Saint Sophia
Cathedral
Communiqué
JANUARY 3, 2016
Sunday before Ephiphany
FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
George E. Preonas, President; James A. Demetriou, PhD, Vice
President; Constantine M. Boukidis, Secretary; Tina Callas,
Treasurer
MEMBERS
V. Rev. Fr. John S. Bakas; Timi Loomos Freshman; Alek Haidos;
Steven C. Hanna; Gig Kyriacou; Brent A. Noyes; John T. Pappas;
Jim Zaferis
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
Anthony A. Demetriou, Presidential Assistant; John G. Marakas
III, Sr. V.P. of Wells Fargo, Advisor to the Board; Andrew J.
Demetriou, Foundation General Counsel
PARISH COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Brent A. Noyes, President; Dean Peratsakis, Vice President;
Peter Triantafyllos, Treasurer; Karen Sarames, Secretary; Jeanine
Hanna, Corresponding Secretary
MEMBERS
Bertha Angels; Jonas Metin; Costa Bargeliotes; Peter Cosfol;
Mauro Metini; George Rizkalla; Dorothy Spirus; William “Bill”
Striglos, Anna Yallourakis; Dinah Wellington, Chris Stavaridis;
Associate Member
BOARD OF AUDITORS:
Jim Ananias; Anthony A. Demetriou; Tom Moore
Saint Sophia Cathedral
1324 S. Normandie Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
Office: 323.737.2424
Fax: 323.737.7029
www.stsophia.org/bulletin
When you write your will or update it, won’t you please remember Saint
Sophia Cathedral? Such a gift will live forever as our church ministers to
our spiritual needs. It’s an investment in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
PHILOPOTOHOS NEWS
This Sunday everyone is invited to come and receive a
blessing for St. Basil’s Day and the New Year by joining the
Philoptohos for the annual “Cutting of Vasilopita” after
church in the Maniatakos Hall. Maybe you will be the lucky
one to find the coin?
DATES TO REMEMBER …
Sunday, January 24th –Philoptohos General Assembly
after church. Reservations needed for lunch at $10 per
person. Please call Dorothea Ales at (818) 990-6241 for
reservations and information.
The month of January is Membership Month.
Help us reach our goal of 200 members or more!
Contact: [email protected]. You can also visit our
Philoptohos table in the Maniatakos Hall most Sundays after
church.
Our very own recording secretary, Allison Stavarides, is
going on an Aloha Medical Mission to Honduras in a
couple of weeks. Your donation of small stuffed animals
or small blankets (baby blankets or lap size) will be greatly
appreciated. Allison will be taking them with her for surgical
patients. Please bring them this week or next week to church.
Your sisters in Christ, the Saint Sophia Philoptohos Board
Judith Christopoulos, President
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MINISTRY NEWS
1. Saturday, January 9: Fr. John’s 20th year Anniversary
Dinner
2. Saturday, January 23: 49th Annual Vasilopita Dinner
Dance
3. Thursday, January 28: Philoptohos V.I.P Prizes and
Surprises
PRIZES AND SURPRISES
Please join us for a delicious lunch at the Huffington Center
Maria Maniatakos Pavilion on Thursday, January 28, 2016 at
11:00 am. Donation $10.00. For reservations please call Irene
Mitropetros, 323-346-5223 or Ourania Giagtzoglou, 310-6717002. Make your check payable to Philoptochos VIP and mail it
to Irene Mitropetros: 2318 4th Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90018.
In His Service, Mersy Loukaris, VIP President
"JOY OF PARENTING" CLASSES IN THE HUFFINGTON
CENTER
EVERY SUNDAY IN JANUARY
Join your fellow parishioners in a lively discussion of parenting
children of all ages. Classes are held in the Work/Study Room in
the Huffington Center, upstairs, near the left-side staircase,
immediately following Holy Communion and concluding at
12:15 p.m. Come with your concerns and questions or just listen;
there is no pressure to speak to the class. It’s a wonderful way to
become acquainted with other parents. There is no fee to attend.
The Joy of Parenting Ministry is facilitated by Barbara Kappos,
LCSW and Dr. Nik Stefanidis, Ph.D. To be added to the
mailing
list
or
to
suggest
a
topic,
contact [email protected]. Upcoming topics:
Jan. 3 “Setting Family Goals,” Jan. 10, “When Parents
Disagree,” Jan. 17, “Expectations,” Jan. 24, “The OverScheduled Family,” Jan. 31, “Who’s the Boss?"
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YOUNG PEOPLE - LEARN BYZANTINE CHANT!
