Ο Δήμαρχος της Σωτήρας στο Λονδίνο

          Την Κυριακή 29 Ιουλίου επισκέφθηκαν την Κοινότητά μας ο Δήμαρχος της Σωτήρας Κύπρου κ. Γεώργιος Τάκκας και ο Δημοτικός Σύμβουλος κ. Μαρτής Μαρτή. Αφού παρακολούθησαν τη Θεία Λειτουργία στον Ι.Ν. Αγ. Παντελεήμονος και Αγ. Παρασκευής, στο τέλος της Ιερής Ακολουθίας τους καλωσόρισαν στην τοπική Παροικία ο Ιερ. Προϊστάμενος Πρωτοπρ. Αναστάσιος Δ. Σαλαπάτας και ο Πρόεδρος της Κοινότητας κ. Παντελής Δημοσθένους.

Ο Δήμαρχος χαιρέτησε το εκκλησίασμα με εγκάρδια λόγια και ενθυμούμενος τα χρόνια των σπουδών του στο Λονδίνο, κατά τα οποία γνώρισε καλά τη φιλογενή Παροικία μας, εξήρε την εργατικότητα και την προκοπή των Ελληνορθοδόξων Ομογενών του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου. Στη συνέχεια προσέφερε, εκ μέρους του Δήμου της Σωτήρας επιταγή 2000 Ευρώ, για ενίσχυση των εκπαιδευτικών δραστηριοτήτων της Κοινότητάς.

Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι ο κ. Τάκκας επισκέφθηκε το Λονδίνο και την εν Harrow Παροικία προσκεκλημένος του Αντιπροέδρου της Κοινότητάς μας και της συζύγου του, κ. Πέτρου και κας Αναστασίας Χριστοφή, οι οποίοι -καταγόμενοι και οι δύο από την Σωτήρα- εκείνη την ημέρα πάντρευαν, στην εκκλησία μας, την κόρη τους Μαρία με τον εκλεκτό της καρδιάς της κ. Αλέξανδρο Αντωνιάδη. Στους νεόνυμφους ευχόμεθα κάθε χαρά και ευτυχία στη νέα κοινή ζωή τους.

Το ζεύγος Χριστοφή, φρόντισε με ιδιαίτερη επιμέλεια να ενημερώσει τον Δήμαρχο της ιδιαίτερης Πατρίδας του, για όλα τα σπουδαία και μεγάλα οικοδομικά και λοιπά μοναδικά έργα και δραστηριότητες, που πραγματοποιούνται τα τελευταία χρόνια στην Κοινότητα του Αγ. Παντελεήμονος και αίτησαν την οικονομική συνδρομή του Δήμου Σωτήρας, το οποίο και τελικά κατάφεραν.

Η Κοινότητα Αγ. Παντελεήμονος εκφράζει θερμότατες ευχές και ευχαριστίες στο ζεύγο Πέτρου και Αναστασίας Χριστοφή, για την αταλάντευτη αφοσίωσή του και τις πολλαπλές προσφορές του προς την Κοινότητα, και εκφράζει επίσης την ευγνωμοσύνη της προς τον Δήμαρχο και τα μέλη του Δημοτικού Συμβουλίου της Σωτήρας, για την πολύτιμη εισφορά τους, η οποία θα ενισχύσει έτι περισσότερο το εθνικο-θρησκευτικής σημασίας έργο το οποίο πραγματοποιείται στο Ελληνικό Κολέγιο του Αγ. Παντελεήμονος.

Ονόματα χορηγών

Στη διάρκεια της ανέγερσης του νεόδμητου Ιερού Ναού μας, προσκαλέσαμε τα μέλη και τους φίλους της Κοινότητάς μας να γίνουν χορηγοί του ιερού και ιστορικού έργου μας, προσφέροντας £1000.

Συγκεκριμένα κάναμε μια εκστρατεία με το σύνθημα BUY A BRICK, έτσι ώστε όσοι θα προσέφεραν £1000 θα είχαν τη χαρά να δουν το όνομά τους χαραγμένο σε ένα τούβλο πάνω στον Ιερό Ναό μας.

Αυτό άρχισε ήδη να πραγματοποιείται. Σήμερα τοποθετούνται στην κεντρική κόγχη του Ιερού Βήματος τούβλα με ονόματα χορηγών χαραγμένα πάνω τους.

