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4 THE SHEPHERD • APRIL 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO April’s quick tip for families: Make a family plan for Great and Holy Week - add a night- time prayer, add a fasting day, attend an extra Holy Week Service, volunteer at church. You can do a quick online search for “Lent plan- ning sheet printable” and find some great Lent planning guides. Great and Holy Lent is a busy time for Youth Ministries at St. Spyridon! Starting with April 4th for Pancakes and Palms. Meraki will be sponsoring fellowship for Saturday of Lazarus. We will cook up pancakes and ask that our community lend us a hand folding palms for Palm Sunday. On April 5th, GOYA will be hosting the Palm Sunday Luncheon. For only $25, we will be serving a delicious fish lunch and dessert! All proceeds from the luncheon go directly to the GOYA Youth Group. Throughout the year, the funds sup- port monthly activities, the Lenten retreat, service projects, family events, and an annu- al adventure trip. During Holy Week, teens have the opportunity to read Epistles during the Bridegroom Services on Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday. Holy Friday activities include a Youth Retreat for preschool-5th grade students, where the 6th-8th graders can participate as Youth Leaders. The sign- up link for Youth Leaders and Participants is: https://tinyurl.com/holyfriday2026 The theme this year is The Power of Prayer! During the evening Lamentations Service before the Kouvouklion, Myrophores serve alongside the Acolytes for the procession of the Kouvouklion. Last, but not least, is Great and Holy Pascha! We hope you will join us for the Parish Pascha Picnic at Admiral Bak- er Park that will include Greek Dancing and a Pascha Egg Hunt! We may have a few tickets remaining for the Palm Sunday Luncheon. Contact Bill Navrides, 619-992-6775 or navridesfamily@ gmail.com Registration is now open for Vacation Church School - July 13-17, 2026! 9am – 12:30pm daily. Aftercare available until 4:30 daily. This year’s theme is The Wonders of Creation! The entire week is only $40, and only $20 for siblings. Youth Leaders are free. Children of Volunteers are free. This year, we are streamlining our registration with only one form! Register on the Youth Ministries website or by following this link: https:// www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/st-spyr- idon-vacation-bible-school We would like to extend a huge thanks to all of the Icons in Progress volunteers, with a special thanks to Hitomi Shue! Thanks to Gaetano’s Restaurant in Tierrasanta and Joanna Stathorakis for providing the food for the event! The Teen and Parent Mental Health and Faith Workshop had attendees from St. Spyridon, St. John’s in Anaheim, Sts. Constantine and Helen, St. Anthony’s Antiochian Church, and St. Catherine’s in Carlsbad! We hope that the workshop pro- vided a foundation for integrating faith and mental wellness for our teens and parents! Highlights included a Question-and-An- swer Panel that included mental health pro- fessionals, Fr. Andrew, teens and parents, as well as parenting sessions presented through the Family Wellness Ministry and George Papageorge. We thank His Grace Bishop Athenagoras for traveling from New York for this event! If you attended, please complete this survey: https://tinyurl.com/iconssurvey If you have questions about Youth Minis- tries at St. Spyridon, call or text Julie Den- nis, Youth Ministries Director, 619-618-5116 or email youthministries@stspyridon.org Learn more about St. Spyridon Youth Min- istries on our website: https://tinyurl.com/ stspyridonyouth Follow us on social media: Facebook - St. Spyridon GOC San Diego and Instagram - @youthstspyridon Parents of babies & toddlers We have three great resources for parents with babies and toddlers: 1. Little Angels Playgroup meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 9:45-11:00am in the lower education building (our official Playroom); 2. Kids’ Corner is open each Sunday right after Holy Communion in the lower educa- tion building playroom, and offers a chance to meet other parents and let your kids play! 3. Toddler Totes are available in the Nar- thex (1st door with the candles as you enter Church), with quiet activities for your kids to use during Divine Liturgy! Just ask a Narthex volunteer and be sure to return them at the end of the Divine Liturgy! Sunday School Here is an update on what our Sunday School classes have been learning this semester: The preschool class is learning the sign of the cross, simple prayers, and building friend- ships with one another. Each week they share a short lesson- often paired with a fun craft. This helps them grow in faith while feel- YOUTH MINISTRIES Little Angels P L A Y G R O U P For Babies and Toddlers ages 40 days - 4 years old and their Parents or Caregiver! Wednesdays 9:45am - 11:00am Join our contact list: https://tinyurl.com/spyridonplaygroup St. Spyridon GreekOrthodoxChurch www.stspyridon.org Questions: 619-618-5116 youthministries@stspyridon.org at