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4 THE SHEPHERD • FEBRUARY 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO YOUTH MINISTRIES Now that we are firmly in 2024, many fami- lies begin to plan for summer. This month, I would like to highlight our Orthodox Sum- mer Options for your family. JULY 15TH – 19TH, 2024: GOING FOR THE GOLD! St. Spyridon Vacation Church School! We hope that you save the date for camp this year! This is a half-day camp, from 9am – 12:30pm, Monday – Friday. If your family is in need of a full-day camp, please email me at youthministries@stspyridon.org . Depending on demand, we will offer extend- ed care to families. Most of the cost of VCS is covered by generous donations and the Youth Ministries budget, and we only ask for a nominal donation of $35 per child for the entire week. Vacation Church School serves children in incoming Preschool – 5th grade. Youth in 6th – 12th grade can join as VCS Youth Leaders. This is a wonderful oppor- tunity for our youth to help our community: they attend camp for free, are able to mentor to younger children, have unique lessons for leaders, fun with their friends, and get service hours for school! Mark your calendars for VCS – Going For The Gold! Register on the Youth Ministries Website beginning March 1st. JULY 7TH – 13TH, 2024: METROPOLIS ST. NICHOLAS RANCH YOUTH CAMP This is a sleep away camp organized by the Metropolis Youth and Young Adult Minis- tries. St. Spyridon organizes a bus that drives Southern California campers to and from Dunlap, CA for the week. Camp is for ages 8-18. The camp is “grounded on the princi- pals of living a true Orthodox lifestyle and in- cludes daily liturgical services, opportunities for reflection, Confession, daily activity rota- tions, such as arts and crafts, aquatics, Ortho- dox Life, athletics, faith and culture, fishing, canoeing, archery, an opportunity to visit the Monastery, and camp-wide evening activi- ties” (from gosfyouth.org/summer-camp#/ summer-camp-2024). Ask anyone at St. Spyridon who has gone to St. Nicholas Ranch Camp and you will hear an earful of wonder- ful, inspiring stories. MAY 3RD, 2024, 9AM – 3PM: HOLY FRI- DAY RETREAT Although this retreat is not during the summer, I realize that it requires advance planning for families because it in- volves missing a day of school. Early drop-off and late pick-up may be available based on demand. Our Holy Friday Retreat will follow Jesus and His Disciples through Holy Week and focus on our annual theme, Be Strong In The Lord. The retreat is for youth ages Pre- school – 5th grade, and 6th – 12th grade can be Youth Leaders. As part of the larger Holy Week, Holy Friday Retreat offers a chance for our Youth to experience our Orthodox Tra- dition in an engaging and enjoyable environ- ment. I also want to encourage the young adults, adults, and extended families in our Parish to join us as volunteers! There are so many volunteer spots available from building sets, setting up, cleaning up, cooking, purchas- ing, singing, dancing, and leading our youth. Wherever your gifts and strengths lie, I pray that you will “Go ForThe Gold” and give your time and talent to the youth of our Parish. ORATORICAL FESTIVAL: Our Parish Or- atorical Festival is March 3rd, 2024 , imme- diately after the Divine Liturgy. The theme is Boldness of Speech: “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech.” 2 Corinthians 3:12. The St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival is open to all youth, grades 4-12. The competition is divided into Elementary (grades 4-6, exhibition), Junior (grades 7-9, competition) and Senior (grades 10-12, competition) levels. Students prepare and deliver an original speech, based on top- ics selected by the Archdiocese who sponsors this event. All participants at the Parish level will receive a $20 gift certificate. Those who advance from our Parish level will compete at the regional competition and will then have a chance to advance to the Metropolis and beyond, where they can qualify for further scholarships. Those who receive the highest score from the Junior and Senior levels at our Parish will receive the George M. Platis Oratorical Scholarship Award , offered by Mi- chael and Maria Platis in memory of their son George, who proudly participated in the parish Oratorical Festival. For more informa- tion please reach out to parish festival chair- person, Timmy Paraskevopoulos at 714-931- 2431 or t_nicolaou@hotmail.com HOPE &JOY (Holy Orthodox Primary Education &Junior Orthodox Youth): February 10th, 11am: Lunch, Games, and a Lesson GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) February 25th, 12:30pm: Laser Tag and Piz- za!We will carpool to Lazer Tag fromChurch. Be sure to sign up for the Youth Ministries email list on our website: https://sites.google. com /stspyridon.org/stspyridonyouthmin- istries. Follow us on Facebook (St. Spyr- idon GOC San Diego) and Instagram: @ youthstspyridon. To volunteer or get more information on any of the Youth Ministries at St. Spyridon, contact Julie Dennis, Youth Ministries Director: 619-940-5167 or email youthministries@stspyridon.org HOPE and JOY baked Vasilopita in January! The New Year’s cake they made was delicious! A big thanks to our adult baking volunteers!