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Spring General Assembly

Agenda (proposed)

Sunday, May 4, 2025

The proposed agenda for the upcoming General Assembly meeting is as follows. Join us on Sunday, May 4, immediately after Divine Services in the Fellowship Hall. All active stewards* of the Church of Saint Anna are encouraged to participate.

1. Prayer & Call to Order

2. Selection of General Assembly Chair

3. Approval of Minutes of the previous GA

4. Clergy Report

5. President’s Report

6. Treasurer’s Report

7. Community Updates- reports will be posted on the parish website

a. Philoptochos

b. Religious Education

c. Archangel Gabriel Bookstore

d. Byzantine Chanting

e. Youth & Young Adult Ministries

f. Stewardship

g. 2024 Greek Food Festival

h. Sanctuary Construction

i St. Vincent de Paul

J. Men’s Fellowship

8. Old Business

a. Sanctuary Beautification and Capital Campaign

b. 2025 Budget

9. New Business

10. For the Good of the Parish

11. Closing Prayer

12. Adjournment

*To be considered a member in good standing, the member must regularly participate in the life of the parish and have fulfilled the previous year’s stewardship commitment and contributed toward the current year’s commitment. New members may exercise their vote at Parish Assemblies if they have been in good standing at the parish for at least three months.

Spring General Assembly

2025 Greek Food Festival

Planning is under way and we are busy preparing for this year’s festival.

Mark your calendars, the festival is on September 6 and 7, (Saturday and Sunday).

The festival layout and offerings will be the same as last year. We had a successful 2024 and look to keep that going. The entry fee will be $5, with kids 12 and under free.

We will be asking for a lot of pre festival help again to prepare the grounds, help with multiple food deliveries and bring supplies out of the basement. The signup genius will be activated around the end of June so that folks can volunteer for festival shifts.

With so many folks in our Church community I expect that it will be easy to fill 100% of the signup genius volunteer slots. Please come out, volunteer, and be a part of engaging with the greater Roseville area and showing them who we are and what we are about! Not just the food, but our Christian Faith!

We are encouraged that we have a great group of returning festival managers with some new who are committed to this event.

Any questions or comments for this years festival can be directed to one of this year’s planning committee members.

Joe Fancher, Sophia Magliola, John Mueller, Jon Neuenschwander, Paul Pegadiotes, Lynne Rominger, Rick Rosenberg, Zach Stamas and Mitch Word.

Thank You.

Saint Vincent de Paul: General Assembly Report, May 4th, 2025

Saint Vincent de Paul (SVdP) Society of Roseville, founded in 1983, is the largest privately funded supplier of human services in South Placer County. St. Anna’s Church has been actively assisting SVdP for over sixteen years. Our main contribution is providing volunteers from our parish to assist in their food kitchen eighteen times a year. We also take leftovers throughout the year from our parish luncheons, potlucks, and festivals to be served during their Sunday meal.

SVdP’s food kitchen offers a hot meal five times a week for those experiencing homelessness or financial hardship. No questions are asked and no I.D. or paperwork is required. Anyone can receive a lovingly prepared meal! It is served restaurant style with personalized touches and a welcoming atmosphere. It brings a sense of humanity and community to those going through difficult circumstances.

We serve 9:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m., the second Tuesday of every month plus the first Thursday of every other month. Our work includes preparing and serving a meal for approximately sixty clients and cleaning up. We use Signup Genius via our website to organize volunteers for this ministry. Three to four participants are needed each workday; no experience is required, but the volunteers must be over the age of fourteen. The link is also in the church bulletin each week.

Recently, we have had some of our volunteers come up with meal ideas. John Mayne, the SVdP dining room manager, will obtain the necessary ingredients through various grocery stores or the SVdP warehouse. During the Thanksgiving season, some of our parishioners made a delicious turkey chili, which was much appreciated by the clients.

The past year we have had a steady stream of seasoned volunteers, many trained by Markella Magliola of blessed memory, along with new parishioners. It has been a wonderful way to engage in both fellowship and service within our church family. Beginning in December 2023, we were able to move from the pandemic restrictions of bagged lunches to serving the clients hot meals. Oftentimes, this is their only meal of the day. John has commented that the clients really enjoy interacting with our group.

