TSN0626

4 THE SHEPHERD • JUNE 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO June’s quick tip for families: Sign up for Va- cation Church School! Early Bird discount has been extended to June 10th! For only $40 per child and $20 per sibling, they get a week full of faith, fun, and friends! All led by volunteers and youth leaders! Non-Or- thodox friends and family are welcome to attend also! Each day of VCS, children move through rotations of activities like games, crafts, songs, and more, all tied to this year’s theme: The Wonders of Creation! As a bo- nus, Youth Leaders are free and Children of Volunteers are free. Register on the Youth Ministries website or by following this link: https://tinyurl.com/2026vcswonder 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 ORATORICAL FESTIVAL UPDATE: On Mother’s Day weekend, May 9-10th our own Teadora Brown represented St. Spyr- idon in the Senior category as one of the two who advanced from the Southern California District competition to the Metropolis level at St. Nicholas Ranch in Dunlap, California. Although she didn’t advance to the nation- al level, it was a wonderful opportunity and a great accomplishment to have another of our youth advance to the semi-final level in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. Teadora was able to present in front of His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos and vis- it the Holy Monastery of the Theotokos the Life-Giving Spring. Congratulations to Teadora and to all the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival partic- ipants for 2026. Looking forward to seeing you all participate next year! Parents of babies & toddlers Kids’ Corner will remain open on Sundays through the summer except on the following Festival use days: June 7th and June 14th. Be sure to get on our email list for our Little An- gels Playgroup! We will have a flexible Sum- mer Schedule. Sign up here: https://tinyurl. com/spyridonplaygroup Sunday School The 2025-2026 Sunday School year ended on May 17th with an ice cream social fellowship! We had over 55 students participate this year, 10 Sunday School Teachers, 7 Sunday School Substitute Teachers, and 2 Directors! We are truly blessed to have such amazing families and volunteers! We would like to thank all of the teachers, parents, and students for the wonderful year! We appreciate you! This fall we are in need of a preschool teacher (ages 3-4), 2nd-3rd grade co-teacher, as well sub- stitute teachers for all grades. If you are in- terested, please reach out to Tina Perri 619- 890-9671. Our first Pop-Up Summer Sunday School will be on June 7th. Details to follow via email. Tina Perri, Sunday School Director Sophia Thiros, Asst. Sunday School Director YOUTH MINISTRIES