MINISTRY NEWS

VOLUME 4 , ISSUE 10

MAR. 5 - MAR. 11

For our full calendar of events and services, visit https://holytransfiguration.info/calendar/

Due to the number of ministry events in this email, some email programs cutoff our message and include a link to see the full version in a web browser. If you do not see a flyer for an event listed above, please access that link.

Each year, the AHEPA Mother Lodge Chapter No. 1 Educational Fund awards numerous, unrestricted scholarships as well as scholarships designated by their sponsors for specific areas of study.

The scholarship awards range from $1000-$3000 and applicants are considered for any scholarship for which they meet eligibility requirements. Applicants must be registered as full-time students either in Fall/ Spring semester or quarter academic calendars in order to be considered for an award.

Click here for more details!

The 2026-2027 application is available 1/1/26-3/15/26.

ALSO, REMINDER THAT WE ARE BAKING/COOKING THIS WEEK:

VOLUNTEERS REQUESTED

MANY HANDS NEEDED, NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

All days 10am-4pm unless otherwise noted.

FRI. Mar. 6 (Spanakopita)

MON. Mar. 9 (Keftedes)

TUE. Mar. 10 (Keftedes)

FRI. Mar. 13 (Keftedes)

MON. Mar. 16

TUE. Mar. 17

WED. Mar. 18

MON. Mar. 23

TUE. Mar. 24

WED. Mar. 25 from noon-4pm

Meet in PLC Kitchen: Please enter through the back kitchen door.

Please fill out our REGISTRATION FORM. If you have any questions please reach out to office@toamarietta.com

SAVE THE DATE

The evening of Saturday August 22nd, honoring Father Panayiotis’ Retirement, immediately following Vespers

More details to come!

Parish Membership - Every year, we seek your support and renewed commitment to help ensure that we are meeting our parish’s growing time, talent & treasure needs. We are also required by the Archdiocese Regulations to have all members of the Parish renew their membership each year to remain in “good standing.” 

Your Gifts in Service to God

Through stewardship, we offer our time, talents, and treasure as members of the Body of Christ, striving to reach our full potential in Him. Your generosity supports our church’s mission and transforms lives—both within and beyond our parish.

2026 STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN

How to submit your 2025 Membership/Stewardship Card: 

1. PAPER: Grab a paper Stewardship form from a Parish Council member in the Narthex on Sunday. You may mail back the completed paper form to the Church or drop the completed form in the offering tray.

2. ONLINE: You can complete the Online Membership/Stewardship Form on the church’s Stewardship webpage (https://holytransfiguration.info/join/).

3. SCAN: use the QR code. Simply point your camera on the QR code and click the yellow link that appears within your picture frame.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 11 at 10:00 am in Lower Level Parish Hall Classroom #127. Please text Ann Zakreski at 770.329.7421 if you plan to come.

Hellenic Dance practice continues on Sunday, March 8th as follows:

OUR DANCE GROUPS

12:30-1:00 pm Pitsirikia (Pre-K)-PLC Classroom 125

12:30-1:00 pm Palamakia (K & 1st)-PLC Classroom 127

12:30-1:15 pm Asteria (2nd & 3rd)-PLC Classroom 128

12:30-1:15 pm Petaloudes (4th & 5th)-PLC Classroom 130

12:30-2:30 pm Phoenix (middle school)-PLC Gym

1:00-3:30 pm Eleftheria (high school)-PLC Gym or Amphitheater

Visit the Hellenic Dance webpage for further details and instructor names.

Greek Dance has already started, but spaces are always available for new dancers! Please Note: We will not take any new students after March 1st practice.

Hellenic Dance Registration

If your child is interested in Greek dancing for the festival, here is how to register:

(1) First, your family or the individual dancer has to be a steward of the parish. Please complete a stewardship form for this year if you haven’t done so yet with our online 2026 Membership/Stewardship Form.

(2) Second, please register your child for our youth programs (including dance) with our online 2025-26 Youth Ministries Registration.

(3) Third, please also confirm with our dance team that you intend to participate and have completed the above two steps. You can email us at: hellenicdance@holytransfiguration.info.

You’re also welcome to show up at dance practice to register but will be asked to make sure you complete the above steps as well. Please email Paulina Vastakis at hellenicdance@holytransfiguration.info with questions. Thank you!

Once you have registered, you can pay for your dancer(s) costume usage fee (by March 15) any of these ways below:  Go Online and pay or write a Check out to the church, HTGOC, and in the memo line make sure you write in "COSTUME FEE/DANCER(S) NAME".

You can bring the check to dance practice and give it to Paulina Vastakis or Karen Fox (dance instructors cannot accept money) OR drop it off at the church during regular business hours or bring $50/per dancer in cash to dance practice and give it PAULINA VASTAKIS or KAREN FOX, Dance instructors will not take the cash, so please find the director, Paulina (who teaches high school) or our financial board member, Karen Fox (who also teaches middle school).

Upcoming Sessions via Zoom:



Mar. 28

Note: Mar. 7 session has been cancelled

For more information and a Zoom invite, please reach out to BJ Spanos at 404-771-9335 or email

The Mixed Choir practices on Tuesday nights / sing on the 1st & 3rd Sundays of the month.

Next practice: Mar. 10 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary

Ministry information...

The Men's Choir practices on Thursday nights / sing on the 4th Sundays of the month:

Next practice: Mar. 5 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary

Singing the 2nd Salutations at 7:00 pm on Mar. 6.

Next Sunday singing the Divine Liturgy: Mar. 22.

Ministry information...