Επιχορηγημένη Πεζοπορία

          Μέσα στο πλαίσιο της ερανικής εκστρατείας, με σκοπό την αποπληρωμή του χρέους από την εκ θεμελίων ανέγερση του νέου βυζαντινού Ιερού Ναού Αγίου Παντελεήμονος και Αγίας Παρασκευής, πραγματοποιήθηκε στην Κοινότητά μας χθες Κυριακή Επιχορηγημένη Πεζοπορία 3 μιλίων, αμέσως μετά το πέρας της Θείας Λειτουργίας.

         

          Την Πεζοπορία αυτή οργάνωσαν οι ευγενικές κυρίες Μαίρη Νικολάου, Άννα Αναστάση και Μαίρη Παπαπαύλου, με τις αντίστοιχες οικογένειές τους, στις οποίες η Κοινότητα Αγ. Παντελεήμονος οφείλει θερμότατες ευχαριστίες. Έλαβαν μέρος 40 περιπατητές. Μεταξύ αυτών ήταν πολλά παιδιά του Ελληνικού Κολεγίου Αγίου Παντελεήμονος.

          Επικεφαλής της Πεζοπορίας ήταν ο Ιερατικώς Προϊστάμενος της Κοινότητας, Πρωτοπρ. Αναστάσιος Δ. Σαλαπάτας και ο Πρόεδρος της Κοινότητας κ. Παντελής Δημοσθένους.
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Όλοι οι περιπατητές τερμάτησαν την πορεία στο Κοινοτικό Κέντρο. Εκεί τους περίμεναν πλούσια κεράσματα, τα οποία είχαν ετοιμάσει οι οργανώτριες Κυρίες. Κατόπιν, ο π. Αναστάσιος προσέφερε σε όσους και όσες έλαβαν μέρος στην Πεζοπορία ευγνώμονες ευχαριστίες και Πιστοποιητικά Συμμετοχής.
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Ύστερα άρχισαν να προσφέρονται τα χρήματα των επιχορηγήσεων. Το μέχρι στιγμής συλλεγέν ποσόν ανέρχεται στις £4700, εκ των οποίων οι £2735 είναι οι επιχορηγήσεις που συνέλεξε ο π. Αναστάσιος. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι φέτος ήταν η 7^η χρονιά κατά την οποία πραγματοποιήθηκε η Επιχορηγημένη Πεζοπορία. Το συνολικό ποσό που έχει μέχρι σήμερα συλλεγεί είναι £56.000, ενώ το συνολικό ποσό επιχορηγήσεων του π. Αναστασίου σ’ αυτά τα επτά χρόνια είναι £17.300.

Sponsored Walk

Last Sunday, after the morning Service at the Church, we had the annual Sponsored Walk.

The event is organised once a year by 4 good ladies of our Community, namely Mary Nicholaou, Mary Papapavlou, Martha Constantinou and Gina Panayi.

The ladies prepare all the paper work for the event; they also provide water for all walkers, as well as cakes etc. for all people who get involved.

This year was the 6th year that this event was being organised. And it was once again greatly successful.

Leader of the Sponsored Walk this year was His Grace Bishop Gregorios of Mesaoria, who had just celebrated the Episcopal Divine Liturgy at our Church.

Fr. Anastasios, Dr. Serafim Kiriakidis, George Kostopoulos, Panagiotis Argyrou, as well as many of the teachers and pupils of our St. Panteleimon Hellenic College had taken part in the 3 miles Walk. The total number of walkers was: 70.

All the walkers together collected £5800 towards the fundraising for our new Church. Fr. Anastasios alone had collected £2670.

This event has proved quite popular and generated valuable funds for our newly built Church.

Stefanou Brothers

The leaders of our Community invited Mr. Stefanos Stefanou and Mr. Stelios Stefanou to attend the Church Service yesterday and at the end they offered them honorary plaques.

Fr. Anastasios offered some welcoming words and then the President of our Community Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous said:

«Very Reverend Father, Mr. Stefanos and Mr. Stelios Stefanou, Dear brethren in Christ,

We welcome you all here today to rejoice the near completion of this Byzantine new Church to the glory of the Triune God. This is the result of continuous efforts against all odds since establishing our Community 36 years ago. Efforts that have been supported by you the people of our Community and Church.

