THE PHOS Περιοδικό τῆς Ἐνορίας-Κοινότητος Ἁγίας Ἄννας, Χρυσή Ἀκτή Newsletter of the Greek Orthodox ParishCommunity of St Anna, Gold Coast Feb-Mar 2014 31 a Crombie Ave, Bundall PO Box 5074 GCMC Qld 9726 (07) 5574 0777, 5574 0434 admin@gocstanna.org PRESIDENT’S REPORT Happy New Year to all our local parishioners and your families. We pray that 2014 is a year that is filled with much happiness and good health. All our committees work extremely hard all year round for the benefit of the Greek community and also the wider community. If you feel you would like to assist in a voluntary capacity your assistance is more than welcome. You don’t have to be on a committee to volunteer your services. Since our last edition of the “Phos” quite few functions have taken place. On Sunday the 8th of December 2013 at our Hellenic Centre was our Greek School & Community Xmas concert. Approximately 150 people were in attendance with our special guests on the day being Mr Sam Koutsoukas, the Chairman of the Education Committee of Ahepa in Qld, and Mr John & Koula Alessio. Our Greek students recited and performed sketches and sang Christmas Carols from Prep to Senior level. All the students did a magnificent job and are to be congratulated. Students were presented with their end of year certificates. Santa Claus arrived and he gave all students and other children within our community Christmas presents. Mr Sam Koutsoukas announced the winners of the best student for each year level. Each student received a certificate and book voucher. As well, Mr Koutsoukas announced the winner of the 2013 Bursary Prize of $500.00 to Miss Anna Stergiou. Congratulations to Anna for a wonderful effort throughout the year. We take this opportunity to deeply thank Ahepa Qld for their attendance, generosity and kindness to our students and to our Greek School. Ahepa have supported the Greek Ethnic School of St Anna for many years and we are very grateful. On behalf of the community we wish to thank Mr Michael Christoforou, our Principal for his dedication and tireless efforts throughout 2013 and also the other teachers - Marlie Costan Deputy Principal, Nectaria Hatzipetrou, Jenny Tsolakidou, Georgia Kalas & Stephanie Costan. The Ladies Auxiliary made presentations to all the teachers on the day. The Greek School Co-ordinators made a presentation to the Year 12 graduating student, Ms Jacinda Manettas. We wish her well in her future studies! Further presentations were made to Helen Lekanis for her weekly voluntary assistance at the Greek School in 2013 and also to her husband, Peter Lekanis, for the computer related technical repairs throughout the year at no charge to the community. Many thanks once again to the Ladies Auxiliary who put on a lovely luncheon for all the students and the wider community. A great day was had by all. The following Sunday on the 15th of December 2013, Father Roman and the Ladies Auxiliary organised the traditional Carols by Candlelight. Father Roman conducted the Vespers service in the late afternoon and after a small break the Christmas program commenced. All sections from the community sang Christmas Carols in Greek and English in our church grounds. Santa Claus made an appearance, much to the joy of the many children. On the night, the Ladies Auxiliary raised monies for the St Anna’s Christmas appeal to assist in the charitable work for those in desperate need. Our annual Theophania (Blessing of the Waters Ceremony) took place on the 12th of January 2014. Councillor Lex Bell, (Division 7) participated in the Church service and ceremony at Evandale. The winner of the Junior diving section for the cross was Alex Papanikolou, and the Senior section was won by Ziggy Zantiotis. Congratulations to the award winners and to all the kids and adults who participated in the diving for the cross. Immediately after the Blessing of the Waters, a wonderful luncheon was prepared and provided by our Main Committee and the Ladies Auxiliary. Over 200 people were in attendance and it was a happy gathering as one big family. Our special guests on the day were Associate Professor of