The Feast of Ss. Joachim and Anna & the Roseville Greek Food Festival (VOLUNTEER)

A feast of our beloved parish, which commemorates both Saints Joachim and Anna, will be celebrated on Monday, September 9.   We also celebrate our festival on the Saturday and Sunday closest to this feast.  Historically, it is a weekend on which we will welcome thousands of our friends and neighbors to our Church campus to explore our Orthodox Christian faith, receive our hospitality, enjoy our cuisine, and celebrate our cultures and faith.  Simply, it’s a beautiful weekend of prayer, fellowship, and food, and as one of the recently departed stewards noted, a weekend that further shares the blessings of Saint Anna with the Roseville community that so needs her example, love, and prayers.

Our festival team, made up of stewards from near and far, have been working for months in anticipation of September; God bless them for all of their efforts! At this time, I invite and encourage you to volunteer this weekend.  Please click here to volunteer

For those newer to our community and the Orthodox Christian Faith, this is one of the bestknow your fellow parishioners and ways to get to share the love of Christ that you’ve found in the Church.  




Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage: the Grand opening of Casa Cuna San Felipe

Below is a note from Isabella Pucilowski, one of our young adults who participated in a volunteer team at Project Mexico this summer. We thank her and all the volunteers for their stewardship just over the border.  

May our Lord continue to bless the ministry of Fr. Nicholas, the staff, and the children at Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage. And when the time comes, we also look forward to supporting Isabella when she returns to Mexico.  

+fr. Christopher 

__________



Fathers and friends, thank you so much for supporting me so that I could participate in Project Mexico’s homebuilding trip this summer! My experience there was so memorable that I plan to return long term. The Orphanage is growing, which is wonderful, and with growth comes need. They recently celebrated the grand opening of Casa Cuna, their infant orphanage (and the first Orthodox Infant Orphanage in North America!). This is wonderful news as it means they can welcome more children! This also means they must build more housing for the female staff.

Please see the email attached from Father Nicholas if you are interested in donating to their building fund for female staff housing! Thank you so much!



- Isabella Pucilowski

GRACIAS EN TODO



Project Mexico welcomed you along with over 250 guests to our 16-acre ranch in northern Baja on Friday, June 28th, to celebrate the grand opening of Casa Cuna San Felipe, the only Orthodox Christian Infant Orphanage in North America. This landmark event marked a significant milestone in our mission to provide a safe, nurturing environment for vulnerable infants.



The grand opening ceremony was a joyous occasion, blessed by nearly a dozen Orthodox priests from parishes around the world. Their presence and prayers underscored the deep spiritual commitment and global support for our mission.



Casa Cuna San Felipe stands as a testament to our dedication to the care and well-being of orphaned infants, providing them with a loving home grounded in Orthodox Christian values. This new facility will offer these children not only a place to live but also a foundation of faith, love, and security.



As our ministry continues to grow, so do our needs for additional housing. One of our most pressing needs is the construction of long-term housing for our female missionaries.  The project will cost between $150,000 - $200,000.  These dedicated women play a crucial role in the day-to-day care and upbringing of the children, and providing them with suitable housing is essential to the continued success of our mission.



We invite all our supporters and those who believe in our cause to contribute to our Nanny Housing Fund at the button below. Your generous contribution will help us build the necessary housing to support our missionaries and ensure the continued care of the children at Casa Cuna San Felipe.



In Christ,



Father Nicholas Andruchow

Executive Director and Priest




Recent Visit of Metropolitan Constantine of Denver and a Word of Thanks

We enjoyed welcoming His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Denver to our parish this past weekend.  Great Vespers, Sunday Services, Chrismations, a potluck…thanks be to God for all the moments that made his visit so meaningful for all of us.  Thank you to Bobby Gallagher for beautifully capturing some moments (photos are attached); the first photo of His Eminence testifies to the joy of his ministry and time with us.  We pray that our Good Lord grants His Eminence every blessing in His ministry. Axios!

