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4 THE SHEPHERD • MARCH 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO continues 5 YOUTH MINISTRIES This month, our parish returned to the Me- tropolis of San Francisco Folk Dance Festival after a three-year hiatus. You can read about our dance and choral performances in the other articles in this newsletter. I wanted to take a moment to highlight FDF in the con- text of our broader youth programs because our visit to FDF could not be possible without our community. The successes in our youth programs – Sunday School, Youth Groups, Greek Dance, Choral, Kids’ Corner, and spe- cial events through the year are supported by your prayers, your volunteering, your finan- cial support, your kind words, and your love. That said, I especially want to thank Kathy Meck and Timmy Paraskevopoulos. Without their guidance, time, energy, and love for our children, we could not have returned to FDF with such flare! Coming soon is the St. John ChrysostomOr- atorical Festival ! Hopefully you are reading this newsletter with enough time to join us for the 2024 Oratorical Festival on March 3rd . Immediately after Divine Liturgy, we will hear speeches from youth, grades 3 – 12. Each year, our youth have an opportunity to write and present responses to a list of prompts that are provided by the Archdiocese. The prompts are broad in nature and designed to allow the youth to think deeply and critically about the world around them, their Ortho- dox faith, and traditions that are steeped in the fabric of our Holy Church. One student from the junior and senior category will ad- vance to the District Oratorical Festival. This year, the District Oratorical Festival will be held at St. Spyridon on Saturday, April 13th ! Reminder that Holy Friday Retreat is on May 3rd. Registration is now open for VCS (Vaca- tion Church School). Register on the Youth Ministries Website: https://sites.google.com/ stspyridon.org/stspyridonyouthministries Our small group for high school juniors and seniors – Coffee and Conversation – is going strong, working through the second book in the Relationship Project. Each week, we have coffee, light lunch and discussions about how the oldest of our youth interpret their ever-more complex world around them through the lens of their Orthodox faith. If you are interested in sponsoring our small group with a light lunch and coffee, please contact Julie Dennis, 619-940-5167. If you have an infant or toddler and are not on the Youth Ministries email list, please email youthministries@stspyridon.org or 619-940-5167. We will be launching our Moms, Pops, and Tots Program and want to be sure we include all of our youngest mem- bers of our p arish. Be sure to sign up for the Youth Ministries email list on our website: https://sites.google. com /stspyridon.org/stspyridonyouthminis- tries. Follow us on Facebook (St. Spyridon GOC San Diego) and Instagram: @youthstspyridon To volunteer or get more information on any of the Youth Ministries at St. Spyridon, con- tact Julie Dennis, Youth Ministries Director: 619-940-5167 or email youthministries@ stspyridon.org GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) GOYA had a fun time at laser tag in Febru- ary. Each month GOYA gathers, we try to make opportunities for growing relation- ships with other Orthodox Christians. Hav- ing fun and sharing food are just two ways we use to grow those relationships. Begin- ning March, GOYA will begin selling tickets to our biggest fundraiser of the year, Palm Sunday Luncheon. Funds raised from the Palm Sunday Luncheon go directly to GOYA and the youth activities. Sunday School Our February Service Sunday brought team work in our middle and high school as they worked together to plan the March Theme Sunday activity for the younger grades – Be Strong Field Day! Theme Sunday for pre- school – 5th grade in February included a chance for the students to create their own coat of faith armor that is described in this year’s memory verse: Ephesians 10:6-17.