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8 THE SHEPHERD • SEPTEMBER 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Summer is over, and Philoptochos is back in full swing! We started off with our Paint and Sip Event on August 29, where participants let their inner artist shine through. Thanks to Maria Platis for chairing this event and our energetic instructor Tracy Lewin for show- ing us that we can all be artistic! SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE UPCOMING PHILOPTOCHOS EVENTS: Sunday, November 1 Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk (Balboa Park) Sunday, November 8 Thanksgiving Luncheon (Cypress Room) Sunday, November 15 Light the Path Metropolis Event (Lakewood, CA) Saturday, December 5 Christmas Luncheon Sunday, February 7, 2027 Membership Fellowship Event As many of you may know, Philoptochos supports our COLLEGE CONNECTION ministry. This ministry helps connect our youth to St. Spyridon while they are away at college by sending them letters and gifts to make their time away from home a little easier and keeps their connection to St. Spyr- idon strong. Under the leadership of Bill Navrides, this ministry also connects stu- dents from out of town who are studying at our local universities to St. Spyridon, so they feel comfortable attending church. As our children have told us, it is a little bit daunting walking into church without the comfort of your family when you are in a new city. As the new school year has begun, and our St. Spyridon students have moved away to start their college careers, Bill needs the address- es of our students to continue our ministry while they are away at college. Parents of College Students, please send your chil- dren’s home address while at college to Bill Navrides at Bill.navrides@sharp.com or text their address to (619)992-6775. Bill does a wonderful job of keeping our college stu- dents connected, but he can’t do it without your help. AGAPE MEALS are offered to our community members during difficult times. If you know of a fam- ily in need or are interested in volunteering in providing meals, please reach out to Mari- an Dougenis 619-520-3660 or mkdougenis@ prodigy.net. 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. 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 , or sign up on the easel that is in the hall during fellowship. Your Anthousa Board has a lot planned in the coming months and you won’t want to miss out! WE ARE PHILOPTOCHOS! In Christ’s Sisterhood, Michelle Defelippi Anthousa Chapter President PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS ΝΕΑ ΤΗΣ ΦΙΛΟΠΤΩΧΟΥ