To Bill P. Souvall, With Love

Dear Bill,

Thank you for your Blog article. It is an eloquent expression of your feelings; I sincerely applaud you. I am in agreement with the substance. I understand your perspective.

My perspective is not that much different from yours. I have forgiven the Denver Metropolitan for his unjust decision to impose the religious sanctions against me and to remove me from the Parish Council; and, for his continuous proscription to allow me to be a candidate for the Parish Council.

I also forgave the Prophet Elias Proistameno for his recommendation to the Metropolitan. As far as I am concerned they are both irrelevant to my religious life and my faith. "Αφες αυτοίς, ου γαρ οίδασι τι ποιούσι."

They, jointly and/or severally, became punitive; they sua sponte decided to blemish my fifty-year reputation in this community. They impugned my integrity with no cause. Neither one of them bothered to discuss the issues that troubled them with me. They acted imperially, without Christian love. It was malice; however, the people who knew me, knew differently. While I forgive them, I shall never forget the injustice.

I do not intend to remain silent about my religion and my ethnicity. And, as I have said on numerous occasions, paraphrasing Nikos Kazantzakis:

I believe in God;
I have faith in my Church;
I am free.

What really matters in life is that we cannot stand silent in allowing the existing Clergy to cause irreparable damage to our great community; it was created in 1905, with the sweat, toil, and courage of your forefathers.

I can only close with the most appropriate quote from one of Martin Luther King's speeches.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Our community matters to me. I hope it matters to a lot of other parishioners.

Best regards,

Nick

P.S. You are always welcome to use the salutation; nothing proprietary. Remember you and your family are very dear to my heart. I knew the entire family long before you became my brother's cousin by marriage.

Gut-Wrenching Decisions

The decision to limit our pledge was difficult and painful, one we have not heretofore resorted to in nearly 35 years of marriage. And for the record I, personally, have not asked people to limit their pledges. This is an individual decision that must be made with a great deal of thought and prayer.

I have pointed out in other writings on this site that it is painfully obvious that this hierarchy and this clergy only understands two things - the power of the purse and the power of the pen.

I understand my cousin's motivations well, and I love him as cousin, friend, brother. In the same year he was ill, I had my beloved uncle George, a dear friend in Houston, BOTH my parents, and even a faithful pet, pass on. Bill's recovery was the only bright spot in those dreadful months. The following year another beloved uncle and a cousin's son also passed away. And yet, I have come to a different conclusion.

My late uncle George Souvall is the illustrative case in point. Despite a terminal diagnosis, he, as a Leadership 100 member, an archon, and a lifelong member of his church in Phoenix, fought this "brave new world" of hierarchs uber alles tooth and nail, by limiting his pledged amounts and be expressing in his usual forthright manner his dismay at the injustice of the new order. So much so that the late Metropolitan Anthony was close to excommunicating him! As fate would have it, the Metropolitan also fell terminally ill and left this awful plan undone.

To use the old cliche, Nick Colessides' excommunication and dismissal from the board nearly a year ago, along with this parish council's willingness to let it pass, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Enough was FINALLY enough!

Continuing to pay, where the unreasonable and unworthy are de facto rewarded for egregious behaviors, attitudes and actions is not, in my view, nor was it in my late Uncle George's view, sound stewardship. It is simply the ongoing rewarding of bad, uncivil behavior and ongoing poor governance with little transparency. Those of us who have come to this conclusion feel the following:

• Jesus himself set the example when he went on a rampage against the money-lenders in the temple.
• The Lord would not want us paying stewardship monies for the defense of PEDOPHILES, and in the face of numerous injustices to our fellow parishioners throughout the country, including many clergy. (see http://www.concernedorthodox.org/)
• When those entrusted with the care of His Church fail to stand up for what is right, in defense of those WRONGFULLY accused, against their own brothers and sisters, ACTION MUST BE TAKEN. The latest incident with Colessides, Sifantonakis and Kastanis is merely just that - the latest such incident. The dismissal of entire ELECTED parish councils in various locations throughout the country these past years, based on our wonderful "gift" of a new charter and UPRs, is UNACCEPTABLE and should be resisted unequivocally by ALL the laity. Acquiescence by the laity is NOT the answer - it is part of the PROBLEM!
• I won't at this juncture place my monies elsewhere in restricted funds (they have gone to other worthy causes) because I have no confidence in this clergy or this parish council as an entity. I have no problem with the majority of these men as individuals, two of them are family members who I love and respect, but I don't believe as an entity they have the will or the fortitude to stand against the abuses we are witnessing almost continually.

