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4 THE SHEPHERD • JULY 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO We hope that you are enjoying your summer break! I would like to encourage our families to continue attending Divine Liturgy each Sunday and explore ways to bring Ortho- doxy into our summer activities. Here are some ideas for Orthodox Summer Activities: visit the Timken Museum to see the Russian Orthodox Icon exhibit, set up or refresh an Icon Corner in your home or your children’s rooms (orthodoxmarketplace.com , monas- teryicons.com , and our St. Spyridon Book- store are great places to buy icons), visit one of the many Orthodox Churches in San Di- ego for a tour or Divine Liturgy (St. Anthony Antiochian Orthodox Church, St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas Rus- sian Orthodox Church, St. John of Damas- cus Orthodox Church of America, Sts. Con- statine and Helen GOC, St. Gregory of Nyssa GOC), take a road trip to an Orthodox Mon- astery (Holy Monastery of the Theotokos of the Life-Giving Spring), or do a summer service project (handsonsandiego.org/youth , or offer to serve at our own Parish). There are so many ways to turn our summer into opportunities for growing our faith! Don’t let them pass you by! New this Summer: Pop-Up Summer Fun and Faith activities! Youth Ministries is plan- ning fun activities for our youth and fami- lies in June, July, and August. These events are meant to be a chance for children, teens, and families to get together to keep our friendships strong over the summer! Our first Pop-Up Summer Fun was a GOYA at the Movies, Inside Out 2. After watching the movie together, we had ice cream and a great discussion! Keep an eye out for our Pop-Up Summer Fun and Faith Activities in July and August! Each year, St. Spyridon helps get youth to St. Nicholas Ranch Camp for the first week of camp. The bus ride is chaperoned by Bill Navrides and stops off at other Southern California Parishes to pick up campers. This is an amazing op- portunity to build relationships with other campers from Califor- nia, while getting to camp in Dun- lap, California safely. There are still spots on the bus available! If your children or teens are attending camp at St. Nicholas Ranch, we hope that they will join us on the bus up to the camp! Contact Bill Navrides at navridesfamily@gmail.com to reserve your spot! Vacation Church School is right around the corner! July 15-19, 9am-12pm daily for only $40 for the whole week. We also have after- care options available until 4pm for only $10 per day! Our Vacation Church School theme is Going for the GOLD! The Triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Our VCS Participants (Preschool – 5th grades) will become Spir- itual Athletes in our very own St. Spyridon Orthodox Olympics and enjoy crafts, games, activities, and snacks! Our VCS Youth Lead- ers (6th -12th grades) will become Coaches and guide our athletes through all of the ac- tivities! This is a great way for teens to give back to our Parish Community and earn ser- vice hours! VCS also needs adult volunteers! Please email Julie Dennis if you are interest- ed in helping youthministries@stspyridon. org. Register on the St. Spyridon homepage: stspyridon.org . Don’t forget to follow 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, contact Julie Dennis, Youth Ministries Director: 619-940-5167 or email youthministries@stspyridon.org. GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) Our end of the year party was a beautiful day in the sunny San Diego weather! Our GOYA youth group enjoyed a day of kayaking and paddleboarding, pizza, cake, and great friends! Despite the first beach location be- ing closed, our group persevered and moved the party to Glorietta Bay in Coronado! Mark your calendars for our GOYA Beach Kick-Off Party on August 17, 2024 at 5pm at La Jolla Shores! Check out the photos in this newsletter from our Great GOYA Bake Off! Sunday School Kids’ Corner for babies, toddlers, and fami- lies will be open all summer. Sunday School is on summer break until September 8, 2024. If you are interested in helping out in a class- room this coming year as a Sunday School Teacher, Helper, Class Helper, or Substitute, email youthministries@stspyridon.org. YOUTH MINISTRIES