Fathers and Brethren, Evlogeite!
On behalf of the Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Council, I would like to thank each participant of the 2009 Clergy-Laity and Youth Conferences for helping make the conferences successful and spiritually uplifting. With the blessings and prayers of our Metropolitan Pavlos and all our Hieriarchs, we were able to accomplish everything for which we aimed. As Fr. Thomas Marretta, rector of St. Maximus Parish in Owego, NY, pointed out in his sermon, while we had differences of ideas, there was a unity of spirit that allowed us to transcend all differences.
I would like to thank the New York Planning Committee, headed by Mrs. Maria Kostoulas, for the many months of selfless labor in planning and preparing the logistics, the lodging, the meals, and the social activities for the CLC and the Youth Conference. Likewise, I thank the Sisters of St. Synkletiki Convent as well as the Parish Councils, Parish Philoptochos Societies, and the many volunteers from the New York area Parishes.
A warm thank you should be said to the Philoptochos Conference Committee: Mrs. Penelope Spanos, Mrs. Georgene Votzakis, Ms. Despina Avgoustis, and Ms. Eliana Pittos. The Metropolitan Philoptochos was able to raise funds, on the very day of the Conference, for St. Nectarios Parish, Detroit, MI—one of our parishes experiencing extreme hardship due to the economic downturn. In addition, the Philoptochos Society of St. Markella’s Cathedral should be congratulated for receiving the 2010 Presidency of the Metropolitan Philoptochos.
I would also like to announce the times and places for the next diocesan gatherings:
A) The 3rd Clergy-Laity Conference will be held in Chicago, IL, in 2014!
B) The 2010 Youth Conference will be held in Detroit, MI.
C) The First Metropolitan Philoptochos Conference will be held at the Cathedral of St. Markella in 2011.
I would also like to ask anyone that may have any photos or video from any part of the conference to please contact Fr. Anastasios Hudson.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps. 132/133)
In Christ,
Leonidas Pittos
Executive Secretary of the Metropolitan Council
