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Dear Parishioners,
I was wondering if most of you feel
the same as I, that it seems summer
began just yesterday! Yet the sun
is resting lower in the southern sky,
the night is a bit cooler than before
and the tips of leaves are beginning
to reveal the coming tapestry of color
that only autumn in New England can
display. Is it just me or do you get
a sense that someone is turning the
time dial to “overdrive”?
The great anticipation this summer
was the Olympics in Athens…would
they be ready...would there be glitches
at each event…would “Greek”
become synonymous with “chaos”?
These and many more questions like
those were circling around the world
prior to the games! But as we knew,
no one ethnic group can put on a party
better than us Greeks! All the nay-sayers
and doubters were summarily and with
conviction put to rest and in unison
all have had nothing but praise for
the success of the Olympics that our
extended family performed in August.
While the big event
was going on under the shadow of the
Parthenon, here in Worcester great
feats of work were underway as well.
We are all aware of the tired condition
with the facilities at our Cathedral.
That is why the building committee
as been on an aggressive schedule
to move the new Family Center project
forward. We have been meeting regularly
and will have a Special General Assembly
on September 26th after Divine Liturgy
to give a progress report, as well
as share some exciting news on the
funding front. Although the planning
of our new Family center is one of
the singular events that will define
our community over the next century,
an even greater definition of who
we are as a people is how we address
the many needs of our facility on
an ongoing basis. Under the dedicated
leadership of co-chairman Luckie Raptis,
the House Committee has been working
hard to address many of the concerns
that arise each day at our Cathedral.
Over this summer
Luckie and some very wonderful volunteers
(also known as the “Raptis Raptors”)
have been methodically “tackling”
each issue. I use a football metaphor
not just because it is the season…but
facing some of these issues is like
trying to wrestle down a 280 pound
full back with 400 pound guards blocking
the way! Dealing with the issues of
the facility is not at all easy. Yet
Luckie and gang have devoured each
problem albeit there have been too
many nights that have seen the dawn
crest the eastern sky! We have many
things to do to bring this Cathedral
up to the level that we as a community
must expect. But we cannot rely on
just a handful of stewards…we
need all of your help. Going forward
there is going to be changes with
the procedures and maintenance of
our facility. We will be asking each
of you to help us accomplish these
tasks. If we all take a little bit
of time to help then we can all take
pride in our collective accomplishment
and more importantly know that we
did it together as a community. I
praise each member of the House Committee,
the additional volunteers and especially
Luckie for the incredible job that
has been done.
The fall of 2004
has many events and functions planned.
On September 12th we held our Saint
Spyridon Golf Tournament at Holden
Hills Country Club with dinner at
the Cathedral. Once again it was a
tremendous success. The annual event
has raised over $100,000 in the last
6 years. On behalf of the community
I would like to thank the sponsors,
the golfers and of course the Golf
Committee for putting together a very
memorable event.
At the end of September we will be
hosting a dinner for students of Orthodox
backgrounds that attend universities
and colleges in the area. This is
a new outreach program to provide
students in the area an opportunity
to become more familiar with our Cathedral
and provide them a spiritual home
away from home.
On October 3rd we
will be hosting a “Meet the
Ministries” luncheon immediately
following Divine Liturgy. This is
an event for our community to get
to know each organization, committees
and affiliated groups that are part
of our extended community. This is
the first time in a long time that
we will be getting together to compare
calendars and schedules so that we
can reduce the number of conflicts
at our Cathedral. We hope to make
this an annual event.
In late October we will host the Grecian
Festival Appreciation Dinner Dance.
In November we will have the last
General Assembly of the year in which
your president will report on a very
successful Clergy Laity Congress held
in July. Along with many other activities
and events, one of the most important
events that occur each year is elections
for Parish Council.
About being a Parish Councilor
At the end of this
year at least five members of the
Parish Council’s three-year
term will expire. Each November elections
are held for parishioners in good
standing throughout the community
to place their names for nomination
to fill those seats. In recent years
there have been only a handful of
individuals that have expressed interest
in contributing their talents to help
with the responsibility of assisting
Father Dean in managing the Cathedral
affairs. We have very talented individuals
throughout our community and I look
forward to seeing several enthusiastic
candidates on the ballot this fall.
Please contact the office for details.
As you may be aware,
your present Parish Council has attempted
to be very proactive in preparing
our Cathedral to withstand the growing
pains that our community has been
going through over the last several
years. The facilities are over 50
years old and many of the amenities
that our property provides have been
well used and require significant
care. This is why the new Family Center
will prove to be our great contribution
and cornerstone to the promise of
tomorrow.
However, in any
governing body there is always the
great temptation to perform the bare
minimum in addressing difficult issues.
It is always much easier to pass on
those responsibilities to future generations.
Often times the daunting details that
accumulate in any community gets lost
by its members. We often focus on
that one issue that may affect us
personally and ignore the issues that
may concern others. There is always
the inducement to get caught up in
semantics to obfuscate the point of
view of another with the only hope
to maintain the status quo. Often
progress can be paralyzed through
indecision. Many times it is simply
personalities that get in the way
of purpose.
I only mention the above to express
the importance that the Parish Council
must never fall pray to these traits.
I list the above because we as a community
cannot afford the allure of resting
on our collective laurels because
the task may be too difficult. We
have a responsibility to the present
and the future…we have this
responsibility not just as a steward
of the Cathedral, not because we may
be a member of the Parish Council,
but as human beings we have an obligation
to each other to provide a better
place for all.
The incredible inspiration
that I have found through this wonderful
experience with being a member of
this Parish Council, is the discovery
of our defining characteristic and
that is – ‘The greater
the challenge the greater the resolve!’
I have been extremely fortunate to
be part of this governing body, your
present Parish Council. We have assumed
the obligation not to push problems
onto our children, but to address
them today. Collectively we believe
that Saint Spyridon Cathedral is not
just a place to worship, but is an
extension of our homes. We have recognized
that the decision to make major changes
would be difficult and we would not
always agree…but we also understood
that we must respect each other and
most importantly recognize that it
is not about us as individuals it
is about our community as a whole!
There is much to
do today. There is more to do tomorrow.
We as a community must never shrink
from the responsibility of lending
a hand to help ourselves move beyond
our own expectations. What great inspiration
can we derive from our relatives over
in our ancestral homeland? Greece
performed brilliantly and now they
have an infrastructure that will afford
them the opportunity to grow and prosper.
We have an obligation
to build on the present, remember
and learn from the past and thrust
forward into the future. We have much
to do…and we are blessed to
have such wonderful people in our
community that will rise above our
own abilities and find that we have
more to offer than we thought. I look
at the faces throughout our community
and see the beautiful hope in each
expression. I can’t imagine
that there has been a better time
in our history to offer the talents
that we as a community possess. For
those of you who have thought, “I
would like to get more involved but
are afraid of the responsibility,
the challenge or the obligation”…join
the club. I was there not too long
ago. The way I see it is – there
is no obstacle that we cannot overcome
- together, because together we have
come far.
I am extremely lucky
to be a witness, an active participate
and a beneficiary of this time. I
am very lucky because I have made
great friends that I will hold dear
for the rest of my life. I am fortunate
because tomorrow there is the promise
that new friends will be made and
the community will expand. We have
far to go and the challenges are many,
but there is nothing that the stewards
of Saint Spyridon cannot accomplish
– together!
Yours in Christ,
William Kiritsy - President
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