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2 THE SHEPHERD • MAY 2022 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Christ has risen! We’ve just completed an- other Lenten journey and I pray that we all experienced the sorrow of the cruci xion of Christ and the joy of His resurrection. I hope we were all transformed in some way by the experience. As Father Andrew said on Palm Sunday to a full house, “we are returning little by little!” Like the vines in Spring, there are new buds on the old growth. rough generous dona- tions and hard work, we are at the door step and will be opening the door to a new Youth Ministry Leader whose plan is to expand our Youth Ministries. During Holy Week, and every day, we are given an invitation to hear His words and to join Him. We are called to walk and live our faith by using the talents we have been given by God. We are called to serve, feed the hun- gry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned. Most of all, we are called to respond in Love. God’s ultimate rule to love one another with our whole heart and to love our neighbors is sometimes di cult. For, it is in times of opposition and personal attack, we are still called to respond to our attackers in love. As it says in Luke 6:28-29, we are to love our en- emies, to do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who spitefully use us. In our dealings with one another, let us not lose sight that we are the Church to be saved! As Desmond Tutu wrote during the most di cult days of apartheid “What can separate us from the love of God? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And as we share God’s love with our brothers and sisters, God’s other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no oppression that cannot be ended, no hun- ger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned to love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled.” Truly He Has Risen! Many Blessings, Jim Gilpin, Parish Council President Yes, the storage dungeon is fewweeknights and aweeken adjacent to the Kitchen. Reno anddisposalofallcabinetsand walls were prepped and RFP open, and brighter room via u lighting, aswell as heavy duty have a few finishing touches t nextcoupleofweeks. Special thanks for theirhardwo somewell-deserved breaks) fo JimLeventis,CoreyLeventis, a request forall topleasemakea cleanandorganized,whilealso that youmay“forget”behind. Πιστεύουμε ότι θα σας αρέσε στην Κουζίνα. Όλη η ομάδα π διατηρήσουμε και μελλοντικά καθαριότητα αυτού τού χώρο μας! Regards, Vlassiand theTeam WOMEN WORD OF THE Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! We are at the end of our study of e Holy Angels by Mother Alexandra. We now nd ourselves in a di erent place of awareness than we were eight months ago. In our per- sonal lives we are more aware not only that we have a guardian angel but also that this is a gi given to each of us from God to guide and guard us daily. We are also noticing more how frequent- ly the angels are mentioned in our many Church services where they are o en re- ferred to as “a host of angels” surrounding the throne of God and constantly worshipping and glorifying Him. At our last Question & Answer session with Fr. Andrew, he helped us understand better this idea of “a camp” or “army” of angels who constantly encircle and protect us and invite us in to participate with them in praise. In the last chapter of the book, Mother Al- exandra warns us again not to worship the angels or seek a vision of them or even try to imagine them, but to always keep our focus on Christ where everything in God’s creation is designed to lead us to Him. e angels are our helpmates; through themwe can pray for help and for healing, where their guidance always moves us towards a better relation- ship with the Lord. Mother Alexandra ends the book with and about prayer. “To pray for their help and to reverence them is quite Scriptural. Prayer is the great bond of unity, the welding substance by which all God’s creation stands as one be- fore Him.” “Our personal angel and also the guardian of our different nations mingle their prayers with ours, carrying them to God on High, until we shall all stand before the Throne of God and know as we are known.” (1Cor 13:12) Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; Glory be to Thee, O Lord Most High. Amen. With Love in our Risen Lord, + e Women of the Word Bible Study Group Contact: susanmiserlis@gmail.com FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENT Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen! I pray that this message nds you both healthy and blessed. Your Greek Festival Planning Committee has been working tirelessly to prepare for our upcoming Greek Festival. So many have shown their enthusiastic support and it is clear that we are ready to once again welcome the San Diego community into our home to share our faith, our traditions, and our hospitality. e dates for our Greek Festival are June 18th-19th and we still have much to do to make our event a great success. We would like to thank all of you who have already come forth in generosity and committed as Booth Chairs, Booth Sponsors and Volunteers. Even with all the support we have seen to date, we still have a large number of volunteer spots un lled and that is concerning at about 45 days away from the big day. Traditionally, the success of our festival has been largely tied to the passionate volunteer turnout within our community so we need every one of our church families to sign up for at least one shi in support of the festival. You can always get involved by doing one or two of the following: • To donate for ingredients, please contact the Church O ce at 619-297-4165. • To place a business ad in the Festival Brochure, please contact Marian Dougenis at mkdougenis@prodigy.net or Christine Tradas ctradas@gmail.com for personal greetings. • To volunteer, contact Soula De La Riva 760-521-0471, soula.delariva@cox.net , or signup online at www.sdgreekfestival.com/volunteer • For our natural born leaders interested in chairing Kids’ Zone, Admissions, Signage / Decoration, Setup / Teardown, and Food / Beverage Staging (Yellow Shirts Support) or for answers to your questions, please call/email Ben De La Riva 619-253-7559, ben.delariva@cox.net We need each and every one of you to commit to the success of this year’s festival. Every little bit helps so reach out, tell a friend, and join us in humble service to our church. May God bless you all! Ben De La Riva , Greek Festival Committee Chair