TODAY IS PRISON AWARENESS SUNDAY Today, Sunday, May 24, has been designated by the Hierarchs of SCOBA as Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday. A special encyclical has been issued in recognition of this vital ministry asking all Orthodox parishes to support the work of the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry and to encourage this work. You can also visit the OCPM web site and learn more about the work of chaplains, current and future programs, publications, and ways you can support prison ministry.

Encyclical for Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday:
http://www.scoba.us/articles/2647.html

Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry web site:
http://www.ocpm-scoba.org/

AXIOS! To our presbyter, Fr. Leo, on the 13th anniversary of his ordination, tomorrow, May 25, to the Clergy. God grant you many years, Fr.!

CANCER AKATHIST THIS TUESDAY Please come and pray with us for the healing/well-being of those whom we know who are struggling with cancer and those who have survived it. This service is prayed once a month--let`s come together by His grace--6:30PM this Tuesday evening--see you then!

THIS WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY This Wednesday is the Apodosis (leave-taking)of Holy Pascha and is a non-fasting day.

This Thursday the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ's Holy Ascension. We will have Great Vespers at 6:30PM Wednesday and on Thursday morning, orthros 9AM with Divine Liturgy following at 10AM.

THANKS FROM TIM Tim`s eye surgery went very well this past week. He thanks everyone who prayed for a good result!

MORE GRADS! God's blessing and congratulations to these fellows: Zachary Farley & Tony Caress, high school grads and Michael Sholl, junior high.

GOT NEWS FOR THE NEWSLETTER? Tim Harvey wants to hear from you--the sooner, the better--(but no later than this Friday) please send whatever you have to him at tlharvey@gci.net. THANKS!

WE NEED GARAGE SALE DONATIONS We are planning a garage sale for the end of May and need your help.

This sale will raise money to offset the costs of getting those attending the Kodiak Pilgrimage to Spruce Island.

At present we are planning the sale for the weekend of May 29-31. This may slip into early June depending on conflicts with other schedules.

I will be the point of contact and will work to organize volunteers and accept donations (items) to be sold a the garage sale.

If you have stuff you were thinking about getting rid of this is a great opportunity. Please contact myself or begin bringing items to the church to prepare for the sale.

I thank you for the help and items in advance.

God Bless,
Greg


UPDATE--GARAGE SALE & KODIAK TRIP Our garage sale to support the youth and community trip to Kodiak is on for the last weekend in May. Thank you to those that have started providing items to sell at the garage sale. As you bring items please mark them for the garage sale and let Emmanuel Daskalos know over the next couple of Sundays that you have brought them. We want to keep items out of areas that will be used (like the garage/prep room).

When I return after Memorial Day I will contact folks and coordinate pick up of items, set up a schedule for the sale, and seek volunteers to help. This should provide a nice boost of funds for our trip to Kodiak.

I have nearly all logistics figured out for our trip to Kodiak - all has been coming together very well and I am really looking forward to our adventure. I have continued to contact those that are interested or on the fence about traveling with us. I encourage all to consider as this will be a very fun and worthwhile event. My thanks to Craig for helping put together a schedule which we can work from and others for their help.

Please let me know if you haven`t already about your commitment to the trip. Thanks and God Bless, Greg

OUR FOOD PANTRY COULD USE A BOOST The food pantry maintained by St. Irene Philoptochos could use more items on its shelves. Please keep this in mind when you are grocery shopping. A few things from a number of parishioners make a real difference in our offerings to those who are have needs and come to us for assistance. Thank you!

FINANCIAL BASICS FOR OUR PARISH, Week 20 Our parish is committed to a stewardship program in lieu of the annual Greek festival to keep ourselves up and running. The target figure for each week is $3,100. These 20 weeks have brought in an income of approx. $54,600; a $7,300 deficit. Many have increased their giving and some new stewards have made an offering. This is very encouraging. May the Lord help and save all the benefactors of His holy Church.

BUILDING PROJECT NEWS We have exciting news regarding our church building project.

The building committee after several meetings and discussions with the architect Pat Krochina unamiously voted to proceed with the completion of the final design and apply for the building permits.

The building committee decided to approach the project in three phases. The first phase of the project will include the foundation and social hall with utilities. The expense for this phase including the completion of the design and permits for the entire structure is estimated by the architect at $600.000. The second phase will include enclosing the second floor sanctuary for approximately an additional $600.000. The third phase would finish the interior of the entire building and include landscaping.

At present the Building Fund account has a total of $369.000. In addition we have a total of $745.300 in pledges. Our goal is to collect the major portion of the pledges by June 15 in order to break ground in July.

Building a traditional Byzantine style Greek Orthodox Church in Anchorage has been a dream of our parish for 50 years. The time has come to build that church to glorify God for our present and future generations. We could like to invite you to participate in helping our dream become a reality by making your pledge at this time.

Maria Baskous
Building Committee Chairman, Maria.baskous@gmail.com (907) 333-2150, (907) 229-3326

WEEKLY SERVICES Wednesday evenings 5:30PM Bible Study; 6:30PM Paraklesis to the Theotokos; every last Thursday of the month: 6:30PM Akathist to the Mother of God, Healer of Cancer; Saturday evenings 5:30PM Great Vespers; Sunday mornings 9:15AM Orthros, 10:30AM Divine Liturgy. Any services apart from this schedule are noted separately in the bulletin.

Individuals may always request to participate in a Divine Liturgy to be celebrated on a person`s Name Day. Please contact Fr. ahead of time to arrange.

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS The St. Irene Philoptochos Board Election is on the horizon. We will hold a Philoptochos General Meeting on Sunday, June 14 after coffee hour. The main item on the agenda will be election of officers. More information about the meeting and Board nominations was sent to members this week. If you did not receive it, please talk to Lynne Lucher, Philoptochos Secretary.

THANK YOU CORNER Who should receive a note of thanks? Please send info to Pres. for inclusion in the bulletin: doxa@clearwire.net (include a request for a "read" receipt under the options tab before sending to make sure she has received your message--thx!)

PLANNING A PILGRIMAGE HTGOC Community - I am excited to communicate with you all that the Youth Group will be organizing a pilgrimage to Kodiak Island and Spruce Island this summer. Although the focus for the organized trip will be to provide events for our Junior High to Young Adult age groups we want to make sure that the entire community understands they are invited and encouraged to attend.

For those outside of the Youth Group - it will be up to each individual or family how they would like to get to Kodiak. The Youth will be traveling together via the ferry system from Homer. An announcement will soon be made as to the scholarship amount provided per youth to support affording such a wonderful trip. Craig and I will pursue fundraising events prior to leaving to reduce costs further for each youth. For the community - the Youth Group will cover the cost and coordination of getting from Kodiak Harbor to Spruce Island. We will also help coordinate lodging as we make contacts with the Seminary and other potential locations.

Important - the dates for the Youth pilgrimage are:
Depart from Anchorage to Homer, Friday June 26 Depart for Kodiak from Homer, Saturday, June 27 Kodiak Activities - Sunday through Wednesday, June 28 to July 1 Trip to Spruce Island - may occur on best weather day from Monday to Wednesday, June 29 to July 1 Depart for Homer from Kodiak, Wednesday Night, July 1 Return to Anchorage, Thursday or Friday, July 2 or 3

Please begin chatting with Craig and me about your desire and commitment to join. Please allow your youth the opportunity to participate if the schedule works for your family. More details will follow. For any questions please talk to Craig or myself. God Bless, Greg


TODAY'S USHERS Lynne Lucher & Mary Pennino