Newsletter Spring 2016 Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity Carlton Hill, Brighton, BN2 0GW www.greekchurchbrighton.co.uk ALL ARE WELCOME! Welcome to our Spring 2016 Newsletter, here at the Holy Trinity Church and Greek School we encourage and welcome people of all nationalities and faiths. We look forward to our upcoming Easter services and hope you enjoy your experience at our Church.

A letter from Our

Holy Eminence Archbishop Gregorios:

VOTE FOR YOUR COMMITTEE 22nd May 2016 The Archdiocese will run our Elections. Each member votes for a maximum of 8 candidates. The 8 candidates with the most votes are elected. An additional 4 members are chosen by our Archbishop following recommendations from our Priest, the elected candidates and the Archdiocese

representatives.

Letter translated in English To the Orthodox Christians of the Community of The Holy Trinity of Brighton and Greater Area. Dearly Beloved in the Lord, First of all, I would like to wish you all health and to spend the period of Great Lent in spiritual bliss and with joy celebrate the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, I would like to warmly congratulate the Governing Committee of the Community for their decision to announce elections for a new Governing Committee. The Archbishop offers his blessing for these elections and wishes every success in the work of our Church in your city. I urge everyone, men and women, to become active Members of the Community and vote for those brothers and sisters who are devout Christians, promote progress and will protect the Church, the Greek and Catechism School, the youth, the elderly and the sick and the university students. They will build a large Hall and an apartment for use by the Priest of the Community, adjacent to the Church. I offer fatherly advice to all Greek Orthodox Christians to conduct the elections for the new Governing Committee that will govern the Community for the next three years in a spirit of love, peace, concord and close co-operation with the Archdiocese. I wish all of you health and the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ on your families and pursuits and I remain with warm wishes and blessings in the Lord and honour. London 22nd March, Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain.

ELECTIONS SUNDAY 22ND MAY SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY VOTING FOR US! We the current Church Committee want to continue our work and we need you, our church congregation to vote for us in our upcoming Elections. Please sign up and become Church Members by the 8th May to qualify to vote, below are your current committee who will be running for re-election:

Stephen Papadopoulos Zacharias Koullas Adamos Papadamou Andrew Sparsis Andreas Archontides

Flora Papanicolaou-Hood

Nektarios Makratzakis

Costas Papanichola

Zinon Papadamou

The Elections will be held on the 22nd May 2016, voting from 10.30-12.45pm. Two Vice Chairman of the organization of the Greek Orthodox Community representatives of the Archdiocese will be conducting the Elections. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Louis Louizou for all his help and advice. To be eligible to vote in our upcoming Elections you must be a church member and live in the Brighton, Hove and surrounding areas. Membership forms are available at our front desk and must be completed by the 8th May to be eligible to vote in these elections, please note a membership fee is required. For those of you who have been paying a regular direct debit donation you will need to complete a membership form but will not be charged the fee. For Senior citizens and for families who cannot afford the membership fee, but are regular visitors at our Church please contact our Secretary Flora, your situation will be discussed with the Elections Committee and your fee could be waivered. If you are away for the Elections but would like to vote please contact Flora. Our Elections Committee are Archimandrite Germanos, Secretary Flora Papanicolaou-Hood and Committee Member Andreas Archontides. Committee Member Application Forms are available at the front desk. Committee Members and any Church Member who wishes to be entered for the Committee Elections must complete and submit their application with a passport size photo by 12.30pm on Sunday 17th April 2016. Terms and conditions apply, eligible applicants will be displayed on our notice board on the 8th May 2016. We would like to invite regular Church members to join our Committee and help us continue to achieve our goals. We are looking for individuals who have some free time and willingness to assist us to build a legacy, we as Committee Members are merely caretakers for the next generation. The ability to work as part of a team is essential and as we are a religious organization, Christian values and behavior are paramount. References may be obtained, disclosure and barring service (DBS) and soft credit checks will be carried out. Please note for those who are not eligible or successful in becoming Church Committee Members at this time can always put their name forward as a volunteer.

VOTE FOR A COMMITTEE YOU CAN TRUST! Here are just a few things we have achieved: •

We rebuilt our Church and added four new classrooms with up-to-date state of the art technology after the horrific arson attack. New electrics and all fire, health and safety regulations adhered to, complying with all Heritage requirements.

•

We have rebuilt and saved our Vicarage from dilapidation, it was in a very poor state when this committee took over.

•

We have profitable annual certified accounts for the last 5 years, for the first time in 20 years.

•

Sunday attendance numbers have increased.

•

We are supporting our students in Brighton, Hove and the surrounding areas.

•

We have arranged and funded Byzantine singing classes.

•

We are proud to have over 80 children in our Greek School, a school which is heavily subsidised by our Church, allowing our young children to learn the Greek language and customs. We are extremely grateful to Eleni our Head Teacher who with her team of Teachers, School Committee Members, PTA and Volunteers have achieved so much, ensuring our young children progress and flourish.

•

We have a wonderful Philanthropic Committee who have raised funds for various causes and have helped those in need in our congregation. They wish to be a support for anyone in our community who needs assistance.