In February 2024, we began a new initiative called Saint Anna’s Helping Hands. We conduct an ongoing collection of toiletries, such as travel sized shampoo, deodorant, and body wash. Socks and hats for the winter have also been donated. Each month the items are delivered on our service day for the volunteers to put bags together. Some of our parish youth also do service projects to collect these items. John then distributes the bags with the meal. The bags are graciously received and highly appreciated by the clients. Items can be donated in a bin next to the coffee after each Sunday liturgy.

SdVP and John Mayne have created a safe, predictable, and influential service in Roseville for over two decades. It has been an honor to be the organizer for the Saint Anna chapter of this ministry. Being able to witness first hand the impact these meals have on members in our community has been extremely impactful. I truly appreciate all the efforts of our volunteers this past year! And we are always very excited to welcome new volunteers.

With love,

Annie Moore

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Young Adult Fellowship Group Update – May 4, 2025
St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church – Roseville, CA

The Young Adult Fellowship group, serving members ages 18 to 35, has seen encouraging growth and engagement in recent months. Since January 2025, when the group welcomed a new coordinator, membership has increased from approximately 48 to 63 individuals.

The group meets monthly for fellowship, social connection, and spiritual enrichment. While gatherings were paused in March and April due to a combination of school schedules, work obligations, weather, and the observance of Great Lent, enthusiasm within the group remains high. The most recent event — a game night hosted at a member’s home — saw an attendance of 16. Looking ahead, a lake BBQ for May has already received over 30 RSVPs, signaling strong interest and continued participation.

Additionally, several members took part in a special visit to San Francisco earlier this year, where they toured the historic Old Cathedral of the Holy Virgin under the guidance of Bishop James.

The group continues to thrive with minimal challenges and is looking forward to a full and meaningful summer season of fellowship and growth.

Mother Catherine sharing stories with us at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sonora, Ca

For more information or to get involved, please contact Fotini Valerga at (916) 218-8683

Restoration work and VESPERS with Mother Catherine and Father Stephen at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sonora, Ca

Touring of Old Cathedral of the Holy Virgin with Bishop James, in San Francisco, CA

Young Adult Fellowship Group first gathering of the year, with Father Chris and Father Stephen

STEWARDSHIP REPORT

SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY

May 4, 2025

submitted by Marci

CHRIST IS RISEN!

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.“ Genesis 2:15

Adam was the first steward. Stewardship was already in God‘s plan. “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessings of the Lord your God that He has given you. “Deuteronomy 16:17. Stewardship continues in the Old Testament, up into the New Testament and up to today. “Give and it will be given to you good measure pressed down, shaking together, running over, will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

We are stewards, not owners. Nothing is ours. God blesses us, and as His stewards, we have responsibilities to use our gifts to serve others, prioritize God’s will, and be responsible, generous and loving.

Our faithful and loving stewards of St. Anna‘s (approximately 271 families) have for the past 13 years exceeded our budget. The budget for 2024 was $460,000. Last year we have exceeded our budget by over $100,000! The 2024 total was $561,320. This year’s budget is $500,000. Our March total show that we have already $9,080 over our year to date budget. Does this mean we do not have to give? Certainly not!

Stewardship is not just how much we give. It isn’t about how much we have. It is about how we live. God gave us His only begotten Son. No greater sacrifice has there been. Jesus calls us to follow his example in every area of life: using our gifts, wisely, serving others humbly, making time for what truly matters, embracing sacrifice and caring for God’s creation. As we do, from our hearts, we reflect God’s.

There is exciting news regarding Stewardship. We welcome Hannah and Mitch to the existing team of Morfoula, Ava, Renie, Christine and me. Mitch will be bringing us into a new way, using technology, to become a steward. More to come.

By God‘s grace, our numbers who are in attendance has grown, as well as our stewards. Thanks be to God. But not everyone is a steward. As Orthodox Christians we are called and need to embrace Stewardship. Being a steward connects everything we do with God, glorify Him, praise Him, worship Him.

