Category: News

St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Children’s Library is now open!

Please visit the children’s library just outside the front entrance of the nave and help your children, grandchildren, or godchildren check out a book or two! If you are interested in helping our children’s library grow, we have a wish list of books that we would love to add to our library’s shelves. See Kh. Alyssa with any questions or suggestions of books to add to the wish list!

Borrowing Rules
  1. Please sign out library books before borrowing them.
  2. Please return books in a timely manner so others also have the opportunity to benefit from the material.
  3. When you return library books, place them in the return basket and cross off your name from the sign-out sheet.
  4. Wash and dry your hands before reading library books.
  5. Keep food and drinks away from library books. Do not eat or drink while you are reading library books!
  6. Keep your library books in a safe place, where pets, weather, or young siblings will not be able to damage them.
  7. Enjoy your library books at home, not in the car, on a boat, with a goat, in the rain, on a train, or during Liturgy or other church services!
Wish List:
  • And Then Nicholas Sang: The Story of the Trisagion Hymn by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
  • A Boy’s Journey to Sainthood: St. Paisios the Athonite by Anna Iakovou
  • Celebrate the Earth by Dorrie Papademetriou
  • The Children’s Bible Reader
  • A Child’s Guide to Confession
  • A Child’s Guide to the Divine Liturgy
  • A Child’s Guide to Prayer
  • From I-Ville to You-Ville by Mersine Vigopoulou
  • The Illustrated Life of the Theotokos for Children by Georgia and Helen Horns
  • The Legend of the Cross by Chrissi Hart
  • Little Lost Nun by Melinda Johnson
  • The Miracle of Saint Nicholas by Gloria Whelan
  • The Miracle of the Red Egg by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
  • My Holy Queens and Princesses by Eglé-Ekaterine Potamitis
  • My Warrior Saints by Eglé-Ekaterine Potamitis
  • North Star Saint Herman of Alaska by Dorrie Papademetriou
  • Prepare O Bethlehem: The Feast of the Nativity by Niko Chocheli
  • Rejoice, Panagia: Offering to Children the Akathist Hymn by the sisterhood of the Life Giving
  • Spring of the Theotokos Monastery
  • Saint Catherine of Alexandra by Eglé-Ekaterine Potamitis
  • Saint George and the Dragon by Jim Forest
  • Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins by Jim Forest
  • Saint Paisios of the Holy Mountain: The Heavenly Signalman
  • Saint Sergius: A Beacon in the Wilderness of Radonezh by George and Christian Danias
  • Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue by Jim Forest
  • St. Seraphim’s Beatitudes: Blessings for Our Path to Heaven by priest Daniel Marshall
  • Sweet Song: A Story of Saint Romanos the Melodist by Jane G. Meyer
  • A Taste of Paradise: Stories of Saints and Animals by Katherine Bolger Hyde
  • A Visual Catechism of the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos
  • Books in the Friends of Christ series by Demitrios and Anna Fotopoulos
  • Any children’s book from Saint Paisius Monastery Gift Shop (stpaisiusgiftshop.com)
  • Any children’s books from Saint John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Monastery Bakery (bakery.stjohnmonastery.org)
  • Any children’s book from The Life Giving Spring Monastery’s Zoe Press (zoepress.us)
  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

Vacation Church School 2023

Vacation Church School will run this year from July 31 to August 1 from 9:30 AM until noon, and then on Wednesday, August 2 we will have a VCS potluck/picnic/party at 5:00, before Paraklesis. Please return the registration form by Sunday, July 23, and be looking for more exciting details coming soon! Please see Kh. Alyssa if you have any questions, and remember to invite your friends, neighbors, grandchildren, and godchildren!

PLC 2023 Competitions

Our youth did an outstanding job at the diocesan competitions at this year’s PLC! The theme for 2023 has been, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). Our youth participated in the Creative Arts Festival, the Bible Bowl, and the Oratorical Festival. Their hard work and dedication to learning and sharing the faith is inspirational. Here is a recap of the festivals and competitions:

Creative Arts Festival:

There were 50 creative festival entries (112 students) from seven of our twelve Church Schools throughout the region. The judging took place at St. John of Damascus Church and each entry was rated on four criteria: adherence to the theme, craftsmanship, composition and creativity. We had three volunteer judges – a clergy member, a marketing/communications specialist, and a project manager/choir director.

Judging categories were Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The breakdown of awards were 9 Gold,12 Silver, and 29 Bronze.

St. Michael submitted 12 entries that were created by the youth in our Saint Michael Homeschool Community. Six entries received silver awards, 5 entries received bronze, and Benji’s was not given a score because of his age.

Be sure to see these projects on display at the church and ask the children about them!