A group of friends (age 50+) who gather together purely for the enjoyment of each other’s company. They share experiences in life, their philosophies, values, ideas and goodies. Meetings are a light lunch with a guest speaker presentation.

Next meeting: Mar. 19

Ministry information...

Sunday, March 8: Back to Books: We are excited to welcome Eleni Catrakilis, author of Under an African Sky, for a book launch and signing | Please join us after the Divine Liturgy in the Parish Hall. More details coming soon!

Saturday, March 14: Parish Lenten Retreat: The Meeting of Psychology and Orthodox Pastoral Theology. This is a parish wide event. More details coming soon!

We meet on the first Tuesday of each month at 11:00 am in the Church Library (St. Basil Conference Room) followed by an optional lunch out.



ALL book lover readers are welcome to come.

APRIL MEETING



Tuesday, April 7, at 11 a.m. in the Church Library (St. Basil Conference Room)

Book: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Meeting followed by optional lunch out - restaurant TBD

Philoptochos News: Use the 2026 Membership Form to join or renew your membership in Philoptochos. 

If you have not already joined or renewed your membership in Philoptochos, please do the following:

1.    Go to the church’s website: holytransfiguration.info.

2.    From the “home” page, select MINISTRIES from the heading at the top of the page.

3.    Under Philanthropy, select PHILOPTOCHOS.

4.    On the Philoptochos page, select 2026 Membership Form (Download).

5.    Save the Membership Form to your computer.

6.    Follow the directions at the bottom of the form to complete, make payment to the Philoptochos Square account, and submit your completed form.

We meet on the second Monday of every month in the Church Library from 7:00-8:30 p.m. / co-hosted by Pres. Patty & Michael Gavalas, Please email us at mgavalas@holytransfiguration.info to be added to our email list.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE



Monday, March 16 & April 20

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

(The Alphabetical Collection trans. by Benedicta Ward)

"The classic collection of sayings from the fourth century desert fathers and mothers whose 'words' were collected and passed around among those too far away to make the trek themselves - and to those of us living generations later. We have a great deal to learn from their integrity and their unrelenting courage, from their vision of God - so holy, so great, possessed of such a love, that nothing less than one's whole being could respond to it."

Young Adults in their 20’s and 30’s meet twice a month for continuing education and fellowship. Second Sunday YA Class & Discussion meets on the 2nd Sunday of each month, and Third Thursday Social Gathering meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

Want to learn more? Join the HTGOC Young Adults GroupMe chat for notifications on events.

Contact Fr. Michael or Ministry Lead

Next meeting: Sun. March 8 (Second Sunday) in the Lighthouse directly after communion.

Dear Parish Family and Friends,

Are you or someone you know unable to attend church due to illness or some other reason? Would you or someone you know like a visit from a member of our clergy team or lay volunteer? If so, please fill out this form and we will do our very best to arrange times to visit!

In Christ,

HTGOC Clergy Team

Dear Parish Family and Friends,

If you or someone who's part of your community is in need, Philoptochos is here to help. Please contact Jamie Hughes at 770-710-7733 or by email for details.

In Christ,

Philoptochos

Dear Parishioner,

We are continuing our Neighborhood Gatherings at Holy Transfiguration. These small gatherings give our parishioners an opportunity to get acquainted with other parishioners that live in their immediate vicinity. I would like to ask that you consider hosting a Neighborhood Gathering in your home for parishioners in your area. We will help you set it up and will send out the invitations to your parish neighbors. This is an opportunity to host as an act of stewardship to bring parishioners closer together in a more intimate, social setting. 

The time and date of the Gathering will be your choice, to accommodate your schedule. We plan to have a Parish Council member and a Priest at each Gathering to provide "talking points", to get conversations going, and to answer church-related questions. Food or snacks will be optional. And if you do choose to have food or dessert at your Gathering, we suggest that you do it as a potluck so that all may participate in providing an item.  

If you are willing to host a Neighborhood Gathering, please respond directly to me, Steve Tingas, at  stingas@holytransfiguration.info. Thank you for considering.

Steve Tingas

Outreach Chairman

770-845-5045

stingas@holytransfiguration.info

PHISHING SCAM AWARENESS

We are aware that several phishing-type communications have been received by parishioners from supposed members of the church leadership. The church (priests, staff, Parish Council, ministry leads) will never email or text you asking for you to buy gift cards or send money for any reason. If you receive such a message, it is a scam. Please disregard the request and report it to the church office. Always verify requests for financial assistance through direct communication with the church office. Protect yourself, your personal information, fellow parishioners, and the church by being cautious of these fraudulent attempts.

FELLOWSHIP/COFFEE HOUR SPONSORSHIP

Fellowship/Coffee Hour Sponsorship is a great way to honor someone's birthday, nameday, memory, or a significant event with your church family. For ministries, it is a great opportunity to bring awareness to your group and gain members. Reserve your date using the links below.

YOUTH MINISTRIES REGISTRATION

Registration for our 2025-2026 youth ministries (Catechism, Hellenic DanceHope & Joy, GOYA) is now open! Please register your child/children and select what ministries he/she/they will be participating in.

For more information about these ministries:

It is important, and also mandatory, for all youth who are participating in ministries of the parish to have completed the Youth Ministries Registration Form AND for the parent(s)/guardian(s) of that youth to have completed the membership/stewardship form. Completing both of these forms will not only give us the information we need to better serve the youth, but it will also be a big step towards helping all families become active and involved members of the parish.

So, with this email, we are asking everyone with a child/children participating in youth ministries to make sure that both of the necessary registrations/forms are completed:

BEYOND HOLY TRANSFIGURATION