Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I pray you are all enjoying a blessed and amazing day. As we approach the final weekend of July, let us turn our prayerful attention to our preparations for the Dormition of the Theotokos. We have continued to plan the Paraklesis Services to be outside, as in our past few years. However, please be advised, and I hope you are not disappointed, that we are moving the services for at least the first week of the Fast back inside the church.
My family and I will be out of town from July 30th through August 9, as we participate in our Project Mexico home build, then spend a couple days in San Diego doing, well, NOTHING! While it is completely rare for a priest to be out of town as the Dormition Fast begins, with all of our other activities of the Summer (Camp Emmanuel, Clergy/Laity, Finalized Construction, Thyranoixia and hosting three Hierarchs), we had to choose the latest building slot.
The weather is still going to be hot, and I don’t feel right asking Fr. Elias to move the church outdoors. He is most helpful and gracious enough, no need to pile on additional tasks. We will play it by ear and move our Paraklesis Services outdoors if and when comfortable and appropriate. That said, I really do enjoy praying these services out in our garden.
I would also like to thank others who were not properly mentioned last week for their financial support of our Thyranoixia Weekend. Steve & Elaina Simos and Bruce & Shari Lindsay were instrumental in our successful events. Bruce was also most helpful as our volunteer Public Relations Director, as he wrote and sent press releases to all local media concerning our Opening.
And wow, we enjoyed wonderful coverage!
Tomorrow, directly following the Divine Liturgy, we will pray for our Project Mexico Team. Our Mission Team consists of 16 people, primarily comprised of St. Anna parishioners, with one from Holy Trinity Cathedral. This is the third time our parish has sent a team to Project Mexico, and the fifth time we have supported a complete home build. Please keep us in your personal prayers as well; that we arrive and return safely, and that our work site will be without incident. The work isn’t dangerous, per se, but it is an active construction site with the possibility of injury constantly lurking.
And most especially, please pray for the families who receive the homes that we build, and the families who await such a gift. We will not cure poverty in a week, but to the Glory of God, we will lessen its grip for a single, worthy family.
Lastly, since this message is turning out to be more a string of announcements than a pastoral letter, we have established the beginning of our St. Anna Sunday School Year to begin Sunday, September 8th, 2024. This is later than we wanted, but again, this summer has been uniquely busy. Registration is upon us. We look forward to our young people once again, engaging in their spiritual formation and faithful education. God bless our teachers, administration and students!!!
See you tomorrow at the Divine Liturgy. Enjoy the rest of this lovely day. I remain,
With Much Love in XC,
Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter