Glory to God in all Things!
Fr. John Theodosion, June 2009

As we look back on the past five years my family and I are filled with awe and thanksgiving to God for having been given this opportunity to serve the community of Saint Andrew. Personally, my goal has always been to foster and continue the growth which has been happening from the time our community was established. When I first came, I was amazed to see the cooperative nature of the parish council and the people of the church who genuinely had a desire for spiritual growth; and grow we did. I say “we” because I most certainly believe that the community of Saint Andrew also helped my family and I to grow spiritually through our experience here as well.
On the following pages are articles about the priesthood which were read and shared on a Sunday morning coffee hour by some of the youth members of our community. Also some of the students of our Sunday School sang the hymn of our church. This was a beautiful way to mark the occasion of five years of ministry, and since everyone could not be there or hear them that day I really wanted to share them with you through our monthly magazine. I was very touched that day and found it difficult to express my feelings. It is still difficult because I am overwhelmed by everything that has happened in the past five years.
Having said this, I wish to take this time to thank all those who helped accomplish so much in our community for the glory of God. I will begin by mentioning those who started and those who brought to completion the first floor of our community center which has given us the opportunity to help foster more ministries. Through this we have been able to open a bookstore and lending library, and Sunday School is held after the Divine Liturgy so that the students may attend Sunday Services with their families. Our baking group has a beautiful new kitchen to work in. Greek School will be held in the coming year on two nights per week, which will cut down on the number of trips parents will make coming to church each week. We have continued and begun new outreach to the poor through the knitting group, our support of the charities in Camden, Market Street Mission, Habitat for Humanities, the Donna Garland fund, and the ministries of S.C.O.B.A., just to name a few. This does not even begin to scratch the surface of the accomplishments of our youth programs and our newly reestablished YAL. We are also in the process of our Strategic Planning which I believe will help us as a community to hone and focus our energies so that our ministries and programs will have a more effective impact on those whose lives are touched by our work. I could go on and on about the beautiful things that are happening in the life of this community, but I don’t really have to tell you because it is through your efforts and by the grace of God that we have been able to do so much.
Finally, I will conclude with the following quote from the Gospel of John Chapter 4, “Do you not say, `There are yet four months, then comes the harvest`? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, `One sows and another reaps.` I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." I feel that I have entered into the labor of others, and today our community “white for harvest” and it is most certainly reaping the harvest of those who have sown the seeds before us. This is an awesome feeling for me because I have the utmost respect for the work it took to plant those seeds. I pray that the seeds we are planting today will continue the tradition of glorifying God that has become a cornerstone of this community. I thank all of the members of this most blessed community and pray that God will continue to bless us with the spirit of cooperation and continued spiritual growth.