A G E N D A
Sunday – May 5, 2019
The following is the proposed agenda for the next General Assembly meeting. Join us on Sunday, May 5, 2019 immediately following Divine Services in the Church. All active stewards* of the Church of the Saint Anna are encouraged to participate.
Prayer & Call to Order
Selection of General Assembly Chair
Approval of minutes of previous meeting
Clergy Report – Rev. Fr. Christopher, Fr. Seraphim & Dn. Joseph
President’s Report – Christy Moustris
Treasurer's Report – Larry Finney
Community Updates- reports will be posted on St. Anna website
Philoptochos
Religious Education
Archangel Gabriel Bookstore
Youth & Young Adult Ministries
Scrip
Stewardship
We thank all those who contribute their time and talent to our ministries
Old /New Business
Saint Anna Endowed Scholarships
Ordination of Christian Burkhard to the Holy Deaconate, September 8, 2019
The Sanctuary - Construction, Financing, and Groundbreaking
For the Good of the Parish – Open Remarks
Adjournment
*To be considered a member in good standing, the member must have fulfilled the previous year’s pledge and to have pledged for the current year, and made payment toward that pledge. A member whose name appears on the membership rolls, but who is in arrears in the payment of his or her stewardship obligations, may take part in the Parish Assembly by meeting such stewardship obligations by the meeting day. New members may exercise their vote at Parish Assemblies if they have been members in good standing for at least three months. Article VI Section 4 of the Bylaws of Saint Anna Church.
Philoptochos Report for the Spring Assembly
National Philoptochos Society Mission Statement
The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, Inc., is the duly accredited women's philanthropic society of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The mission of the Society shall be:
To help the poor, the destitute, the hungry, the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the orphaned, the imprisoned, the widowed, the handicapped, the victims of disasters, to undertake the burial of impoverished persons and to offer assistance to anyone who may need the help of the Church through fund raising efforts; and
To promote the charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, through instructional programs, presentations, lectures, seminars and other educational resources;
To preserve and perpetuate Orthodox Christian concepts and the Orthodox Christian Family, and through them, to promote the Greek Orthodox Faith and traditions, in accordance with its doctrines, canons, discipline, divine worship, usages and customs;
To promote participation in the activities of the Greek Orthodox community, with the cooperation of the Parish Priest and the Parish Council.
The charitable work of the Society shall be performed with discretion, courtesy, and kindness.
St. Anna Philoptochos continues strengthening our spiritual commitment and supporting our local outreach and National ministries. We continue making prayer shawls, preparing meals for our Sunshine Ministry, sharing food baskets with local families at Pascha, offering Hospitality, and support for the Tommy Apostoles annual fundraiser. We hosted a Feed the Hungry Luncheon and our annual Giving Tree this year too that supported families affected by the Paradise Fire
We are growing our ministries and reaching out to more people. Thank you for your generous donations, love, support, and prayers.
➢ Feed the Hungry Ministry: Provides a holiday meal for local families Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 61 food baskets with 6 meals in each were distributed to families this past Easter. To all who give to this ministry, a huge thanks. We accept donations for the Feed the Hungry Ministry throughout the year. Coordinators: Debbie Stamas, Carmen Sicoe, and Pres. Renee Ivey. If you didn’t have a chance to give, please see one of the coordinators.
➢ St. Vincent de Paul (working the food kitchen/providing meals); 2ndTuesday of the month. Coordinator: Markella. If you’d like to sponsor the meal for the month, or part of the meal, see Markella.
➢Flower Ministry: Decorate icons, Kouvouklion, Iconostasis Coordinator: Markella
➢ Sunshine Ministry: Let us know if we need to provide meals for someone who is ill or in need. Contact Markella
➢ Prayer Shawl Ministry: Members knit or crochet prayer shawls weaving the loving prayer and intercession of our Most Holy Theotokos and Saints Joachim and Anna ever-seeking Christ’s comfort and healing for those in need. Coordinators: Vassie Kyritsis, Cathy Taylor, and Sandy Sacoolas.
➢ College and Seminarian Outreach: We mailed boxes in October to our Seminarians, our adoptee Seminarian, and to all our college students attending school away from home. Coordinator Pres Renee Ivey
➢Coat Drive: November & December Coordinator Jana Perry
➢ Giving Tree Ministry: The goal of the ministry is to identify a military family or families enduring a time of significant hardship that we can support through gifts and monetary donations during the Christmas season. This year our coordinator Lori Christiansen identified eight families that lost everything in the Paradise fires. See Lori for more information.
➢Tommy Apostoles: Members baked approximately 50 dozen cookies, cupcakes, and brownies for this year's event,
➢Coffee Hour: Make sure to sign-up. See Sign-up Genius. Coordinator: Kathy Craighead
➢Elections: May 7th 6;30 pm See Jana Perry
Annual Membership Drive: We invite you to join St. Anna Philoptochos and/or renew your annual membership, a $35 tax-deductible donation per member to St. Anna Philoptochos with “2019 Dues” in the memo. Men and women are welcomed to join Philoptochos. Please contact Carmen Sicoe at carmensicoe99@gmail.com for more details.
Any questions? Email Vassie: kyritv2@gmail.com
Adult Religious Education
submitted by Margaret Mueller
St. Anna Orthodox Church offers the community the opportunity to learn the history of Early Christianity and the Orthodox Church in a twelve week educational program, The Survey of Orthodoxy. Starting with the events of Pentecost, the course traces the development of the first century Christian community’s initiation into the community, the dogmatic precepts of the Early Church, how the early church approached Salvation, the development of sacred space and worship -- and how all of this is relevant to today’s Orthodox Church.
