from the December 2008 issue of Rejoice:
On Sunday, November 2nd, his Excellency Metropolitan Methodios performed the Divine Liturgy in our church assisted by Father Costin, and Father Athans. The highlight of his visit was the tonsuring of five of our altar boys, ordaining them as readers of the Epistle.
The five altar boys tonsured were Devin Cahill, Liam Cahill, Robert Dailey, Michael Frudakis, and Robert Mitropoulos.
The Metropolitan was also presented with gifts from the church youth. The Elementary classes presented him with decorated crosses and candles. The Preschool and Kindergarten class made a beautiful poster with a rainbow made out of the students' handprints.
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The High School Sunday School class hosted a Halloween Party for the Church Youth on October 26th. The party kicked off with the costumed children parading around the church hall, to the delight of the parishioners at Coffee Hour.
They spent an hour playing games and making Halloween themed crafts. Thank you to our High School class for their hard work in planning this party!
Class Happenings: Preschool & Kindergarten
Our class (pre-K through 1st grade) has been working on the stories from the Old Testament of the Bible. We have covered the Creation, Adam and Eve, and Noah's Ark. We also have been practicing hymns and preparing for the Metropolitan's visit. We made a Bishop's hat, visited the throne he uses when he comes to our church, and have been practicing the sign of the cross so we can do it properly when we take communion. We also made a nice gift with our handprints for the Metropolitan to remember us. - Lorie and Sandy
Class Happenings: Lower & Upper Elementary
The Elementary classes have had a great beginning. We would like to thank the parents for their support and bringing their child to church on a regular basis. We began this year with introductions and a tour of our church. The children know where classrooms are, and understand the meaning of the different decorations that we see in the church. We have also begun to sing in the choir and learn the meaning of our hymns that we sing. We have also learned the 11 petitions that are said at the beginning of the Liturgy.
Along with those lessons we have played Liturgy Bingo, completed word searches made symbolic crosses, and often combined with the middle school class to do group activities. Our highlight for the year was preparing for the Metropolitan. We learned about his position in the Orthodox faith, we sang for him and presented him with a class gift.
We would finally like to say thank you to the High School Class who did a great job with the Halloween party. The children who attended had a great time. Events and Lessons to look forward to: learning about our Liturgy, the Pancake Breakfast, the Christmas Pageant, and of course more games and crafts. - Heidi and Stacey
Class Happenings: High School
The High School class has two focuses this year. The first is an in depth, detailed study of the Liturgy. The Second focus is on Community Service. Our first project was holding a Halloween Party for the younger children in the Parish. Our next two projects focus on helping others in the holiday season. We will be assisting the Outreach Team with the Thanksgiving Soup Kitchen in November. We will also be coordinating the church Angel Tree this year. Watch for the tree to go up in late November! - Elene and Maryann
