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2 THE SHEPHERD • JANUARY 2025 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Writing you this month, I find myself at the end of one journey about to begin anoth- er. It has been a great privilege of my life to serve you over the last six years. Now at the end of this journey, I find myself struggling with words to fill this letter. The experience has left me blessed with so many memories. Through this journey, strangers have become friends; dear souls have departed but are still with me; and I am left with a heart filled with love and spiritual growth that could only be found in the service of others. In the book “A River Runs Through It,”NormanMaclean talks about being haunted by waters — the memories of his life tied to the Blackfoot River in Montana. Like Maclean, I grew up in the Rocky Moun- tains next to the Wind River but would say I am not haunt- ed but blessed by waters. My Christian life began in the waters of my baptism in a little log church, St. James, in Wyoming. The waters of the mountains brought me to California where I met my Angel. She brought me into the Or- thodox faith and through that introduction I began to wade into the Greek Orthodox wa- ters. My boys’ baptism drew me further into the waters. Ultimately, only through service, did I find the courage to leap into the deep end of the waters. Each of us has our own life story and at the heart of each story is the seed of “likeness” that He planted. Each of our callings is to grow and reveal that seed. Each step of our life can be a step towards or a step away from Him. Each day of our lives presents an op- portunity to realize our personal and unique gift, but more importantly an opportunity to share with others. As Deacon Michael recently reminded us in his sermon from Luke 14:16-24, Christ has invited us to come taste His banquet, but the question is whether we will accept His invitation. As we approach Epiphany, we all have an opportunity to reunite ourselves with our baptismal waters; this year we can choose to jump into the deep waters. In those waters, we can swim with others as one in the body of Christ; we can share in joy, we can support in pain, and we can share in the love of Christ. I pray that you will be blessed in the coming year, and that you will find it in your heart to truly share your time, talent, and treasures. Many Blessings, Jim Gilpin Parish Council President FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENT REMEMBERING ALL THE SAINTS Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set be- fore us.” Hebrews 12:1 As 2025 begins to unfold, we find ourselves in a world that may appear to be unlike that of the saints who have preceded us. And yet, each one of their stories can be found set in times of incredible upheaval of all kinds: war, famine, pestilence, natural disasters, and unspeakable cruelty. Near the end of our Liturgy, we hear this strong affirmation: Commemorating our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God. It is through this remembering that we estab- lish our lives in the Trinity. How do we avail ourselves of the strength, courage, and faith of those who have gone before us to run the race set before each of us in of our own time? Beginning in January, our Women of the Word Wednesday group focus will remain on our daily walk with Christ through the reading of the Holy scriptures. However, we will expand our reading and discussion a bit to include the wise sayings of the saints and stories their lives. While we look to Father Andrew, Deacon Michael, and one another for courage and strength, we must not over- look the treasure preserved for us through the writings and lives of the many saints of our Church. To aid us in unearthing this treasure, we will be using the 2025 Daily Lives, Miracles, and Wisdom of the Saints & Fasting Calendar, which will be made available to our regular members. We warmly welcome all women to join us as we begin to meet again, begin- ning on Wednesday, January 15, from noon to 1 PM in the lower education building classroom. Each of us has our own life story and at the heart of each story is the seed of “likeness” that He planted. Each of our callings is to grow and reveal that seed. WOMEN WORD OF THE BOOKSTORE The Bookstore would like to send warm greetings to all our parishioners in this New Year! Ring in 2025 with 2025 Daily Lives, Miracles, andWisdom of the Saints and Fast- ing Calendar; it includes insightful quotes from the saints, saint commemorated each day, Gospel and Epistle readings, and fasting guidelines. For 30 years now, the Orthodox Calendar Company has published this Cal- endar. The Calendar follows the Revised Julian Calendar (New Calendar). All listed commemorations and scripture readings are according to the Greek Orthodox Church Li- turgical Calendar. Please stop by the Book- store to obtain a copy. Cost is $20.00 plus tax. As St. Paisios the Athonite states: “When a person takes one step to God, then God makes a thousand steps towards him.” Happy New Year from your Bookstore staff! Stephanie Mourafetis, Mary Mastorakos, Pat Tsopanoglou, and Francesca Captain