Wishing Fr. Nicholas all of God's blessings on the occasion of his birthday today. A birthday cake was shared with the community during the Agape hour. Χρόνια Πολλα!
Vespers for the Dormition in Danbury
Fr. Nick and Fr. Patrick participated in Vesper Services on Monday evening, August 14th on the eve of the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary at the Church of the Assumption in Danbury, CT.
GREEK FESTIVAL 2017
Memory Eternal: Linda (Kyriakos) Faustini
Dear Fellow Parishioners,
It is with deep sadness that I share with you the passing of Linda (Kyriakos) Faustini, the daughter of Fr Peter and Presvytera Kay Kyriakos.
The wake will be on Tuesday, August 1st from 4pm to 8pm at Holy Trinity Church. The Funeral Service will be chanted on Wednesday, August 2nd at 10am, followed by the burial at Greenwood Cemetery.
May God rest her soul and grant strength to her family.
We will move the Paraklysis Service scheduled for Tuesday, August 1st from 6pm to 10am.
Father Nicholas
Call for Volunteers - Festival Baking
Good afternoon fellow parishioners.
I hope you're having an enjoyable summer. I'm writing today with an important request from our 2017 Festival Committee. As you know, the Festival is coming up September 7th and we are in full preparation to make this year's festival the best one ever! For that reason I am asking everyone who is available beginning this Monday, July 31st at 10am to come to the church to beginbaking the delicious food and desserts that everyone enjoys for our Festival. So, beginning Monday, please join us for baking! We will be baking for much of the month, so please set aside as much time as you can to help. No experience need....we do on the job training! Also, don't forget to bring in your items now for the Flea Market. The storage truck is in the parking lot ready to be filled!
God bless you all.
Father Nick
Soup Run - July 2017
A large group was lined up and waiting for us at last night's soup run in Manhattan. We couldn't get to our usual spot because of an event at Madison Square Garden preventing access to the street so we relocated to our alternative spot a block away. The word was already out and by the time we arrived, our guests were waiting patiently. Some helped us set up tables and serve. Two tourists from North Carolina saw what we were doing and helped distribute socks. We served 125 sandwiches, fruit, granola bars, coffee and water with - - received with much appreciation.
We gave the special request items to those who had asked for sneakers and clothes and they were overwhelmed with gratitude. I saw more hugs between our volunteers and guests last night than ever before.
At one point, we were reminded of the decency of those we serve and how they expect (and deserve) to be treated. We were taking a photo of a group talking with one of our volunteers, careful not to photograph their faces for privacy reasons. One of the homeless men stepped aside and quietly suggested that the next time we take pictures, we not take them of any of their faces. We showed him the photo that did not capture any faces, other than those of our own group, and assured him that we are always respectful of their privacy. The calmness and consideration he displayed during this exchange was a lesson, on several levels, for all.
Survival is what the homeless do on the streets of NY. They find ways to keep things together - whether it's creatively securing the belt they are wearing by inserting a pen through holes (Fr. Patrick bought the man a new belt!), or carrying around a folder of important personal papers including a social security card, or asking for extra granola bars and sandwiches for a meal the next day. We met the working homeless as well. One man, who delivers packages for Amazon, is happy to have a full time job but does not yet have enough money to open a checking account in order to rent an apartment so he sleeps on a friend's couch while he saves money.
Thank you to all who gave of their time, talent and treasures yesterday as the sandwiches were prepared by Manny, Zachary, Kelly, Voula, Despina and her sons. Our loyal group of cheerful volunteers distributed toiletries, socks, men's and women's underwear, pants, shorts, shoes and flip flops - all donated or made possible through the monetary donations of individuals including Minos Samoladas. Thank you to Harry Wilson and family for sponsoring last night's soup run. Please join us on the last Thursday of the month - August 31 - when our guests will be expecting us. Share this with your friends #lastnightssouprun.
Chrismation of Guilia Friscia
Guilia Friscia, the daughter of Tom and Eleni Friscia, was welcomed into the Orthodox Church by Chrismation on Sunday, July 2nd. May God bless Guilia and her family.
Soup Run - June 29
Last Night's Soup Run
by Despina Kartson
Our caravan of 5 cars and 17 volunteers left Holy Trinity last night and served more than 100 meals to our guests on 33rd Street in Manhattan during last night's soup run. We took 10 bins of new socks, underwear and clothing, which were distributed in record time, to the large crowd that was lined up and waiting for us when we arrived. We also provided whistles and toiletries, all received with much appreciation. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we packed a trunk full of kitchen items and drove the recipient to their new apartment. They were grateful and amazed with all they were given.
We happily reconnected with Judy, whom we haven't seen in a number of months. She and Richie have been dealing with significant health issues, spending much of the last year in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. Judy hopes that the worst is behind them and we will keep them, along with all we serve, in our prayers.
There were lots of people we met who were happy to see us on our regularly scheduled visit to receive our dinners - pasta with meat sauce and vegetables - and others who stopped by to talk about what we do and offer their support. We will be following up with one gentleman who has items he'd like to donate to us for the next soup run. And Louie, who leads a volunteer homeless outreach program in Manhattan, visited with us and helped organize our guests as we were in transit.
A special thank you to Ana Dimas for sponsoring last night's soup run and for her donation of the very useful Amazon food bags we now use to transport our meals. Thanks to Manny Louros for cooking, Cynthia Herzegovitch and Constance Mavrovitis for sorting and organizing the clothing donations and the large group of volunteers who spent their evening with our friends on 33rd Street. Please join us on Thursday, July 27th.
