Newsletter September and October 2010 Consecration of our Church His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios will preside over the Consecration of the Church of the Holy Apostles on the weekend of Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd October. This is a unique occasion in the life of our Orthodox Community.  A lot of preparation has already gone into making this celebration run smoothly. Let us make a special effort to be present at each of the services. The Consecration is the culmination of a collective practical, as well as spiritual, effort which goes back 21 years to our first Holy Liturgy held in Wigan. Please refer to the enclosed texts for all the details regarding this special ceremony. Be sure to make a careful note of times and dates to avoid making other arrangements for that weekend (tea with great Uncle Bertie can be taken any time but the Consecration is the priority on the first weekend of October!!)   Godparents etc. Consecration is effectively the Baptism of our Church and God-parents play  an important part  in it. Please read the attached paper about this. Basically, by giving a gift to help pay our debts, you can be a God-parent, Donor, Benefactor or Contributor, depending on how much you decide you can give. All these people will be remembered in prayer every Sunday in Father’s preparation of the Holy Gifts.   Altar Servers' Vestments Seven new Vestments have been ordered for the boys and men who serve with Father. These should arrive from Thessaloniki by mid-September in good time for the Consecration. If you can help to pay for your Vestment or pay in full, please talk to Pres. Mary about this. If you would like to pay for one of these vestments for someone else, see Presbytera.   Greek Evening Saturday 25th September, at Leyland Hotel. Tickets are now available at £20 each, inclusive of a Greek-style Buffet, live music and dancing! Invite family and friends to this fun evening. Ring Christos on 01772 750684 for tickets.   Cleaning Days And now down to practicalities! Sunday 5th September. After the Holy Liturgy we need as many people as can stay to clean our Church. Sunday 26th September. This will be the final cleaning afternoon in readiness for the Consecration weekend. Just bring your rubber gloves!  All cleaning materials are ready and waiting!   Supper - Saturday 2nd October There will be a break for refreshments between Vespers and Anointing Service. Some savoury and sweet food is needed at this point in the evening to serve our special guests and other members of the congregation. If you are planning to prepare food for this Supper, please talk to Ekaterina about it. Also, help will be needed to prepare tables for these refreshments, to serve food and drinks and clear away afterwards.   Table Top Sale Saturday 11th September, 11 am to 1pm. A sale of your unwanted items will take place in our Hall to raise money to help pay our debts. Prior to the day, we need help to set out all the goods you bring, and to price them. We will need help on the day to man the tables, prepare drinks for sale, and to tidy up afterwards. So please look around your house, garage, etc and bring things you no longer need but which could be useful for someone else. Only bring clean items in good working order. Anything really- toys, tools, ornaments, unwanted gifts, sports equipment, etc If you can bake cakes for sale by the piece, people will love to buy them, to munch with a cuppa and then spend some more money at the sale! Many thanks!