Parent's Night Out, Kid's Night In!
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and we would like to extend an invitation to all parents. On Friday, February 17th, you can enjoy a night out while the kids enjoy a night in with us, making Valentines and hanging out! Drop off is at 6:00 p.m., pick up is at 9:00 p.m. Dinner and refreshments will be served.
For more information, please contact Amanda Apostolou at su_lou22@yahoo.com or 978-433-7745, or download the February Family Night flyer.
Join Us for A Greek Family Dance
Please join us on Saturday, February 18 from 6:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. in the church hall for a Greek Family Dance! Highlights include live music by Enosis, a buffet and cash bar. Tickets are available in the church office, by mail or at the door for $25. Children are free! Pizza, ice cream and drinks will be provided.
For more information, please call the church office.
Youth Lenten Lock-In & 30 Hour Famine
Mark your Calendars! Our Youth will be kicking off Great and Holy Lent with a 30 Hour Famine (www.30hourfamine.org). We'll have a Lock-In retreat March 3rd and March 4th filled with service activities, fun, and we'll learn about fasting and world hunger. Don't miss this experience.
Please see Patty Vaporis for more information or if you'd like to help us with this incredible program.
Come to our Mom, Me & Dolly Tea Party!
Join us on Sunday, February 5 for a Mom, Me & Dolly Tea Party! We'll meet in the church hall for sandwiches, sweets and surprises from 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Please RSVP to Patty Vaporis at pvd659@yahoo.com.
Annual Blessing of Homes 2012
One of the often forgotten but profoundly beautiful traditions in our Faith is the annual blessing of homes during the season of Theophany. By inviting the priest into our homes with the blessed water from the Great Agiasmos service, we renew our committment to make our homes an extension of God's Kingdom of peace and love. We are all encouraged to make time in our schedules to take part in this ancient tradition.
To have your home blessed, please fill out the form included in the December Trans-A-Gram mailing, or stop by the church office to pick up a new copy. Please return your completed form to the office by Sunday, January 1. Fr. Stephen will schedule blessings by zip code area. The church office will notify you as to the day and approximate time of the blessing.
Please have an icon and a list of your living family members to be prayed for during the blessing.
Sunday School Children Present Nativity Pageant
The Sunday School Department presented its annual Christmas Pageant this year on Christmas Eve morning, at the conclusion of Divine Liturgy. More than 30 children participated in the pageant, which included a re–enactment of Mary and Joseph's search for shelter, the appearance of the angel of the Lord to the shepherds, and the visit of the three wise men. Several students took turns narrating the story of the Nativity, while others played the roles of Mary, Joseph, the wise men, shepherds, angels, and more.
Throughout the pageant, the choir sang Christmas carols. At its conclusion, all parishioners were invited to sing "Silent Night" along with the choir and children. We thank Sunday School Director Connie Gkolias and her staff for a memorable pageant production.
Parish Enjoys Annual Gingerbread House Family Night
On Friday, December 16, more than 15 parish families gathered in the church hall to participate in the church's annual Gingerbread House Family Night. Held each year just before Christmas, Gingerbread House Family Night has become a favorite tradition with Transfiguration parish family and friends. Each family brings one or two bags of candies for use in decorating the houses, and the family night committee provides the gingerbread houses, festive music, and pizza dinner.
No two houses ever come out the same – each family's creativity in designing their houses is limitless. Ice cream cone Christmas trees, gumdrop wreaths, Snow Cap® shingles, and Tootsie Roll® yule logs are just some of the clever home additions. The finished houses become a charming holiday decoration and conversation piece filled with memories of a fun night spent with family and friends.
This year's Gingerbread House Family Night was one of most well attended in recent years. We thank Cassandra Floor, Elizabeth de la Torre, and Melanie Pappas for coordinating this year's memorable Gingerbread House Family Night.
See more Gingerbread House photos on our Facebook page.
Children Explore "The Ten Commandments" During VCC 2011
By Olivia Sintros, VCC Coordinator
Ask Alec Lawrence and he would be happy to sing The Perfect Ten for you, as would any of the 96 campers who attended Vacation Church Camp this summer. The Perfect Ten refers to the Ten Commandments, which was the theme of this summer's Vacation Church Camp. The focus during the Orthodox Life session was to teach the children how to use the Ten Commandments to live their lives.
