At the St. Barbara’s Day Party this past December, there was evidence of that love and generosity and devotion as our children, with the help of apprentice elves and a nice showing of senior elves, decorated almost 100 tabletop Christmas trees with bows and candy canes, glitter and colored ornaments to be donated to various homeless shelters. Everyone who saw the trees awaiting delivery commented on how beautiful they were, and, more importantly, on the little lesson our children learned about the spirit of love and giving. In addition to the tree decorating, there were also refreshments and a clown and a visit from Santa who gave each child a three-dimensional Christmas card with a real pewter ornament in the shape of a wrapped present to symbolize the "gift of Jesus." Many, many thanks to all who helped make this party a lovely event with special thanks to Colleen Nelligan and Maria Ziamandanis who co-chaired the event with me. (Note: Some of our senior elves also helped make and color personalized Christmas cards which will be sent to troops overseas. Nice work everyone!)

And not to be remiss, a special acknowledgment to Demetra Retos for the special Artoclasia that she made for St. Barbara’s Day. It is so reassuring to have people like Demetra. She is a treasure.

Also many thanks to Anne Hadjiouannou and Kiki Maglares for chairing the Annual Daughters and Philoptochos Combined Christmas Party. This year’s event was held at the Shaker Ridge Country Club which provided a beautiful holiday setting for an evening of laughter and fun and the celebration of women dedicated to working for the good of the community and many worthy causes.

As we move into 2010, we look forward to welcoming new members and new initiatives. We can look back on our many accomplishments and be proud of what has been done. Let the past serve as inspiration for new projects and to our continued growth and presence both in our church community and in the community-at-large.