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8 THE SHEPHERD • JUNE 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Philoptochos has had a very busy and re- warding year so far, and as we head into the summer months, we are enthusiastically looking forward to the exciting events we have planned for our Anthousa Chapter! Please mark your calendars and join us on July 11th and August 29th: Saturday, July 11th - 8am St. Spyridon Parking Lot Join us for the San Diego 7 Bridges Hike – a scenic and historic walk through some of San Diego’s most iconic neighborhoods and bridges. Wear your walking shoes as Sofia will lead us through this fun and exciting walk. All community members are welcome, so bring your husbands, daughters, sons and friends! Learn more at anthousa.net/ hike. Questions? Contact Sofia Samouris at ssamouris22@gmail.com. We hope to see you there! Saturday August 29, 1:00 Cypress Room Please join us for our Welcome Back Mem- bership Event as we present Paint & Sip. We will all go home with a wonderful work of art, created by our own hands. More infor- mation to follow in next month’s newsletter. SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP Please consider sponsoring a Sunday Fellow- ship Hour with your friends and family by providing simple refreshments (donuts or bagels, fruit and juice). You can honor fam- ily members or celebrate special occasions. Contact Olympia Kyriakidis at 619-507- 6521 or karpenisiotisa@gmail.com ICON ADORNMENT Philoptochos invites every family to com- memorate a special Feast Day in honor of your special someone by offering a donation to cover the cost of decorating the icon with beautiful fresh flowers for veneration in the Narthex. The liturgical year presents many opportunities to honor your family mem- bers and an important day in the life of the Church (suggested donation is $85). Please contact Soula at 619.297.4165 to reserve your date now. As Holy Cross Hellenic College celebrated graduation last month, I want to thank you all for generously supporting our Philop- tochos ministries which provide aid to our seminarians on their journey to the Holy Priesthood, such as ‘Adopt A Student’ and ‘Light The Path.’ Please follow us on Face- book at ‘Philoptochos Anthousa Chapter’ on Instagram at ‘anthousaphiloptochos’ or at www.anthousa.net to stay in the know about the activities of the chapter. WE ARE PHILOPTOCHOS! In Christ’s Sisterhood, Michelle Defelippi Anthousa Chapter President PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS Six of our Metropolis Philoptochos Board members recently traveled to the “Holy Hill” to celebrate the 84th Hellenic College Holy Cross graduation. Thanks to your incredible support, we continued our annual tradition of clearing graduate student debt by pre- senting the financial office with a check for $179,000.00! HCHC is actively growing toward university status by introducing new online and inter- national study programs. The Metropolis of San Francisco is currently home to 50 stu- dents, 15 of whom just graduated. Axioi! Our Anthousa chapter has proudly adopted two of them: Geoffrey John Dyer : Graduated with High Distinction! He lives on campus with his wife and five children. After summer, they will return to Holy Cross for his graduate studies as he pursues his dream of serving our Metropolis as a priest. George Tzitzikas : From Sacramento, George is working hard on his journey to become a seminarian. Axioi to both dedicated men! We are also thrilled to share that our Metrop- olis Philoptochos President, Jeannie Ranglas received an honorary doctorate in Human- ities during the commencement. Axia! It was a profoundly blessed weekend. Thank you for your continued love and generosity—you made this impactful ministry possible. Alexandra Mouzas Metropolis of San Francisco Philoptochos U P DAT E S F ROM HCHC G R ADUAT I ON