Modern #1 Template

Dear Parishioners,

I am truly honored to be selected as your Parish Council President. This is a big responsibility. I know – with the phenomenal group of men and women that you have elected – we will be able to fulfill the duties of this ever growing community. Of course, I have big shoes to follow, after the great job of our previous president, Faith Takes. Bravo Faith for a job well done. I also want to acknowledge the hard work of the preceding parish council members that I had the privilege to work with.

I promise to be open to all your suggestions, and grievances, but I ask that you please come with a solution as well, so that we can address the topic at the next parish council meeting.

I hope to follow the journey that Faith Takes started by continuing to take St. Sophia’s day-to-day operations into the 21^st Century. We will continue updating the website so that it will be easier for our parishioners to fulfill their stewardship commitments and make donations on line.

There is no experience more challenging, more rewarding, and more humbling than mentoring our youth and watching them develop into productive and beautiful adults. Our Church is very proud to have young people with so much talent and determination. One of the ways to continue nurturing this talent is to introduce our youth to the workings of our church. They are well aware of the social aspects of our community, but now we have to guide them into the workings of the building they walk into everyday.

I hope to reach out to the youth groups and have them unite with the parish council in coordinating plans and activities that will benefit our community. After all, they are the future parish council members of St. Sophia.

At the February General Assembly meeting the Board will lay out the plans for the New Year. The date will be announced soon. I hope to see all our parishioners attending and imparting suggestions. The Board cannot do it alone. We need your help. When people step up, things get done…. examples are our Festival and the Shed Raising.

Our 2009 Stewardship drive has begun. Please complete and Sign a 2009 Stewardship Pledge form and return it to Bessie Malamas or the church office. Encourage your friends and family to become stewards of our parish. Finally, consider increasing your stewardship pledge for 2009. Your stewardship matters a great deal toward maintaining the day-to-day needs of our parish. We are not just stewards of a parish, but stewards of our beautiful Orthodox Christian faith, proudly and selflessly doing God’s work in Albany County. Our children and future generations will reap the benefits of our sacrifice and realize the importance of making God their first priority in life. "If not you, who? If not now, when?"

I want to thank my talented board, ahead of time, for their help and support. Together we can do great things.

With love in Christ, Amy