News and Updates

2024 Graduation and Grade Promotion Day – Sunday , June 16th

As another school year came to a close, a reflection of this past year offered us a sense of accomplishment and positive energy. The positive results we are achieving are evident as we just learned from the accomplishments shared by our scholarship chair, Kathy Mouneimneh, of our High School seniors and our Sunday School alumni attending college. But, we remind our parents that YOUTH MINISTRY is not just about classroom teaching!! We need our students to join us on Sunday morning as we worship together as a Christian Family – we learn together from Father’s sermonette (yes, even the adults), and then we have 40 mins in a classroom to build upon our faith and the gospel teaching of the day but most importantly to engage our students in meaningful discussions that help them make connections to their every day lives and build relationships with other fellow young Christians. It does not end there – we have JOY and GOYA and all of our special events during the year.

It is safe to say that YOUTH MINISTRY here at St. George provides our students with a PLACE TO BELONG!! But the truth is, we struggle with improving our average weekly attendance. We really did not want to combine grades several years ago, but the low attendance in a class limits classroom discussion (which is key to learning) and lends to boredom and students not wanting to come to Sunday School. So, if there is one area we ask for your help, it is in this area. We can’t minister if our students are not with us on Sunday morning. Our goal is to have every Sunday be like Christmas Pageant Sunday. If you really like our program, spread the word – let others know what they are missing out on!

At the end of the Divine Liturgy , we presented over 40 of our students with Pocket Crosses to take with them in their travels during the summer. Our ceremony also included the following recognitions:

Religious Excellence/Leadership awards:

  • Teddy Shibley for excellent attendance (missed only one Sunday)

And for dedication to serving as altar boys:

  • Jacob and Nicholas Cantarini
  • Freddie Rizos
  • Nicholas Snow
  • Alec Piepergerdes
  • Cooper Manioudakis

And for their dedication in serving in the Junior Choir:

  • Isabella Teodorescu
  • Efthimia Piper
  • Leah Emmett

Special Recognition: to Katya Sava, Grade 2/3 assistant who stepped up to assist our Junior Choir Director, Elayna Lalikos

Last but not least, we recognized our 4 High School Graduates with an Orthodox Faith care package that included an Orthodox Study Bible, tabletop diptych icon, prayer book and prayer rope.

  • Tessa Ebreo
  • Maria Fareti
  • Thomas Nicholson
  • John Whittaker

These students are no strangers to our community and have been great role models to our younger students. May God bless them for their wonderful achievements and may He grant them much joy and success in their college years ahead. Congratulations!

Apostle Sunday School News, December 2023 Updates

The last 2 months of the year were once again very busy!!! In November, the Sunday School hosted a HOTDOG Sundae Coffee hour; along with the tradition breakfast items offered by our parents, grandparents and teachers, we served up steamed hot dogs, chips and make your own mini sundaes. It was all hands on deck and young and old enjoyed the selection of goodies. This may just have to become an annual Fall event!!

Once again this year, our families came together to support our December ministry events; we captured the opportunity to pause, in the midst of all the excitement, decorations, and commercialization, to consider again the origin of Christmas and the Birth of Jesus which is the center of our celebrations. With the help and support of many in our community, we experienced great results on all fronts and most importantly, we observed the enthusiasm for faith, outreach and compassion among our students and parents alike.

On Sunday December 16th when our very own Tony Lalikos, our resident “Santa”, along with his dedicated and talented elf, Elayna Lalikos, brought some pre-Christmas morning excitement to our students, especially the young ones. Picture after picture, smile after smile, our parents took photos for their keepsake and our children enjoyed a treat offered by Santa, who acknowledged their Wishlist.

Once again, the annual Christmas Pageant, was a memorable experience for all of our participants and our congregation. On December 23rd, our Cathedral was filled with more excitement, smiles and many cameras as more than 50 students presented the Nativity of our Lord in our annual Christmas Pageant performance. We could not have held such a joyous event without the tremendous assistance of so many, including Peter Demos, Joan Marcil and Jim Evangeliou during our rehearsals and the day of our performance. Thanks to Nick and Yvonne Kintgios, we have a “one of a kind” handmade back drop that completes our Nativity Scene every year. And this year, we were blessed to have the assistance of 2 more of our Sunday School Alumni, Eleni Kantos, who joined our readers and played her flute, and Joseph Mantis, who assisted with the microphones so that every speaker would be heard. And of course, William Lalikos returned once again to play his drum, joining the musicians. Their participation this year, added to our success. Thanks to Kate and Cameron Walker, this year, after the pageant, we sent our students home with reindeer food in baggies for our students to sprinkle on the front lawn at home on Christmas Eve, in anticipation of Santa’s visit.

Many of our students also found time to help our outreach ministries; together with their teachers, Sandy Fiore and Steven Costa, our students in grades 6 to 8 made 100 sandwiches for the Springfield Rescue Mission – Operation SONshine in early December and our students in grades 4 to 12 addressed Christmas cards that were sent or delivered to individuals in our community that were homebound, at nursing facilities or have no family. And on December 24th, our students made birthday cards to honor Xenophon Beake on his 90th birthday and thank him for the many years of photographing our annual Christmas Pageant.

As we welcome the New Year 2024, we look to inspiring our young people to practice their faith, serve in our ministries and mature as Christians. We are also planning the return of our annual Open House in February. Thank you for your trust in us. We wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year filled with love, peace and hope.

2024–2025 Registration Now Open

Registration for the upcoming 2024–2025 Sunday School year is now open! To register, please click here. The first day of Sunday School will be September 15th; we ask that you register your child by September 11th.