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This past season was a very busy time in our church and community. In April we all came together for the holiest of days, Holy Week and Easter. This is the time that we fast and with the rising of Christ we too should look into our hearts and rise above our differences and learn to love each other.
We also enjoyed our 32nd year of the Grecian Festival and want to thank the Chairmen, Michael Dionis and George Maniatis for the superb job they did organizing it and helping to have one of the best and most successful festivals the church has had since its beginning. I also want to thank all the committee chairmen and the hundreds of volunteers that worked many hours to help with the festival preparations, planning and the actual weekend of events. It was great to see everyone bustling the weeks prior and during the 3-days of the festival. I personally heard from many people both parishioners and our guests from outside of our community who said that they really enjoyed themselves and that everything was well organized and great I also want to thank the sponsors of the festival who supported us either financially, with item donations and/or with trade, which helped make the festival as successful as it was this year.…Hosting an event that grosses in excess of $300,000 in two and a half days is a big deal…and we should all be proud...Congratulations to everyone, we did a tremendous job.
I also want to acknowledge the festival kick off event on June 2, the enjoyable Orpheus Byzantine Concert. We opened our homes and community to the hundreds of delegates that visited us from the Prefecture of Serres. In addition, we thank the Cultural Center of Hrisohorafiton, Alexander the Great for organizing the details with the visitors from Greece, making it possible for the concert to take place in our Cathedral and making our Greek visitors feel welcomed in Worcester and our community.
Our Family Center fund raising based on the new architectural design that was presented to us recently is on its way to being realized by the generous donations of many in our community. We continue receiving donations each week and I am proud to say that at this time we have in excess of $1,720,000 in pledges. This Family Center is a project that will benefit all of us young and old. It also gives us an opportunity to leave a legacy for our families and future generations. I encourage everyone to donate so that we can see ground breaking sooner than later. While many of us will be on vacation, the Family Center Committees will continue to be available all summer to discuss your family's donation. Look for the material which will be in the mail soon and be receptive to the phone calls from the members of the committee. Give a little, give a lot...it's just important that we all give within our means.
Congratulations to all the graduates of Greek School, Sunday School and to all our children who graduated from high school and college. We wish them great success as they move on to their next endeavor. In closing, I wish for all to have a safe and enjoyable summer, and as you enjoy the days with your family and in leisure, please keep in your hearts what is important to all of us, the love of our church, our Lord Jesus and our beautiful and thriving community.
Yours Truly,
Gus Giannakis
President
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