Anatomy at the Bond University, Mr Athanasios Raikos with his wife Dr Yiota Raikos, Other special guests in attendance were Mr Christos Markopoulos, Senior Mathematics Lecturer at the Southern Cross University at the Lismore Campus, his lovely wife Koralia and their children. We wish to thank Mr Spiro Levanes for his dedication and expert culinary skills before the event and on the day. We also thank Helen Paris for her valuable assistance. As well, we are grateful to Jim Voukelatos for his kind assistance in carving up the lambs. We again thank the Ladies Auxiliary for their work in the preparation, cooking and serving of the luncheon. It was a beautiful lunch and a great day was had by those who attended. Our gratitude is extended to Robert Keough for all his technical assistance with the sound and speakers over at the Evandale Parklands and all his work and skills were given in a voluntary capacity. Many thanks Robert! The 2014 City of Gold Coast Australia Day Awards were held at the Arts Centre. We are pleased to advise that the Senior Citizens Committee of the Greek Orthodox Community of St Anna were acknowledged in their category – Cultural Achievement Award. ……. Cont. p3 Coming up in Feb-Mar: 5 Feb Greek School resumes 23 Feb Apokries CHURCH SERVICES See Inside or go to our website To see the Phos in colour, visit our website at: www.gocstanna.org Page 2 THE PHOS Ladies Auxiliary Report FESTIVE SEASON OVER… As you read this edition of the Phos, we will be nearly one twelfth through this New Year! We extend our best wishes to Father Roman and to you all within our community. We hope 2014 is filled with the blessings of good health and happiness to you and your families. Our close of last year was a busy one within the community. The School Breakup in early December was a happy day with many families welcomed, along with the families of our Greek School students. All children were given Christmas gifts by the Ladies Auxiliary via the hands of Santa Claus. The Ladies Auxiliary Christmas Carol night was particularly beautiful with all sectors of the Church and community present to participate in the family atmosphere. The setting was perfect and, as we sang the traditional carols in Greek and English, we proved it was not so much a silent night as a very joyful one. We were very pleased to welcome 6 lifesavers from Greece (led by Mr Vangeli Tzampetzis) who were here to earn their Medallions in lifesaving. We would readily give them a Medallion for their willingness to join in the singing! Thank you to all our parishioners who attended our Carol Night and who so generously donated to our welfare drive. Your assistance helps us greatly to help those in need. We also thank Santa Claus for his welcome appearance. APOKRIES – DRESS UP! – SUNDAY 23rd FEBRUARY In celebration of the 3 weeks of Apokries, the Ladies Auxiliary will hold a free luncheon after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 23rd February. The luncheon is an opportunity to celebrate the festive time of Karnivali by having the whole family dress up. Come along in costume and/or mask as is the tradition in Greece. There will be lots of prizes! This luncheon is complimentary and allows us a chance to have some fun before the rigours of Lent commence. Dress up your children and grab your mask for a few hours of traditional fancy dress in our own little Hellenic corner of the world! As well, we are enormously grateful to all of you who donated groceries for our Christmas Hamper Drive. On behalf of our Church and Community, we were overjoyed to be able to donate 60 large hampers for needy families. Thank you to Father Roman and to Chris Sakley who assisted us with the distribution and a warm thank you also to James and Nicole Manafas for their kind donation of the boxes used as hampers. Theophania Raffle Winning No.s Theophania Celebrations were very successful again this year with our venue full of locals and visitors who took part in the “Blessing of the Waters” celebration. We thank all who attended and those who assisted in making this function one of our most successful days on our calendar. