Περιοδικό τῆς Ἐνορίας-Κοινότητος

Ἁγίας Ἄννας, Χρυσή Ἀκτή

Newsletter of the Greek Orthodox Parish-

Community of St Anna, Gold Coast

31 a Crombie Ave, Bundall � PO Box 5074 GCMC Qld 9726 � (07) 5574 0777, 5574 0434 � admin@gocstanna.org

To see the Phos in colour, visit our website at: www.gocstanna.org

THE PHOS Oct-Nov 2013

Coming up

in Oct-Nov:

Oct 1 Bribie Island

Visit

Oct 18 Taverna night

Oct 27 OXI day lunch

Nov 5 High Tea

If you would like to receive the Phos in colour by email send your email address to

admin@gocstanna.org

CHURCH

SERVICES See Inside

or

go to our website

On the 27 August 2013 we were proud to wit-

ness Mr Steven Ciobo, Federal Member for

Moncrieff, present the 2013 Moncrieff Com-

munity Awards to six volunteers from this

community. The award recipients were Alex

Adamidis, Georgia Georghiou, George Ioan-

nides, Georgia Kalas, Spiro Levanes and

Thalia Zakos. We congratulate and thank

each recipient for their contribution and sup-

port to the Greek Community of St Anna,

Gold Coast. Thanks also go to Mr John Carras

for taking many photographs on the night.

John works tirelessly for this parish in high-

lighting our many events.

On Wednesday 28th of August 2013, our Greek

School children participated in our first ever

Father’s Day concert. The programme in-

cluded speeches, songs and recital of poems

from our prep’s to our senior students. The

students did a wonderful job in celebrating

Father’s Day! We give thanks to the Ladies

Auxiliary on the night for providing tea, cof-

fee, and refreshments and to the parents who

brought along a plate of sweets and savouries

for all of us to enjoy.

We were blessed to have in our presence on

Sunday the 8th of September 2013, The V.

Rev. Dr Themistocles Adamopoulo, (Father

Themi) from Sierra Leone (Africa). Our Com-

munity hosted a fundraiser on the day to

assist Fr Themi in his missionary and charity

work in Sierra Leone. The monies raised will

assist him in his commitment to improve basic

living conditions eg. food, water, education,

medicine etc. Father Roman and Father

Themi conducted the Divine Liturgy in church

with Father Themi reading the Gospel. After

the church service, a fundraising brunch was

held which was hosted by the Ladies Auxil-

iary. We had many special guests on the day,

which included Ricardo Viana, President of

the Multicultural Communities Council and

his wife Ana, Deirdre Hanna, Founding Presi-

dent and Founder of Paradise Kids, Betty

Beverly, Board member of Paradise Kids,

Peter Watkins, member of the Hopewell Hos-

pice, Mrs Betty Vaggelas, a generous sup-

porter of our community and also Hopewell

Hospice and Paradise Kids, Vandy Kamara,

who is originally from Sierra Leone who now

works at Mission Australia, Dylan Zack,

from Zarrafas Coffee chain, and Louis Toum-

bas who works behind the scenes for Fr

Themi and actively promotes PK4A

(Paradise Kids 4 Africa). Fr Themi provided

a CD presentation and talk of his missionary

work, and the profound poverty and hard-

ship that exists in Sierra Leone. Our commu-

nity raised on the day a sizeable amount of

money for just a relatively small community.

We raised a total of $8,000.00. These funds

will directly assist those who are in desper-

ate need. We don’t know how lucky we are to

have electricity and running water, medicine

and the basic essentials, whereas over in Si-

erra Leone this is rarity. The fund raising

event would not be a success without the

work done by our Ladies Auxiliary who put

on a sumptuous display of food. Many

thanks to you all! We also thank Vandy

Kamara who provided an informative and

eye-opening talk of his personal journey

through Sierra Leone with the Sunday

School students.

We have received positive feedback from

many sources since the fundraiser. Ms

Deirdre Hanna said “Thank you to St Anna

again for your very welcoming and grace-

filled hospitality. You represent the true

Church of Love in Action”.

It has been brought to our attention that

over a period of time people have been bring-

ing in their unwanted items and or furniture

from home and leaving them at the commu-

nity hall or at church. If you feel the item

can be of use to our church please discuss

with Father Roman first. The same situation

applies to the community hall, if you have an

item that you feel can be used in our commu-

nity hall please discuss with the Ladies Aux-

iliary in the first instance. Thank you for

your understanding.

