In 2016, our parish began financially supporting St. Ann Parish in the Diocese of Nyeri and Mount Kenya. Our yearly contribution has helped finance the first church and sustain Fr. Cosmas's ministry. What joy and privilege it has been to witness the vibrant faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ under the care of their priest and their chief shepherd, His Grace Bishop Panaretos. May our Good Lord continue to bless our sister parish!
Below are recent photos from their community.
Earliest this fall, we welcomed the Hong family to our community. Although they live in Georgetown, Jonathan, Jiana, and Taylor attend Divine Services and regularly participate in our Catechism classes. God-willing, they will all be received into the Church in the spring!
As you will read in the attached, Jiana learned that her unborn son, Tayden, was diagnosed with severe non-immune fetal hydrops. It was a very difficult diagnosis to receive, but by God's Grace, they continue to maintain hope.
Besides asking for your prayers, I’ve also encouraged them to set up a GoFundMe page so that we can support them during this season,
Whether for Tayden or Jiana’s medical care or to provide for their family, I invite you to give. At the least, I ask your prayers for their family.
May our Good Lord through the intercessions of Ss. Joachim and Anna keep Joanthan, Jiana, Taylor and Tayden in His care.
Thank you again for your support and generosity for our FEED THE HUNGRY ministry.
Together, we were able to raise funds to sponsor 75 families in need from the Brown, Buljan, Cirby, Crestmont, Eich, Gates, Jefferson, Kaseberg, Sargeant, Spanger, and Woodbridge schools...and in time for Thanksgiving 2024.
Packages were delivered to Principals today to distribute gifts and for groceries to ensure tables--and bellies--will be full. We have attached some images for you.
I hope and pray that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, continues to provide for these families and grant them every blessing from above.
With love and gratitude,
Linda Stoll
Thanks be to God and Fausto's hard work, our two side altars are complete. Below are two links about the Holy Unmercenary Healer, St. Panteliemon, and the Holy Icon of Panagia Eliestria.
Saint Panteliemon was selected for this niche for several reasons: We have his Holy Relic, a Physician Saint seemed appropriate since we are less than a mile from Sutter and Kaiser hospitals, and we don’t have a church dedicated to him in our Holy Metropolis. What a blessing it was, and it will be, to celebrate his feast day from this altar on July 27.
Panagia Eliestria was a unique selection but most meaningful to our parish. The first two icons of our parish, now in the salon to the left in the narthex, were painted in Koroni, Greece, by a family member of our parishioners. There, in the village of Koroni, we find a Church dedicated to Panagia Eliestria and the miraculous finding of the Holy Icon. What makes it all the more special is that our woodworker, George, crafted the wooden case for this icon in Koroni; now, he will frame the niche that houses the holy icon here in Roseville. I’m confident this is the only icon of its kind in the United States, making it all the more remarkable when we celebrate the Feast on January 22.
Thanksgiving is the most Christian of our country's “secular” holidays. What could be more Christian than to give thanks to God for our many blessings? On Thanksgiving itself, our parishioners are often visiting extended family all over the state and country. Which is why, for years now, we gather to celebrate with our church family some days beforehand. We call this a “Piece Meal” because everyone brings a “piece” of the meal; you are encouraged to bring peace with you as well!
This year’s Thanksgiving potluck will be on Thursday, November 14, beginning at 6 pm. We typically have a good turnout, and a wonderful evening of food and fellowship. To help ensure that we have a good balance of potluck dishes, please sign up for a dish of your choice at the link below. Or if you prefer, you can notify church office staff of your choice, and they will enter the information online for you.
On behalf of our college students, thank you to our Philoptochos for coordinating our College Care Packages. As we share with our students each year, we reach out to them with encouragement and treats to let them know we are thinking of them. In 2021, this Philoptochos ministry was dedicated in loving memory to Victoria Marie Kopp, a U.C. Santa Cruz graduate and recipient of our packages. She reposed in the Lord following a brave battle with brain cancer. In her memory, Victoria’s parents— Richard and Marina—gift prayer books and cross bracelets, and our Philoptochos fill their boxes with other treats. Our shared hope and prayer is that our college students will be inspired to build their relationship with Jesus Christ and The Most Holy Theotokos (Victoria’s patron saint and ultimate Christian role model for us all).
The Butler Family is holding their annual Katerini Zoe Birthday Tea Party fundraiser in loving memory of their beloved daughter, who would be celebrating her 7th birthday. The event will be held in Reno at St. Anthony’s GOC on Dec 7th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The family would like to extend the invitation to St. Anna's congregation, whom they hold very dear.
The Katerini Zoe Medical Outreach Program's mission is to advocate for individuals with Down syndrome within the medical setting, provide accredited CME presentations for medical providers, including all caregivers, on evidence-based care for individuals with Down syndrome, with in-person and pre-recorded events, and facilitate the development of a medical center specifically for individuals with Down syndrome and other diagnosed mental and developmental disabilities and delays.
This is just a quick note to thank all those who worked so hard to make our college care packages fabulous this year! Whether you donated to the package contents--from Fall-themed baked goods to purchased items—or if you donated your time to help assemble them last night or to deliver and ship them today, we are so very grateful.
Our 32 students, seminarians, and deployed military members will undoubtedly feel our Saint Anna love. May the memory of Victoria Marie Kopp, to whom this ministry is dedicated, be eternal.
With love in Christ,
Saint Anna
Philoptochos
On the Feast of St. Philip the Deacon, an Apostle of the 70, we were blessed to receive and install several new Holy Relics:
The Holy Priest Nicholas Planas of Athens
The Holy Hierarch Nectarios of Aegina
The Holy Child Martyr Hope
The Holy Child Martyr Agape
The Holy Priest Marytr Patrikos
The Holy Martyr Tatiana of Rome
The Holy Martyr Agathangelos of Esphimenos Monastery.
May these blessed Saints ever intercede on our behalf!
