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2 THE SHEPHERD • JUNE 2020 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Spring is now almost o cially over and we are still standing in the doorway awaiting word that it is safe to return to our old way of life. What is becoming apparent is that we are in a moment of transition and not likely to return to the old ways of anything. None of us has a reliable crystal ball and much of what is happening is outside of our control. On May 25th, the State issued guidelines for allowing places of worship to reopen. We are continuing to complete plans for a return to services in the Sanctuary which are consis- tent with the local, state and federal guide- lines. As things currently stand, attendance at services will be restricted by the social distancing guidelines. Under the guidelines, members of the same household will be al- lowed to sit together but will be required to maintain at least six feet of distance from other households. Based upon the restric- tions, attendance at our Holy Liturgy will likely be limited to less than 35 persons. Attendance is going to be limited to persons who have con rmed reservations. We are in the process of creating a reservation system to assure that all those who want to attend liturgy will be given an opportunity to do so. We are encouraging at-risk parishioners, those with pre-existing health conditions and over 65 to stay home, but you will not be precluded from attending if that is your desire. All parishioners attending will be required to adhere to protocols which will include temperature screening and wearing masks during the services. All of these mea- sures are being put in place to protect health and well-being of our parishioners. I hope you will all be patient with us as we work through this new normal. It is said that “the Lord created days and seasons, to give us starting and ending points.” Sometimes the days and weeks seem like an eternity, I have felt that way at times during this pan- demic. But, I have been more o en remind- ed as I awake each day, of how precious the moments in each day can be. ank you all for your support and understanding. 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 FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENT WOMEN WORD OF THE Usually at this time of year, we report on our nal meetings, our lingering questions, our re ections on what we’ve read, our plans for next year. is period of “staying at home” for COVID-19, of course, has altered all that. But if anything, it has allowed us to be more re ective about lessons learned and has given us time to tend to our spiritual gardens. ankfully, because of technology we are still able to connect and share our thoughts. For many of us, some of the things we have appreciated the most are not only the thought-provoking discussions, but also the loving support that we get from one an- other as we work on understanding the Holy Scriptures. Here are some “golden nuggets” that we have taken away from our reading of the Universal Epistles of James, Peter, and John this year: 1) A memorable passage that continues to resonate with many of us is James1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, de- ceiving yourselves.” We continue to learn that hearing the Word is only the beginning and that living it in our everyday lives is a con- stant e ort and work in progress. 2) Connected with this understanding about truly living the Word, we continue to en- counter and be challenged by what this actu- ally means in passages such as I Peter 1:15-16 ”but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is writ- ten “Be holy, for I am holy.” (Lev. 11:44) We acknowledge that for this we must rely on God’s grace, all the while humbling ourselves in His Presence and praying for a life lived in His Name. 3) As we know especially in these times, that life is not always “a bed of roses” we also take to heart this passage from James:1:2-6, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” is, indeed, is our challenge as we confront the trials of this life, trusting in the Lord, knowing that we can experience and “count it all joy” only when we recognize His glory and His victory and allow Him to work in us. 4) We see this expressed in this passage from 1Peter 1:6-9 as well: “In this you greatly re- joice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though continues 3 What a wonderful and interesting sev- enth year we had these last few months as GOYA Directors. A huge thank you to this year’s GOYA Board, Dimitri Gilpin, Maggie Samouris, George Dougenis, Zoe Maude, and Anthony Dick . We enjoyed working with all of you. Good luck in college Dimitri (at Gonzaga) and Anthony (at Cal Maritime). With no GOYA activities to report we asked President, Dimitri Gilpin to share his thoughts about GOYA, his senior year and the last few months. Please enjoy the won- derful words below from Dimitri. “Hello, my fellow GOYAns and members of St. Spyridon. During this pandemic, there isn’t much going on in our GOYA commu- nity. We’ve gotten together to chat on Zoom and we’ve tried our best, but nothing seems to capture the magic of going bowling with our Church community or Hollywood Game Nights. At the beginning of 2020, I felt out of touch with our Church community. I was a senior in high school. I felt like I had other things to worry about than going to Church and GOYA. I had to get good grades, I had to go to Prom, and I had to walk across the stage in my cap and gown. en, all of a sudden, it felt like everything was cancelled: Prom, Grad Night, graduation, and everything in between. To make matters worse, I now had to get up and FaceTime my teachers in the morning. It is amazing what a pandemic can give you. is pandemic has given me a perspective that I did not have before. I learned that I was tak- ing the church for granted. I feel a lot of peo- ple can say the same. We are all caught in our own routines. ings like our jobs and our schooling take up a majority of our time. Now that everything has been disrupted, hearing Father Andrew sing “Χριστός Ανέστη” takes on a whole new meaning. It gives us hope that one day soon we will all be packed into the Church once again. I pray that we never take our beautiful faith for granted again. God has given us so much, we might as well give him our full attention.” – Dimitri Gilpin Bill and Stephanie Navrides, St. Spyridon GOYA Directors GOYAStSpyridon@gmail.com St. Spyridon GOYA San Diego st.spyridon_goya G . O . Y . A . NEWS