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MARCH 2012
 

 

Friends, Parishioners, Supporters,

hello to all.

It looks as if Christmas was  yesterday,  Carnival arrived and  passed us fast and here we are already in the middle of Lent.

 

The beautifull verses of the Salutations to the Virgin Mary, that form the Hymn of Akathist, are recited again in our Churches.

The melodious «Hail….» was firstly heard years and centuries ago in the Church of The Virgin Mary in Vlachernae near the

 Walls in the Queen of cities,  Constantinople. It was there, where  the Christians of the area congregated to give thanks to their Lady.

Standing up for the whole long Service, they chanted this Hymn to their Champion, Panaghia.

 

When this Church was acquired by us in 14th of May 2009, a part of it (The Church was built in 1864 in honour of  Virgin Mary)

was dedicated to Our Lady, as :«The Chapel of St. Mary of Vlachernae». So when this time of the Ecclesiasical Year arrives,

we feel very much at home…

 

With a small congregation attending (it is quality that matters!) the 1st Salutations were melodically recited and chanted in our

Church on. Friday 2nd of March  It was Father Evangelos-Nikolaos’s first time ever celebrating this Service on his own, as it is not

long since he was ordained to the rank of Presviteros (quite a few priests have this Service in our Community for the first time!).

 

Lent and March go hand in hand, an old Greek proverb confirms it, and as the  rebirth of nature occurs in front of our own eyes,

the swallows are preparing their journey  to arrive at a similar time  with the Feast of the Announciation.  They will pose and

wait to hear the good announcement and then will build their nests. A  Celebration together with the National Day of 25th March

 since 1821, makes it a double, bestowed to us, anywhere in the world we live, as the custodians of this tradition. As usual we

will mark the anniversary with Doxology after the H. Liturgy. This done, we will continue with the customary School celebrations.

You are all invited to join and applaud the efforts of the pupils and the school.

 

On Friday 30th of March at 6.30 the Akathist Hymn will be recited and chanted in our Church. Come along to offer Hymns of Praise

to Our Lady as the people of Byzantium did, years and years ago, in the shores of The Golden Horn and all together to Chant

“ Tii Ipermacho…” 

 

After  that, Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter will follow fast. We will ask you to contact us nearer the days for the exact

programme of the Services outside  the ones we have already publicised. We are also asking for volunteers to help with the

ornating the Epitaphios, and we will appreciate any contribution  towards the purchase of flowers. 

 

On Easter Sunday, 11am, at the Vespers of Love and after The Gospel is heard in many languages, we will gather in our 

Community’s  grounds for the Greek Easter Celebratory Tradition. All, friends known  and unknown, Come, as  “It is the Day

of Resurrection! Let us shine forth in splendor for the Festival and embrace one another….”

 

With this communication we say “thank you” to all who financially support us. Please continue with what you can when you can,

big or small donation is not only important but essential to be able to continue to pay the mortgage of the Church and the Church

Hall and other expenses coming on our way. This complex of Church-Hall and grounds is an asset to have and provide a positive

picture of who we are, what we are doing and will remain a legacy for future generations.

 

On a more practical note, as these buildings need a great deal of regular care and maintenance, we ask members of our Community

 to come forward with whatever help they can offer and at whatever time they can make it.

 

We also need to create and manage events that will generate funds to sustain ourselves and again, we ask for ideas and practical

help to set up and run these events.

 

Many wishes,

 From all of us,

 

From the Committee

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of GOCMK
Dear Members of the Greek Orthodox Community of Milton Keynes and Surrounding Districts, 

you are invited in our annual AGM, that will be held in our Hall, on August 21st 2011 at noon. 




JANUARY 2011 

Our dear friends and parishioners, 

we wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year ! 

This is a brief update of our news. Our new church hall has been under renovation and repairs since the beginning of October 2010. The first stage involved: 1)  repairs of the plaster inside the building 2) Removal of the large amounts of ivy that covered most of the building for years, 3) complete removal of all the roof tiles of the building, insulation and re-application of the tiles, 4) replacement of broken glass on the windows,5) stripping and painting of exterior doors and windows 6) re-pointing and repair of the decorative stone wall surrounding the roof . 
Click for photos of the works  :  Gallery

The timing of the repairs was not ideal in terms of weather but we did not have the luxury to wait until spring, the hall had to be up and running as soon as possible. We were hoping to have the building ready before Christmas but that was not achieved. Apart from the weather and the "idle"festive period, we also struggled to "re-activate" the building. It was difficult to discover the postal address of the place and to trace the gas and water supply (it seemed as if the building did not exist before !). 

