & Anna Zois

Angeliki AllisonAngelo & Olympia AnagnosLoula AnastonVladimir & Mary Carroll BandyRon & Dea BerberianJim & Mary BravosDeMetre CoridsSteve & Mary FacarosHelen FotinosMike & Patti FrangadakisEmanuel (Mono) GeralisEd & Sali GrahamStella GrahamWilliam & Sylvia HeinrichKostas & Dimitra KapinarisTom & Joanna KarelisDena KuchulisAlexandra LeonidouHarriet LucasJames LucasBill & Gayle MadurosKrystalo MandarakasErnie & Josie MarcopoulosAngela MarianiGary & Deana MarianiMichael MarianiPaolo MarianiPete & Penny PanosSocrates & Lenna PapadimatosDanielle PappasGeorgia PerlegosJeff & Jessica PerlegosJohn & Patty PerlegosDean PoullosAnthony & Kerie RishwainRay & Georgianna RishwainJim & Evie RobinsonErnie SoppAlex & Faye SpanosSt. Basil PhiloptochosDean & Phyllis TrachiotisEllie & Alexis TsarnasSteve WaltonPaula Xanthopoulou

Alan & Angelina KeigleyJohn & Elaine KluvePeter & Lori KoulourisDessie KsidakisAnastasios & Esther LaiosGeorgia A. LaiosNick & Kathy LelesStephanie LelesAlexandra LeonidouLeo & Vasiliki LewisConstantine & Samantha LofasJim & Stacie LofasMichael & Beth LouisHarriet LucasBill & Gayle MadurosIrene MandarakasLitsa MandarakasHelen ManolatosChris & Diana Manos Patricia ManuseErnie & Josie MarcopoulosAngela MarianiGary & Deana MarianiMichael MarianiMark & Joanne Tsirelas-MarrowAngie Melas Nick & Sarah MimilasPeter & Mary MitracosPamela, Michael, & John MonsonJames & Diane MousalimasNatalia OrfanosKim PalaciozBill & JoAnne PanagopoulosPete & Penny PanosNick Pete PanosJohn & Vicki PapachristosSocrates & Lenna PapadimatosDimetra Papadogiannis Wilma PapadogiannisEllece PapasAndy & Jennifer Pappas John & Paula PappasTasia ParaskevasElisa ParisesDon & Cynthia PascarellaIoannis & Izabela PatronasDespina PeppasManuel & Katina PerrisJohn PolizogopoulosDean PoullosParis & Calliope ProestakisBob & Kathy PrucykElena PrucykP. J. RishardRay & Georgianna RishwainJim & Evie RobinsonMike & Rodo RodarakisGus Ropalidis

STEWARDS: Pledging stewards are those who have submitted a

pledge card or otherwise pledged a financial commitment.

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Dear Sisters, It is with deepest condolences to inform you that after a lengthy illness, Manthea Kartinos, PDG, passed away Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Manthea had been a vital member in Harmonia Chapter of Daughters of Penelope, especially being one of our charter members and mentor. She had been a member of Daughters of Penelope for over 50 years and held many offices in various chapters, including offices on the District Lodge. She served as District Governor for District 21.

She was a very respected and loved member of the Greek community. Her loss will be deeply felt by not only her family, but by the many friends she made along her journey. Services are pending and will be private. May her memory be eternal.

Love In Theta Pi,

Margo Drosos,Past District Governor

Stockton Chapter, Sparta 18, sends deepest sympathy to SisterDebbie Marmas Buck and family at the loss of her beloved Aunt Manthea Kartinos. She was a true lady and great company, . Manthea was a Past District Governor and mentored many of us. She faced her last days with dignity and honor. She was the sister of Debbie’’s beloved father and our fellow parishioner, George Marmas.Manthea will truly be missed.

May her Memory be Eternal!

Memory Eternal!

lodi hellenic society

daughters of penelope

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Mark and I would like to express how happy we are to be members of the St. Basil’s community. Mark’s Chrismation and my baptism in April was such a beautiful experience for us both; we are eternally grateful God led us to the Orthodox Church. We were actually Protestants for 28 years, although we had not belonged to a church for quite some years. We had been searching for a church for some time when St. Basil’s came to mind. Mark is Greek on his father’s side so we had attended liturgy a couple times in the past. I remember there was something about the liturgy that touched me even though I didn’t really understand it at the time. We decided to attend liturgy one Sunday last July and we never looked back. Speaking for myself, Orthodoxy just makes sense and it feels like “home”. There is just not enough room on this page to write about how much we feel for the Orthodox Church and its people. Mark and I are both California natives. Mark was born in San Francisco and spent his childhood in between the Bay Area and Sacramento. Mark spent many summers in San Francisco working in his father’s restaurant; I believe this is where he developed a passion for cooking. I was born in Stockton and spent most of my childhood in the Stockton/Lodi area. I come from a large family who spent a lot of time outdoors exploring the nearby mountains and beaches. Believe it or not I met Mark on a blind date 34 years ago; I was only 18 years old and he was just out of active service with the US Navy. Mark has been in the Trucking industry for over 26 years and currently works as a Terminal Manager for SSI Express, Inc. I’ve worked for San Joaquin County for 21 years and I am currently a Program Manager with the Human Services Agency. Mark and I have three beautiful grown daughters and nine fabulous grandchildren. We also have three sons-in-law who are pretty awesome, too. We enjoy spending time with our family going on trips to Disneyland or camping up in the mountains. We love cruising to Mexico and the Caribbean; however, we have plans to explore some new destinations in the future. We are so grateful for all the wonderful people we have met at St. Basil’s and look forward to building even more relationships within the community.

Lisa Kapogiannis

family & community news

Our beautiful Presbytera Angie celebrated her birthday on Family Night. Happy Birthday!

