SUNDAY SCHOOL
Greetings! Another summer has flown by. As exciting as it was to rest and forget about school, the time has come for a new start. I find it proper that we ended the ecclesiastical year with the blessing of our new church and chapel grounds. Now we can concentrate on heading back with a renewed spirit and thirst for the feeding of our souls. It is truly amazing to watch God pour out His blessings upon us. With the blessings come new challenges, new responsibilities, new commitments and some changes. As we embark on a new chapter in the life of our church, I should like to make you aware of some developments that are taking place this year in our Sunday School program.
First, I would like to announce Bessie Zgourides's new assignment. She has stepped down as director of our Sunday School only to take on a greater challenge. She is working on the iconography of our future chapel. This is a true blessing and honor for Bessie. God has chosen her for obvious reasons. Not only is Bessie talented, but she exhibits a true commitment always working humbly and faithfully. I admire Bessie and her quiet spirit and am personally thrilled that she has been asked to do this extremely difficult but rewarding task. Let us thank her for her continued dedication, and countless hours of work. Continue to pray for her as she pours her heart and soul into this awesome project. Those of us who have worked along side her, will truly miss her as director. God's blessings to her as she begins a new spiritually enriching journey. Taking her place will be I, Nia Thanos. With the help of Father, Bessie and all the teachers, I shall do my best to continue what she has successfully mastered.
I should like to thank Kristen Campbell for her hard work and commitment to our Sunday School. Although she was here for a short time, she did not hesitate to get involved. She has moved from our parish and we shall miss her as we bid her farewell and may the Lord bless her and her son Thomas. Thank you also to Jerome Burbridge, Damon Diamantaras, and Emmanual Stamatakis for their involvement in our Sunday School for so many years. All of these men were involved in our other ministries, yet still found time to faithfully serve in Sunday School. This year they will not be involved in teaching but we are grateful for their constant commitment and service in the past and in the future. We are also, losing Mrs. Jennifer Lopez this year. She is taking a leave this year from teaching but we thank her for her past service to our program. She, too will be very missed.
Returning with the same zeal, dedication and love are John Rigas and George Laguros for the 9th-12th grades this year, Katie Pat Bowman for 3rd through 5th, Sarah McKiernan for 6th -8th, and Tian Mee Boyaci for 1st and 2nd grade. I appreciate them for their renewed commitment to continue enriching the lives of our students. Even though they all have many other commitments and are involved in much more, they seem to find time to devote to the Kingdom work of our Lord. I thank them so much.
I am thrilled and excited to welcome aboard some new people to our school. Please welcome Manny Pollos, who will join our 9th -12th grade team, Irene Tsounakas a former student but now a team teacher for PreK-K alongside Miriam Merianos and Mary Ann Constantinou, Megan Stellakis who will be teaming up with Tian in first grade, Tonia Yiakras who will be with Katie Pat Bowman in 3rd through 5th and Tony Pappas who will co teach with Sarah McKiernan in 6th-8th. Last but not least, our precious substitutes Niki Tiliakos, Maria Ataliotis and Eric Bergman who will be available when our regular teachers cannot be there. I thank each of you for stepping up to the awesome responsibility. Look for our future articles in the upcoming voice when our new and veteran teachers will have a brief overview about the class and themselves. Our children have a great deal to benefit from each one of these individuals. Remember, they are only volunteers and motivated by love for the Lord and your children.
We have begun a mass registration process that shows approximately 82 students have actually registered officially. To register you must complete a form. Our school began on Sept. 16th with the traditional blessing after liturgy. Please committ to bringing your children to class at 9:30 promptly. We have tried every year to solve the problem of tardies. We cannot. No matter when we decide to start we always will have those of us who just cannot be there on time. There is no convenient time. However, we only come once a week for approximately 45 min. Think about this for just a moment. Your child is fed spiritually once a week maybe for 45 min by God. Is God not worth much more time than this? They will not get the truth any place else unless you give it to them. We strongly encourage you to show them the importance of showing up for God on time. Then your good habits will become theirs and they can pass them on to their children. Times are difficult and we understand this but we must sacrifice for a higher and more heavenly cause. It is so important. For those of you who have been faithfully coming on time and rarely miss any classes, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! We truly appreciate your consistency and admire your attempts to make this a habit. You will be rewarded for sure. A verse in Proverbs says,"train up a child in the way they should go and when they grow old they will not depart from it."
Finally, pray for me as I attempt to be a director. Pray for Father, the teachers and pray for your children. Together we can look forward to a new and exciting year.
God's Blessings,
Nia Thanos