This weekend got me thinking: We are truly blessed with a breathtaking Sanctuary. In the years ahead, we will continue beautifying the space with liturgical fixtures, stained-glass windows, woodwork, fabrics, mosaics, and mural icons, all to the glory of God. Thanks be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for the attention to detail by our Building Committee, the architect, and our craftsmen, who have produced an awe-inspiring and truly holy space for us to worship therein. 

As beautiful as the space may be, it pales compared to the people.  This isn’t a simple platitude but rather a truthful statement about our faithful.  The genuine kindness, the helpfulness, the hospitality, the joy, the faith that radiates in smiles, whether young or older, are blessings.  And we should never take these blessings or charismata for granted, God forbid!  They are to be treasured, nurtured, and shared; this is our blessing as Orthodox Christians; we share what God has given us.

As I express my gratitude to you, the beloved faithful of Saint Anna, please continue to pray, read Scripture and the lives of the Saints, give of your time, your talent, and your treasures to God, find joy in being with your brothers and sisters in Christ at the parish, invite others to the parish for services and fellowship, and seek the intercessions of Saint Anna for a world in desperate need of healing and hope.  Whether what we have is rare or not, I’m unsure, but I’m thankful.

Greek Heritage Night at the Rivercats

Join the Sacramento RIVER CATS game on June 22, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., for Greek heritage night. Don't miss out on a TAILGATE TAVERNA PARTY  at 4:30 p.m., a pre-game featuring live Greek music. The spirit of Greece will be alive throughout the game, with the Annunciation Choir singing the National Anthem, Greek music between innings, and fireworks under the stars. DON'T MISS OUT BOOK AND YOUR TICKETS TODAY! 

www.hellenicheroes.com/rivercats

Spring 2024 General Assembly (26 May)

Please review this information before our meeting. To ensure that your concerns are taken care of, the Parish Council asks that questions about our ministries or financial reports be submitted before the meeting (please submit them to frchris@saintanna.org, and he will forward them to the appropriate individual).  Once received, reports from our ministry leaders will also be posted to the website.  Updated reports include Adult Catechism, Philoptochos, the Archangel Gabriel Bookstore, Youth Religious Education, Stewardship, and St. Vincent de Paul.

STEWARDSHIP REPORT

SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2024

                                                        submitted by Marci Pelka, St. Anna Stewardship Char

Although God gives us all His blessings and all things to enjoy, nothing is ours.  God owns everything, and we, as stewards, are responsible for how and what we do with His blessings.  As stewards, we have responsibilities to manage that which is God’s.  We are accountable for how we manage our money, time, and abilities.  This is taught by the Parable of the Talents.

In Colossians 3:23-24, Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ”.

Our budgeted stewardship for 2023 was $460,000.  We exceeded our budget by $20,868!  Our budgeted giving for 2024 is $460,000. Our year-to-date giving is $199,219.  Our year-to-date budgeted giving is $153,333.  We are $45,886 ahead at this time!

We are privileged at St. Anna’s to give to the ministries of Christ through our Church.  But is it enough? Our Church was opened on July 2, 2023.  We have grown in numbers, but have we grown in stewards?  We have approximately 241 families that we know give from their hearts.  Each Sunday, our Church is filled!  Thanks be to God!  But not everybody is a steward.

As Orthodox Christians, we need to embrace stewardship.  You should be a steward if you receive the Sacraments-Baptism, Chrismation, the Eucharist, Holy Unction, Confession, and/or Marriage. Being a steward connects everything we do with God, glorifying, praising, and worshipping Him. 

Stewardship also includes time and talent. There are many opportunities to serve God.  We have a very successful prayer shawl ministry.  We have acolytes for each and every service serving the altar.  Our services are now broadcast for those who are unable to attend in person.  You can volunteer to assist in the bookstore, become a substitute Sunday school teacher, volunteer at Vincent de Paul, and bring flowers to the church.   We provide meals to those in need.  We have bell ringers calling the faithful to service.  We have those who step up for candle duty, sandbox cleaning, sweeping the Church, and the list goes on.  Our Stewards take it upon themselves to assist in so many different areas.  

We now have a QR code that is in the bulletin each week.  Scan it, complete the requested information and a member of the stewardship team will send you information on how to become a faithful steward of St. Anna’s.  You can also call the church office (916-772-9372) and leave your name and address.  And one last way is to send an email to me at ibpenguin@aol.com.