Look who’s walking!Darling Evan who is one!

Congratulations to our darling Nikki Karapanos (daughter of Dimitri and Maria and sister of Vasili). Not only is she an extremely talented dancer andparticipant of our St. Basil Youth Dance group, but she is as bright as she is beautiful.

Nikki recently graduated from Cosumnes College, Elk Grove, and was accepted at UC Berkeley (Fr. Pete’s alma mater), UC Davis, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara.. UC Davis is the winner!

Everyone is so proud of this fine young woman. She was brought up by devout Orthodox Christianparents and grew up in the church

Bravo Nikki!

SEEKING CAREGIVER FOR FAMILY MEMBER

If you are interested in part/full-time caregiving in Lodi,please call Georgia Adams at (209) 329-6433.

References are appreciated.

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An article appeared in the March 21 edition of the SF Chronicle with a local connection. Andrew Mousalimas, father of San Joaquin County Board of Education head Jamie Mousalimas, was recognized on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to receive a Congressional Gold Medal for his participation in some of the most secret battles of World War II.He is now 93, but when he was barely 18, he was recruited to be part of a special battalion of Americans of Greek descent who were infiltrated behind German lines into occupied Greece and Yugoslavia. Their work in the Office of Strategic Services ”resulted in some of the bravest acts of the war and forever changed the course of history,“ the citation with the medal said. Andy worked with British commandos and Greek partisans and their heroism was not revealed until more than 45 years after their last battle. His group ran ambushes, blew up rail lines, and disrupted the enemy. The Allied brass had no idea American commandos were at work in the Greek mountains. Adolf Hitler issued a personal order that any of those troops captured were not be treated as POWs but questioned and then “eliminated.” The Nazis offered huge rewards for inormatcionany OSS operatives in Greece, but not a single Greek citizen betrayed the Allied operatives. Only 175 men and women - among them George Washington and Rosa Parks, have received the Congressional Gold Medal. As for Mousalimas’ wartime unit, most are no longer living, only three will be present for the medal. Returning from the war, he operated the noted Kings X bar on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland for years and co-founded what would become the first fantasy football league. He never talked about his wartime exploits as it wasn’t declassified until 45 years after their last battle.

Gayle Maduros

family & community news

1. Meeting with Metropolitan Andoni in Elbason with the catechists of the region. They have opened a new youth center near the University, and it also serves as their office. The catechists are my former students and we shared books with them and talked about their needs. Although they appear to be doing well, they work in a very poor mountainous region of Albania and things like heat for their churches and catechism rooms are problematic. 2. There is a new senior center now. It has only been opened for one month and when filled, will hold 15 women. It is a beautiful facility, and the director refers to it as "Our Lady’s House", meaning the Virgin Mary's House. 3. My dear friend and translator, Ana Baba, visited the historic monastery of St. Joan Vladimir in Ellbasan where Girl's camps are held in the month of July.. Ana has been working to renovate the grounds, planting trees and flowers, improving the icons in the churches and the furnishings. The transformation is wonderful. Metropolitan Andoni met us there after the meeting in Fier. He took these pictures. 4. Youth and Catechist Meeting in Fier with Metropolitan Nikola. What joy to see this new youth center in the basement of St. George Cathedral in Fier. The Metropole is only two years old. Funds to renovate the room were donated by St. Mary’s Albanian Orthodox Church in Worchester, MA. 5. I spoke to the youth, mostly teenagers, about the Albanian church in America that is helping them. It is such a joy to be with my former students and see them at work in the vineyard of the Lord.

hello from pamela barksdale

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Our Metropolis fundraiser for our Mission Parishes is going on until Pentecost. Please consider a donation to support the calling to “Go unto all nations “. Donations are being accepted through the office -- make checks out to Philoptochos.

Teri Blum Outreach and Evangelism

outreach and evangelism

CATECHIST SEMINAR

We will have a meeting midway through coffee hour on June 10th --- hope to see you all there. We will have a year--end review and start plans for the Festival.

Blessings,Teri

(Pam, hope you are having a great time! We look forward to seeing you in the Fall) On May 7th, Mission Specialist Anastasia Pamela Barksdale conducted a one-day

seminar for the catechists of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania at the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy in Durres. The theme was “The Power of One Vision, One Mission, One Purpose,” and 96 catechists and students attended

PRAYERS FOR HEALTH and RECOVERY May our Lord grant them health and strength

Περαστικα!

Chryso AdamsGeorgia ChalmersJane DemacopoulosFather Constantine EfstathiuPauline GalasElena KarussosMichael KarussosJohn PapachristosMimi TruccoMaria TsampisKathy Walkowiec

sacraments & memorials

MAY 2018BAPTISM

Daniella LandaDaughter of Daniel & Jessica LandaGodparent, Diane Soria

MEMORIALS

Elias Amisih, Athanasios Rousis, Dimitrios Mandarakas,AHEPA & Daughters of Penelope members who have fallen asleep,Efstathia, Konstantinos & Maria Allison, Sophie Chiarchianis, Peter & Connie Spanos, Elias & Vasiliki Papachristos,Demitra, Rome & Stavros Tamaresis, Harry & Olympia Spanos

COFFEE HOUR HOSTS

June 3 Religious Education June 24 Carol Lew June 10 Available June 17 Available

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Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage PAIDPermit No. 171Stockton, CA

St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church920 West March LaneStockton, California 95207

St. Basil Greek Orthodox ChurchPhone (Church): 209.478.7564 Fax: 209.323.3879 E-mail: [email protected]

Fr. Panagiotis SotirasE-mail: [email protected]

St. Basil Church Bulletin and BASILIAN: gosaintbasil.org/communication

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