Bible Bowl:

Our teen team consisting of Erika, Mary, and Nicholas Kjendal, with Alison Irving as an alternate, once again won the regional Bible Bowl competition and will be heading to Phoenix, AZ at the end of July to compete with teams from around the country. Our pre-teen team (Sophia Chatelain, Paul Irving, Max Stewart, and Peter Kjendal) also did a phenomenal job, placing THIRD in the competition against the other teen teams and even a team of adults! Many, many thanks to their coaches, Ned and Kristin Chatelain, and their faithful manager/mascot Sam Chatelain for pouring so much love, time, and enthusiasm into our youth!

Oratorical Festival:

Anders Kjendal won the senior division of the regional Oratorical Festival and will also be traveling to Phoenix to compete with the winning orators from around the country.

Diocesan Scholarship:

Additionally, Erika Kjendal won a diocesan scholarship, awarded to outstanding high school graduates, that was presented to her at the PLC.

Saint Michael has had at least one winning orator every year we have had a competitor. Our Bible Bowl teams have been winning since our debut in 2016. Many people asked, “How do they keep winning? What are you doing?” The answer is not easy to articulate in a sentence or two, but if you come to any of the services at St. Michael throughout the week and notice that there are usually as many, if not more, youth than adults present, the answers to what sets our youth apart begin to be made clear.

Donations for A Baby Center, Hyannis, and ZOE House, OH

Throughout the months of June and July 2023, we will be collecting NEW or VERY GENTLY USED children’s books (appropriate for newborns through age 4) to donate to A Baby Center in Hyannis. Please consider donating Orthodox Christian children’s books and help plant seeds of faith in our community! Please see Kh. Alyssa with any questions.

Also, from now until July 9, 2023, we will be collecting new or gently used and clean items that will be delivered by some of our youth to ZOE House in Ohio. Please see Kh. Alyssa with any questions. Items being collected include:

  • Baby clothes (up to 2T)
  • Diapers (sizes newborn to 6)
  • Blankets
  • Maternity clothes

Easter Meals 2023

Thanks to a great effort by our amazing outreach team, led by Kh Alyssa.

An Easter ham and a $25 grocery store card are being donated to 30 families through Faith Family Kitchen in Hyannis. The need is great but God is greater!

Monetary donations are still being accepted. God bless you and keep you strong as we make our final approach to the Resurrection! Blessed upcoming Holy Week!!!

Teen SOYO Mission Month

Help us raise money for our mission trip to Mexico by partaking in our activities this month!

  • Talent Auction will be running all month! Some of the talents offered are landscaping, prepared meals, babysitting, photography / family portraits, and house cleaning.
  • We will have two raffle baskets, one for lent and one for Pascha, which you be able to buy tickets for during the whole month of March. The Lenten raffle basket ticket will be drawn on April 1. The Pascha raffle basket ticket will be drawn on Pascha night!
  • Postponed – Last but not least, we will be streaming ‘Man of God’ on March 18th after Vespers. Pasta and popcorn will be served! A suggested donation of $15 is much appreciated.

Thank you!

St. Michael Pascha Card 2023

The Pascha Card order form has been mailed out. If you would like your name on St. Michael Pascha Card, please fill out the form and return it by April 9, 2023.
A portion of the proceeds of this year’s Pascha card will be going to Archdiocese 2023 Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. We thank you for your continued generosity. You can also download Pascha Card 2023 Order Form.

His Eminence Metropolitan Saba

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Over the last two days, our father in Christ his Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, and all the East has met with the Holy Synod of Antioch to elect the next Metropolitan of our beloved Archdiocese. After a special convention in January, our Archdiocese sent over three names to the Holy Synod that they might consider especially in their deliberations: Metropolitan Saba, Bishop John, and Bishop Nicholas. The Holy Synod has elected Metropolitan Saba to be our next Metropolitan. May it be blessed!

Great strength to you all as we approach the beginning of the Great Fast. May we all be encouraged and strengthened by our next chief shepherd of North America.

Peace and joy in Christ.

Fr. Benjamin Kjendal

Letter of Metropolitan Saba to Antiochian Archdiocese

Christmas Meals 2022

Now that Thanksgiving meals have been delivered, it is time to start working on our Christmas meal delivery! We will be donating hams, a grocery store gift card, and a tin of (HOMEMADE!) cookies to families in need this Christmas. Please consider making a monetary donation to help cover the cost of the hams and the grocery store gift cards. Also, we need about 250 DOZEN cookies to fill the cookie tins. That might sound like a lot, but each year we have managed to fill the tins to overflowing. Please bring all cookie donations to church by Sunday, December 18. We will be packaging the cookies during coffee hour.

Thank you, in advance, for helping to bring the Light of Christ to struggling families this Christmas!