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4 THE SHEPHERD • SEPTEMBER 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO September is an exciting month in the Youth Ministries at St. Spyridon! Sunday School, GOYA, JOY, HOPE, Youth Choir, Greek Dance, and Little Angels will all be starting the new school year! As we welcome the New Liturgical Year, we also welcome new chil- dren, teens, and families to join our youth and family programs! I sometimes hear from parents and families who have not been at St. Spyridon in recent years and about their hesitance to return. If that is you and your family, I’d like to encourage you to come back to our wonderful parish family. Our St. Spyridon is a place that strives to welcome parishioners who have left for any reason or another. What better time to come back than the new school year, the New Liturgical Year!? Come and join the Body of Christ at St. Spyridon! I hope you enjoy the photo from Paws for Purple Hearts that shows all of the donations that our VCS gave this summer! The photo shows a couple of the service dogs that the donations benefited! Follow us on Facebook (St. Spyridon GOC San Diego) and Instagram: @youthstspyr- idon. To volunteer or get more information with any of the Youth Ministries at St. Spyr- idon, contact Julie Dennis, Youth Ministries Director: 619-940-5167 or email youthmin- istries@stspyridon.org . Sunday School The Sunday School new school year is al- most here! Sunday School classes resume on September 8th. Starting on September 8th, during Divine Liturgy, students and families in Kids’ Corner and Sunday School will be al- lowed to approach the Cup first, followed by the remaining faithful at the direction of the Parish Council. We appreciate your patience as you wait for our students and families to receive Holy Communion. This allows them have adequate time for their Sunday School lessons. Sunday School typically goes from 11:25 – 12:05. Our Sunday School theme for the 2024-2025 school year is WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. Our memory verse is from Romans 12:5, “We, though many, are one in the body of Christ.” This theme will guide many lessons as we explore our gifts, service, Holy Communion, and our commu- nity at St. Spyridon and beyond. Our Sunday School Classes and Teachers for the 2024-2025 school year are: Preschool: Ms. Heather and Ms. Christina Transitional Kindergarten – 1st grade: Ms. Thiros and Ms. Kathreen 2nd - 3rd grade: Ms. Tina and Ms. Erika 4th - 5th grade: Ms. Anastasia 6th - 8th grade - Middle School: Dr. Brown 9th - 12th grade - High School: Dr. Marcella Our teachers have been working hard to plan amazing lessons for your children and teens! Be sure to register for Sunday School and Youth Ministries. We ask that you complete a new form every new school year. Thank you! https://sites.google.com/ stspyridon.org/stspyridon- youthministries/home New this year! 12th grade Teaching Assistant Program! We are offering our 12th grade students an opportuni- ty to pass on their experience and knowledge to our younger students. These students can give back to our Sunday School community by assisting in a Sunday School class! If you have a high school senior, email Julie Dennis to sign up for this exciting opportunity! As always, Kids’ Corner is open to parents and children who are too young to join our Preschool Class. Kids’ Corner is in our downstairs Education Room and it is a place where kids can play with toys, while parents sip coffee and enjoy each other’s company. If you are interested in joining our Sunday School volunteer team, email Julie Dennis, youthministries@stspyridon.org We are al- ways in need of volunteers to help with small projects, big projects, service projects, dona- tion drives, and so much more! GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) Announcing our 2024-2025 Youth Board: President: Kiki Mellos 1st Vice President: Tea Brown 2nd Vice President: Emma Brown / Cristina Papadakis Treasurer: Elizabeth Dennis Secretary: Maria Paraskevopoulos Members At Large: George Burrell James Burrell Kaitlyn Dennis Sia Paraskevopoulos Will Kalas Congratulations to all of our GOYA Youth Board Members! And thank you to every- one who attended our 2024-2025 Kick-Off Party! As you can see from the photos, it was a beautiful location at Playa Pacifica in Mis- sion Bay! We had plenty of food, fun, and fellowship! Keep an eye out for the list of our upcoming GOYA Events! Volunteer Opportunity - GOYA is looking for a member of our community who can volunteer one hour per month to teach and mentor our Youth Board Treasurer. This person should have experience balancing a YOUTH MINISTRIES