I hope everyone had a blessed and joyous Pascha. We enjoyed seeing record crowds attending Church this year. The celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord was so uplifting. The choir sang so beautifully. Thanks to George Lenares and all the Psaltes who contribute so much to our services. We truly are blessed to have the magnificent voices of our choir uplift us during these special services and throughout the year. Make sure to commend them and all they mean to our church service. I especially want to thank my parish council members, the seniors who put together the Friday and Saturday service candles, the youth who help sell and run errands, as well as prepare the palms, and the many parishioners who lent their assistance throughout the week. There is so much to do behind the scenes to make your Holy Week worship experience meaningful, that without the assistance of so many dedicated parishioners we could not do it all.

Warm congratulations to our students and teachers for a successful March 25 Greek Independence Day Program and Dance. Our teachers and parents, along with many of the Saint Sophia community, proudly listened to our little ones recite their poems and sing songs in honor of the heroes that made Greek independence possible. A special thank you to the Ahepa organization for helping offset the expense of this program.

Look up in church. Can you name the biblical scenes around the church as you are transported through the life of our Lord. Our Iconography Project is almost complete. There are a few beautiful icons still available for painting to complete the mission. Please consider a pledge in support of this endeavor. If anyone is interested in donating icons in anyone’s honor or memory, please contact Father Pat. What a legacy to leave your family and the history of your church.

Mother's Day on Sunday, May 9 is a time of commemoration and celebration for Mom. It is a time of breakfast in bed, family gatherings, and crayon scribbled "I Love You's" as we tell her how much she means to the family.

Father's Day on Sunday, June 20 is a day of commemoration and celebration of Dad. It is a day to not only honor your father and show how much he means to you, but all men who have acted as a father figure in your life – whether as Stepfathers, Uncles, Grandfathers, or "Big Brothers."

On behalf of the Fr. Pat and all the Parish Council I want to wish every mother and father in our community a blessed and healthy well-deserved special day. God Bless You All…We are here because of you.

Our church life also depends on the physical church building and its contents, which must be maintained. As we strive to keep up with so many building needs, I want to thank the anonymous stewards that saw a need for repairing and tiling the front of the bathrooms and completed the job so superbly. In the meantime we have to finance some urgent maintenance outside and inside the building complex, such as filling potholes, painting, and general winter damage repairs. Always remember that this is your church. God has blessed us with so much and we must give back of our time, talents, and love.

I would like to take this opportunity, since this is a May-June Testament, to thank everyone for helping the church have a most successful Grecian Festival. Thank you to the women and men who spent countless hours preparing and cooking all the food and pastries. They begin weeks before the festival and who continue to work throughout the weekend. I would like to extend a special thanks to all of those who so generously provided supplies, bought journal ads, worked the booths, or gave financial contributions in order to ensure the success of this event. As usual, our parishioners came through with time and talents during the three days. I also want to thank chair, George Sokaris, and his committees for all the time and effort put into making this festival a success and ensuring that everything ran smoothly.

The $100 Festival Raffle sponsored by our Parish, for our Operating Fund, will be held on Saturday May 15, during the festival. Only two hundred tickets will be sold, and they are now available from chairperson, Nick Panayotou. Thank you for your support.

With the start of vacations and other summer activities, I hope everyone will continue to stay active and come to church during the hazy, lazy days of summer. On behalf of the parish council, I wish everyone a fun, safe, and happy summer.