​We are here to serve you and our parish’s many needs and responsibilities. We want to make your experience at our parish a positive one!
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Parish Council 2022-2024
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​Executive Board

Demetrios Stavrou
President

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​Andreas Kladis 
Vice President  

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Elaine Simadis    Treasurer

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​Gerasimos Galatis 
​Secretery

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George Lattas – Chairman – Stewardship & Philanthropy Committee

Godparent Sunday!
Hosted by the Parish Council

Click Here to Make a Reservation

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Regular Parish Council meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the Month* with all members invited.  Executive Board meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday of the Month* with only the board officers invited.     
​* subject to calendar and schedule conflicts)

JANUARY 10, 2023 MEETING MINUTES

2022 ARCHIVED MEETING MINUTES

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Members:

​Demitrios Andrikopoulos

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​Tom Berchos

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​Leo Bezanis ​

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​Elizabeth Christofylakis

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​Mark Dinos

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​Angelo Fotopoulos

​Peter Kaftanzis

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Janet Koliopoulos

​Susan Kouchis

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Michael Orrico

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​Effie Panos

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​Dr. Andrew Sampalis

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​Telly Visvardis

​Antonios Vouris

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General Assembly Presentation 2021!

Presidents Speech

Welcome,
It has been two years since the last general assembly.  Who would have thought we would have celebrated church services while watching in our homes and not be able to congregate to wish one another Xronia Polla?  It has been a very different reality that we have all been faced with. But, with the help and support of our parishioners we are able to emerge even stronger as a parish.  This is evident through all the wonderful things our community has been doing and will continue to work together to do for one another and for others. 
Thank you to Father Tom, the Parish Council, and all the ministry leaders and their ministries for all their hard work and dedication. Our parish is growing, so we formally submitted a request for an assistant priest to Metropolitan Nathanial.
The first event during the pandemic was the Greek Fest to Go in August of 2020.  I am still speechless at the outcome of this event. People waited over two hours to get a souvlaki and some  loukoumades just to support our parish. We received a tremendous amount of support and it was truly humbling. We did not stop there.  Many, if not all of our church ministries reimaged their meeting structures.  We all continued to stand by one another while also supporting those in need.  Our community never stopped encouraging and helping one another.  We even continued to aid those who are in need and have depended on us for support.  And we will continue to strive to support those less fortunate through our Philanthropic ventures. I am very passionate about this.  I would like our parish to be a leader in Philanthropic endeavors within our Metropolis. George Lattas will speak more about this during his Stewardship Report.  
I am happy to report that Koraes Elementary School is as strong as ever.  Koraes students were able to continue and further their learning each day during the pandemic.  We are very fortunate that the staff and students have created a safe environment where in-person learning has continued throughout the pandemic.  Dean Korolis will give more details during his Koraes School Board Report.  The principal, the staff, and the school board have been and continue to work together seamlessly to create the best Greek-American Orthodox learning environment.  
As you may have noticed we have made some improvements to our facility in the past two years.  Sections of the parking lot were resurfaced, renovations were made to the locker rooms, parts of the roof were repaired, AC units were replaced, and gates were installed for the back parking lot.  
Our facility is not young, so we have had to make some upgrades to bring the entire facility into the 21st Century.  The WiFi throughout the building has been upgraded and is thus allowing for a new streaming video service for church.  The WiFi is being used by the school and the many ministries throughout our parish to allow for better communication.
For the safety and security of parishioners, students, and staff, the PC unanimously approved to install a new camera and fob system throughout the facility.  
In order to give ministries a place to meet and to make the church office more accessible, the church office was moved, thus allowing the creation of a conference room that has video and teleconference capabilities. I am happy to report that the sound system, the bell system, outdoor church speakers, East Room, and Gym speakers will all be upgraded for improved sound.  This project should be completed within the next two months.  Some of our other upcoming projects are: our brick-paver project; East Room beautification; Iconstaci/Solea restoration, athletic fields upgrades, and shed renovation. 
As you can see on our website and social media we have many events coming up, :
November 29th: GOYA is going Roller Skating
December 4th: Our ministries will be decorating the church grounds for Christmas. Later that evening, Koraes KPTA will have a Christmas Parents Night Out
December 5th: Sunday School will be hosting a St Nicholas Day Party
December 11th: KPTA Brunch with Santa
January 15th: KPTA Movie Night
February 26th:  Philoptochos will be hosting an event
March 19th: Feed 6 Philanthropic Meal Packaging Event. Last year we packaged 50,000 meals
May 7th: Greek-American comedian Gus Constantelis will be performing in our gymnasium. We expect a full house for this event.  
In closing, I want to thank you for your continued support of our parish.  

Please feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you and God Bless.

