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4 THE SHEPHERD • OCTOBER 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO We are now firmly in fall and have welcomed our students and families to the new school year of our Youth Ministries. Between Sun- day School, Youth Groups, Small Groups, Dance, and Youth Choir, our families are busy, busy, busy. But, as I always say, what better way to stay busy than with your church family? And outside of church, the youth in our community stay busy with many school and after-school activities. Some play soccer, softball, badminton, wrestling, swim, wa- ter polo, track, rock climbing. Others are in the boy scouts, girl scouts, chess club, color guard, dance, ASB, lego club, engineering club, choir, academic league, theater, band, orchestra, and so much more! Wouldn’t it be great to make a goal to start a conversation this month with one of our talented youth during fellowship one Sunday? You can ask them what they look forward to during the week, about their activities, what clubs they are in, their favorite hobby, what position they play, their favorite sports team, or what instrument they play. Start a conversation this Sunday! This month, we will be starting Coffee and Conversation , the small group for 11th and 12th graders, designed to give them a place to explore their faith and Orthodoxy as they move closer to adulthood. The first date will be October 6th. Project Mexico 2025 Homebuilding dates have been released! St. Spyridon Project Mexico 2025 Trip will be June 24–30, 2025 . This trip will be for high schoolers, young adults, and adults in our community. There is no upper age limit for this trip. Please join us online for the interest meeting on October 7th at 6:30pm. The meeting will discuss de- tails of the trip including costs, dates, times, and other requirements. St. Spyridon’s 2023 trip was amazing in so many ways. It was hard work, but worth every bit of it to see the faces on the couple who received the house we built in only three days. We will send out meeting information via the Parish email blast and it will be posted on the Parish web- site. You can also call the Church Office to get the meeting link. 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 Sunday School classes are in full swing and are going strong! This month’s photo is from September 15th, when Sunday School joined Father Andrew in the Procession of the Life-Giving Holy Cross. Our first Service Sunday is October 6th and the middle and high school classes will be finalizing their de- signs for a Youth Room mural! Save the date for Sunday School Open House on October 20th where all of our classrooms will be open to parents to come and visit! 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) Our Board met this month to plan our events for the year! We are excited to see some pop- ular events return (ice skating, laser tag, Great GOYA Bake-Off) and introduce some new events (rock climbing, service project at Paws for Purple Hearts). If you have a 7th – 12th grade student, be sure that you are on our email and/or text list to get all the in- formation on events this year! youthminis- tries@stspyridon.org or text: 619-940-5167. For the first time, a few St. Spyridon GOYA families went on a Whitewater Rafting Trip! 10 kids and 9 adults drove up to the Amer- ican River over the Labor Day holiday for a weekend of camping and rafting! We used the company Rock-N-Water, a Christian or- ganization that provided a camp host, meals, campfire activities, and a full day of rafting. It was a fun and adventurous (and wet) week- end and we are looking forward to making the trip again! Check out the photos from our trip! HOPE &JOY (Holy Orthodox Primary Education &Junior Orthodox Youth): The HOPE and JOY Kick-Off Party at Hilton Head Park was a fun afternoon. Kids played in the splashpad and watched a magic show performed by Professor Rich. It was a funny show that had the kids and parents laughing and laughing! Keep an eye out for our Octo- ber event! Little Angels New this year! Our first meeting will be on October 3rd 9:45am–11:00am at Del Mar Highlands Town Center. We will be singing and dancing to the fun toddler band, Hulla- baloo! This group will be meeting once per week on Thursdays from 9:45-11:00am. The Youth Ministries Director will lead the group for parents and kids, ages 40 days to 4 years. We will meet each week to sing, play, read stories, all about our Lord Jesus and our Or- thodox Faith. If you have a baby or toddler between 40 days and 4 years, email Ms. Julie to get on the contact list: youthministries@ stspyridon.org YOUTH MINISTRIES