What is BackPacks for Kids? It is the 'Signature Project' for Traverse City Sunrise Rotary, launched in 2004. The group supplies a new backpack with school supplies to public school children and grades K - 5, as well as to selected charter schools and Goodwill Industries. Since program inception the Rotary has donated over 7,700 backpacks. The Backpacks for Kids project serves 1,000 - 1,500 area school children each year. The target list is provided by Traverse City Area Public School (TCAPS) administration, and primarily includes students qualifying for the reduced school lunch program. Additionally the group has raised sufficient funds to provide annual contribution to Goodwill Industries who distribute to their clients who might not fall immediately within the TCAPS system. In their first year they attempted to seek donations of product and quickly found it was impossible to obtain sufficient quantities of individual items. In subsequent years they have sought funding through charitable contributions and grants to help offset the expense. On average a fully supplied backpack costs $15.00, requiring annual proceeds of $20,000 - $25,000. On Tuesday, 24 August 15 members of our parish and Philoptochos gathered together to stuff backpacks. The Philoptochos was recognized by the Rotary organizers as being t he largest "first-timer" group, and the event was very enjoyable sharing information about the Church and Faith with the other volunteers working with our members. Thanks are extended to: Fran Batsakis, Terri Bethea, Angie Dunlap, Martha Ealy, Denyse Everett, Nancy Kokinakes, Kiki Sebestyen, Katerina Stavros, Theresa Underwood, Presvyt era Joleen, Rebekah, and our self-dubbed "Philo-Dudes," Roger Dunlap, Rob Fickling, Tom Sebestyen, and Bob Underwood. Fellowship was shared with the Rotarians after assembling the 1300 backpacks in 45 minutes! All in all it was a great event, and the evening was a stunning success. Thanks to all who made this event a fun and productive evening. The children will be so excited to see these items a week before their new year of school begins!

Church School Enjoys an Afternoon of Fun and Learning. Our church school students enjoyed an afternoon of instruction and fun as part of the summer school program here. Accompanying our students were: Fr. Iakovos, Holly Olszewski (our parish’s director of religious education) and parent chaperone Eleanor Hayes. Students in attendance for the day were: Elliot and Preston Hayes, Malena Kain, Mateo Lucero, Jacob, Jenna and James Olszewski. Students spent the day focusing on stories with a nautical theme and learnt accounts dealing with: Jesus’ res cue of the Apostles on t he Sea of Galilee (depicted in the icon in our church on the south wall); St. Patrick’s journeys and abduction by pirates where he was sold into slavery; St. Nicholas’ rescue of the sailors at Myra (as depicted on the icon in our church); and the journey and ministry of St. Brendan the Navigator. Following the lessons the group car-pooled to Pirate’s Cove where they enjoyed fellowship together speeding around in go carts, bumper boats, multiple trips on the water slide and finishing up with a round of puttputt golf. After all that fun everyone returned to the church community center to watch a vegitales episode called the Pirates Who Did Nothing while they enjoyed an evening meal together. The group broke up around 6 PM after a long day of learning and fun. Most of the children had been with us since at least the beginning of liturgy that morning and there were some who had even been in church as early as the beginning of Matins. That is a long time to be engaged in church activ ities and all of our students are to be commended for their dedication and tenacity. This activity was one of the many offerings that our parish provides for our youth in order to engage them and encourage them in the Faith. There will be a whole new slate of classes for young and old alike which will roll out in September. Watch our parish bulletin and other channels of information for more details on the offerings for this Fall semester. Thanks are extended to our church school faculty for planning and executing this outing. Thanks are also extended to parents for encouraging their children to participate and making that participation possible.

As part of our celebration of the Feast of the Holy Prophet Elijah held this past Tuesday there was the blessing of automobiles. You’ll recall that the Prophet was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot and you can read about it in the Holy Bible. Anyway, it is custom in some churches to bless automobiles on this feast. Parishioners that wanted to have their vehicles blessed processed with Fr. Iakovos to the parking lot for the service of blessing immediately following the close of the Holy Liturgy. Members were asked to open the doors of their vehicles and stand by them as Father made his way around the lot blessing the vehicles with Holy Water.