Dress a Girl Metropolis-Wide Event at St. Basil Church

With humbleness, pride, and love we gathered at the St. Basil Philoptochos Hall on Saturday, October 18^th for our 2^nd annual Metropolis-wide “Dress a Girl around the World” sew-a-thon.  One hundred thirty dresses were completed, and another 54 were taken home by some of the ladies to be completed.   We also had children 9 years old and older make bracelets and necklaces, which they then tied with a ribbon to a card that they had personally written a little note on.   These were placed in one of the pockets of the dresses, along with a pair of panties in the other pocket.   We have just begun to make pants for the boys, and will be adding them to the shipment that will be going to India in the very near future.  Our thanks to everyone that attended, and to those that were unable to we hope to see you at our next gathering.
(Submitted by Dorothy Bezemes)

Baptismal Font Photo

Below is a photo of the progress on our new baptismal font.

Photo Update - October 14, 2014

Interior renovations continue to move forward.

Drywall is underway in the narthex.

New railings with "cross" design on the stairs from the narthex to the balcony.

Leveling floor in the southwest corner room on the balcony.

Decorative beams are nearing completion on the ceiling.

Dome is ready to receive the new "Pantokrator" icon.

Capital Campaign Update

As we move into Fall, we wanted to provide an update on the status of the Capital Campaign.  Since the fire last year, many people throughout the community have given of themselves, and donated to help us rebuild, renew, and restore St. Basil since the fire we suffered in 2013.  Late this spring at the Recipe's for Rebuilding Fundraiser, we kicked off the next phase of our Capital raising efforts with three key goals:

• Rebuild the Church following the fire
• Renew and restore the Church through much needed capital and building improvements
• Retire the outstanding mortgage to secure the future

At the fundraiser many people also saw the brochure and FAQs that we drafted to further explain our goals, and answer the many questions that arise from such an initiative (available here:  http://www.stbasilchicago.org/rebuilding-stbasil/capitalcampaign.html).

We have sent out these materials also to members of St. Basil's, and others that contributed toward the rebuilding shortly after the fire.  Father Panteleimon and I have also met with prospective donors and would like to talk with others who have any additional questions.

We are encouraged by the donations we have received to date, but in order to fulfill the objectives much work remains.  To date we have had three (3) individuals pledge at the $50,000 level, two (2) individuals pledge at the $25,000 level, a number of individuals who have pledged $1,000 or above, as well as smaller donations.  As you know we are seeking 3 year pledge commitments, and at this point are about 45% complete of our total objective.  This campaign is a stretch for St Basil's, yet we are confident that with continued generosity from our parish and the broader community we can achieve our objective.

In Christ's Service
George T. Tziahanas 
george_tziahanas@yahoo.com

October 12 - St. Basil Parish Update

On Sunday, October 5th the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese recognizes all of our church musicians, and in this vein, at St. Basil we offered the Artoklasia (the blessing of the five loaves) service for the health and salvation of all of our choir members, our director and our chanters.  May God continue to bless their ministry.  For more information on this ministry, contact the church office or Fr. Panteleimon.

On Saturday, October 11, the St. Basil Pan-Orthodox Adult Fellowship (POAF) ministry spent the afternoon at the Greater Chicago Food Depository (in the south west corridor of Chicago) labeling cans of black beans and loading them into boxes for distribution throughout the city.  For more information on this ministry, contact our ministry coordinator, Patrice Dalianis at pdalianis@yahoo.com.

October 3 - photo update

Following up on October 1st entry, see photos below from the work in the church at St. Basil.

Northeast corner of church (where fire began) - new drywall on walls and ceilings.

South wall - icons are covered in plastic to protect and note new ceiling drywall (under balcony).

West doors leading from nave to narthex - note that doors are removed and new drywall on ceiling (under balcony).

West wall of church - notice new drywall on face of balcony (later to have icons attached) - and in the foreground on the floor are stacked the curved beams for the ceiling.

Ceiling of church - new beams being attached.

Ceiling of church - new curved beams being attached are corners of ceiling.

October 1 - Update On St. Basil Rebuilding

Rebuilding work is well under way at St. Basil. For those of you who have visited in the past 3 months, you would have noticed the beautiful new dome on the roof of the building. The new roof and the dome were both completed in June. Also completed is the new heating and air conditioning system as well as the insulation in the attic and exterior walls.

The stained glass windows and the icons were removed several months ago and are currently in the process of being refurbished. And the ceilings have been leveled under both the balcony and in the narthex.

Workers are now in the process of replacing all of the electrical system as well as plastering the ceiling. New beams are being installed on the ceiling, as well. And both sets of stairs are in the process of being redone (both straightened and carpeted). This work is expected to be completed in the next few months.

Many of you know that we have begun a capital campaign to support the rebuilding efforts. If you would like to learn more about the campaign or contribute to the work we are doing, please visit our website here.