We’re preparing for this year’s Tommy Apostolos Shopping Day, and we need your help to ensure its success. With 500 kids expected to shop, we’ll require nearly 1,000 volunteers to keep the morning running smoothly.
Start the holidays with a smile — and create a lasting impact in a child’s life. Volunteers will assist children in shopping for warm clothing, shoes, and essentials. It only takes about an hour of your time to make a difference.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025
Time: 5:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Location: Kohl’s on Fairway Drive, RosevilleClick below to sign up and join this incredible community tradition. Closer to the event, you’ll receive a release form and shopping instructions. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old to participate.
Volunteer for Shopping Day 2025: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4BA4AE22ABF8C25-58519035-tommy
August & September 2025 Update at Misión San Juan Clímaco, PR from Gunnar Matsen (Paul)
Please click the link below to learn about Paul, a missionary from St. Anna Church who is assisting at a parish in Puerto Rico and is supported by our parish. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
Women’s Art and Fellowship Gathering (First Evenign of Fellowship - November 7)
Women’s Art and Fellowship Gathering
You are warmly invited to join a new women’s fellowship at our parish—a time for prayer, creative expression, and connection. Each month, we will gather to create simple art projects while sharing conversation, reflection, and encouragement in faith. Our first gathering will be on Friday, November 7th, at 5:00 p.m. in Founders’ Hall. All materials will be provided. A small donation of $10 is appreciated to help cover the cost of supplies.
Join us for a peaceful and creative evening with fellow Orthodox women! For questions, please contact Veronika at veronika_anysenko@yahoo.com or 916-952-6683. Please mark your calendar for our winter and spring meetings: December 3 (after Akathist at 6:30), January 9, February 6, March 6, April 3, and May 8.
Mission's Meeting scheduled for November 1 following Great Vespers
Following Great Vespers on Saturday, November 1, the St. Anna Missions Committee will hold its first meeting in our fellowship hall. We will spend time getting to know each other, briefly sharing our journeys in and with Christ, discussing Matthew 28:19-20, and then introducing our ministry goals. Our regular meetings will be held on the first Saturday of each month after Vespers. We will serve as channels for information with OCMC and between our parish and those we support abroad—Kenya, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and other regions worldwide. We will also collaborate with the Metropolis of San Francisco’s mission and evangelism committee to continue growing Orthodoxy here in the West.
Additionally, the Dinner and Movie night we hosted earlier this month was very well attended and provided a wonderful opportunity to learn about the early missionary efforts that brought Orthodoxy to the West Coast. Thank you to everyone who contributed food items and attended the evening. On November 8th, we plan to show the movie, "Man of God," about the life of Saint Nectarios, after the Great Vespers, in celebration of his feast day on Sunday, November 9th. More information is forthcoming.
Please RSVP to Pamela Barksdale at a.barksdale@ocmc.org for either evening. May the Lord continue to bless our efforts both here and abroad.
Luncheon hosted by Mario's Early Toast - this Sunday - benefiting our Philoptochos' "Feed the Hungry"
Please join us this Sunday, November 2nd, after services for a Philoptochos luncheon hosted by Mario’s Early Toast featuring steak and chicken fajitas, rice, beans, and salad. Proceeds from the goodwill offering luncheon will provide Thanksgiving meals for 75 local families in need. The goal of our Philoptochos is to raise $10,000 again, which is approximately $130 per family. We are grateful to Mario, Amanda, Andrea, and their entire staff for their generosity!
Our Philoptochos will also be conducting a Membership Drive. If you have questions about joining Philoptochos or renewing your membership, please stop by to see Vivian, Jana, or Carmen. You are also invited to contact Sara Jurrens at sarajurrens@gmail.com
Looking forward to a praying service with you, enjoying a great luncheon, and supporting the work of our Philoptochos (feeding those in need this holiday season). If you would like to donate toward "Feed the Hungry”, please visit https://saintanna.churchcenter.com/giving/to/philoptochos and scroll through the drop-down menu, selecting “Philoptochos- Feed the Hungry.”
Update from Saint Innocent Orphanage at Project Mexico
Register for Youth Religious Education Classes (Sunday School)
Sunday school will begin on September 14th! Please help our teachers prepare by registering your child(ren). We’ll have some assistants ready at the classrooms to help non-registered folks find the Google form, but it’s easier for everyone to do it from home. Please register students even if they were also students last year. We use our Sunday school registration lists when inviting young parishioners to other parish events.