James Nides

President

PRESIDENTS REPORT

THE PHOS Page 2

Fundraising Brunch for Father Themi Or-

thodox Mission in Sierra Leon. What a wonderful day was had by all who at-tended this fundraiser to assist Father Themi in continuing the Orthodox Missions valu-able work with the underprivileged of Sierra Leon. The presentation by Father Themi really made you stop and think how lucky we are to live in Australia. It was heart wrenching to see children dying from lack of food and wa-ter and living in such squalor. The money raised on the day, including the door ticket and the many donations made by families who were unable to attend amounted to $8,200. This was a wonderful effort by our Parishioners and will go a long way towards the mission of the Church. God bless you all and may God give health and strength to Fa-ther Themi to continue his mission for many years to come.

St Anna’s Day

Thank you to Jim and Nick Karkazis of Ash-more Seafood and Steakhouse for once again looking after us so well. We were blessed with the company of Father Themi who assisted Father Romanos with the liturgy and then joined us for lunch. 75 peo-ple attended the lunch on the day including ladies of St Paraskevis Ladies Auxiliary and our own Respite and Seniors groups.

EVENTS TO REMEMBER

Tuesday 1st October – Official opening of Bribie Island Retreat. Please see flyer in this edition of the Phos –

BUS WILL LEAVE ST ANNA AT 7AM SHARP

Friday 18th October – Taverna Night

Please see flyer in this edition of the Phos.

LADIES AUXILIARY NEWS

Sunday 27th October – OXI Celebra-

tions

After the liturgy we will be holding a lunch in our hall where children of our Greek School will recite their poems. We will forward further information to you as the day gets closer.

Saturday 5th November – High Tea with guest speaker local Gold Coast girl Effie Zakos, Editor of Money Magazine.

Father Themi’s Visit

THE PHOS Page 3

Our Mondcrieff Award members. From left, Spiro Levanes, Georgia

Kalas, George Ionnides, Thalia Zakos, Georgia Gheorghiou’s son

accepting on her behalf and Alex Adamidis in the second row..

SPIRITUAL CORNER

Είπε ένας Γέροντας: «Τίποτε δεν παροργίζει τόσο

τον Θεό και τίποτε δεν απογυμνώνει τόσο τον

άνθρωπο από τη χάρη, ώστε να φτάσει και σε

εγκατάλειψη από μέρους του Θεού, όσο το να

κατηγορεί τον πλησίον του ή να τον κατακρίνει ή να

τον εξουθενώνει. Και είναι τόσο βαρύτερη η

κατάκριση από κάθε άλλη αμαρτία, ώστε ο ίδιος ο

Χριστός λέει: «Υποκριτή, βγάλε πρώτα το δοκάρι

που έχεις στο μάτι σου και τότε θα δείς καθαρά για

να βγάλεις το σκουπιδάκι που βρίσκεται στο μάτι

του αδελφού σου (Λουκ. 6,42). Παρομοίασε δηλαδή

το αμάρτημα του πλησίον με το σκουπιδάκι, ενώ την

κατάκριση με το δοκάρι. Είναι τόσο κακό το να

κατακρίνει κανείς· σχεδόν ξεπερνά κάθε αμαρτία.

Επομένως τίποτε δεν είναι βαρύτερο, αδελφοί μου,

ούτε χειρότερο από το να καταδικάσουμε ή να

εξουθενώσουμε τον πλησίον. Γιατί να μη

προτιμούμε να κατακρίνουμε τον εαυτό μας; Και

εννοώ τα κακά τα δικά μας που καλά τα γνωρίζουμε

και για τα οποία πρόκεται να δώσουμε λόγο στον

Θεό. Γιατί αρπάζουμε το δικαίωμα της κρίσης του

Θεού; Τι θέλουμε από το πλάσμα του, τι θέλουμε

από τον πλησίον; Τί ζητάμε από τα βάρη του άλλου;

Έχουμε, αδελφοί τι να φροντίσουμε. Ο καθείς ας

προσέχει τον εαυτό του και τις δικές του κακίες, Η

εξουσία να δικαιώνει και να καταδικάζει, ανήκει

μόνο στον Θεό, που γνωρίζει και την κατάσταση του

καθενός και τη δύναμη· τον τρόπο της ζωής και τα

χαρίσματά του· την ιδιοσυγκρασία και τις

ικανότητες του· ανήκει στον Θεό πού κρίνει

ανάλογα με το καθένα απ’ αυτά, όπως ο ίδιος μόνος

τά γνωρίζει».

CAMP MAPLETON

In late July, some of our youth attended a youth camp organ-

ised by the Dormition of the Theotokos church of Mt.

