St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

I trust and pray that you have enjoyed the blessings of a lovely week and you are looking forward to an amazing summer. Our entire community will continue to be in my prayers that you all remain safe during your travels, activities and events in the coming months. Summer is a time of refreshment and rejuvenation. It is also a time to remain close to the Church, actively worship, to remain focused in prayer, and aware of God’s love for us. 

Tomorrow, following the Divine Liturgy and celebration of our graduating seniors, we will go quickly into the social hall and begin our Spring Parish Assembly. This is the time we come together as the formal voice of the parish and conduct the administrative responsibilities of the community. This Assembly is for everyone who calls St. Anna their spiritual home. Those who can vote must be active Stewards in good standing with the Church. Please stick around for this most informative meeting. We promise to move it along as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow evening, we look forward to our Sunday School’s end of year BBQ and Advancement Party. God bless our youth, teachers, director, and parents for sustaining and growing this vital ministry. 

Next Saturday, we are excited to begin the activities of our Philoptochos with their Membership Tea. Our local chapter is active, vibrant, enthusiastic, generous and very productive.  

The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, Inc. is the philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Established in November 1931 by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, it has been providing philanthropic aid for over 90 years through a variety of programs in the United States and around the world. Its mission is to assist the poor, destitute, hungry, aged, sick, unemployed, orphaned, imprisoned, widowed, those with disabilities, and victims of disasters. The society has 26,000 members and nearly 450 active chapters nationwide, and in 2023, it distributed $1.8 million in philanthropic aid.

Since the late 1950s, the society has placed increased emphasis on implementing programs to benefit the Greek Orthodox community, including support for Church institutions, the philanthropies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and assistance to Greek and Greek Orthodox families. It has also addressed various social and moral issues through committees focusing on topics such as child abuse prevention, domestic violence, homelessness, pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, and aging.

This is just a little bit of what is happening in the very near future. And looking to our immediate past, like, this morning, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Sam Soter and his entire committee for an incredibly successful and extremely fun St. Anna’s 5th Annual Golf Classic Tournament. Great time! Great Cause! Huge Effort! Thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors and golfers. 

With Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

I trust and pray that you and your families are well. We are heading into the summer months with a full head of steam, and the activities that will be taking place at St. Anna’s in the coming months are quite staggering. We will soon be ending our Sunday School Year, our annual Golf Tournament will take place, our Philoptochos will host their Membership Tea (replace tea with margarita’s), we have a full calendar of Sacraments to be celebrated, I will be attending our Metropolis Summer Camp with some of our youth, our new St. Anna Retreat at 8,000 Feet is on the calendar, the Bi-Annual National Clergy/Laity Congress is around the corner, and we haven’t even mentioned the Feasts of Ascension or Pentecost, yet! I am positive that I am forgetting something.

But there is something else I am certainly not forgetting, that is the biggest, singularly important, and the most historically significant event of the summer: the archepastoral visit to St. Anna’s by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America during the weekend of July 13-14, 2024. His Eminence is coming for what is known in Greek as the Thyranoixia – or the formal opening of the doors of a new church. I hope that we can all appreciate the magnitude of His Eminence’s desire to be with us as we finally complete our two-year long construction efforts. It is not standard practice for the spiritual leader of our National Church to conduct such services. Sandy, Utah may be the center of our spiritual lives, but it’s not exactly center stage throughout America.

But we must always remember our own history: when St. Anna’s was formally recognized as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, it was the newly installed Archbishop Elpidophoros who granted what was his first Charter. We were the first parish he formally established. And when he was here in 2021 to visit our parish on the eve of our Parish Feast Day, he promised to come back to the church, once completed, and open our doors. We accomplished our goals, we honored our promises, and we built our church. And he, honoring his promise to us, is returning to finish what we started. God is so good. I am so incredibly humbled by the fact that all of this is taking place and becoming a reality. It is so generous of His Eminence to take the time to be with us.

Let us also celebrate that this will be the first opportunity for us to welcome our new, local hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Denver, who will be coming with the Archbishop. And friend to our St. Anna community, His Grace Bishop Spyridon of Amastris is also expected to participate. Three Bishops – Wow!

The details of the weekend’s events are quickly forming and will be communicated them to you very soon. Let us give thanks to our loving God, Who has made all these things possible, and let me give thanks to you, the visionary and generous parishioners of St. Anna’s, who have worked tirelessly for all that we enjoy. 

Quite a summer, right?!?

With Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Please be aware that tomorrow morning, Sunday, April 14, we will take up a special collection for the benefit of the students and seminarians of our holy Metropolis of Denver, who are studying at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. Looking back at my years in theological school, it was a time of fervent faith, absolute dedication, joyful anticipation, diligent work, and a deep longing to serve Christ, and His Bride, the Church.

But like any other student in a graduate school setting, the financial challenges are daunting and plentiful. I am grateful that our Bishop Constantine is mindful of the challenges which our budding servant-leaders face, and extends to them a lifeline, through all our generosity, to ease the burdens. There will be a special collection basket placed in the exit of the narthex as we depart from the Divine Liturgy. Please be mindful of the sacrificial lives these students have chosen and honor the calling which they have received.

Anything offered in prayerful participation will be greatly appreciated.

With Love in Christ, 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter