This time of year let us pause and come together as a community to give thanks to our Lord, for the blessings he has bestowed on our family, friends, and our nation. On behalf of the Parish Council, I want to wish our dear parishioners a very blessed and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

On that note I want to remind everyone that the Thanksgiving Dance and Comedy Hour is on Friday, November 27. This is a great time to work off the extra pounds from the big turkey dinner, and have family and friends enjoy a night of music, dancing and laughs. See George Sokaris, Chairperson of the event for reservations.

I want to take this time to thank Angelo Bousbouras, Cookie Patelos, and Norma Damascos for chairing the Souvlaki Fest. I also want to thank the chairpersons and workers that offered their time to help man the booths for two days. I especially want to thank the youth of our community whose zeal and enthusiasm are an inspiration to all of us. We should all be proud of our children and the representation they made for St. Sophia.

Bullying is a growing epidemic in this country. New York State has laws pertaining to Bullying. Family members—parents, siblings, grandparents, and all the youth of St. Sophia are invited to a very important information seminar and dialogue on bullying, on Monday, November 2 at 6:00 pm. at the St. Sophia fellowship hall. Pizza and salad will be served to make it easier for parents…no need to cook. You will learn how to play key roles in helping to prevent bullying, stopping bullying that may be occurring, and helping children and youth to cope with bullying that they already have experienced. Bullying can take many forms, such as: hitting or punching, teasing or name-calling, intimidation through gestures, social exclusion, and sending insulting messages or pictures by mobile phone or using the Internet (known as cyber bullying). This is a critical issue that our children are experiencing everyday. We must be a part of the solution. Come together as a family and be informed.

The Child Sexual Abuse Class, which was also a critical, issue facing our children today, was poorly attended. Just last week two attempted child abductions, by a child predator, took place in Schenectady. We at St. Sophia are trying to bring the information to help parents cope with these growing epidemics. Please take advantage of these programs. We are trying to create a child safe environment at St. Sophia. I often stress that the commitment to the protection of children belongs to us all.

A few weeks ago the Auditors that were hired by St. Sophia completed the overall on-site audit of our church finances. Our own internal auditors followed this. I am pleased to say that St. Sophia has a good program of checks and balances in place to comply with all regulations and bylaws of our church, and all our finances are in order. There is always room for improvement and we will certainly follow their suggestions to keep up with the ever-changing technology that requires more security upgrading.

There are many programs and events underway…I hope you all join, involve yourself in, and offer assistance in order to make this church year exciting and enlightening.