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 08625 11843 09474 11108 10715 09895 THE PHOS Page 3 Presidents Report Cont…... Our congratulations go to their President, Mrs Vaso Kyriacou, Vice-President, Mr Costa Dinas, and to Sofia Rafailidis, Anna Miteff, Sofia Dinas and Nitsa Gauci. Your tireless voluntary commitment to provide get-togethers, functions and friendship for our Greek Seniors on the Gold Coast was honoured and recognised by the wider community. Well done! On a sad note we lost three well respected parishioners since our last issue of the “Phos”. The late Mrs Evangelia Aroney died peacefully on the 20th of November 2013. We express our deepest sympathy to her daughter and son-in-law, Mrs Helen and Con Pandelakis and to her children, grandchildren and extended family. Also the late Mrs Giannoula Apostolopoulou passed away on the 20 November 2013. She lived to a remarkable age of 102 years of age. The community conveys our deepest sympathy to her daughter Mrs Angela Poulos, her children and grandchildren and extended families. On the 27th December 2013 we lost an early pioneer, the late Peter Paul. Mr Paul was the first Treasurer of the Greek Community of St Anna and held this position for 14 continuous years. As Treasurer he oversaw and assisted in the many fundraising activities to bring in much needed income to the community. These funds went towards building costs and to strengthen the financial position of the community. More recently, Mr Paul contributed to some repairs and maintenance of the church. For the comfort of all parishioners, he recently donated all the cushions that are on each pew in the church. Our deepest sympathy to his children and to his grandchildren. May their memories be eternal. James Nides President Kollyva Memorials with Kollyva can not be conducted between the Sat. of Lazarus and the Sun. of St. Thomas; on the major feast days of our Lord and the Parish Church nor on the 15th Aug, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. To arrange for Kollyva, contact contact Eleni Paris on 0419 309 417 SPIRITUAL CORNER Λόγος περί πνευµατικού αγώνος “Η πνευµατική εργασία, που κάνετε στα βάθη της ψυχής σας, να µη γίνεται αντιληπτή” “Η πνευµατική εργασία, που κάνετε στα βάθη της ψυχής σας, να γίνεται µυστικά, να µη γίνεται αντιληπτή όχι µόνο απ΄τους άλλους, αλλά ούτε κι από σας τους ίδιους. Ό,τι κάνει ο καλός εαυτός σας, να µην το παίρνει είδηση ο κακός. “Μη γνώτω η αριστερά σου τι ποιεί η δεξιά σου”. Αριστερά είναι ο αντίθετος εαυτός µας, πού, όταν το πάρει είδηση, θα τα χαλάσει όλα. Ο αντίθετος είναι ο κακός εαυτός µας -το λέµε έτσι πιο εξευγενισµένα. Νέος είναι ο εν Χριστώ εαυτός µας, ενώ ο άλλος είναι ο παλαιός. Χρειάζεται τέχνη, για να µην παίρνει είδηση ο παλαιός. Χρειάζεται τέχνη και κυρίως η χάρις του Θεού. Υπάρχουν µερικά µυστικά. Το Ευαγγέλιο και ο ίδιος ο Χριστός µας προτρέπει πώς πρέπει να προλαµβάνουµε ορισµένα πράγµατα, που θα µας δυσκολέψουν στον αγώνα µας. Γι΄αυτό λέει αυτό το: “Μη γνώτω η αριστερά σου τι ποιεί η δεξιά σου…”. Για παράδειγµα, θέλετε να γευθείτε µια χαρά απ΄τον Θεό; Ποιο είναι εδώ το µυστικό; Έστω κι αν την πιστεύετε κι αν τη ζητάτε τη χαρά και λέτε, “δεν µπορεί παρά να µου τήνε δώσει ο Θεός”, Εκείνος δεν τη δίνει. Και αιτία είστε εσείς οι ίδιοι. Όχι ότι ο Θεός δεν θέλει να τη δώσει αυτή τη χαρά, αλλά όλο το µυστικό είναι η δική µας απλότης και απαλότης. Όταν λείπει η απλότης και λέτε “θα κάνω αυτό κι ο Θεός θα µου δώσει αυτό που ζητώ, θα κάνω εκείνο, θα κάνω το άλλο…”, δεν γίνεται. Ναι, να κάνω τούτο, το άλλο, αλλά µε τόση µυστικότητα, µε τόση απλότητα, µε τόση απαλότητα, ώστε κι εγώ ο ίδιος, που το ζητώ, να µην το παίρνω είδηση. Απλά, απαλά θα κάνετε το καθετί. ∆εν θα κάνετε τίποτε µε σκοπιµότητα. Να µη λέτε, “θα το κάνω έτσι, για να έλθει αυτό το αποτέλεσµα”, αλλά θα το κάνετε έτσι απαλά, χωρίς να το ξέρετε. ∆ηλαδή προσεύχεσθε απλά και δεν σκέφτεσθε τι θα χαρίσει ο Θεός µές στην ψυχή σας. ∆εν κάνετε υπολογισµούς. Ξέρετε, βέβαια, τι χαρίζει ο Θεός στην επαφή µαζί Του, αλλά είναι σαν να µην ξέρετε. Να µην το συζητάτε ούτε µε τον εαυτό σας. Έτσι, όταν λέτε την ευχή “Κύριε, Ιησού Χριστέ, ελέησόν µε”, να τη λέτε απαλά, απλά και να µη σκέφτεσθε τίποτε άλλο παρά µόνο την ευχή. Αυτά είναι πολύ λεπτά πράγµατα και χρειάζεται να επενεργήσει η χάρις του Θεού. Η καρδιά σας να είναι απλή, όχι διπλή και ανειλικρινής, αγαθή κι όχι πονηρή και ιδιοτελής. Την απλή και αγαθή ψυχή όλοι την επιζητούν, αναπαύονται σ΄εκείνη, την πλησιάζουν χωρίς φόβο, χωρίς υποψία. Και η ίδια ζει µε εσωτερική ειρήνη, έχει αγαθή σχέση µ΄όλους τους ανθρώπους και µ΄όλη την κτίση. Ο αγαθός, ο καλοκάγαθος, αυτός που δεν έχει πονηρούς λογισµούς, ελκύει την χάρι του Θεού. Κυρίως η αγαθότητα και η απλότητα ελκύουν την χάρι του Θεού, είναι οι προϋποθέσεις, για να έλθει ο θεός και “µονήν ευρήσει”. Αλλά πρέπει να γνωρίζει ο αγαθός και τις πονηρίες του διαβόλου και των ανθρώπων, διότι πολύ θα ταλαιπωρείται, αλλιώς θα έπρεπε να ζει σε κοινωνία αγγέλων. Στην Αγία Γραφή ο λόγος του Θεού µας λέει καθαρά για την απλότητα και απαλότητα: “Αγαπήσατε δικαιοσύνην οι κρίνοντες την γην, φρονήσατε περί του Κυρίου εν αγαθότητι και εν απλότητι καρδίας ζητήσατε Αυτόν, ότι ευρίσκεται τοις µη πειράζουσιν Αυτόν, εµφανίζεται δε τοί µη απιστούσιν Αυτώ, σκολιοί γάρ λογισµοί χωρίζουσιν από Θεού, δοκιµαζοµένη τε η δύναµις ελέγχει τους άφρονας, ότι εις κακότεχνον ψυχήν ούκ εισελεύσεται σοφία, ουδέ κατοικήσει εν σώµατι καταχρέω αµαρτίας”. Απλότητα και αγαθότητα. Αυτό είναι το πάν, για ν΄αποκτήσετε την θεία χάρι. Πόσα µυστικά υπάρχουν στην Αγία Γραφή! “Κακότεχνος ψυχή” είναι η κακοφτιαγµένη, η κακοχτισµένη ψυχή, αυτή που κατασκευάζει το κακό. Ούτε εισέρχεται ούτε, πολύ περισσότερο, κατοικεί η θεία σοφία σε µια τέτοια ψυχή. Όπου υπάρχει διαφθορά και δολιότητα, δεν εισέρχεται η χάρις του Θεού”. Page 4 THE PHOS THE PHOS Page 5 Page 6 THE PHOS School Break Up & Community Christmas Party Theophania Luncheon THE PHOS Page 7 Page 8 THE PHOS Senior Citizens We meet at our Hall at 10.30 am on Tuesdays. BYO Food Θά συναντηθούμε στο χώλ μας 10,30 π.μ. με τα φαγητά μας We congratulate our Senior Citizens on their nomination for the Australia Day Cultural Achievement Awards. Vaso Kyriakou is seen here with Mayor Tom Tate receiving the certificate shown at right. The Senior Citizens finished up their year in December with a Christmas luncheon at Jupiter’s Food Fantasy Restaurant. Those who attended enjoyed the day. Australia Day was celebrated on the 28th January with traditional Aussie food and of course we started with singing the Australian National Anthem as we celebrated and honoured our adopted homeland, Vaso said. Providing Home Care Packages: • Providing in home services for ACAT ap• proved seniors Supporting your lifestyle needs and helping you stay in your home longer. For Enquiries contact Elizabeth Thomas or Kellie Burr on (07) 5574 3920 Mon – Fri. GOC Care Day Respite Centre for adults: ° 60 to 65years, with disabilities (chronic pain, vision or • • hearing loss, chronic illness etc) ° over age 65 years who are frail, have chronic conditions or are socially isolated ° caring for spouses or adult children with disabilities Mondays or Thursdays; morning tea and lunch provided. Based in community Hall, with regular outings. Older Men’s Group meets alternate Mondays: active, excursion group. Members meet at community Hall. Are you interested in playing netball? If so, the Apollo Soccer Club still has some places available for their Open Women’s netball team. This is for the 2014 season and games will be on Monday nights. Games will be played on outside courts on the Benowa Road courts. Practice will be on Wednesday nights. The season is due to start mid March 2014. We have taken this initiative due to the many who have already shown an interest in playing netball. If you are interested, please email with your name and contact details (mobile and email) so that we can keep you updated as to the progress. Go Apollo Netball!!!! Send inquiries to:- admin@spapollosc.com.au For Enquiries contact Joanne or Rebecca: 5574 3920 or 0438 Father Romanos Stergiou—Parish Priest Email: father@gocstanna.org Phone: 07 5574 0777 Mobile: 0414 740 477 Fax: 5574 2287 Office Hours: by appointment please call directly