Wednesday, March 23, 2011

"America's perfect teen"

I need to rant...
Read this, and then you'll understand:
http://www.americasperfectteen.com/html/about.html

NO ONE'S PERFECT!!!
I think this betrays the spirit of vanity in our society. If we think it's hard to be humble, what about the poor girls who "win" the distinction of "perfect teen"???? when they are quite obviously beautiful and/or exceptionally gifted, and they have all this publicity, and all these people telling them they're perfect...how are they supposed to stay humble?? oh, i forgot...humility isn't valued anymore.

*grunt and sigh at the same time*

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

minding our own business

Yesterday I went to Holy Cross in Mt. Lebanon for Great Compline and Bible Study. I was hanging out, talking with Fr. John before the service started, in the vestry. When Deacon Frank walked in and we were making smalltalk while he vested, he said that, even before his ordination, he translated confessions. When Father John asked if he remembered any of them, Deacon Frank said no, I have enough to worry about myself. I think this is a good way of looking at life. We are tempted to judge others and meddle in their business, when we have so much to worry about in our own life. I think it’s good to remember that we are so screwed up and sinful that why put more on ourselves by worrying about others?? Sufficient to ourselves is our own trouble (to paraphrase the Bible).

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Akron volleyball tournament

Yesterday I went to Akron with the Aliquippa GOYAns for a GOYA volleyball tournament. Volleyball tournaments are one day and don’t involve hotel stays, dances or Liturgies. Rene and I left our house at 7:00 and pulled into Thia Ellen’s driveway at 7:29. We waited for everyone to get there and left her house around 7:50. I had an interesting car ride, in the passenger seat of Thia Ellen’s van, with Arete, Markella, Eleni, Artemis and Lia. I leaned out the window a few times signaling for truckers to honk, and amusing Thia Angela’s carful of boys (Rene, Jimmy, Nick, Louie and Anthony), who participated.

We got to Akron around 9:15 and the first junior game was at 9:45, followed by the first senior game at 10:30. We lost both. It was nice to see so many of my old GOYA friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Both teams won their second game. Lunch consisted of pasta, shrimp, vegetables, salad and garlic toast. At one point, Louie wanted to see the church so we went in and of course he wanted to go up and see the organ. We looked around and noticed a stairway and decided to explore. We went into dark passageways, empty classrooms and encountered locked doors. It was an adventure. The junior team won their third game and lost the fourth, while the senior team lost the third, eliminating them.

We left the church around 3:30 and went thirty minutes to a BRAVO restaurant to eat. Our waitress was a woman named Sonia and Markella really took a liking to her and was talking to her. She got us crayons and people drew very crazy stuff.



There was also a waiter named Ryan who had a shaved head, and Markella asked to rub it for good luck. He let her.

We left the restaurant around 5:25 and encountered an accident on the interstate (please pray…there was a semi in a ditch and a car totaled, with many firetrucks/ambulances/police cars on the scene) and were stuck in traffic for a long time. While in traffic we wrote signs in sharpie on tablets, saying “We <3 Ice Cream (and Greece),” and “Will you marry me?” and “we love you (no homo)” and silly stuff like that for the people in the other cars, while blasting music with the windows down ;)

[It was a great day today, with victories by both the senior and junior divisions. I enjoyed watching the kids I grew up with succeed today, and must say they played well. Well my time here is short so I must be on my way. HAPPY LENT.] – contributed by Nick M.

Memory Eternal, +Metropolitan Nicholas

On Friday I went to the funeral of Metropolitan Nicholas in Johnstown, PA. He reposed in the Lord last Sunday afternoon. I decided to come home for spring break, in order to go to his funeral, and to spend some time at home and see old friends. I have a ride back to Boston at the end of this week, to be there by Friday night for the CrossRoad alumni retreat that weekend.

The funeral was glorious! I left my house at 6:30, arrived at All Saints Church in Canonsburg at 7:20-ish, and Fr. Livanos and Fr. Touloumes and I left the church around 7:40. We got to Johnstown (after a detour caused by not paying attention to the GPS ;) ) at around 10:02, just as they were opening the royal doors and the deacons were censing.

The church was packed. Clergy filled more than half of the right side, and there were people standing in the side aisles and in the back. Fr. George and Fr. John stood in the right aisle, near the other clergy, and I stood in the very back. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios was the main celebrant, serving with seven other bishops: Archbishop Antony and Bishop Daniel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Archdiocese, Bishop Mitrofan of the Serbian Orthodox Archdiocese, Bishop Melchisedek of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Thomas of the Antiochian Archdiocese, Bishop Ilia of the Albanian Orthodox Diocese, and another bishop with an accent who I didn’t recognize. There were seven Epistles (each read by a priest), seven Gospels, and seven prayers (each read by the bishops). Bishop Ilia, who was standing in the last bishop’s spot, read the verses of the Beatitudes right after the readings and prayers. Church was out around 12:15. Afterwards, I saw tons of people I knew, including Fr. Joachim from school…fancy seeing him there! He was a spiritual son of Metropolitan Nicholas.

Lunch consisted of fried fish (we always eat fish at funerals, no matter what time of the year it is, because funerals are celebrations of the Resurrection, and Christ ate fish with the Apostles after the Resurrection), cole slaw, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Fr. Frank (the chancellor of the Diocese) got up and said that Metropolitan Nicholas used to go to Eat ‘n park and buy smiley cookies, and distribute them to the children of the cathedral. Fr. Frank handed Archbishop Demetrios a basket of smiley cookies, asking if he would distribute them to the children one last time…it was SOOOO cute to watch!

We got to Canonsburg a little after 4:00, and I got home around 5:00, and went to church for Compline/Akathist, and the Oratorical Festival at 7:00. Long day!!

An article about the funeral, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11078/1133202-455.stm