TSN0723

1 THE SHEPHERD • JULY 2023 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, By the time you read this article I am sure that by now most of you have made your plans for the summer months. Many times our plans for the summer months take us away from San Diego; our homes and our beloved parish. However, I encourage you to please keep in mind that the celebration of the Divine Liturgy (and other divine services of the Church) still takes place throughout the summer months as does your calling to par- ticipate in it. Thus, I encourage you to stay focused on Sunday as the Lord’s Day and the importance of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in your life. From the Gospel of Luke 24:36- 53, which is the sixth morning Gospel read during the Orthros service, we are reminded that after our Lord’s Ascension the disciples …returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Continually means there are no breaks! We, as the Orthodox Christians before us, now carry on that Biblical real- ity of our faith Tradition. Thus, should not our spiritual communal worship of the Most High God be part and parcel as to who and what we are as Orthodox Christians, regard- less of the time of year? Communal worship is indeed something we continually need to do and experience be- cause we have been called by Sacred Scrip- ture and is attested to by our two-thousand- year-old tradition. As we mature in our Or- thodox spirituality and come to better un- derstand God, and our relationship toward Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, then we begin to better understand that God does not take the summer off and waits for our communal worship. One first step for spiri- tual growth is to resist the temptation to take the summer off. The Shepherd The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 2 6 • J U LY 2 0 2 3 continues 3 Congratulations to our St. Spyridon community for hosting another suc- cessful Greek Festival! This success could not have been possible without the many hours of work put in by our tireless volunteers... before, during, and after the Festival weekend. Thank you all! Please mark your calendars and plan to at- tend the Festival Volunteers Appreciation Luncheon in the church hall on Sunday, July 9th , immediately following the Divine Liturgy. Greek Festi v aL 2023 see more photos from our festival in the online edition at theshepherdnews.com IN THIS ISSUE FR. ANDREW, GREEK FESTIVAL ............ p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD, BOOKSTORE .p. 2 NEWS FROM THE LOFT, DIVINE SERVICES, HOLY SACRAMENTS, DEATHS, MEMORIALS, SENIORS ...........................p. 3 YOUTH MINISTRIES ................................. p. 4 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL ................ p. 5 PARISH CALENDAR ................................. p. 6 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS .......................... p. 7 CONTACT INFORMATION....................... p. 8