Dear Holy Trinity Family,
I hope you had an amazing summer and now are excited about the autumn and all the wonderful changes it brings. As the president of our Philoptochos Chapter, I look forward to another productive and wonderful year. I look forward to working closely with our Philoptochos Board members and all members of our Chapter. We devote our talents and time, and our money, in our shared pursuit of making a positive difference in our Church, our local community, and beyond. Thank you, Father Nick and Father Demetrios for your unwavering support, and thanks to all our fellow parishioners for participating in our ministries and supporting our fundraisers.
In accordance with the Philoptochos Mission Statement, our Chapter supports several Outreach Ministries. Once a month, volunteers at the Carver Center assist food-insecure members of the Port Chester community. Our volunteers also prepare a meal for Hope Community Services of New Rochelle several times a year. Our Philoptochos Chapter sponsors the weekly Community Food Drive. We help by bringing non-perishable staples, such as rice, canned foods, peanut butter, pasta and more, to the Church; these items are donated to the Hope Food Pantry of New Rochelle. Once a month, volunteers pick up sandwich supplies from our Church kitchen and make sandwiches there or in their own homes. These sandwiches are delivered to the Grace Episcopal Church in White Plains and distributed to the hungry there. Also, once a month, volunteers prepare a simple, yet nutritious, pasta and salad meal that feeds about 60 grateful friends at the Oasis Shelter in New Rochelle. Since 2009, through our Soup Run, we have been providing a meal, toiletry kits, clothes, and various sundry items to the homeless and those living in shelters in Manhattan and elsewhere. Last year our Chapter started a new Prison Ministry and conducted a yarn drive and a soap drive to collect these items for the benefit of the incarcerated women at the Bedford Hills and Taconic Correctional Facilities. This year, after a hiatus due to COVID restrictions, we are re-commencing our visits to Saint Michael’s Home in Yonkers. We are excited to spend quality time with our beloved elderly there.
In addition to the love, care, and support we provide to others through our Outreach Ministries, we also support the sick. We have participated in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk for many years and will do so again on Sunday, October 20, 2024. Join our team, Holy Trinity GO New Ro, by walking with us and/or donating, to benefit this worthy cause. We visit Gilda’s Club in White Plains where we serve a home cooked meal, about twice a year, usually once in the fall and once in the spring, to cancer patients, cancer survivors and their families. We also support our Veterans. In the past, we presented gift cards to a veteran’s group, which we will do again this year at our Church on November 10th. Additionally, we support our Youth. This past summer by sponsoring the attendance of two boys to Camp Saint Paul, our Chapter gave them the invaluable gift of summer joy and adventure! We do this and so much more, and all our philanthropic works are performed with love, kindness and discretion.
With the cooperation of our beloved priests, we preserve and perpetuate Orthodox Christian concepts and promote the ideals of our faith and traditions. On Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 11:30-2:00, our chapter will host a Prosforo Baking Workshop led by Deacon Kyriakos Ioannou of Saint Basil Academy. On Sunday, November 3, 2024, anArtoklasia will be celebrated to commemorate Saints Cosmas and Damianos, the Patron Saints of Philoptochos, and to pray for the health of our Philoptochos members and all parishioners and friends.
Our Philoptochos Chapter engages in fundraising activities to support its ministries and charitable works. It is through the participation in, and the generosity of, our entire Church community that our fundraising efforts are always successful. All of us together make a positive difference in our shared world! Mark your calendars! Our hugely popular Candlelight Dinner will be back on Thursday, December 12, 2024!
Our Chapter sponsors the Knitting for Charity Group for those who love to knit and crochet or who would like to learn to do so. The items created by the members of this group are donated to people who need them. Our Book Group meets once a month for nine months of the year, bringing the joy of reading to many. The discussions of the book of the month always are lively and thought-provoking.
Our chapter is CONNECTED! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram where you can see photos, read about our ministries and our events, and see what all of us do to make the world better. You also may visit our church website at www.holytrinitynr.org or stop by our Philoptochos bulletin board in the Church foyer for information about how you may volunteer and whom to contact. Ask me or any one of our Board members how you, too, may become involved. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you.
Agathy Gerkis
Philoptochos Chapter President
avloula@gmail.com
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