His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros
Invocation – Paternal Exhortation - Benediction
Executive Committee
32nd Annual Leadership 100 Conference
February 1, 2023
The Phoenician – Salon H
Scottsdale, Arizona
Beloved Chairman, Jim Logothetis,
My Dear Friends,
Invocation
Let us commence our meeting today, by invoking God’s Holy Spirit upon all our deliberations and actions:
Βασιλεῦ Οὐράνιε, Παράκλητε, τὸ Πνεῦμα της Ἀληθείας, ὁ Πανταχοῦ Παρὼν καὶ τὰ Πάντα Πληρῶν, ὁ Θησαυρός των Ἀγαθῶν καὶ Ζωῆς Χορτηγός, ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος καὶ σῶσον, Ἀγαθὲ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν. Ἀμήν.
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I am delighted to once again be here with you at the Leadership 100 Conference, here in beautiful Phoenix. Our Chairman, Jim Logothetis, has been working with extraordinary zeal and commitment – together with our inimitable Executive Director, Paulette Poulos – to ensure that these days will be rewarding and substantive for the good members of Leadership One Hundred. Indeed, I commend all of you, the Members of the Executive Committee, who work in extraordinary synergy, an example for the entire Church.
Since our last Conference in Naples, Florida, much has transpired. And I want you to know – and I’ll make this point again to the Trustees and to all the Members – that Leadership One Hundred is truly the vanguard of the positive and excellent ministries of our Sacred Archdiocese.
You all know very well that it is your support – as the Endowment Fund for the Archdiocese – that has kept us strong during very difficult times the last few years. Indeed, without Leadership One Hundred, our Theological School would have been in near irreparable condition years ago. You have supplied and nourished the School through very lean years, just as Joseph the All-Comely did in Egypt with his wise apportioning of grain.*
You all should be very proud of your service to the Church, and the impact you have made by your generosity. As we prepare ourselves for this Conference, and the fellowship that it brings, I once again express my abiding gratitude to all of you. May God bless our deliberations today and throughout the week.
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Benediction
O Lord Jesus Christ our God, You have promised that when “two or three” are gathered in Your Holy Name, there You will be in the midst of them. We come before You today as your servants and stewards of the Household of God. We entreat Your Majesty: Accept our thanksgiving and our service, for they are offered in sincerity of heart and without reservation. Bless this gathering of faithful stewards of Your gifts, and grant us the wisdom and vision to perceive Your will for Your own People; through the prayers of Your All-Holy Mother, and of all the Saints. Amen.