No one doubts the Lord will ultimately judge us all, but how do we also explain that in the face of numerous blatant injustices we simply went along, said little, did nothing, allowing the injustice to continue unabated, and allowing our monies to be used to facilitate a plethora of misdeeds and even crimes? Enough!

- Barbara Colessides

PS - to the anonymous poster who wants his or her comments published and who accuses us of being "un-Christian", having no knowledge of the Bible (which by the way is ALWAYS capitalized when referred to), you've got my name now, not that I ever hid it! I'll put MY knowledge of theology, the Church, history and the Bible against yours ANY DAY YOU CHOOSE. Give me your name, friend, and I'll publish your comments. If you want to post as a moderator, give me a call and I'll tell you how set up your own blog. Good enough?

Imagine a Hierarch Who Is Truly AXIOS!

Enthronement Speech of Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos

Below is an excerpt from the enthronement speech of the new Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. The full English translation of the text can be found at http://www.oodegr.com/english/ekklisia/ierarxes/enthr_log_ierwn1.htm and is well worth reading. This portion of the speech is directed at the youth but certainly crosses over to all the faithful, young and old alike.

"My beloved children, I want us to meet personally. So, I am proposing to found a kind of Archbishop’s youth council, so that we can get together, I can listen to your issues personally and we can work together in building the tomorrow that you deserve and that we are obliged to secure for you."

"What I mainly desire is to listen to you, rather than you listen to me. And you should also make your presence felt and your words evident in the life of our Church. I will try to be open with you and transparent, so that behind me can be seen the Crucified leader of Life – the only One Who loves so much, that no-one can resist His love..

And something more. The Church is your home. When you see it ablaze on account of our negligence or unworthiness, do not stand aside and exercise easy criticism. Come in, so that we may salvage whatever we can of the precious treasure of our spiritual inheritance. Come to your home, so that we can together renew and renovate it."

• Imagine a hierarch who wants to listen to the people, and who doesn't have the attitude of "the people can't tell me what to do."
• Imagine a hierarch anxious to resolve problems face-to-face, instead of threatening excommunication, and in some cases following through with his threat.
• Imagine a hierarch who strives to be open and transparent instead of hiding behind the lies of his assigned minions.
• Imagine a hierarch who believes he has an obligation to secure our future as opposed to securing his agenda.

Sadly, we are left only to imagine. Many years, Archbishop Ieronymos. AXIOS!

New Rules

Hitting below the belt. Failing to recognize the will of the people.

It has been reported that a few Sundays ago the Prophet Elias-designated Proistamenos lined up the boys who serve in the Altar in front of the churchgoers.

He then proceeded to admonish the parishioners that if the parishioners followed Mr. Kastanis’ advice, that the boys he lined up would suffer.

He does not understand the obvious. The parents cannot be intimidated. What he forgot to mention was that if Mr. Kastanis’ advice was followed there would not be enough money for his salary. It was only a ruse to confuse.

We do not know where the inspiration for such behavior came from. Maybe it was from desperation.

You be the judge.

I guess it all depends whose ox is being gored.

Best regards,


Nick J. Colessides

P.S. T P M G

A Response from Bill Souvall, Parish Council Member

Dear Gentle Readers, (I love that salutation. I hope Nick doesn't mind that I borrowed it)

I am not a regular reader of the blog but I heard about Nick's most recent posting, and since I was the parish council member who was mentioned in his comment, I thought I might explain my call to my cousin Barbara Colessides (whom I love dearly--always have and always will) that Nick referenced. I explained to Barbara that I understood her and Gus's reasons for withholding the balance of their stewardship pledge from last year. I suggested that if she and Gus chose not to pay that balance, to instead consider a donation to a restricted fund, such as the PE Pavilion fund, which would be administered by the Greek Orthodox Trust Committee for that specific purpose only and would not be subject to any additional fees to the Metropolis or Archdiocese. I never asked Barbara to pay the balance of their stewardship pledge. I also firmly believe that Gus should have been allowed to run for the Parish Council because I know he is as worthy as I am to serve, if not more so, and I expressed my disappointment at the decision to exclude him to all involved at that time.

