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“Where did the time go?” As I reflect back on 2007, I am filled with gratitude to have served as Saint Spyridon’s President. I knew that I was following in the steps of some great leaders in the previous years and was humbled to have been elected by my fellow Parish Council members to serve the community.
2007 was a very busy year. Though we had many challenges that face any Parish Council who volunteer to handle the operations and day to day running of a church, we entered 2007 with a full agenda to tackle. I am pleased to say that with the endless hours of all the Parish Council members, my executive board, and including all those who chair many of the committees and ministries of our Cathedral, we finished with a stellar year. I also want to thank my spiritual leaders Father Dean and Father Greg for their guidance and love. They both were there whenever I needed a sounding board or we needed to pray to find the right solution to anything that was presented in my path as president. The community’s deepest sympathy also goes to the family of Alex Gazonas. Alex, who humbly provided many years of the beautiful art work that we all valued and loved, will be missed. The following are some of the accomplishments that we shared and experiences that we faced to provide for our Cathedral, the foundation and spiritual base in our lives:
New Year’s Eve Gala—With the diligent efforts of the Events Committee, lead by Evangelia Velentzas as Chairwoman and her committee, the community came together for the first time in many years to ring in the new year and celebrate our brethren love with each other.
Bookkeeper/Office Administrator—We got the formula right! When Barbara Rasmuson stepped into the role of bookkeeper early in the year, in a few months she was able to organize all our financial reports and records that had fallen by the way side due to Meg having moved away. In addition, I would like to especially put the spotlight on Harris Pitsillides, the Cathedral’s Treasurer for working endless hours and devoting his talent selflessly to ensure that every penny was accounted for and the records were ready to be presented to the audit committee. I am pleased to say that all financial reports were approved and on file, and not one penny had been lost. This laid the pathway for 2008 and future financial reporting and budgets.
Easter and High Holy Week—The true heart of the year is Holy Week and Easter where we fast during the Lenten period and ask for atonement so that we can celebrate with “Xristos Anestis” (write it in Greek). I am proud that my fellow Parish Council members were present each day of Holy Week and on Easter to greet our beloved parishioners and their visiting family members, ensuring that everything went smoothly during each service.
Mother’s Day—A special Mother’s Day brunch took place in honor of the “Mamas” in our lives. A special brunch that celebrated, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and women who have been “like our mothers”, all came together in the Cotsidas Auditorium for a special day.
Summer Picnic—For the first time in many years, in August 2007 we all gathered together to have a good old fashioned “Panigiri” saying good bye to summer and welcoming fall. Over 300 parishioners joined to break bread and celebrate our Hellenism in a fun filled afternoon. Again, special thanks to the Special Events committee for organizing this event and also to those who contributed and donated to make it happen.
Father Daughter Dance—Again a first in our community, a special day was devoted for daughters and their fathers, and those who have served as a “Baba” in our little girls lives. Congratulations again to the Special Events Committee for organizing this wonderful event.
Family Center Project—I want to personally thank from the bottom of my heart, Dimitrios Vasiliadis Chairman of the Building Committee and his devoted members of both the Building Committee and Capital Campaign Committee for giving of their time, talent and treasures for over three years to help realize our community’s 50-year dream to build a family center. In 2007, we completed Phase I of the Family Center project with the building of Cedar Street parking lot, named in a touching ribbon cutting ceremony, which included Athina and Charles Kotseas and their respective families, as the Kotseas Square. We thank Charles and Paul Kotseas and their families for supporting and believing in our church and generously contributing to the legacy of our Cathedral through the family center project.
In addition, I would also like to thank everyone who has donated to the Family Center to date including, Dr. Mary Lekas who pledged $250,000 in memory of her mother, Mrs. Merciny Lekas, Mrs. Irene Nickolson who pledged $100,000 in memory of her late husband Nick Nickolson and her family, the Greek School PTA for donating $10,000 in honor of Mr. Nick Tzoumbas, and $2,000 in memory of Evangelos Paschos. I strongly urge those who have not pledged do so at this time. The Family Center will serve the growing needs of our parish and offer a community center that will be there for our seniors, children and families for many years to come. Every dollar that is contributed supports our legacy.
Nursery School—The Education Committee lead by Katerina Kombosos and Jessica Pitsillides have worked on analyzing our Nursery School to make recommendations to keep it the best school in Worcester and to meet the community’s growing needs. I am pleased to announce that a second Teacher’s Aide was hired, Ms. Brenda O’Brien, for the 2007/2008 year opening enrollment to add additional students. Continued improvements are being made so that there is not one child from our community on the waiting list, if possible. With the building of the family center a big component will be the new education pavilion, which will offer state of the art class rooms to embrace the growth of our education program. As community members, please stop by and take a look at the Nursery School as it operates each day, and recommend to everyone who has nursery school-aged children to enroll in our wonderful school.
Stewardship 2007—Again in 2007 we had a good year and met our stewardship budget ending the year with $281,144 in contributions from all. One of our most important role as a Parish Council is to reach out to the community and help everyone understand that our beloved Cathedral needs all of us to contribute their stewardship so that we can operate our cathedral within budget, support our ministries, religious activities and education, youth and senior programs. In 2008, the Stewardship budget that has been approved by the General Assembly is an aggressive amount and it is all our responsibility to pledge to the church as well as reach out to those family members or friends and let them know that their dollars are needed too. Currently only 60% of our parishioners pay their stewardship, thus the burden falls on those who give and not shared by 100% of our members. Our goal as a Parish Council for 2008 is to help reach everyone and request that they take their role as the “keeper” of our church seriously and make their stewardship contribution. And as many do, we can pay on a monthly or quarterly basis.
In addition, we installed new data management software that has launched Saint Spyridon’s into the 21st Century. The new software makes our recording and tracking systems much more efficient for the church. Very soon each ministry and program will be able to request records and reports for their specific demographics or members and our church will be able to make any changes seamlessly to the information we keep, such as address changes, new families that joined, etc.
New Year’s Eve Celebration 2008—and in full circle we closed the year with another celebration “In Auld Lang Syne” where our community was brought together to close 2007 and ring in 2008.
In summary, I have enjoyed serving as your president and look forward to a healthy, prosperous and loving 2008.
Yours in Christ,
Gus Giannakis
Parish Council President
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