The breakthrough to the 36 years long efforts that made it possible to start the building of the Church it was the coming into the scene totally by miraculous coincidence of Mr. Stefanos Stefanou and Mr. Panicos Herodotou, who have never been known to us before. It is true that only few days before Mr. Stefanou and Mr. Herodotou came to the scene, we were facing failure with all efforts and your sacrifices coming to abrupt end.

It is the noble gesture by Mr. Stefanos Stefanou to support our plans and his offer to build the first phase of the Church at a capped contract price affordable to our Community that was the breakthrough to the dreams of all of us becoming a reality. The generous donation by Mr. Stelios Stefanou has made the marble flooring of our Church possible whilst Mr. Panicos and Mrs. Xenoulla Herodotou at their own initiative ordered and donated the iconostasis, the altar and all the Church furniture.

It is for this reason that we shall always remain grateful to Stefanos, Stelios and Panicos. You will always be remembered as the Great Benefactors of our Community and Church. We are also grateful to Mr. George Antipas who has always been generous and kind in arranging and donating the freight of the Church furniture and other items for many years.

Of course the most important of all contributors to this wonderful Church it is you, the people of the Church and the heart of our Community. Your presence and support all these years, sacrificing your time and making the effort to be here and donating generously, is the prerequisite ingredient of all progress. The congratulations and thanks are owed to you the people. Rejoice this day».

Then the Ladies of the Church Ladies Sisterhood offered flowers to the wives of the Stefanou Brothers and Fr. Anastasios offered to the Stefanou Brothers honorary plaques.

After the Service there was a fundraising lunch at our Church Hall. Fr. Anastasios announced there the new contribution of the Stefanou Brothers, which was £16.000 for the making of a double headed eagle floor mosaic.

The Raffle Draw Winner

About a month ago we had the Raffle Draw with a car as the Grand Prize. The winning number was 219. The winner was Dr. Serafim Kiriakidis, who serves as Chairman to our Hellenic College Parents’ Committee as well as a member of our Church Committee.

Today, at the end of the morning Service in our temporary place of worship Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous, the President of our Community, had offered a cheque of £6000 to Dr. Kiriakidis, to his wife Andri, and to his two children Demetra and Christos. The cost of the car was £8000, but Dr. Kiriakidis and his family had donated £2000 to our Community in order to be used for planting of trees and flowers around our new Church and around the other buildings within our property. Warm congratulations to Kiriakidis family for being the winners of the car as well as for donating a substantial amount of money to our Community.

All Committees Meeting

Tonight we had a special Prayer Service at our temporary Church, which is called “Vespers of Forgiveness”.

After the Service we had a Meeting of all Committees operating within our Community, namely Church Committee, Ladies Sisterhood Committee, Hellenic College Committee and Youth Committee.

Fr. Anastasios welcomed and greeted the members of the Committees, emphasising the importance of unity and cooperation.

The President of the Community Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous talked about the Fundraising and about the Official Opening.

Many of the members had suggested various ideas as to how the Official Opening should be organised.

St. Agatha D. & D. - Raffle Draw

Last Sunday evening the Ladies’ Sisterhood of our Community, chaired by Mrs. Eva Christou, organised its Annual Fundraising Dinner and Dance in commemoration of its Patron Saint, St. Agatha, whose memory we commemorate in our Church on the 5th February.

Among the special guests of the event were His Eminence Chrysostomos the Metropolitan Bishop of Kition (Larnaka - Cyprus), His Grace the Bishop Nectarios of Arsinoe (Paphos - Cyprus), the Consul General of Greece in London Mr. Makis Pantzopoulos, members of the clergy, as well as Chairmen of Greek Communities and other Organisations.

The Secretary of our Community Dr. Panayiotis Procopiou welcomed everyone and then the Consul General of Greece and His Eminence had offered their kind greetings.

The event was well attended and supported by about 150 guests, who enjoyed delicious food, prepared by Andreas Georgiades and Yiannis Kyriacou, and nice live Greek music, played by George Gregoriou and Nikos Savvides.

During this D. & D. we had the Raffle Draw with a Smart car as its grand and only prize. The Raffle was greatly and widely promoted by the Chairman of our Community Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous.

The lucky ticket was drawn by His Eminence and the winning number is 219.