In 2019, the Spring class included a diverse gathering of a dozen people including unchurched, Protestant, former Roman Catholic, and some Orthodox persons who wanted to know more about the history of the Church. This summer, three additional persons will be meeting to learn more about the Orthodox Church.
For further information, or to join a class, please contact the Church office.
Archangel Gabriel Bookstore
Respectfully submitted by Cynthia Sheffer
The mission of the Bookstore is to provide anOrthodox Bookstore & Resource Center specializing in Eastern Orthodox reading materials (including those for parish study classes), icons, ecclesiastical music, and items for the home chapel in the greater Placer County community and for visiting guests.
It is our goal is to give back to the parish and community through various methods, not limited to:
· Annual contribution to the Seminarian Scholarship Program
· Annual contribution to the St Basil Academy
· Sponsoring the annual Parish Calendars
· Support toward the annual Three Hierarchs Lecture
· Stocking free literature and pamphlets in the elevator lobby and at the festival
· Gifting visiting clergy, catechumens, betrothed, and guest speakers
· Miscellaneous carpet cleaning, purchasing support for parish needs
Current efforts involve that mentioned above as well as volunteer staffing for sales on Sundays, during Tuesday Bible Study and Wednesday Greek School, and as requested.
Our success comes through God’s blessings as each person remembers us for their gifting and personal needs. To date we have given back to our parish community approximately 25% of our annual sales.
Upcoming Events
· Mothers Day- Beautiful Gifts, “Good Reads”, and lovely jewelry are now available in the Bookstore.
· Graduations– Consider gifting the grad with prayer books, St Christopher or St Nicholas icons, prayer ropes or whatever else you think they may need to keep the peace while away from home.
Goal for 2019
Through your support and God’s blessings, the Bookstore will be able to contribute financially to the new location in our sanctuary. Our hope is to consign a hand-painted icon of Archangel Gabriel near the door in the new area, as well as contribute to other areas of the construction.
Gratitude
We welcome Anna Tsu to the team! Come upstairs and say hello to Anna.
Continued appreciation goes out to Cathy Taylor, Chris Christensen, Michael Conklin Family, Symeon Jaituni, Mary Kaye Vangelos, and Renie Carr.
If you would like to be a part of the Bookstore Team and can work after Sunday liturgy, we welcome your involvement!
Follow us on Facebook under “Archangel Gabriel Bookstore”.
Youth Religious Education Program
Spring 2019 2018-2019 School Year Respectfully Submitted by: Michelle Hawe, Director
Overview: Our mission is to share the message of Christ’s love for all of us while equipping our children with tools to live their lives according to the gospel. This will help form our children into the leaders of today and tomorrow! We want our children to be equipped to share their faith in their actions, their words, and their deeds!
The religious education program offers many opportunities to meet these goals through developmentally appropriate activities for kids between the ages of 4-18. Sharing the message of the gospel with our students extends beyond Sunday morning with our family extension activities that are offered throughout the year to supplement the work of the program.
As our program prepares for summer hiatus we want to encourage our families continued participation in the life of the parish. Over the summer we will be blessed to celebrate the parish Feast Day, the feast of the Transfiguration, the fast for the Dormition of the Theotokos and more! We encourage our families to learn about these fasts and feasts as well as saints and church architecture. These things will help prepare our families for the fall!
Teaching: We extend our continued gratitude to our team of teachers who spend countless hours preparing lessons and activities for our children. We appreciate your time and prayers for our children and their families.
Preschool/Kindergarten: Mrs. Christine Akel and Ms. Michelle Hawe
1 st - 3 rd Grade: Mrs. Liza Jizwari and Mrs. Luda Kristoff
4 th -5 th Grade: Mr. Tim Burkhard
Middle School: Mr. Andrew Burrows and Mrs. Bethany Burrows
High School: Mr. Mike Lewis and Mr. Shaine Kennedy
Teachers are using a variety of methods and resources to share our faith with students. Resources for planning lessons include curriculum produced by different archdioceses, books, Pinterest, reliable websites, and each other. Lessons are done with a variety of methods including traditional lecture style, hands on experiences including crafts, and games that challenge students to think.
Spotlight Events/Activities:
Toddler Class: We express our gratitude to Mrs. Jenn Conklin for being willing to take on our newest class this year. It has been tough with space, but she has made it work! Each week the Mommy and Me Toddler class meets upstairs in the hallway. Kids listen to a story, sing, and play. The kids love it. We are excited to welcome 4 of the kids to the Preschool/Kindergarten class in the Fall. Thank you to everyone who has supported and been flexible in accommodating this new class!
Teachers Pay Teachers: Educators and Pinteresters alike LOVE Teachers Pay Teachers! This is a website where educators can share resources! Ms. Michelle has made a seller account and the best news is we can “sell” for FREE! Over the summer a variety of activities will be posted to the account. You can visit: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Michelle-Hawe.
Commencement and Promotion Activities: As the year concludes we look forward to honoring the academic success of all of our students. Promotion activities will tentatively be held on Sunday, June 2. Please share the names of students graduating from high school, college, and graduate school. Each student’s academic success is important in their development! We commend each of you on your efforts and offer our continued prayers of success and prosperity in your future! May God grant you every good gift!
Looking Ahead: Each year we take a look at our religious education program and reflect on what was successful, what we can work on, and things we can implement into the program. We remain open to suggestions and assistance in growing.
• Implementing/organizing service projects for each grade level to be part of. Progress has been made in this area. We would like to continue working on this.
• Having all of our middle school and high school students participate in writing an oratorical speech, however, it will not be mandatory for students to present their work. Progress has been made in this area. We will continue working on this. We will be posting more information about this in the weeks to come.
Ways to get involved:
• Pray for the program—your child’s teachers, the program.
● We NEED teachers! Come share your faith with the kids!
• Have an idea to add to the program, we want to hear about them!