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Stewardship Speech

 Good morning/Hairete.
My name is George Lattas and I serve as the chair of the Stewardship Committee. I’m excited to provide the parish of an update of our committee, but am hopeful that what I am going to share with you is something that you likely already know, or already feel.
As an initial and administrative matter, the Stewardship committee’s purview has been expanded at he direction of our President, who challenged the parish council to think about ways that the parish as a whole could engage in acts of philanthropy that would give the opportunity for all ages to engage in shared community service, diakonia, that together could not only make a difference to the people we assist, but also build the spirits and bonds of our stewards. Accordingly, and upon the vote of the Parish Council, the Stewardship committee’s scope was expanded to expressly include Philanthropy, because the two are inextricably linked. The Parish Council also authorized a budget of up to $25,000 to be deployed further to the new charge the committee was tasked with.
Our first major project was the Feed 6 project, where we prepared 30,000 meals at our facility despite the ongoing COVID pandemic. It was a resounding success in every possible way. Our people responded and volunteered across every demographic imaginable – old, and young; Greek and non-Greek; churched and people who had a connection, but haven’t been inside the building for a while. Second, 90% of the costs to fund this project, which in total were $10,000, were raised within five days by our stewards. Third, we were able to provide a nutritious meal to the least and often forgotten members of our society. The people that Jesus Christ calls us to serve. This is perhaps the most important, because it is at the core of what we are trying to accomplish – living a life more fully as Orthodox Christians.
Our work continues. As you heard in liturgy we bagged 500 bags for the homeless, some of which is still on display. We invited the parishes of St. Nicholas, St. Spyridon, Holy Cross, and Assumption and had volunteers from these churches, and beyond including St. Demetrios Elmhurst, Sts. Peter and Paul and Annunciation. There were 80 people in the gym that worked for 2.5 hours to provide a family of four with about four meals per bag. The costs of this project, which were just about $8,500, were donated immediately by four families.
Additionally, yesterday and today the parish has undertaken to feed 35 homeless men being put up on a shelter in Brookfield. There are normally about 60 men that need meals, and our parish has undertaken to provide meals at least once a month for these men. We intend to accomplish this by supporting the restaurants of the stewards of this parish who graciously support the church throughout the year. Finally, we will be partnering with Feed Six again for an event on March 19 where we will make at least 30,000 meals, but have been challenged by our President to consider preparing 50,000 or maybe even 100,000 meals.
As you can tell then, our parish has undertaken to find the least of our brothers and sisters, the homeless, working poor, or otherwise troubled members of society and feed them. This ministry will continue and hopefully expand so that there will be ample opportunities for our stewards to participate in the fullness of Orthodox Christianity and do the good works that Christ commands in order to be judged with the sheep and not the goats
You may be wondering why stewardship and philanthropy are being handled by the same committee, and the answer is because the two are linked. Throughout the year, I have participated in monthly stewardship meetings where best practices are shared. This church has evolved and will continue to evolve. We went from a membership model to a stewardship model. What I mean by that is there are no longer “dues” that must be paid, but rather a model where our people are asked to give from their heart. All are welcome and called to give, and we recognize that some have more and can give more, while others have less, but are still instrumental to the community and the parish.
Similarly, and as I trust you appreciate, the focus during my chairmanship will not be on the number of stewards or the average amount given by each family. For too long we focus on these numbers as if they are a metric by which to gauge the success or failures of the parish. Don’t get me wrong, the figures are important, but they are not controlling. One of the other changes that happened this year was internally as it relates to our parish administration software. In the past, donors to our church who weren’t necessarily stewards were nonetheless classified as stewards because of their financial contribution. Those days are gone. To be a steward is more than a commitment to support the parish’s financial needs. A steward is someone who supports all of the church’s ministries and has committed to the role. Stewardship is everything we do after we say “I believe.” It is about how we live our lives and make our choices and when you drill down to the very, very, bottom, to the root of what it means to be a steward, you will find that stewardship is about love. A love for this parish, for the Church, for the people inside and outside of our community, and for God’s creation.
Following that definition, we have ended the year with 525 stewards with an average give of about $600 per family given in the name of stewardship. This may be startling to some, but I stand here in front of all of you today and say this: I would rather have 525 committed, unswerving, and dedicated stewards than 1,200 people that we classify as “stewards” because they may donate $500 to come to brunch with Santa. It is my goal that we end 2022 with 625 families, and I know that together, we can meet this goal.
It is our opinion that this can be done by INSIPIRING our people back to the building. We recognize that the geographic location of our facility is no longer in the hub of a highly concentrated Greek community, and that in order to get the people who were raised here, but moved to Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Mokena, or Hinsdale, we must provide opportunities for them to come back. Meaningful opportunities to demonstrate our faith, to promote our ideas and values, and to impact the world by bringing more people into the fullness of Orthodoxy.
The push from New York and the Metropolis is to move away from the constant fundraising approach and instead have the faithful commit to giving their time, talent and treasure in the form of a stewardship commitment. You may recall that last year, for the first time in this church’s history, the solicitation to become a member did not include a suggested donation. This model will continue and we hope that those of you in this room will consider examining what your family can give in 2022. We have made this easy by adding online giving to our site, and the ability to donate monthly rather than at once.
What I hope you all see and feel in this room is that this parish is alive again. There is a buzz, an energy in this building that hasn’t been present, at least to me, for a while. The Holy Spirit is moving within the building and in turn in each of our hearts. Just look! Look at how many people volunteer their time and money to give to people we do not know! Look at the school which has for the first time in its history attained structural balance in their budget! Look at how are community is building stronger bonds throughout the various ministries we offer and will be offering, including some new programming like decorating the building, as a community for Christmas! We are motivated and inspired to continue down this road, and with your help, your support, and your prayers, I am certain we will succeed in expanding all of these good things in the months and years to come.  

Proposed Parish By Laws

Click Here To View The General Assembly Presentation