“Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them,

and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you:

but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,

but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28, KJV)


The word the Athenians used for their Assembly was Ekklesia, the same word used in the New Testament for Church
(and it is the greatest philological irony in all of Western history that this word,
which connoted equal participation in all deliberation by all members,
came to designate a kind of self-perpetuating, self-protective Spartan gerousia -
which would have seemed patent nonsense to Greek-speaking Christians of New Testament times,
who believed themselves to be equal members of their Assembly.)

- Thomas Cahill, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter




ΦΙΛΟΤΙΜΟ: THE GREEK SECRET


Sunday, December 11, 2011

George Karahalios Comments on Banning Basketball Practice at P.E.

Moderator's Note: the following is posted with Mr. Karahalios' permission.

I coach the sixth grade GOYA basketball team. I had a very difficult time filling a team of five players, but through a great deal of perseverance I was able to get 6 to play on our team.



I wanted my son to play on a GOYA team because I did not want him to go and play on a team with kids outside our youth group. I assured him we would fill a team and he would play for GOYA. This, I was able to do.



Our team was set and our practice time was 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday nights. I thought the practices were going to be at our newer and state-of-the-art facility built for basketball at Prophet Elias. However I was informed that somebody called Metropolitan Isaiah and complained that there were not enough youth activities at Holy Trinity. Then I was informed that instead of thinking through a plan to split activities up and have some at Holy Trinity and some at Prophet Elias, the decision was made on a whim to hold all practices for basketball at Holy Trinity.



Because I have to carpool a few kids and the late night practice for 11 year olds, I was told by several parents that their kids would not play if that was the case. So in order to keep our youth playing with our own kids, I had to find an alternate practice facility. I asked my neighbor, an LDS bishop, if it would be ok to practice at his wardhouse gym, and lo and behold it was not only OK, but he moved his young women's and young mens group out of their gym and has allowed us to use their gym as we wish and welcomed us with open arms.

PATHETIC, that we can't use our own beautiful gym to keep our youth playing at their own church, but rather we are forced to use facilities at other churches. 


I am very upset that our President (Jim Mylonakis) made this ridiculous and blind decision, so I tried to contact him with no response. I sent an email so he would not think I was attacking but rather trying to understand the logic behind this. I got zero response.



I then called the Metropolis in Denver and asked to speak to his Eminence. Again no response. I then called Denver again and asked to speak with the Fr. Luke. I left phone numbers day and night where I could be reached and again no response.

I guess when one sends John Johns to give us a lecture and to tell us we can call anytime and talk to anyone at the Metropolis, he should check with the individuals involved if they are willing to talk.



I am very frustrated at the lack of leadership we have as a community. We need elections so we can elect competent people that know how to run a community and know how and when to react in certain situations. WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE APPOINTED INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE COWARDS AND DON'T RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE!!!



The only way we will practice again at our facility is if this incredible and pathetic decision to send all basketball practices to HT is reversed, so we can then go back and play at the gym that was built to play basketball during basketball season.

George Karahalios

5 comments:

Jim Sefandonakis said...

George,
Here is how it played out. You went to the church and asked for help. They at the church took your request to the powers that be. They in turn looked at the last vote to see if you voted yes or no. Then, after they looked at that, gave you your answer. Yes, I'm afraid you have been black listed.

Bill Rekouniotis said...

I'd rather play at Holy Trinity.

Barbara Billinis Colessids said...

It is hard to imagine that the game that meant so much to us when we were young, including Mr. Mylonakis and many others, has become yet another "political football". We played and alternated churches. Perhaps if this board had not stymied the fundraising efforts, HT would have a nice court as well. I can understand George's need to be at PE. It's closer to the kids he coaches, and the later hour makes the longer commute into town hard on kids and parents on a school night. Also, the HT floor has seen better days. Can we get this nonsense OVER with and MOVE FORWARD, please? A FINAL NOTE TO OUR SELECTED PARISH COUNCIL. The adults and clergy when we played didn't use us as bargaining chips! Leave the kids be; you're succeeding in turning them away and the consequences will be disastrous! This is below-the-belt behavior, guys.

Elpitha Tsoutsounakis said...

Minotavros has found that the Holladay Lyons Club, the County Building, Silverstate and various abandoned warehouses have also served as great places to practice every time the church won't allow us, which is MOST OF THE TIME.

Steve Gamvroulas said...

It's funny, as each week goes by, the Pope of Denver and the Council of Derbys continue to make themselves less and less relevant in our community.