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1 THE SHEPHERD • SEPTEMBER 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 6 4 • S E P T E MB E R 2 0 2 6 FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW On September 1st we remember and celebrate the New Ecclesiastical Year. How appropriate that the first major feast day after the new year is the Nativity of the Theotokos, which we remember on Tuesday, September 8th. The Theotokos was born to her parents Joachim and Anna. Joachim was from the royal line of David, of the tribe of Judah. Anna was from the priestly tribe of Levi. What a beautiful blend of backgrounds. One of the three readings given at the ves- pers service of the Nativity of the Theotokos (Genesis 28) relates to us the journey of Ja- cob, who is instructed to leave the foreign land he finds himself in and seek a bride in the land of his forefathers. During his trav- els, Jacob falls asleep and dreams a dream in which he sees God. He dreams about a lad- der, hence Jacob’s ladder, and sees the angels of God ascending and descending upon the ladder. There are two verses from this pas- sage that are important to us: one reminds us that in the Old Testament God remains in His heavenly abode. From verse 13 we hear the following, “And behold, the Lord stood above the ladder…and spoke to Jacob…” In other words, the Old Testament God spoke to just a select few, from His heavenly abode. We hear from Chapter 28:17 of Genesis that after Jacob awoke from his dream, he says, “Surely the Lord is in this place… this is none other than the house of God…” This is signif- icant because the fathers of the Church in- terpret this passage as relating to the Theot- okos in that today she becomes “the house of God” that Jacob speaks about in Chapter 28. She who carried God in her womb is truly that place, Beth-el, the house of God. All this is important because we have heard the New Testament tell us that Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. From the Gospel lesson associated with the Nativity of the holy Theotokos (Luke 10:38- 11:28) we hear that God, took on flesh, in the form of a servant, Jesus Christ, through the free-will consent of the Theotokos, descend- ed from His heavenly abode, and has come to speak to all humanity, not a select few, through the hearts and minds of believers, through the mouths and examples of each and everyone of us who call ourselves Or- thodox Christians. And what has God said? He has basically repeated what He promised Jacob from Chapter 28 of Genesis verse 16, “Behold, I am with you always and will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land, (speaking about heaven), for I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken to you” which is to bring believ- ers into His glorious presence. What joy knowing that no matter what, God is with us, that He is not just speaking to Ja- cob but to us and to all humanity. What a blessing of peace and comfort, knowing that God will not leave us until He fulfills His promise, until he keeps His covenant. What a blessing of comfort, knowing that one day God will lift us into His heavenly abode, escorting us back home with His heavenly angels. However, this ascension into God’s heavenly Kingdom cannot happen without earnest faith and complete trust in the di- vinely inspired words from the Gospel of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, all one has to do is turn on the television, the comput- er, or turn to our phones to hear/read about the unfortunate or tragic events that take place all the time in the United States and continues 5 BUSINESS ADS AND PERSONAL GREETINGS & ANNOUNCEMENTS AVAILABLE AT LOW RATES FREE DESIGN FOR YOUR AD! FOR DETAILS, EMAIL INFO@THESHEPHERDNEWS.COM THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! ADVERTISE IN NEWSLETTER! IN THIS ISSUE FROM THE DESK OF FR. ANDREW ...... p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD, BOOKSTORE .p. 2 NEWS FROM THE LOFT, DIVINE SERVICES, HOLY SACRAMENTS, BIRTHS, DEATHS, MEMORIALS, CAMPUS SECURITY ........ p. 3 YOUTH MINISTRIES ................................. p. 4 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL, AHEPA.. p. 6 MEN’S MINISTRY, HELLENIC FAIRWAYS GOLF TOURNAMENT .............................. p. 7 PHILOPTOCHOS, PAN ARCADIANS ... p. 8 STEWARDSHIP ......................................... p. 9 PARISH CALENDAR ................................ p. 10 SENIORS, LIGHT & LEGACY ................... p. 11 CONTACT INFORMATION....................... p. 12