CHERRY HILL, NJ – His Grace Bishop Apostlos of Medeia presided over the Divine Liturgy at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill on November 21, the Sunday dedicated to the children and young people of the community.

The youth were given the opportunity to take an active part in the Divine Liturgy, reading out the Gospel passages, passing the collection plate, and offering the Artoklasia. Immediately after, the children served coffee and sweets in the community’s Danielle Kousoulis Hall. With the blessing and guidance of Fr. Christoforos Oikonomidis, all the Youth Organizations and the Philoptochos Society participated in an extensive effort to help those in need, through the local, non-profit organization The Unforgotten Haven. With the amount collected from the donations, the youth will pack bags of essential items for the homeless and Birthday Gift Bags for children in need. The purchase of these items was made with the contributions of the Youth Organizations- GOYA, HOPE, JOY/CAMP, Sunday School, Greek School, dance group, and the Philoptochos Society. Michelle Gambone, who founded the nonprofit organization in 2014, spoke about the ways in which they help the less fortunate.

Among the youth that participated were for the reception and collection plate: Gabriel Eleftheriou, Maria Katsikis, Georgia Kokolis, Styliana Kokolis, Alex Constantinou, Maria Basantis, Robert Papadeas, Nikolaos Pappas; the Gospel reading in English: Ioanna Ljachin and in Greek: Michael Pantelous; the Nicene Creed and Our Father: the altar servers of the community.