Our assistant chanter, Michael Kontaxis will be offering
simple instruction and easy to learn Byzantine music to
youngsters from ages 8 to all who are young at heart. We are
looking for boys and girls to learn to chant, especially for the
Orthros service, prior to the Divine Liturgy and other
services as well. We hope the class will begin after the
Sunday Divine Liturgy. If your youngsters are interested
(please encourage them) call our office and sign up. The
future of our liturgical services must be preserved by
our youth. All will not only learn to chant but also learn the
beautiful spiritual meaning behind the hymns. Please get
involved.
49TH ANNUAL VASILOPITA DINNER DANCE
The Hellenic Society of Constantinople will celebrate their
49th Annual Vasilopita Dinner Dance on Saturday January
23, 2016 at the Wilshire Country Club, 301 N. Rossmore
Ave., Los Angeles, CA. The evening will include music,
dancing, and the traditional cutting of the Vasilopita with the
gold coin. We are very pleased to announce that our
honorees are ELEFTHERIA POLYCHRONIS AND
THEODORE POLYCHRONIS. Do not miss this elegant
and beautiful event. For information, please call Mary
Mor rison at (818)500 -0904 or Jeanette
Owens Benedatos at (323) 660-5705.
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Session 3 of the Happiness and Spirituality on Monday nights
January 11, 2016, 6:30 pm at the Assembly room of the
Huffington Center
THE HEALTH TRIANGLE
Would you like to start 2016 with the goal of achieving and
maintaining the Inner Stillness Meditation Center “health triangle”.
Health in its broader sense is a state of complete physical, mental and
spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease and
infirmity. In this workshop a classification and measurement system
for these three components of health will be defined and systematic
activities to promote and maintain the optimum health triangle will be
outlined.
The Mediterranean Zone diet and exercise program is a 21st
century evolution of the Mediterranean diet that is structured to
produce superior results. It is a full proof plan to optimum health
through hormonal balance using food ingredients primarily found in
the Mediterranean region. Applying this program will allow you to
reap an extraordinary litany of life-altering benefits for a lifetime,
including freedom from heart diseases and diabetes; a dramatic
reduction in your risk of Alzheimer’s and other diseases of aging; and
permanent weight control. You will be smarter, happier, live a longer
life with better health, and, you will also lose weight.
Presented by John Kopatsis.
Orthodox Christian Spiritual Wellness. Your religious faith, values,
principles, and morals define your spirituality. If you are a person
engaged in the process of Orthodox spiritual wellness, you are willing
and able to transcend yourself in order to discover the meaning and
purpose in your life and the lives of others. In addition, you seek to
find balance and harmony between that which lies within and the
social forces and relationship that come from outside.
Presented by V. Rev. Fr. John Bakas.
Learning Meditation with the Prayer of the Heart to help create a
happier path in life. Learn how achieve spiritual, emotional and mental
well-being through guided meditation and also to relax, improve your
focus and reduce your stress. This path to physical, mental and
spiritual wellness involves meditation, prayer, and group exercises that
support and maintain your inner well-being building blocks. Having
faith, the capacity for love and forgiveness, altruism, gratitude, and
fulfillment help you establish and enjoy the health triangle.
Presented by Maria Baltazzi.
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Session
Date
Topic
1
November 9, 2015 "Happiness and Spirituality" Faith.
2
December 7, 2015 "Happiness and Spirituality" Love
3
January 11, 2016
"Happiness and Spirituality" Health
4
February 8, 2016
"Happiness and Spirituality" Peace
5
March 7, 2016
"Happiness and Spirituality" Gratitude
6
April 4, 2016
"Happiness and Spirituality" Forgiveness.
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May 8, 2016
"Happiness and Spirituality" Detachment
8
June 6, 2016
"Happiness and Spirituality" Abundance
Dr. Menas C. Kafatos, Ph. D., is a quantum physicist and international
writer on science. He is The Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of
Computational Physics at Chapman University. He received his B.A. in
Physics from Cornell University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Physics from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. He is the Founding
Dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman
University, serving as Dean in 2009 – 2012. He directs the Center of
Excellence in Earth Systems Modeling and Observations. He has
published numerous books including The Conscious Universe, The
Non-local Universe, and Principles of Integrative Science, and more
than 300 articles in computational science, astrophysics, Earth systems
science, hazards and global climate change, regional impacts of climate
change, environmental issues, general relativity, cosmology, quantum
mechanics, and consciousness. He has written and lectured extensively
on the convergence between science and philosophy to promote
discourse between science, spirituality, and religion.
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