Winner of the car is Dr. Serafim Kiriakidis, who is the Chairman of the Parents’ Committee at our St. Panteleimon Hellenic College.

Christmas D. & D. at Sea Pebbles

Tonight we had our Community’s Christmas Dinner and Dance at Sea Pebbles Restaurant in Hatch End, Pinner.

It was a very successful and certainly joyful fundraising event. The profit of the evening was £3000.

The Restaurant is owned by Mr. Savvas and Mrs. Maria Andreou.

The owners have offered all the money of the event towards the Fundraising for our new Church of St. Panteleimon.

We may add to the above figure the following donations, offered during the event: £2000 by Mr. Chris and Mrs. Mary Papadakis, £1000 Mr. Soteris Englezakis and £200 by A. Theodorou.

The winning nos of the raffle were the following: 39, 42, 58, 67, 78, 86, 112, 128, 147, 152, 265, 292, 296, 317, 318, 346, 402, 419, 427, 500, 522, 553, 562, 580, 608, 681.

Dinner & Dance

Last Sunday 14th November 2010 our Community organised a very successful Dinner and Dance at Plaza Hotel Wembley.

This function was well attended by about 300 people. Among the VIPs we had the following officials: the Mayor of Brent Cllr. Harbhajan Singh with his wife, the MP for Brent North Rt. Hon. Barry Gardiner, the MEP for London Rt. Hon. Marina Yiannakoudakis (of Greek Cypriot origin), the Mayor of Harrow Cllr. Asad Omar, the Consul General of Greece Mr. Makis Pantzopoulos, the Consul General of Cyprus Mr. Georgios Georgiou, Mr. Savvas Pavlides of the Cyprus Educational Mission, the Vice-Chairman of the Council for Greeks Abroad Mr. Nikos Skinitis, Mr. Stefanos Stefanou of John Doyle Plc, as well as many members and friends of our Community.

The President of our Community Mr. Pantelis Demesthenous offered a welcome speech and informed our guests about the progress of our sacred project of erecting a new Church.

The Consul General of Cyprus Mr. Georgios Georgiou gave an outline of the developments on the Cyprus problem. Other VIPs offered their kind greetings.

The Parish Priest Fr. Anastasios D. Salapatas conveyed the blessings of His Eminence Gregorios, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain and talked about the spiritual importance of building a new Church and in particular during these difficult (from a financial point of view) times.

The Greek band AETOS (EAGLE) offered its services free of charge.

The Dancing group of our St. Panteleimon Hellenic College, led by its teacher Andri Paraskeva, presented traditional Greek dances.

The event was very successful. The total amount collected on the evening in support of our great project was £56.000 (The Cyprus Government had offered €15.000).

Fundraising Committee

Last Sunday, 31st October 2010, was a special day. After the morning Church Service we had in our temporary place of worship an extraordinary meeting of the newly established Fundraising Committee, which was formed in order to help the sacred and historic project of our Community, namely the building of the new Church.

The Committee consists of many members, taken from the Church Committee, the Ladies Committee, the Hellenic College Parents Committee, the Youth Dept. Committee, as well as certain individuals, who are associated in some way with our Community.

Fr. Anastasios presided over a special Ceremony. The Fundraising Committee members had taken an oath, by holding their hands on the Gospel Book, promising to assist in the building process, in the completion and in the paying off of all money needed for the project. At the end Fr. Anastasios explained the spiritual significance of such an effort and the President of the Community Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous spoke of the importance of the Fundraising Committee members’ financial support towards this building project.

Dinner and Music

Tonight our Community had organised a very successful Dinner and Music at Barracuda Fish Restaurant in Harrow in support of our Church’s Fundraising.

The delicious Dinner was kindly offered by the owners of the Restaurant, Yiannis and Andri Christofis.

The total money collected was £2000.

An excellent Greek Music Orchestra had performed and entertained the guests. Costas was the singer, who sung traditional Greek songs.

Fr. Anastasios thanked everyone for attending, as well as the owners of the Restaurant for their generous contribution.

Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous, the Chairman of the Community, with the assistance of the Treasurer Mr. Soteris Constantinou offered presents to Yiannakis and Andri and informed the people of the latest developments in regard to the building of our new Church.

It was a really joyful evening to remember for a long time.