Stewardship and Service
As the Chair of your Stewardship Committee, I am very proud to share that our 2015 stewardship drive is off to an incredible start. As of mid-February, over 240 families had submitted their 2015 pledge in faithful support of our parish & community. I will also tell you that January was easily the strongest January for stewardship in the history of our parish. But as we all know, stewardship extends well beyond our gestures of financial support. On any given day, our church property is teaming with many generous volunteers giving of their precious time to support our church, our ministries, our youth and others in serious need. We, as a community, are fortunate in many ways and I choose to believe that our Lord smiles on us because of our commitment to stewardship and service to the world around us. As we move forward, let us remember that stewardship is more than a percentage of our annual income. It is an honorable reflection of gratitude for all that we have been given. It is a thoughtful offering of one’s self, as Christ offered Himself for us. May God continue to bless your families as faithful stewards of our community in Christ.
The Stewardship Committee: Ben De La Riva, Stewardship Chairperson, Jim Gilpin, John Kalas, Greg Kostas, Bill Navrides, Stephen Thiros, Spero Tzathas and Fr. Andrew.
Sunday School News
On Sunday Feb 22nd, Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare Sunday): our OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center) Leader, Ms. Maria Kelmis will be holding a presentation about this year's OCMC event. We will guide all students, all grades to assemble in the downstairs Preschool classroom for this presentation.
Sunday of Orthodoxy: Please remember to bring your favorite icon from home for each of your children on Sunday, March 1st, for the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The Sunday School children will be in the procession of icons on that Feast day.
St. John Oratorical: We are encouraging the Junior and Senior youth of our community to work on their oratorical speeches for the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. Our parish speeches are scheduled for Sunday, March 8th. It will be a blessing and an honor for our children who participate to be able to present their speeches before Father Andrew, our assigned judges, the faithful of our community, and our special guest: Mother Macrina.
Lenten Spiritual Retreat: We have invited Mother Macrina to lead the faithful of our parish through a weekend long series of spiritual Retreats at our parish. The culminating retreat will be the community wide retreat on March 7, 2015 from 10am-2pm. We have also scheduled one on one sessions for our Senior Group and our Youth Groups as well. A complete list of events is forth coming and a flier is included on the "Insert" tab on the left side of this Bulletin Builder.
Mother Macrina is a professed nun with 17 years of monastic experience and will be visiting us from the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery in Rives Junction, Michigan. Mother Macrina is well known in the Midwest and has led many retreats at both the Monastery and other Orthodox parishes. Please mark your calendars from now for this wonderful Lenten opportunity. If you would like to know more about Mother Macrina or the Dormition Monastery please visit www.dormitionmonastery.org or contact Alina Kleinhenz, or our Sunday School Director, at kleinhenz@cox.net
Please make plans to attend the Divine Liturgy regularly and to have your child(ren) join us for the Sunday School programs immediately following Holy Communion.
Thank you very much for your continuous support!
In Christ,
Alina Kleinhenz
Sunday School Director
Ancient Wisdom & Modern Coffee
Sunday School class for adults taught by Michael Kallas, MDiv, meets March 1, April 19, May 3 and May 17 in the Lounge immediately following the Divine Liturgy for our continued study of The Roar of a Lion. Come and hear!
Senior Citizens
Our next get-together will be Friday, March 6th at 11:00 a.m. We will have a light Lenten meal followed by a presentation by Mother Macrina titled, ‘Today Strive To Be Holy.’ WE WILL NOT MEET TUESDAY, MARCH 10th. Hope to see you March 6th.
GOYA March 7th
Please join us in the Church Hall on Saturday, March 7th from 5 to 8 pm for a special GOYA meeting with Mother Macrina where you will learn more about your faith and yourselves. It will be a Saturday night that will change your lives. Please let us know by Tuesday, March 3rd (619-992-6775 or navridesfamily@gmail.com) if you will be attending this interactive workshop so we can properly prepare the Lenten meal.
SAVE THE DATE! - GOYA Palm Sunday Luncheon
Please join us for the GOYA Palm Sunday Luncheon on April 5th in the Church Hall. Adults $15 and Children under twelve $8. Pay before March 29th to be entered in a drawing to win a prize! Please remember, NO tickets will be sold at the door. Thank you for supporting St. Spyridon’s GOYA.
SAVE THE DATE! - Philoptochos Spring Glendi
Philoptochos Spring Glendi - Saturday, May 2nd in the Cypress Room. More details to follow, but please save the date today. As always, thank you for your continued support.
"Ask Father"
Check out this new opportuinty to ask a question following the sermon on Sundays. It is called "Ask Father" and you can read all about it in the "Insert, Fliers, Extras" section on the left of this Bulletin Builder or from the February Newsletter that was just sent to your homes.
Receive Back 0.5% From “Amazon Smile” Foundation
We are pleased to announce, St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego now participates in AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of millions of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. That’s right, every eligible purchase you or someone else makes at AmazonSmile 0.5% will be donated back to our parish!!!
Register by visiting AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) and select “St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church” before you make your first purchase (be sure to select St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church - San Diego, California). Amazon will remember your selection and each time a purchase is made AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% back to our parish.
For more information about AmazonSmile, go to http://smile.amazon.com/about
We hope you’ll consider this easy way to support your beloved parish. Everyone is eligible to participate so tell your friends and relatives and spread the word about this wonderful program. It takes little effort and with our collective participation and God’s continued blessings, our parish can benefit from this program.
A short video will be available on the parish website demonstrating how to select St. Spyridon GOC as your charity in your Amazon user account.
Live Stream Broadcast
If you know someone who may be in the hospital or home bound or for whatever reason just cannot get to church, don’t forget about the Live Stream Broadcast of our Divine Services. You can watch our Live Broadcast by going to our parish website and clicking on the “Live Broadcast” tab on the top tool bar. Remember, our Live Stream Broadcast is for those who absolutely cannot physically make the divine services of the church and is not a substitute for being present. Also, please be aware that conversations, crying babies, etc. can be heard on the broadcast. We have a wonderful cry room facility, which is located off the Narthex behind the candle stand, and is comfortable and provided for your convenience.
The Live Stream divine services of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego, CA may not be recorded, retransmitted or reproduced without the express written consent of the Parish Council of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego, CA. Thank you for your consideration.
Donations toward the digital ministries of the parish are warmly welcomed. If you would like to help support the ministries of Saint Spyridon please contact the church office. Again, thank you.
Decorated Feast Day Icons
Philoptochos invites you and your family to commemorate a special Feast Day by sponsoring the floral adornments around the blessed icons. Throughout the liturgical year there are many opportunities to offer a decorated feast day icon on any scheduled feast day. Please consider honoring the saint or event of the liturgical year, ie Epiphany, The Nativity of our Lord, St. Nicholas, etc. This offering is a perfect way to not only honor a feast Day and a family member as well. Suggested donation for each decorated feast day icon is only $50.00. If you are interested please contact the church office for available scheduled feast day opportunities.
Our Website Link
To visit our wonderful website please click on the following link and enjoy photos of the parish events, our Monthly Newsletter, Service Schedule and other useful information: www.stspyridon.org.
Parish News, Events, Announcements, Etc.
Stay up to date on the parish's news, events, announcements, etc. by joining our email Listserv today. You can join by going to our website www.stspyridon.org and clicking on "Subscribe To Our News & Mail List" (in the upper left hand corner). It takes less than two minutes to join and stay up to date.