Time and talent are also included in Stewardship. There are many opportunities to serve God through St. Anna‘s. We have a successful prayer ministry. We have acolytes who serve in the altar. Our services are broadcasted for those who were unable to attend services. You can volunteer to assist in the bookstore, become a substitute Sunday, school teacher, volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul, Support those in need. Our Bells call the faithful to service. We have those who step up for candle duty, sandbox, cleaning, sweeping the church, polishing the censors, and the list goes on.

I’d like to thank Ava, Renie, Morfoula, and Christine for all the hard work they did this past year. And once again I thank all of our faithful Stewards who have embraced giving from their hearts.

Remember, God cares more about the heart behind the gift. He loves a cheerful giver and will reward this type of generosity.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barn with grain and your vats will overflow with good wine.“ Proverbs 3:9.

Great and Holy Lent will begin Sunday evening with the Service of Forgiveness at 6 p.m. We will gather for the Service of Holy Unction on Monday evening at 6 p.m. The Weekly Bulletin will include a schedule of Lenten services so that we can all plan our calendars accordingly.

We are fortunate to have not only Fr. Stephen Howell share in the ministry of our parish, but also Fr. William Weir from the Holy Assumption Serbian Orthodox Church in Fair Oaks. He graciously comes to the parish most Tuesday afternoons (just not this upcoming Tuesday) to assist with Holy Confession. During Great Lent, he will also prepare a brief reflection in anticipation of the upcoming Sunday. An introduction to the Sunday of Forgiveness – Cheesefare Sunday, is provided below.

We thank Fr. Stephen, Fr. William, Fr. George (in Reno), and Fr. Jon (in Modesto) for their priestly examples and ongoing service to the Church. Although a priest may "retire," his vocation continues; sometimes it takes a different form but remains an offering to the Lord for which we should all be grateful. May our High Priest and Savior of our souls continue to bless their ministries and their families.

Please bring a part of our pre-Lenten meal (just no meat) for our parish potluck. During the potluck, we will briefly discuss the role of godparents; thanks be to God. we need approximately 40 individuals to serve as sponsors at upcoming baptisms and chrismations on the Saturday of Lazarus and the Saturday before Pentecost.

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Forgiveness Sunday-Cheesefare Sunday

Rev. Fr. Bill Weir

This Sunday is known as Forgiveness Sunday or Cheesetare Sunday. The three previous weeks taught us about humility and repentance through the Publican and Pharisee, the prodigal son and the final judgment. This Sunday, the day before Great Lent begins, we call "Cheesefare" as a reminder that the time for a physical diet which excludes dairy products and meat begins on Monday. The title "Forgiveness Sunday" comes as a reminder of our spiritual "diet" for Great Lent. The Gospel from St. Matthew prescribed for Sunday begins with the words: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you." In the verses preceding this lesson, our Lord had just taught the people how to pray what we call "The Lord's Prayer", which also speaks of forgiveness of others as a condition which must be fulfilled before we will be forgiven. We all know the familiar words: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Forgiveness of others means retraining from judging others and opens the door to our thoughts and words of personal repentance to be heard and accepted by our Lord and Savior.

Our Lenten fast is much r11ore than a set of rules dealing with what we eat and drink. A true Lenten fast includes all our senses and physical being. With our eyes we should avoid watching or reading things that have no spiritual reward. With our ears we should avoid listening to sounds like gossip and idle talk, which produce no good. Our mouths should be engaged in words of prayer and praise of God and not uttering words of anger or judgement. Our feet should not be dancing or taking us to places that do good to our spiritual lives. Our hands should be engaged in the activity of serving others by doing good and almsgiving.

May our Lord and God strengthen us spiritually so we may weaken ourselves with the dietary and spiritual restraints and guidance the Church encourages during this coming Great Lent. May we be led properly and stay on the narrow path of Great Lent so that the joy of the words "Christ is Risen" resound in our hearts and spirit on the day of Pascha.