The Messenger - Our Sunday Bulletin

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Veneration of the Holy Cross

- 8:00am Matins & 9:00am Divine Liturgy

- Newly baptized Sophia Stamas and her family will be the first to receive communion today.

- K3 parents please sign your children into their classroom. K4-12^th all are welcome!

- 40-day Memorial for Toully Pappas, offered by The Zeppos and Winston families.

- 1-year Memorial for Ted/Trifonas Koconis, offered by Barbara, Deborah, Tom, Julie Koconis

- 5-year Memorial for Tom Pagedas, offered by Elaine Pagedas

- SPECIAL COLLECTION --- Metropolitan Myron of New Zealand will preside over the Vespers & Artoklasia on Monday, March 24 at 5:30pm. He will speak about the missionary parishes and orphanage of His Metropolis of New Zealand (https://orthodoxpacifika.com). A Special Collection in support of this cause is available in the Narthes. If you’d like to make your donation online, visit our website www.annunciationwi.org and click the Donate Now Button or just click https://onrealm.org/AnnunciationGre63884/-/form/give/now >>> THEN Select “Donations – Other”. All donations (online/check/cash) should be earmarked “New Zealand”. The total amount collected in the Vicariate of Wisconsin will be forwarded on Tuesday, March 25.

- Coffee Social will be held in the Foyer, Hosts: The Elaine Pagedas family

A special welcome to our SPECIAL GUESTS, Archbishop Lauma Zuševics of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide (LELCW) & her students, who are joining us in worship today.

Altar Candles in Loving Memory of:

- Dr. Thomas (Athanasios) Pagedas (5 yrs), offered by Elaine, his wife.

- Dr. Thomas (Athanasios) Pagedas (5 yrs), offered by his children Elizabeth & Gregory Schmalbach; Michael & Olivia Pagedas; & Constance & Chris Soves.

- Dr Thomas (Athanasios) Pagedas (5 yrs), offered by his grandchildren: Andrew, Eleni, & Constantine Soves, and Ariana & Cassandra Pagedas.

- Mark Jenson (20 yrs), offered by Dianne Jenson.

- Diane & Mitchell Ticoras and Despina Vasilion, offered by The Ticoras Family

- Dr. Nicholas & Susan Staves (Papou Nick & YaSue), offered by Wendy, Charlie, Valentina and Niko

Altar Candles for the Health and Salvation of:

- Valerie Psiropoulos, offered by Ceil Wudy, Mary Dragicevic, Anna Markakis

- Cristina Bruder, offered by Tom and Ceil Wudy

- The Family, children and grandchildren of Patra, offered by Patra Gianoulakis (03/25/2025)

+++ UPCOMING EVENTS

FAMILY SYNAXIS LENTEN RETREAT --- Sat, Apr. 5, 9:00am-3:00pm

Ascension of Our Lord in Lincolnshire, IL --- Registration is now open for the Family Synaxis Lenten Retreat, a retreat “by families, for families,” and a unique opportunity for Orthodox Christian families to gather and grow together on our journey to Christ and His Kingdom. Through concurrent sessions, the retreat will include engaging activities, Lenten discussions, and fun games and activities for our K-12 youth, as well as thought-provoking talks, topics, and tips for parents on raising strong, faithful Christians in today’s world. The retreat theme is "Following Christ Together: Strengthening Families through the Bond of Community", and Fr. George Dokos of Holy Apostles Church (Westchester, IL) will be the keynote speaker. Registration is due by Sun, Mar. 23, & the cost is $75/family. Please visit www.gocfamilysynaxis.org/lenten-retreat-2025 to register & learn more!

ANNUAL LENTEN PLAKI & FISH FRY DINNER --- Palm Sunday, April 13 after Divine Liturgy

Annunciation Ladies Philoptochos Society invites you & your family to our Annual Palm Sunday Plaki & Fish Fry Dinner. RSVP forms, due Mon, Apr. 7, are available in the bins in the Cultural Center, in the March Koinonia, & on our website.

+++ PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHURCH OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Position at Annunciation – Sarah has resigned from the Church Office Administrator role, effective April 11, 2025, because she is moving closer to family and her new granddaughter. She will continue part time as the Finance Admin for our parish. We are actively seeking to fill a full-time position as the Church Office Administrator to manage our office, publications & hall rental needs. We have engaged a professional company to manage our hiring process. The link to the job listing is below in case you (or someone you know) are (is) interestedHall -  https://g.co/kgs/Q4YbxRt

Fr. Leo Gavrilos, who served our parish as an assistant priest and lives in Sheboygan, had a stroke on Saturday, March 2, 2025. He is stable at Aurora St. Luke Medical Center in Milwaukee and would appreciate your prayers and visit if you’d like (ICU Room 406).

