St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church Community Center Ribbon Cutting

St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church recently opened their new Community Church with a ribbon cutting with the blessing from Metropolitan Gerasimos and a dinner and dance. There were approximately 300 people in attendance.

The church specially the Parish Council president Ted Vavoulis expresses their sincerest gratitude for those who contributed to build the Community Church through donations. Much sacrifice and tireless hard work by many has transpired. The Parish Council president would like to publicly thank three people without whom the project would not have been possible. The text below was an excerpt President Ted Vavoulis’ message in contained in the newsletter:

“John Buzas, as chairman of the building committee, put his heart and soul into the community center. He worked tirelessly and without complaint. The community owes him a great debt of gratitude for his unwavering service.

The second person is Randy Soewers. Randy was the chairman of the design committee. Randy’s knowledge of design and how to get a project of such size from the starting point to the ending point was essential to its success. He worked diligently on the details of the project. He was the consummate taskmaster-making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. The community is grateful for his service.

The third person is the beloved Father Peter who provided guidance, devotion, love and support throughout the entire project. It was not easy for Father Peter to arrive at St. Anthony after the passing of the long-time spiritual leader, Father Mylonas of blessed memory, and step right into a multi-million dollar building project. But he did it with grace and good humor. The church thanks Father Peter for all that he has done. I feel certain that Father Mylonas would be proud of the work you have done.

So here we are with plenty of hard work and sacrifice behind us. But look at where we are. Take a good look around this room. Admire what we have accomplished together. The family of St. Anthony has been without a kitchen and family room for quite some time. We have had no place to break bread, no place to dance, no place to teach and no place to learn. We have had no place for fellowship – but we are still together and, I believe, a stronger community for it.

Your patience is to be commended, and it has been rewarded. We now have a beautiful community center where we can participate in all of the aspects of parish life for decades to come. And we should take the time to bask in what we have accomplished for our parish, but we should equally be proud of what we have accomplished for the greater Greek Orthodox community.”

St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church, 778 South Rosemead Boulevard, Pasadena, (626) 449-6943 or visit www.saint-anthonys.org.