Since I am writing, I thought it might be the appropriate time to offer a different perspective, my own personal perspective, on stewardship. I don't do this to stir a debate or to complain about, criticize, judge or condemn anyone who has a different view than mine.

I certainly don't always agree with every action taken by our Parish Council (of which I am a member), Clergy, Metropolitan, Archibishop or Patriarch. In many cases, I am shocked and dismayed by some of the things that have happened. However, my stewardship pledge and payment is not between me and any of the above mentioned individuals or entities. I view it as a deal between me and my Creator. I understand all of the above mentioned individuals or entities will get their crack at a piece of my stewardship, but they will each have to be accountable at their day of judgement as to how they handled their actions, responsibilities and commitments. I will also face that same judgement.

I have been unbelievably blessed in all aspects of my life. I have been the recipient of a most remarkable miracle and I know who bestowed that miracle on me (I think we all have received miracles but perhaps we just haven't recognized them for what they are). My family and I have also seen first hand the unbelievable generosity, love and support our community is capable of. I am still in awe and am extremely thankful and appreciative for the unbelievable response of our parish when we really needed it. We would be extremely remiss if we didn't repay the community to the best of our ability with the three T's--Time, Treasure, and Talent. When I think of all the terrific programs and opportunities our community offers, I feel joyful in offering financial support in proportion to my blessings. I simply can't refuse what my Maker has asked of me in Scripture. I am not willing to sit on my Judgement day before my God, who has given me the most blessed life imaginable, and try to explain that I was mad at some people and their actions, and therefore it was excusable or appropriate to change my deal and commitment with Him.

I will tell you that I didn't always feel this way. Before I got extremely sick 3 years ago, I think I would've advocated a more militant approach that others encourage to resolving our challenges. That is why I can understand the responses of some bloggers, although I can no longer agree with them with regard to stewardship. I suppose it took a miraculous recovery from having one foot in the grave to initiate a total overhaul of my priorities. I guess the best way to explain it is that I have experienced what I can only call my "Magic Moment"--a profound understanding and appreciation of the blessings I have received. My stewardship is simply my unconditional gift back to God with my deepest thanks for all he has given me. I eagerly look forward to increasing not only my stewardship pledge each year as my blessings in all aspects of my life increase, but also the support of our various Capital campaigns and other worthy causes and charities.

I will reiterate that I am not interested in entering a debate as to why we should or shouldn't pledge or pay stewardship. If you choose to pay a minimum stewardship for whatever reason, I would encourage you to help out with the many restricted Capital projects we currently have to fund, such as the PE Pavilion, the new HT Campus project, or the PE Dome and Remodel project. I hope and pray that we all take stock of our lives and act in accordance with our blessings.

Love to all and God Bless.

Bill Souvall

New Rules

You are not good enough to run for the Parish Council
because of "un-Christian" behavior!
But, ... we like your "un-Christian" money.

Gus Colessides was denied his right to run for the Parish Council. The 2 Proistamenoi in their infinite wisdom declared him ineligible; Gus and his family exhibited un-Christian behavior. The Denver Metropolitan fulfilling his ministry to the Church agreed.

Gus is ineligible to offer his talents in order to contribute to the betterment of the Parish. The Clergy clothed in their imperial robes decided that he should not.

The Parish Council wants his money. A parish council member asked Gus to pay the balance of his 2007 stewardship commitment.

Moral of the story: We do NOT want your talents. We only want your money. You are NOT good enough to help. We only need your money. What a shame!!

Very sad indeed.

Best regards,

Nick J. Colessides

P.S. I urge all parishioners to follow Jim Kastanis’ advice. We should ONLY pay a very minimum stewardship. It is time for the silent majority to be heard.