Theory – St Anthony Magazine

The Importance of Sunday School

By Pamela Scarpa

“Let the children come to me, so not to hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Mark 10:14-15

It’s 6:55 am and my eyes are just opening up to a new day. I think to myself, only five more minutes of sleep. Any minute, my children will be barreling through my bedroom door urging me to get up. It’s Sunday morning in the Scarpa household, and we have two hours to pull ourselves together before leaving for church. The energy and eagerness of the kids pull me out of bed, with their large smiles meeting ours. Together we start our morning: beds are made, rooms are fixed and breakfast is served. It’s the Sunday of Orthodoxy and Church School begins at 10am sharp! Its now time for the hour long car ride to our second home, St. Anthony’s.

Much like my children, Sundays were always the best day of the week for me. Waking up early on a Sunday is Continue reading “The Importance of Sunday School”

Why PT? Reflecting on Faith, Community and Physical Therapy

by Dr. Konstantinos Mavropoulos, PT, DPT

People ask me all the time “Why did you become a Physical Therapist?” The truth is, from an early age I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field. It seemed natural to me as I’ve been blessed to grow up with an amazing support group of family, friends, and professionals whom I’ve learned a wealth of knowledge from. I’ve always enjoyed helping people, I’ve been fascinated with how the body works, and I grew up playing all kinds of sports. I’d see people get injured, rehab and come back better than they were before.

Originally, I aspired to be a Medical Doctor, a career path I pursued until early into my time at Rutgers University. It was then my pursuits changed as Continue reading “Why PT? Reflecting on Faith, Community and Physical Therapy”

Instead of This-ism or That-ism – All we are Saying is Give Christ’s Peace a Chance

By Subdeacon Stratos J Mandalakis

It’s no secret that the American and international political climate has been anything but calm in these last months and weeks. With terrorism, communism, isolationism nationalism and all the other “isms” surrounding us in our daily lives, we are in a constant state of flux. In fact, the media and medical community have coined a new acronym for a new condition: PESD, Post Election Stress Disorder. Polarizing issues now exist on so many different fronts that the resulting tensions echo back to the demonstrations and unrest that were commonplace when I was a child in the 1960’s & early 1970’s. It is pretty unnerving to

Continue reading “Instead of This-ism or That-ism – All we are Saying is Give Christ’s Peace a Chance”

Salvation is Created – by a Marantz Stereo Receiver

By Subdeacon Stratos J Mandalakis

It was August 2, 1979…. in the Macy’s Audio Dept. – I will always remember the date because while there, we heard the sad news that Thurman Munson had died in a plane crash. You see, we were there to make a purchase that would change my brother, Ted’s, and my life…

It was a Marantz receiver with speakers, that we had mustered up enough money to purchase with our respective summer jobs. Mom & Dad threw in the last few bucks and we were finally going to have a real “stereo”, a “component system” in our room. Our purchase, coupled with a Sony Turntable & Pioneer cassette deck we acquired from an Uncle who dabbled in audiophile equipment, brought high end stereo sound to our lives!

Of course, it is here where Ted and I diverged… in the output of sound….

Like most generation X’ers, POP and ROCK sounds were no strangers to us and Ted was happy to blast his share of Boston, Billy Joel, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, and the like.

I, on the other hand would begin exploring more eclectic sounds. The sounds of Orthodoxy.

The ability to play high quality LP’s and Cassettes opened to me not only a world of Classical Music which was also a passion, but also allowed me to explore the sounds of my ancestors’s past. The other-worldliness of some famous Greek Orthodox Chanters like Theodore Vassilikos, whose expertise and artistry had begun to make him a celebrity in the worldwide Greek Orthodox Church, was accessible via a cassette that could be found Continue reading “Salvation is Created – by a Marantz Stereo Receiver”