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Assumption's St. Barbara Philoptochos

Mission Statement
The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, Inc., is the duly accredited women's philanthropic society of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The mission of the Society shall be:

To aid the poor, the destitute, the hungry, the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the orphaned, the imprisoned, the widowed, the handicapped, the victims of disasters, to undertake the burial of impoverished persons and to offer assistance to anyone who may need the help of the Church through fund raising efforts; and
To promote the charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, through instructional programs, presentations, lectures, seminars and other educational resources;
To preserve and perpetuate Orthodox Christian concepts and the Orthodox Christian Family, and through them, to promote the Greek Orthodox Faith and traditions, in accordance with its doctrines, canons, discipline, divine worship, usages and customs;
To promote participation in the activities of the Greek Orthodox community, with the cooperation of the Parish Priest and the Parish Council.

The charitable work of the Society shall be performed with discretion, courtesy and kindness.

The Board of Directors :

Michele Genetos – President
Stacie McKenzie- 1st Vice President
Helen Serelis- 2nd Vice President
Christina Craig - Treasurer
Sally Solomon- Assistant Treasurer
Maria Kostaras - Recording Secretary
Mary Vlad - Corresponding Secretary
Sotera Catsadimas- Advisor to the Board

Members at Large:
Christina Dimtsios; Angie Eliades;
Paula Nicols; Harriet Perna; Cookie Speropoulos

ASSUMPTION AGAPE ALLIANCE - A MINISTRY OF PHILOPTOCHOS

"Hanlding The Unexpected" - a support group

National Philoptochos Website

Philoptochos News & Upcoming Events

General Membership Meeting. Our next meeting will be held Wednesday, March 10, 2010 @ 7 PM, in the Community Center. Please plan to attend; we will have a Lenten program.

SAVE THE DATE

Give your Heart to a Child. Our 2^nd Annual Agape Ball will be held Saturday, April 24, at St. Katherine Community Center. This event is sponsored by Assumption, Holy Trinity, St. Haralambos & St. Katherine Philoptochos Chapters. We are seeking corporate sponsorship to help underwrite the event. Proceeds benefit Kids ‘n’ Cancer Camp Agape.

Camp Agape provides an all expense paid summer camp experience to hundreds of children with cancer and their families, from less fortunate homes, regardless of ethnic background or religious affiliation. A ministry of the Metropolis of San Francisco since 1989, the Arizona camp is the newest of five camps through our Metropolis. June will mark our third year.

At camp, families enjoy four carefree summer days away from the sights and sounds of doctors, laboratories, and hospitals where they spend so much of their young lives. For children and their families, this is a truly therapeutic camp experience.

Camp Agape 2010 will be held at Camp Wamatochick in Prescott, Thursday, June 3 through Sunday, June 6. Planning is underway; if you would like to volunteer your time, talent or treasure to support the camp please see Michele Genetos.

A Successful Crab Feast 2010

On Saturday, February 13, St. Barbara Ladies Philoptochos hosted our 8^th Annual Crab Feast at the Assumption Community Center. The weather was great. Over 160 attendees feasted on Alaskan king crab legs, corn on the cob, baked potato, baked cod, vegetable lasagna and dessert.

Many people worked behind the scenes to make this a successful event. Raffle and auction items were fabulous and plentiful; many thanks to all of you who solicited and donated raffle gifts and auction items. Look for photos in the April publication of the Orthodox Oasis.

Pascha Plant Sale

Philoptochos will be hosting the Pascha plant sale February 21, through March 21, 2010. You may remember beloved family members and friends and adorn the Church with a beautiful Easter lily plant. Memorial donations are $25 per plant (you may offer more). Please see Nicole Johnson or Hanadi Shariky in the community center after Liturgy or fill out the form located in this Oasis. You may drop off the form and donation at the office or mail it to St. Barbara Philoptochos-Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 8202 E Cactus Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85260.

Epitaphio Flowers

Philoptochos will now be accepting donations for flowers to decorate the Epitaphio. It takes many flowers to glorify our risen Christ with beauty. Please make checks payable to: St. Barbara's Philoptochos. Envelopes and a collection basket will available in the Narthex.

Tsoureki and Koulouraki Sale

We will hold our annual Tsoureki and Koulouraki sale on March 28, Palm Sunday. Please notify Helen Serelis as to how many breads/cookies you are able to donate. You may bring your donated items to the community hall before Church on Palm Sunday. As always, thank you for supporting Philoptochos ministries.

Social hour is the time we spend after Liturgy meeting new friends and welcoming visitors to the Assumption Greek Orthodox Community.

We are currently seeking social hour volunteers. Please consider hosting an upcoming social hour with simple sweets, fruits, and juice for the children. You may host it alone or with others.

If you’ve always wanted to host a social hour but haven’t because you are not sure what to do, don’t worry---we will help you! George, our Philoptochos volunteer prepares the coffee and assist with set-up. All you’ll need to do is arrange your food items on the tables provided and clean up afterwards (this includes removing all leftover food, cleaning any dishes used, etc.) You don’t have to worry about the coffeepots, other than unplugging them; they are left to cool.

To volunteer, please see Michele Genetos in the community center after Liturgy or email or call Michele at mgenetos@hotmail.com or 602.692.1015. Next available dates are: May 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30.

Many thanks to our upcoming social hour hosts/hostesses:

March 7

Mary & John Deffegos

March 14

Fasoulada Sunday

Ladies Philoptochos

March 21

Loukoumades Sale

Ladies Philoptochos

March 28

Palm Sunday Luncheon

Parish Council

April 4

Holy Pascha

No Coffee Hour

April 11

Chloe Magouliotis

Brian and Penelope Parkinson

April 18

Hanadi Shariky

Sally Solomon

April 25

Jr. GOYA

A Gift of Time, Talent & Treasure

Each of us through our participation in the ministries and programs of Philoptochos, have the opportunity and privilege to return to God a small portion of the time, talent and treasures with which He has so generously blessed us.

Respectfully submitted by Michele Genetos

St. Barbara Philoptochos Chapter President