The campers enjoyed fun and fellowship as they were guided from Orthodox Life, to Music, to Arts and Crafts, and to Athletics, by a wonderful group of teenage counselors — many of whom had been campers themselves not too long ago. The commitment made by these high school and college–age counselors was extraordinary, and we thank them for their dedication to the children and to their faith.
A sincere thanks to session leaders Toula Sparages, Jill Laganas, Patty Vaporis, Chrissy Tavoularis, and Katerina Kalabokis, and to Fr. Stephen for his spiritual guidance. A special thanks to Ann Tavoularis, who coordinated the camp t–shirts, and to Ann Bertos, who, along with her fantastic kitchen team, coordinated snacks and lunch each day.
On Friday, we took our traditional field trip to the St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center, where the children had fun swimming in the lake and taking canoe rides. Vacation Church Camp has sustained itself for the past 17 years through free will offering from parish organizations, friends of VCC, and most importantly, from the generosity of the campers' families. Vacation Church Camp 2012 will be held July 23–27. Mark your calendar!
Class of 2011 Recognized on Graduate Sunday
On Sunday, June 19, the Transfiguration Philoptochos Society presented its annual Graduate Sunday Program. Nine high school graduates from the class of 2011 were awarded $500 scholarships in recognition of their academic achievements.
High school graduates were: Jaclyn Casavant, Cassandra Coravos, Kathryn Demetri, Madeline Koufogazos, Phillip Lane, Christa Murphy, Mary Nestor, Anthony Spaziani and Dorothea Vaporis. College graduate Alaina Spaziani was also congratulated for earning a bachelor's degree from Suffolk University.
To learn more about this year's graduates, download the Graduate Sunday Program.
2011-2013 Philoptochos Board Takes Oath Of Office
On May 8, 2011, His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios offered the oath of office to the newly elected 2011-2013 Philoptochos Board of Directors.
The new board members are: Ann Bertos, Ellen Dobi (Treasurer), Georgia Dristiliaris (Assistant Treasurer), Corrine Dubay, Christine Faneros (Corresponding Secretary), Deanne Finn, Angela Hastings, Joanne Kalabokis (Recording Secretary), Jill Laganas (2nd Vice President), Nancy Lane (1st Vice President), Patricia Mahoney (Advisor), Susan Mitchell, Karen Mitropoulis, Melanie Pappas, Susan Pappas, Olivia Sintros, Soula Spaziani (President), and Ellen Vercontaire.
Gkolias Sisters Named Parish Laity Award Recipients
Connie, Freda, and Clara Gkolias were honored as this year's recipients of the Metropolis of Boston Ministry Award. Their father, John, was honored in 2001. Connie, Freda, and Clara are all graduates of our Sunday School program. Their love of children permeated their family life, as mother Irene was a mother to many. Upon their own graduation from Sunday School, Connie, Freda, and Clara embraced the Sunday School Ministry as teachers.
Fr. John Sarantos of blessed memory was our priest when Connie began to teach Sunday School in 1969. Connie taught kindergarten and grade 6 , and was assistant director; she then became director in 1985 and has been serving in that position ever since. That is a total of 42 years. Her sister Freda continued the family tradition by beginning to teach kindergarten in 1974, which she continues to do to this day, for a total of 36 years. Again, in the footsteps of her sisters, Clara began teaching in 1981; and yes, she is still teaching today, for a total of 30 years. The Gkolias sisters have collectively given of themselves each and every Sunday morning for a combined total of 108 years!
Thank you Connie, Freda and Clara for your love and commitment to the children!
The Metropolis' 25th annual Ministry Award dinner was held on June 12, 2011, at Lombardo's in Randolph, MA.
Previous Recipients
- 2010: Patricia and Jack Mahoney
- 2009: Andrew Coravos
- 2008: Mary Nicholaides
- 2007: Ioannis and Daphne Zaralidis
- 2006: Arthur and Toula Sparages
- 2005: Eleni Stavrou
- 2004: George Chouprakos
- 2003: Martha Sintros
- 2002: Harry Stamas
- 2001: John Gkolias
- 2000: Irene Manelas
- 1999: Vito Selvaggio
- 1998: Dyanne Mitropoulis
- 1997: Nick Nicholaou
- 1996: Dora Monoxelos
- 1995: Judge Nicholas Vergados
- 1994: Helen Georges
A Mother's Day Visit From Metropolitan Methodios
The Transfiguration parish was blessed to receive a visit from His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios and Metropolis of Boston Chancellor Fr. Ted Barbas on Sunday, May 8. It was truly a beautiful service and a wonderful way to celebrate Mother's Day as a parish family.