At the moment, the electrical repairs are under way, together with the necessary works to re-establish the heating. Not having the heating in the conditions we experienced the past couple of months meant that very little could be done in terms of decorating the interior. We hope that it will be completed very soon. 

Our latest estimate for completion of the works is the beginning of February. That does not mean that our work will be finished then ! 

Watch this space for an announcement for a "Greek Night" very soon.

From the Committee 


Please scroll down for more news ......



    



SEPTEMBER 2010 

Our dear friends and members of our Community,

        Following upon our success in acquiring our own Church last year as most of you will know, now we have more exciting news to announce. We have completed the purchase of the adjoining hall and land on the 31st August this year.  This complements the Church and its activities and provides us with a greater scope to expand on non-Church events which will also allow us to cater for the social needs of our members and, amongst other things, to join in the numerous Stony Stratford festivals that take place each year bringing us closer to the local community who, on the whole, have been very welcoming.

        It is felt that a substantial number of the townsfolk were not happy that this attractive Victorian building would be turned into a another dwelling and we anticipate that there will be considerable use made of it in addition to our own requirements once it is operational.  The target date is late October/early November.

        However, there is much to be done in renovating it for public use and we therefore look for volunteers to take on the many and varied tasks that can be performed without recourse to paid expert work.   Once we can open it for hire to the wider public, other volunteers, on a more regular basis, will be required to:-

· Take bookings and record them and receive payment;
· Open and close the hall when needed making a note of the condition of the hall before closing and record any damage that has occurred;
· Organise and manage our own events either in support of the Hall or the Church (in this respect we need ideas);
· Take on interior cleaning and maintenance jobs (including those required in the Church);
· Regularly maintain the grounds, plants and bushes;
· Fulfil other tasks as they arise.

Please make use of Gift Aid Scheme, it costs you nothing but it is a valuable source of income to the Community. If you are a tax payer in the UK and have not signed up to the scheme, please do so.  You will need to identify your donation each time, this can be done by handing it to the Committee member collecting donations for which you will receive a receipt OR place your donation in the brown envelope provided and write your name, amount and date then sign it, hand to the Committee member or place it in the collection tray.


Finally, to ensure our Community’s success continues, we need your enthusiastic support at all times.

The Trustees and Committee members express their sincere gratitude to all those people that have made this possible especially those of you that have supported and participated in the Community since its inception in 1989, including those that have come and gone over these years and are not forgotten, and those who stepped in at the last minute in order to secure our latest acquisition.


Until our next communication (unless we see you before that), we wish you well for the future.

From all of us. 


The Committee




MARCH 2010
 
Dear friends,
the Stony Stratford Parochial Church Council has put up for sale the former parish hall (the building next to our Church) and its grounds. The sale is imminent and we can use all the help we can get. 
 
We moved to our new church nearly one year ago. It is obvious that despite our efforts to house all the Greek Community needs under the Church roof has great difficulties. Trying to house Church services, the School, the Hellenic Club, the Greek dancing and drama classes/rehearsals/performances, meetings, and some very limited social celebrations has not been trouble free! It is of utmost importance that a proper hall is needed. This Church building was sold to us without its adjacent former parish hall or a Church yard. The hall was to be sold separately.
 
This is what is happening now. The hall is for sale under a very very tight timescale. Put simply, if we lose the hall now we will lose it forever !
 
As committee members and trustees, we are exploring every possible avenue in order to secure the purchase. 
 
Please help us in any way you can. 
 
   
 
 
 
 
FEBRUARY 2010
 
Dear friends and members of our Community,
here we are again with our latest communication.
This is our first newsletter for 2010, so a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all.
 
There are so many things that have happened and are happening since we moved to our new Home that we could share with you. It would take hours for us to write and more hours for you to read. For the time being, we will stick to the absolute essential information and we ask your understanding on this. An opportunity for you to have a full picture of what is going on in the Greek Orthodox Community of Milton Keynes, is the Annual General Meeting that will be held in our Church in Stony Stratford, on Sunday 25th April 2010, after the Holly Liturgy. We invite all of you to attend. 
 
Under the guidance of The Right Reverend Athanasios, Bishop of Tropaeou,   the services held during the Lent and Easter will be increased. Please find the full schedule on the front page of this website, under "Calendar"
 
Thank you very much,
 
from the Church Committee