TSN5026

1 THE SHEPHERD • MAY 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 6 0 • MAY 2 0 2 6 IN THIS ISSUE FROM THE DESK OF FR. ANDREW ...... p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD, STEWARDSHIP CORNER ...................................................... p. 2 DIVINE SERVICES, MEMORIALS, NEWS FROM THE LOFT, BOOKSTORE ............. p. 3 YOUTH MINISTRIES ................................. p. 4 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL, CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION UPDATE........................... p. 6 DANCE & CHORAL .................................. p. 7 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS .......................... p. 8 GREEK FESTIVAL UPDATES ................... p. 9 GREEK FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIPS ....... p. 11 GOYA SCHOLARSHIP INFO .................. p. 13 PARISH CALENDAR ................................ p. 14 YOUNG AT HEART SENIORS ................. p. 15 CONTACT INFORMATION....................... p. 16 FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen! Αληθώς Ανέ- στη! Truly He is Risen! is the blessed phrase Orthodox Christians will use to greet each other for the Forty Days following the Paschal celebration. It is an affirmation, a critical statement of faith in our Lord’s Resurrection from the dead. Like those dedicated Christians who have come before us, we identify ourselves as Christ followers by exchanging this brief dialogue with one another. Unlike the first Christians, though, in our day this greeting traditionally ceases on the eve of the Feast Day of the As- cension (Thursday, May 21, 2026). This cus- tomary greeting is typically not used again until Pascha 2027. But, does it really need to conclude after the Fortieth Day? The early Christians’ unshakeable faith was rooted in the hope and the power that sprang from the empty tomb and the glorious Res- urrection. St. Paul reminds us: If Christ is not risen from the dead, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is also empty (1 Corin- thians 15:14). The Resurrection meant ev- erything to the early Christians, who lived the Paschal mystery, day in and day out. It gave absolute meaning and direction to their lives. It helped them to have some real sense as to their own personal direction and lot in life; how to live out their humanity in a fallen world. Because of their deep and fer- vent faith in the Paschal Light, the joy they received during the services of the Resurrec- tion, the Paschal light, would keep burning brightly beyond the Forty Days following the celebration of Pascha. Does that same zeal and jubilation exist for Christ’s Resurrection today? It does if we re- member that God continues to heal, to rec- oncile and to save through Christ and His Church, His Body on earth (Eph. 1:22; 23), which proclaims the Resurrection, not just for 40 days out of the liturgical year, nor just during Sunday services, but daily. When Je- sus said: I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) He meant not only for the forty days following the Paschal celebration but every day and forever until He returns. My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the Pas- chal Light burns incessantly in the living Lord who dwells within His Holy Orthodox Church. The joy of the Resurrection can be experienced daily, but it requires from each of us effort, discipline and commitment, to fervently believe and practice, to constant- ly pray and fast, to do “good works” and to attend the Church’s liturgical services fre- quently. The glorious Light is there, but we need to reach out and light our own lamps from the source of all things: God the Trin- ity, who is found in the Orthodox Church. When we allow the Paschal Light to burn fervently in us, day in and day out, then per- haps we can choose to greet one another dai- ly with the greeting “Christ is Risen!” +A