K3 SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSROOM ---

Welcome to the 3K Sunday School classroom. We are happy and blessed to have this class up and running. To secure the safety of our 3 K students, all students must be registered for Sunday School to attend. This will ensure we have all students’/guardians’ contact information and are aware of students' health concerns (allergies, etc). To register your child(ren), visit https://www.annunciationwi.org/forms/youth-registration

Each Sunday the 3K classroom structure will include two volunteer teachers, a small snack, a lesson, and an activity. If your child brings a sippy cup /water bottle to class, please have their name on it. We encourage all parents to take their children to the restroom before dropping them off in the classroom. This will allow all the children to have quality classroom time. The classroom will also have a sign-in and sign-out sheet. Please take the time to complete this step. We understand that each child has their level of readiness to attend class. If your child is having difficulty transitioning into the classroom, you are welcome to stay with your child or you can try again the following week. We truly want this introduction to the Sunday School program /3K classroom to be a positive experience. If you have any additional questions, please let us know. Blessings to you all.  Kim Mamalakis or Patti Frangopoulos

WEDNESDAY EVENING LENTEN MEALS --- We are looking to have different ministry groups host each of the following Wednesday evening Lenten meals at 6:45pm (after Presanctified Liturgy & before Spiritual Nourishment) – this Wednesday, Mar. 26, and Apr. 2. Call the Office to select the Wednesday of choice for your ministry group.

COFFEE SOCIAL --- Contact the Office (414-461-9400) to sponsor on March 30 or April 6.

PHILOPTOCHOS EASTER BAKE SALE is coming soon! --- Sat, Apr. 12, 10:30am – 12:30pm

Order your pastry made from Yiayia's delicious recipes (available at Easter & Christmas)! Order forms are available in the bins in the Cultural Center, in the March Koinonia, & on our website. You can also order online at annunciation-bake-sale.square.site.

STEWARDSHIP --- 2025 Pledges and donations can be submitted online at www.annunciationwi.org/stewardship. As of Thu, Mar. 20, 2025, we have received 170 Stewardship Pledges totaling $249,759.80. $129,668.60 has been received from Pledged Households (Stewardship Received from NON-Pledged Households is $31,481.79). With your help, we can prayerfully reach our goal of $450,000. 

2025 LENT & HOLY WEEK ADORNMENTS --- Donations may be made at tinyurl.com/annunciation-give-now. Please select the “Easter – Floral Donations” fund. The following donations are available as of Friday, March 21:

- 2^nd & 3^rd Salutations Icons - $150

- Annunciation Iconostasis “Swag” - $200

- Palm Sunday Bay Leaves - $300

- Nymphios/Bridegroom Icon - $300

- Solea Arrangements (2) - $200

- Lily Plants (2) - $65

2025 PHILOPTOCHOS MEMBERSHIP FORM --- This form is available in the March Koinonia, in the display bins opposite the bookstore.

+++ BEYOND OUR PARISH  

2025 DR. MARY P. HALLICK MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP --- Due Fri, Apr. 11

Two (2) scholarships will be awarded to two Orthodox Christian women. Both awards of $1,000 will be presented to 2 senior high school students furthering their education through one of the following: either an associate degree at a technical college or a degree from a college or a university. Applications are available at tinyurl.com/OCWA25Awards.

MYRHH-BEARING WOMEN SAINTS’ DAY & DR. MARY P. HALLICK SCHOLARSHIP DINNER

Thu, May 1, 5:30pm at Alioto's Restaurant with Guest Speaker Duska Stanic: "Building Resilience Through Faith.” Please respond to (262) 737-4398 by Fri, Apr. 25.

IOCC Tailgate event --- Sat, May 3

Vespers begin at 5:00 pm and the program begins at 6:00 pm. See flyer for the details.

DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE CRAZY HAT LUNCHEON --- Sat, May 10, 11:00am

Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee.

Put on your most eye-catching hat and join us for an afternoon of fine food and lively conversation! Cocktails begin at 11 am. Lunch at noon. Dr. Ellen Censky, President and CEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum will share insights into the Wisconsin Wonders campaign for the transformation of our natural history museum. Proceeds will benefit the Daughters of Penelope Scholarship Program and the new Milwaukee Public Museum. Gentlemen are welcome to attend. Admission is $65 per person. Register here:  http://tiny.cc/MayDOPLuncheon

 Crazy Hat Luncheon registration page: http://tiny.cc/MayDOPLuncheon