BOSTON – Over 750 Faithful gather at Gillette Stadium for the 37th Annual Metropolis Ministries Awards Celebration and Young Adult Night Out.

His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios welcomed clergy and laity from throughout New England to the celebration, followed by the evening’s Young Adult Night Out with another 100 young adults at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA participating.   In grateful recognition for their dedication and stewardship, 63 Ministry Award recipients, who were chosen by their individual communities, were recognized for their faithful service to the Church.  Additionally, two retired clergy – Fr. Panagiotis Giannakopoulos and Fr. John Kiramarios – received the special Metropolitan Award, in recognition and appreciation for their lifetime of ministry to parishes in our Metropolis.

Two sisters who grew up as MBC campers and are very active in the ministries in the life of the Metropolis, Susan Athanasia Metropol and Anastasia Kourtis Kurkuvelos, served as Masters of Ceremony for the evening’s program.  The evening began with the singing of the Greek and American national anthems by another life-long camper, Christiana Stamas, the daughter of Fr. Chris and Presbytera Penny Stamas of the St. Spyridon Cathedral in Worcester, MA.

Metropolis of Boston Philoptochos Board 2nd Vice-President Savina Davos offered greetings to all who were being honored at the event on behalf of the dedicated and hardworking Philoptochos members. She presented to the Metropolitan a donation in the amount of $44,500 to support the many Ministries of the Metropolis, including the Philoxenia House, the St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center and the beloved MBC – Metropolis of Boston Summer Camp.

The Reverend Father Thomas Chininis, Dean of the Annunciation Cathedral and President of the Clergy Brotherhood, conveyed the love and support of the clergy for Metropolitan Methodios and congratulated all the recipients of this year’s Ministries Award.

Attending the event for the first time as Consul General of Greece in Boston, the Honorable Symeon Tegos conveyed his greetings to the large audience and he offered his congratulations to the Metropolitan and all individuals who were honored. His Eminence in turn expressed the welcome, best wishes and support of the ‘Omogenia’ to the Consul General.

Nick Kourtis, Chairman of the Metropolis of Boston Scholarship Committee, together with Nick Athanasiou and Harriette Condes Zervakis, presented scholarships awarded to six students from the St. George’s Hellenic Benefit Society of Tsamantas, the Greece Scholarship Fund, and the Charles C. Condes Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Harriette Condes-Zervakis presented to the Metropolitan the third and final installment of the funds from the Charles C. Condes Trust for the Metropolis of Boston Endowed Scholarship Fund.

The attendees enjoyed a wonderful dance performance by the senior division of the Metropolis of Boston Greek Folk Dance Group under the leadership of Dr. John Pappas. The group performed three traditional dances from the island of Crete.

Among his remarks, Metropolitan Methodios said, “this evening, we gather from throughout New England to thank God for our honorees who labor tirelessly to manifest God’s name in their parishes, towns, and cities. We gather as a family to honor the past, to celebrate the present, to envision the future. We gather for the 37th time to express our gratitude to the devout priests and laymen of our communities, to thank them for their dedicated efforts to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, to teach and spread our faith, to energize, to cultivate, and guide the faithful stewards of our parishes according to our faith tradition.”

Metropolitan Methodios added, “since our first Awards Dinner in 1986, 1,867 priests and laymen from New England have been honored with the Metropolis Award in recognition of their dedicated efforts to benefit our communities and our Metropolis.

Tonight, as we celebrate All Saints Sunday, we pray that we may be deemed worthy to emulate the lives of the saints – that we may be equipped to address the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

At the conclusion of the Ministry Awards Dinner, over 100 young adults from throughout New England gathered for the After Hour Greek Night at the Putnam Club for music, dancing, fellowship and fun. The enthusiasm from this event is a great springboard for future events for the Young Adult ministry, as well as the last gathering prior to the young adults heading to the St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center to serve on the summer camp staff for the 5-week summer camp program, which will set a record for the largest number of campers in its 34-year history.

This article is courtesy of The National Herald