"Not Against Flesh and Blood"
In the fourth century, during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, the First Ecumenical Council was convened to address divisions of faith within the Church. This event marked the beginning of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, where the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, defended the truth of the Gospel against heresy. When the Fathers gathered, they did so prayerfully, seeking Christ’s blessing on their deliberations. Their discussions were straightforward and often challenging, as they confronted the lies of the evil one and those misled by him. Despite this, they persisted with steadfast faith, exemplifying mercy, love, and truth in their witness to the preservation of the Church and the salvation of all the faithful, even those who had strayed into heresy.
The reason we engage in dialogue is because we love. True dialogue is never about argument or winning. It is undertaken for the salvation of our own souls and the souls of others. In dialogue, we seek to grow closer to one another and, most importantly, to Christ Himself. When grounded in prayer and humility, dialogue can even create opportunities for repentance—both ours and others'. Through honest conversation, the heart can be softened, the mind enlightened, and the soul directed toward Christ. In this way, dialogue becomes not a contest, but a path to healing and communion. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: “We must not oppose error with violence, but with persuasion. For this is the way of the Church: not to compel, but to persuade.”
This same spirit of dialogue, rooted in prayer and love, must guide us as we confront the painful realities of our own time. Today, we mourn the tragic assassination of a young father, husband, and fellow Christian. In such moments, the words of the Apostle Paul come alive: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Just as the Holy Fathers never wavered in defending the truth without hatred, so too are we called to engage one another with respect and clarity, never with violence. Others may choose violence against us, as the holy martyrs Menodora, Metrodora, and Nymphodora bore witness in their suffering, but we ourselves are never permitted violence. Our calling is to engage in genuine dialogue that seeks to challenge and to save, never to destroy. Even when Truth itself is assailed, we do not silence others by force—for the Church persuades, she does not compel. Rather, through prayerful dialogue, the door is opened to repentance, reconciliation, and the peace that only Christ can give.
What lessons can we learn today? First, violence—whether in our homes, communities, or among nations—can never be a solution. Second, the freedom to speak truthfully is a gift that we must honor—not only with those we agree with, but also with those with whom we profoundly disagree. Third, all our words and actions must begin and end in prayer, for life itself is a gift from God, given for salvation and service to others. Yet it also vanishes like a flower of the field, as we chant in the Funeral Hymns of St. John of Damascus.
For those of us on social media, we've already seen images of this tragedy. Such things are not healthy for our souls. Do not seek them out. Instead, turn to prayer. Pray for the family that has been so deeply wounded. Pray also for the one who carried out this act; what they did was unnatural and grievous, but we still ask God to grant them repentance and return. This is the way of Christ: to pray even for our enemies, as He Himself prayed from the Cross.
Our Lord Himself reminds us: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). Truth is not just an idea to debate but a Person — Christ Himself to be encountered. In Him, even our divisions and tragedies can be healed. For in the Cross of Christ, hatred is overcome; in His Resurrection, death itself is defeated. Therefore, we turn to Him in prayer, unite ourselves with Him in the Holy Eucharist, and seek the intercession of His Most Holy Mother, whose Nativity we continue to celebrate, and with all the saints, so that His peace may reign in our hearts, our homes, our parish, our nation, and indeed the entire world.
Update from the Parish of St. Anne, Mount Kenya
What a joy it was to recently receive photos from the Church of St. Anne, Mount Kenya. For those unfamiliar with our relationship with the parish, in 2016, we committed to supporting the construction of their modest community and also to supporting the ongoing ministry of Fr. Cosmas, the parish priest.
On Saturday, August 24, His Grace Bishop Parnaretos baptized 14 individuals into the Orthodox faith at the Church of St. Anna. The mission at Saint Ann is growing and expanding every day! His Grace shares his prayers and gratitude for our support.
To read more about the parish, and see more photos, please visit https://www.saintanna.org/saint-anna-church-mount-kenya-kenya
Again, thank you to our stewards, who, through their financial support of our parish fund, support this community and projects within the work of His Grace Bishop Neofitos of Eldoret in Northern Kenya.
Update from our Missionary to Project Mexico
Please follow the link, https://www.saintanna.org/missionary-to-project-mexico-st-innocent-orphanage to the September 2 Update from St. Innocent Orphanage by Isabella. We continue to pray for her, her co-workers, and the children of the orphanage. May our Good Lord keep them all in His care!
And thank you to our stewards, who, through their financial support of our parish fund, support her work in Mexico, the work of a missionary in Puerto Rico, and many other charitable efforts both locally and abroad.