Gravatt. The camp involved a lot of recreational activities

including bush walking, canoeing, various sports activities

and a movie night. Fr Roman came for a day visit and

showed the kids how to make prosphoro which the kids

really enjoyed. The camp was a great opportunity for our

kids to meet other kids from different parishes. The camp

proved to be a great success with many saying they can't

wait for the next camp. A big thankyou to Fr Nicholas and

Presvytera Maria and Zoe Stephanos for organising a won-

derful youth camp.

THE PHOS Oct-Nov 2013

Page 4

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About GOC Care

GOC Care is a not-for-profit, provider of community care services assisting eligible seniors and others to remain

in their homes with independence and dignity, with the help of a number of support services.

Established by the Greek Orthodox Community of St. George, GOC Care is funded by the government to deliver

services throughout Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast, to both Greek persons and the wider community.

With satellite locations at Taigum and the Gold Coast, GOC Care seeks to meet the needs of eligible persons.

Being a government funded agency GOC Care is subject to rigorous scrutiny and accountability – from govern-

ance, organisational management, standards of practice, service coordination, through to direct care in the

community. This is reflected in the high standard of professional conduct and performance of the staff and

programs and evidenced in the results of government and independent audits which are conducted regularly.

GOC Care Services

GOC Care delivers a range of services, commencing with clients who need just a little assistance to remain at home, through to others

who need more comprehensive care. In Brisbane, those receiving introductory levels of service, such as domestic assistance, social

support, etc, number approximately 600. At the Gold Coast, this introductory service is offered through the St. Anna’s Centre-based

Day Respite Service, which operates Mondays and Thursdays, phone 5574 0296 or 0413 886 118.

Intermediate and more comprehensive levels of care are provided by our Home Care Packages Program and includes the services

listed above as well as transport to medical appointments, respite assistance, medication management, and more frequent monitor-

ing and supervision of clients. GOC Care delivers a total of 206 Home Care Packages; 143 from our Brisbane office and 63 from the

Gold Coast office.

Planning for a Disaster?

What I would like to share with you at this time is the importance of thinking about how you would cope during a Disaster. In the

wake of the Brisbane floods, agencies such as GOC Care, who provide services to seniors and others, are now required to share infor-

mation with clients about planning for a Disaster.

Major disasters are rare, but they do happen. When they occur they can cause loss of life, injury, damage to property, and a disrup-

tion of services. During the Brisbane floods, several clients were trapped in their homes without food, phone or electricity. All were

ill-equipped for the disaster as well as the consequences that followed.

To help you prepare for a potential disaster, GOC Care has developed a “Household Disaster Management Plan”, which highlights im-

portant points, ideas, and suggestions about how you can prepare for a disaster. It also contains information about useful agencies

and contacts that can assist you before, during and after a disaster. For a copy of the GOC Care Household Disaster Management

Plan, please ring 07 3844 3669, and a copy will be posted. Should you require additional assistance in developing your Plan, staff from

GOC Care can assist.

If you have any questions or suggestions about GOC Care please do not hesitate to contact our helpful staff. All the best and thank

you.

Lorraine Angeli

Manager: Aged and Commu-

nity Care

Clients & Staff at the St. Anna’s Centre-based

Day Respite Program

THE PHOS Page 7

THE PHOS

Father Romanos Stergiou—Parish Priest Phone: 07 5574 0777 Mobile: 0414 740 477 Fax: 5574 2287

Email: father@gocstanna.org Office Hours: by appointment please call directly

Page 8

Senior Citizens Senior Citizens Senior Citizens

We meet at our Hall at 10.30 am on

Tuesdays. BYO Food

Θά συναντηθούμε στο χώλ μας 10,30

π.μ. με τα φαγητά μας

Kollyva

Memorials with Kollyva can not be conducted between the Saturday of Lazarus and the Sunday of

St. Thomas; on the major feast days of our Lord and the Parish Church nor on the 15th Aug, the

Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

To arrange for Kollyva, contact Eleni Paris on 0419 309 417

We have had two special birthdays at the Senior Citizens recently. We congratulate Mrs Katina Patselis who celebrated her 90th birthday and Mrs Kitsa Leonidas who celebrated her 80th birthday. Vaso Kyriakou would like to thank everybody who sent cards and best wishes on the passing of her beloved husband, Bill. She would also like to thank everyone who attended the church service and made donations on the day. On Monday 9th September the Senior Citizens celebrated St Anna’s day with other members of the community at a luncheon held at Ashmore Steak and Seafood restaurant. All the members said it was a very enjoyable lunch.

Katina Patselis

Kitsa Leonidas