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2 THE SHEPHERD • NOVEMBER 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO This past month I was watching a high school football game. The teams were not evenly matched, but the “weaker” team stayed in the fight. Play after play, the runner would get the ball and immediately be hit by a pack of tacklers. Again and again, he would get the ball and plunge forward. He was undaunted by the opposition and seemed to relish in the struggle to move forward even if his progress was an inch at a time. Watching the game, I was reminded of our struggles to move for- ward in our faith, some days it feels like we have been sacked for a loss, some days we break through the tacklers, some days we see an overwhelming opposition, and yet, if we pause and pray, He is always there at the goal line calling us forward. This last month brought terrifying and dev- astating storms to our neighbors on the east coast. In his Pray Team messages, Father Stavros wrote in anticipation of the devas- tation. His words revealed the sentiment we often feel in the face of uncertainty. He wrote, “My mind, and the minds of many peo- ple around me, are not on the challenges to our faith, but on this impending storm.” Read- ing his message, I keep thinking of the story in the Bible where the disciples found them- selves in the middle of a terrible storm; they were fighting against the wind and the waves; and, in the midst of the storm, they saw Jesus walking on the water. They were terrified and cried out in fear saying “It is a ghost!” But Je- sus said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” (Matthew, 14:27) In another really powerful message written in anticipation of the aftermath of the storm, Father Stavros turned to the Book of Job. He asked the question, “What’s left when noth- ing’s left?” For Job, when everything had been taken from him, his property and his children, he fell down and worshiped God. (Job 1:20) Job uttered these powerful words, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) Many of us are like the disciples, in times of trouble we become afraid and doubt His presence. Like Peter, we challenge Him to call us to Him. (Matthew 14:28) And when He does, we find our faith and walk with Him. But as the events in our lives remind us, we are easily distracted; we become afraid, los- ing faith and we begin to sink. Yet, again and again, when we call out to Him, He stretches out His hand and catches us. For all of us, there will be point at the end of our lives where there will be nothing left. In that moment, we will either have faith in God or truly have nothing. As Father An- drew reminded us during a recent sermon, the seed of faith is in each of us but it can only take root if we open our hearts and tend the soil. I pray, that we will be like the runner always struggling forward and that the seed of faith will take root and continue to grow. A lot of things will be happening in the Com- munity this month. Following Divine Litur- gy, our Philoptocohos will be hosting their annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Sunday, November 10th . We will be holding Par- ish Council Elections on November 17th ; please contact the Office if you are interested in running for the Parish Council. We will also be holding our Fall General Assembly on Sunday, November 17th . We hope to see you all! Many Blessings, Jim Gilpin Parish Council President FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENT continues 3 No Time Like The Present “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for today is its own troubles.” Mat- thew 6:34 “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 13:3 The word “today” permeates our Christian Orthodox liturgical experience and the Holy Scriptures. In our hymns we hear, “Today has our salvation come into the world…to- day the virgin brings forth the savior of the world…today you appeared to the world.” In keeping with this wisdom, we are discover- ing that meditating upon and discussing the Epistle reading and the Gospel reading of the very day on which we meet has helped us live much more in the present moment, and to gain strength from what the Lord has to teach us through the daily readings of the Church. This simple approach to choosing our text allows us to focus on a few verses and really glean from them so much insight into what we need in our day-to-day walk with Christ and one another. Today is truly the only time we have to live out our salva- tion, and He has promised to be near to all when we listen to His voice. All women are welcome to join us each Wednesday at Noon in the lower education building classroom. And please come a few minutes early for coffee and fellowship! WOMEN WORD OF THE Greetings Friends of the Choir, Last month was a beautiful time for the choir and youth choir. Our church musicians, in- cluding our chanters were honored on Na- tional Church Music Sunday by the Parish Council. Jim Gilpin, our president, along with Fr. Andrew, spoke so lovely about all our groups an provided us with a sweet gift to thank us. Fr. Andrew and Jim presented those gifts up on the Solea with the youth choir present as well. Our youth sang the Divine Liturgy in honor of Church Music Sunday and they just did an amazing job. Their angelic voices filled the air with prayer and love. On behalf of the church musicians, I want to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Jim, the Parish Council, and our Fr. An- drew!!! NEWS LOFT FROM THE continues 10 BOOKSTORE During this time of Thanksgiving, we first “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1. We also give thanks for our families, our church, our priest, our deacon, and our friends. Here at the bookstore, we include thanks to our Orthodox publishers that provide us with books to help us grow in our faith. A newly published book Blessed Is the Kingdom: Reflections on the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is now stocked. It is a wonderful addition to our collection of books that help us to understand our Divine Liturgy. People often complain that the Liturgy is always the same, week after week. But every prayer, scripture reading, rit- ual, phrase, and action in the service has meaning and purpose, drawing in worshipers with its hymns and prayers. Because the