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4 THE SHEPHERD • DECEMBER 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO The Nativity Fast, which started on Novem- ber 15th, and Christmas preparations tend to bring children to the forefront of our minds and activities. This time reminds us about how our Lord Jesus Christ also started as a baby. When you see or hear little children in our Parish, I pray that you celebrate that ev- ery baby and child is a reminder of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Parents have told me that they worry about their children’s voices and behavior in church. My response is al- ways the same, our parish LOVES children, our Lord loves children. Parents, I know that getting out the door on Sunday mornings with everyone in one piece is no small task, and we celebrate you for it. We also want to support you in every way possible, so we are refreshing and rebranding our Preschool Bags to “Church Kid Kits”! Many years ago, we had little tote bags with quiet activities in the Narthex for families to use and return each Sunday. Barbara Tzathas has purchased new bags and filled them with crayons, col- oring books, and other quiet activities. If you would like to use a Church Kid Kit, please ask any Narthex Volunteer and they will get one for you. Please remember to return them at the end of Divine Liturgy, so they are available for the following week. Coffee and Conversation wrapped up our Fall session in November. We will be start- ing our winter session in January. Each week of Coffee and Conversation, high school ju- niors and seniors meet to discuss their life in the context of Orthodoxy and the broader society over lunch and coffee or lemonade. At the fall General Assembly meeting, Mrs. Arapostathis asked if our Parish could devote more funding toward GOYA Youth Group. One area of continual need that I did not mention at the General Assembly is for our Coffee and Conversation small group. Lunch and drinks are costly and we would greatly benefit from the donation of gift cards to a local restaurant (A Better Buzz, Starbucks, Sunny Boy Biscuits, Chick-Fil-A are favor- ites). If you would like to sponsor a week of Coffee and Conversation, reach out to Julie Dennis, 619-618-5116. Any help in sustain- ing this valuable ministry is appreciated! December 6th is the last day to purchase Christmas See’s Candy for our Dance and Choral Fundraiser! All proceeds go to the Dance and Choral School! To make a pur- chase, just scan the QR code on the flyer in this newsletter. December 6th is also the deadline for the St. Photios National Shrine 2024 Essay Contest. Winners of each category will receive an award of $1,000! More information is avail- able at www.stphotios.org Youth Ministries is looking for a Mission and Vision Specialist in our community who could volunteer their time to help a small group of our Youth Ministry leadership through the process of formalizing our mis- sion and vision statement. If you or someone you know would like to help, please email youthministries@stspyridon.org 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 We hope you have the Sunday School Christ- mas Pageant and lunch on your calendar – December 15th. Sunday School will put on a pageant telling the story of our Lord’s Birth, featuring our Youth Choir and kids of all ages (even our Little Angels!). As always, we do our best to encourage our kids to speak up and into mics, but we recommend that families arrive to Divine Liturgy early to get seats near the front to be able to hear the youth and get good photos. Also we would like to invite our community to Lunch in the Hall after the Christmas Pageant. We hope to see you all there! GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) November was a busy month for GOYA. Teens volunteered at the Thanksgiving Lun- cheon, had a Mall Scavenger hunt, and are hosting a Sock Drive! Our Sock Drive is col- lecting new socks for local homeless people until December 8th. You still have time to bring in socks! Our goal is to fill 10 boxes with socks and we can’t do it without you! Kiki Mellos, GOYA Youth Board President spoke at the General Assembly about all of the amazing activities that our GOYA Board plans each month. If you have not joined us yet, we hope to see you soon! We are also looking for Young Adult Mentors. If you are a young adult and are looking to give back to your community, please consider joining us! GOYA families, save the date for our Annu- al Christmas Party at the Maude’s Home on December 21st! Please note the date change from last month’s newsletter. If you have a 7th-12th grader and did not get an evite, please email Julie Dennis youthministries@ stspyridon.org YOUTH MINISTRIES