At the conclusion of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, the following altar boys were tonsured by Metropolitan Methodios:
Dean McCann, Dimo Doulamis, Kristofer Anderson, Alex Anderson, Demetrios Maxim, William Zouzas, Mikhail Vaporis, Eli Piper, Stratos Tully, Yianni Barbas and Alec Lawrence.
Melanie Pappas was also tonsured as a church reader and received a special blessing from His Eminence.
To listen to the ceremony and His Eminence's inspiring comments, please download the podcast. Additional photos are posted on our Transfiguration Church Facebook Page.
Philoptochos' Annual Benefit Connects With Needs of Community
Festive tables. Smiling faces. Fabulous sweets. Generous gifts. Seasonal songs. These were just some of the joys of “A Tea for All Seasons,” the 57th annual Ladies Philoptochos Society benefit held on Sunday, December 5. While the event represents a long-standing tradition of fellowship in the parish, Philoptochos President Patricia Mahoney pointed out that the Tea is also “a wonderful opportunity for our Transfiguration Church family and friends to help support all of our philanthropic ministries.”
From the Literacy Project and the Merrimack Valley Food Bank to Shoes for Orphan Souls and the Pajama Program, the Philoptochos’s ongoing outreach projects demonstrate the organization’s deep commitment to the needs of those less fortunate. “In these difficult economic times, “said Pat, “the needs of the community are greater, making our work even more important. And, it’s your presence here today that is helping us do God’s work.”
This year’s new outreach project, “Blessings in a Bag,” was inspired by a national program highlighted at the Philoptochos National Convention in Atlanta in July. Over the past few weeks, parishioners and friends donated snacks that were bagged and creatively decorated by the youngsters of our parish at Advent Camp. The snack bags, which surrounded the beautiful ‘giving tree’ centerpiece at the Tea, will be distributed to homeless and underprivileged children in the Greater Lowell area. “It’s kids helping kids, it’s all about giving, and it’s beautiful,” said Pat in her welcome remarks.
Guest speaker Sue Smith, a member of the Lowell Hunger and Homeless Commission Board, thanked everyone for their efforts and emphasized the importance of something as simple as a snack for the homeless and displaced children in our communities. She explained that parents dealing with the stresses of losing their home often don’t have the resources to provide snacks for their school age children. “Giving something to a child lets them know someone was thinking about them,” she said. “You wouldn’t think that a bag with chips and a few Gummy Bears would make that much of a difference, but it’s a little bright spot. Someone has reached out to them.”
View more photos from "A Tea For All Seasons" in our Philoptochos Photo Gallery.
Philoptochos Sisters Share "The Bonds of Sisterhood"
On November 5th and 6th, Philoptochos sponsored its third annual Ladies’ Retreat entitled “The Bonds of Sisterhood.” It took place at the St. Methodios Faith & Heritage Center in Contoocook, NH and was our first off–site experience. Eight Transfiguration women and one from St Philip’s in Nashua, NH, attended.
Everyone found it relaxing and inspirational. The knowledge and enthusiasm of our speakers - Ms.Nikki Stounaras, Fr. Stephen Lawrence, and Fr. Robert Archon - inspired a wonderful exchange of ideas and helped us to better understand ourselves and each other.
To director Michael Sintros, assistant Chrysanthy Tiggas, and the staff of the Center, thank you for your philoxenia. We hope to retreat there again soon.
Parish Representatives Attend 40th Biennial Clergy Laity Congress
The 40th Biennial Clergy Laity Congress took place July 4-8 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Transfiguration Church was represented by our pastor, Fr. Stephen Lawrence and Parish Council member Olivia Sintros. Participating as delegate for the National Philoptochos Convention was Philoptochos president Patricia Mahoney.
Archbishop Demetrios’ message "Gather My People to My Home - Come and See" was the continuing theme throughout the Congress. There were a total of 1179 registrants consisting of 797 clergy and laity delegates and 382 Philoptochos Convention delegates in attendance.
For more information about the 40th Biennial Clergy Laity Congress, visit www.clergylaity.org.