•

We are excited that we are now in a position to go forward and submit our new plans for our new build. This exciting project will produce a 2000 square foot hall space, bar area, kitchen and the possibility for the entire space to be partitioned into smaller conference rooms or additional classrooms. There will be a two bedroom apartment above allowing our Priest to be onsite.

•

We only have a small loan left on the Vicarage and have savings of over £90,000. When this committee was sworn in by his Holy Eminence Archbishop Gregorios we had a large loan on the Vicarage, we had no funds in the current account and we struggled to keep up with the running costs of the Church and School.

•

We are pleased to confirm that a new Trust for our Church has now been completed, signed and executed. Our new Trustees are; our Holy Eminence Archbishop Gregorios, Stephen Papadopoulos, Zacharias Koullas, Flora Papanicolaou-Hood, Adamos Papadamou, Andreas Sparsis and Andreas Archontides.

Message from Archimandrite Germanos Kourkounis "The message of the Church is that the resurrection of Christ is not subject to the determinism of this world and therefore is not just a fact of enormous historical importance, but above the story; the meaning to and orients towards new horizons, towards a new world it is completely different from the familiar world of decay, pain and death. Amen " " Το µήνυµα της Εκκλησίας είναι ότι η Ανάσταση του Χριστού δεν υπάγεται στη νοµοτέλεια αυτού του κόσµου και συνεπώς δεν είναι απλώς ένα γεγονός τεράστιας ιστορικής σηµασίας ,αλλά βρίσκεται πάνω από την ιστορία · την νοηµατοδοτεί και την προσανατολίζει προς νέους ορίζοντες ,προς ένα καινούργιο κόσµο που είναι τελείως διαφορετικός από το γνωστό µας κόσµο της φθοράς ,του πόνου και του θανάτου .Αµήν"

Chairman Stephen Papadopoulos Dear parishioners, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your valued and continued support. The church and school committees, the philanthropic committee together with our priest, Archimandrite Germanos and His Holy Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, we have worked together to build a community for us and all future generations to be proud of. But, as with everything, there is always room for improvement, and we have aspirations to make it better. As many of you know, we are looking to build a hall at the back of the church, a perfect venue for charity events and an area for the children of the school to learn, sing, dance and play.

Maria & Stephen Papadopoulos

I urge you all to vote in the upcoming Elections, my fellow candidates and I have worked tirelessly for you, the congregation and community of Brighton and surrounding areas. Please show us your support and appreciation by voting for us. With your help, we will achieve our exciting development programme and we are immensely grateful to all our donors and volunteers for working with us to build a bright future for our church and school. I wish you all the very best over this Great Lenten period. With kindest regards, Stephen Papadopoulos, Chairman.

Eleni Koki Head Teacher Dear friends, We are excited to announce the start of Greek Storytelling sessions "It's Storytime" at the Brighton Greek School of the Holy Trinity. Our aim is to reinforce the children's Greek language speaking, to familiarize them with modern and traditional Greek stories and to empower their love for books through a fun and inspiring learning environment. The "It's Storytime" sessions will run once a month, on Sunday mornings by the head teacher Eleni Koki. For info on the dates please visit our school's website www.brightongreekschool.org Aγαπητοί φίλοι, Με µεγάλη χαρά ανακοινώνουµε την έναρξη της "Παραµυθοπαρέας" στο Ελληνικό Σχολείο Brighton Αγίας Τριάδας. Πρόκειται για συναντήσεις αφήγησης παραµυθιών για παιδιά, εµπλουτισµένες µε δραστηριότητες µουσικής και τέχνης. Σκοπός µας είναι τα παιδιά να αγαπήσουν και να βελτιώσουν τα ελληνικά τους µέσω της γνωριµίας τους µε σύγχρονα παραµύθια αλλά και ιστορίες της λαϊκής µας παράδοσης. Οι συναντήσεις γίνονται µια φορά το µήνα, Κυριακή πρωί. Δασκάλα: Ελένη Κοκή Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες επισκεφτείτε την ιστοσελίδα µας www.brightongreekschool.org.

Donations and Pledges Gratefully Received We have immediate works which need to be carried out at the front of the building to renovate the structure to its original splendor and we continue to fundraise for our new build. We really do appreciate every donation and pledge given, please continue!

Volunteers Please! Your Church Needs You! We are always in need of people who can spare a little time and would be happy to help our Church, School and Philanthropic Committees. Please contact the relevant department, details below.

Business Support We would like to thank all the businesses who have sponsored our Newsletter, your support is greatly

appreciated.

General Information Church services are held every Sunday from 9.45am to 12.15pm and on other religious occasions, for further information please see our website which displays our monthly program. Teas and coffees are kindly donated and served by our Philanthropic Committee after the Sunday service, this is a great way to meet members of our community. Our Church is available for Weddings, Christenings, Funerals and other ceremonies.

Upcoming Events 22nd May 2016 Church Elections Greek Orthodox Church Of The Holy Trinity 12th June 2016 BBQ Fun Day For All the Family Greek Orthodox Church Of The Holy Trinity

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