Once again I want to thank all of our faithful stewards who give from their hearts.  And, of course, welcome to our new Stewards.  I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our team, Ava, Renie, and Christine, for all their hard work.

 Giving is how we become closer to God and show Him how thankful we are for all He continues to bestow on each and every one of us.

*The 2023 Draft Compilation Report prepared by Nicholson & Olson CPAs is available in the Church Office

Adult Education or Catechism (Submitted by Fr. Seraphim)

With our new shrine fully open and functional it has served its superficial purpose quite well and that purpose is to draw new people into the church.

In the Fall of 2023, we had a very large group of seekers express interest in learning more about the Orthodox Chrisitan faith. Maybe the largest group of people that I have ever had the privilege of teaching to.

At the onset of the class, which was taught on Tuesday nights at 7pm, initially, between Zoom and in person attendance here at St. Anna’s, there was a total of 45 people. The class on average ran for about an hour and a half, with many of the students opting to stay afterwards for further discussion/ questions. It was not uncommon for me, upon exiting the church, to see students milling about in the parking lot, in two’s and three’s, talking and discussing well after the class was over.

The text that was used is the same one that I have used for the past hand full of years, ever since I inherited the teaching responsibility from Jennifer and Larry (of blessed memory) Finney, which is the text by Dr. Clark Carlton, entitled "The Faith”. Dr. Clark Carlton himself is a convert to Orthodoxy and the way that the book presents our Orthodox beliefs and practices is very approachable and down to earth, but without being patronizing or belittling of other “expressions” of Christianity. At the same time, the book also is able to effectively communicate on a basic level, very deep theological principles and tenets of our faith as well.

The class ran from mid-September to about the middle of Great and Holy Lent this year, which was the end of March/ beginning of April. By the end of the class, the total number of students had winnowed down to about 20, which is normal: with 12 of them deciding that they were ready to enter the Orthodox church, either through baptism and/ or chrismation.  This group of catechumens were then received into St. Anna’s church on the Saturday of Lazarus during the service of Divine Liturgy.

It should be noted that about halfway through this class of catechumens, due to the sheer volume of people who were/ are still exploring coming into the church, it was decided that a second class should be started. This class is ongoing and done solely online via Zoom and is much like the other class in scope and number (30+ students initially attending). This 2nd session has been more difficult to instruct with any regularity as it takes place directly in the midst of a busy liturgical season, resulting in many class cancellations, which in turn makes it difficult develop any real sense of continuity.

Introducing our Visiting Theological Students for Holy Week

Joining us for the commemoration of the Great and Holy Week of the Church from our beloved Holy Cross School of Theology are Emmanuel Salem and Ivy Tesfay.

Ivy Gabriella Tesfay is from Las Vegas, Nevada, and attended Saint Paul's Orthodox Church, where she grew closer to Christ by singing and chanting hymns to our Lord. She interned at Project Mexico for three summers and had the opportunity to serve with FOCUS Detroit & the Neighborhood Resilience Project in the following summers. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology from Hellenic College in 2022 and received a Certificate in Youth and Young Adult Ministry from Holy Cross. She just completed her master’s in theological studies at Holy Cross and is now working as the Assistant Ministry Coordinator at Orthodox Christian Fellowship. 

Emmanuel Salem is from Akron, Ohio. He was similarly raised in a pious Orthodox Christian family. His youthful doubts about his faith were removed when he encountered the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God, Kardiotissa, at Camp Nazareth Summer Camp during his senior year of high school. He attended the University of Akron, where he studied Psychology and Philosophy; during his college years, he maintained an interest in aiding younger children struggling with deep questions. What he found lacking in those studies he found fulfilled in Christ, which led him to Seminary in 2021.  He is currently completing his third year at Holy Cross.

Ivy and Emmanuel met during their studies at HCHC and got engaged in January! Besides looking forward to their marriage, they continue to discern how they can best serve Christ, the Church, and those in the inner city, specifically those who have yet to experience the fullness of our Faith. 

May our Good Lord continue to bless and inspire Emmanuel and Ivy, granting them every good gift from above.