AIOPA - Monthly Meeting
Atlanta Inter-Orthodox Parish Association Meeting 01/31/2023
Materials: AIOPA Monthly Meeting and AoB XII Pilot markets
Attendees:
Fr. George Acsente, Fr. Tom Alessandroni, Mirjana Brocket, Charles Glotzbach, Florian Ion, Garrett Klawuhn, Christiana Lekas, Theo Mantzikos, John Marian, Fr Christos Mars, Fr. Anthony Salzman, Jackie Sarantis, Steve Sarantis, Sarah Stewart, Toni Taggart, Tom Taratsas and Fr. George Tsahakis,
Fr. Christos called the meeting to order.
Opening Prayer was offered by Fr. George Acsente.
Florian Ion reviewed member changes. Reviewed the current and upcoming events with group members providing updates.
Fr. Christos gave a recap on the Christmas Choir attended by multiple parishes. He also spoke about the upcoming Pan-Orthodox Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers with the Guest speaker being His Grace Bishop Anthony, Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo and the Midwest, from the Antiochian Archdiocese. A flyer is forthcoming soon.
He also asked if anyone would be willing to help chair the June 2023 Pentecost Picnic.
Fr. George Acsente discussed plans for the Romanian Orthodox Churches in Atlanta to get together on March 18 for a retreat with the sacrament of Holy Unction at the Monastery in Resaca, GA.
Florian gave an update on the CHOA charity fundraiser. $1,600 raised. Fr Tom Alessandroni stated we missed posting the Saint John the Wonderworker Feeding the Homeless Christmas event. It was very successful, feeding multiple families.
Mirjana Brockett and Fr. Tom asked questions related to if is there a OCF chapter and who is the student contact at Georgia Tech for OCF. Fr. Christos said that there was and gave the name of the student contact.
John Marion reviewed the round table discussions from last Monday with their Hollie Benton, Executive Director of Orthodox Servant Leaders, who reviewed practical solutions for parish councils and possible providing a Parish Council Bootcamp. They will continue to meet quarterly.
Fr. Christos reviewed the presentation to the AoB – What we learned, through AIOPA, in 2022 -Successes and Lessons Learned along with our Goals for 2023. AoB is looking for our help to create a “startup packet” for other parishes—See attached slide deck.
Florian mentioned there is a need for others to help with producing The Orthodox Chronicles.
Fr. George Tsahakis asked about a calendar that is publishable on their parish website. Also suggested creating a parishioner’s program to visit various parishes. Have something like a park stamp to verify the visit. Then publish feedback, “something like Yelp.”
Fr. Christos mentioned encouraging all members to attend the subcommittee meetings. Participation is key to the success of AIOPA. It does not have to be a long meeting; it could be via email or text if that works best for the group. Florian will assist to resend the committee member information, to everyone, to ensure there is at least one person who will take charge of gathering their members a minimum of once per month and updating the greater group (Florian and Fr. Christos) of any events or changes.
Reminder that if you have events, and would like shared on the AIOPA events page, email the event template with all necessary information to Florian. It would be a good idea to check the page in a day or two to verify the posting and check for accuracy.
Fr George Tsahakis offered the closing prayer.