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4 THE SHEPHERD • JUNE 2025 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Summer Edition! We hope to see all of our families throughout the summer at Divine Liturgy and at our fun summer activities! Back by popular demand are the Pop-Up Summer Fun activities! Pop-Up Summer Fun are activities that are short notice, but lots of fun, meant to keep our kids and teens connected to their faith and our Parish fam- ily over the summer. We might have a fami- ly craft day, movie in the lot, rock climbing, and more! Be sure you are on our email list to stay up to date on all of our summer fun! Other summer events include: Crossroad Institute for juniors and se- niors: dates vary based on location. There is even a Southern California location this year! CrossRoad is a 10-day experience with other Orthodox youth to explore deep conversations about life, meaning & faith, make real friendships with other Orthodox youth, learn in a no-stress environment, and have adventures they’ll be talking about for years. https://crossroadinstitute.org/cross- road-summer-program/ St. Nicholas Ranch Metropolis Youth Sum- mer Camp July 6th–12th. Our Metropolis Summer Camp at St. Nicholas Ranch has a rich tradition, dating back to the early 1980’s, and is grounded on the principals of living a true Orthodox lifestyle. They have daily liturgical services, opportunities for reflec- tion, confession, daily activity rotations such as arts & crafts, aquatics, Orthodox Life, athletics, faith & culture, fishing, canoeing, archery, an opportunity to visit the Life Giv- ing Spring Monastery of the Theotokos, and camp-wide evening activities. Bill Navrides is once again coordinating the bus ride up to St. Nicholas Ranch Camp for week 1. Inquire today to get added to the waitlist for week 1! https://gosfyouth.org/summer-camp#/sum - mer-camp-2025 St. Spyridon Vacation Church School July 14th–18th, 9am – 12:30pm daily. Aftercare available until 4:30 daily. Super Saints! Vaca- tion Church School at St. Spyridon is a full week of activities all designed to teach kids a deep understanding and appreciation of the heroes of our Faith, how to stand firm in the Faith, create a sense of connection and be- longing within our church community, and spiritually grow through engaging activities and lessons. Early Bird pricing has been ex- tended to June 10th! The entire week is only $40 if you register before June 10th! After June 10th, prices go up! This is a not-to-miss week at St. Spyridon! Register today on the Youth Ministries website: https://sites.goo- gle.com/stspyridon.org/stspyridonyouth- ministries Kids’ Corner for babies, toddlers, and fami- lies will be open all summer (except on June 8th and 15th for the festival). Little Angels Playgroup will have a flexible summer schedule with siblings invited! Be sure to check out the Youth Ministries Website: https://sites.google.com/stspyr- idon.org/stspyridonyouthministries and fol- low 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 2025 GRADUATES – Congratulations! Youth Ministries would like to congratulate our high school graduates: Kaitlyn Dennis is graduating from Universi- ty City High School and will attend Western Carolina University and major in Business Marketing. Andrew Kaitson is graduating from Mission Hills High School and will attend Palomar College to study Biology and Orthopedic Medicine. John Savvides is graduating from Patrick Henry High School and will attend New York University, Stern School for Business and Finance. Kiki Mellos is graduating from West View High School and will attend the University of San Diego and major in Psychology. Marianna Newby is graduating from East- lake High School and will attend San Diego State University and major in Kinesiology. From Jeremiah 29:11-13 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” We pray that you will seek God always on the next steps of your journey. We pray that you find other Orthodox Christians wherev- er you are. We pray that you feel the peace of the Lord each and every day. Congratu- lations! We are excited to see what the next steps in your journey are! Sunday School Thank you to all of the parents, kids, and vol- unteers for another amazing year! This year has been full of lessons, activities, service projects, and even a field trip, all to allow our children and teens to learn about Orthodoxy and their faith. I would especially like to thank the Sunday School Teachers who vol- unteered energetically this entire school year: Christina Terpo, Heather Aryana, Sophia Thiros, Kathreen Lynch, Tina Perri, Eri- ka Couris, Anastasia Polles, Rhad Brown, Marcella Bothwell, and Renee Maude, and our substitutes: Soula De La Riva and An- thony Kyriakidis. We are already looking forward to the 2025-2026 school year that will start on September 7th. GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) Weather has been a challenge for a couple of the GOYA events this year, but the youth group has been able to pivot each time to cre- ate extraordinary opportunity! In May, our bonfire got rained out, but our GOYA Board Member, James Burrell, offered his home for us to move the party. So, twenty-two middle and high schoolers moved from the beach to his house and enjoyed a fun evening. The weather even cleared up enough for smores and a cornhole tournament, organized by GOYA Board Member, Emma Brown. Con- grats to Costa Mellos who took home the victory. In June, we will begin our 2025-2026 elections. If you are interested in running for a board position, email youthministries@ stspyridon.org . We will have a dinner, a movie, and gelato (at Milkissimo Gelato in Mission Valley) on June 1st to celebrate an awesome school year! Meráki Young Orthodox Service Group In May, the Meráki group gathered at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery to honor those who have served in the military and their families. The kids and parents worked together to make more than 75 flower bou- quets, then put each bouquet by headstones and prayed for each person. “May your mem- ory be eternal.” When we ran out of flowers, two of the kids even asked to keep walking and praying for the veterans. Meráki will take June off due to the Church Festival, but will have our next service project on July 12th. YOUTH MINISTRIES