His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros
Invocation, Closing Remarks, and Benediction
31st Annual Leadership 100 Conference Grand Banquet
February 12, 2022
The Ritz-Carlton Naples – Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Naples, Florida
Invocation:
My Dear Friends,
Let us pray to the Lord. Kyrie Eleison.
O Lord Jesus Christ our God, You have gathered the Leaders of this superb organization together for the sake of ministry and fellowship. We ask your holy blessings on us we bow our heads before you.
Grant us gratitude heart and soul for all the blessings with which You inspire us, for You are the Provider of everything that is good and holy.
And bless the food and drink of which we are about to partake, and the communion of spirit and mind that fills this hall,
For you are Holy, together with Your Eternal Father, and Your All-Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
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Closing Remarks:
Beloved Members of Leadership One Hundred,
Our time together has come to a conclusion, but not to an end. We will carry away not only memories from this beautiful city of Naples – we will carry on with the mission of service and sacrifice that is the hallmark of Leadership One Hundred.
Your presence here these past few days is a witness and manifestation of the bright future in store of our Archdiocese and Church in America. With visionaries like your Executive Committee, your Trustees, and dedicated staff, the provisions on our ark of salvation are secure and well arranged.
Tonight’s honorees: Dr. Alexander Kitroeff, Christos Kyratsous and Dr. George Yancopoulos, along with are own Argyris Vassiliou, have given us all reasons to hope for the future. As we hail them for their accomplishments, we wish our new Chair, Jim Logothetis, and our new Vice-Chair, Jim Pantelides, every success in their awesome responsibilities. And of course, we all take heart in that we have the unparalleled Paulette Poulos managing the organization on a daily basis. Let’s give them all another round of applause!
My Friends,
Over the course of this year, as we observe the Centennial of our beloved Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, I want you all to keep in mind that for nearly forty of these blesséd years, it has been Leadership One Hundred rowing in unison with the Hierarchs, Clergy, and Lay pioneers of the Church, keeping the Ship of our Faith on course. Working together, as one Body in Christ, we have achieved great things – marvels that were only dreamed of one hundred years ago.
We all be very proud of the accomplishments achieved to this point, but in closing tonight, let us look to the future and dream bigger. The generation of leaders who will press our cause forward are looking to us right now, awaiting our signal. As I said yesterday: Will our Church be relevant to the society in which they live? Do we have a message of inclusion and transformation for every human person?
As we leave our festivities, let us re-commit ourselves to bringing the very best of our Greek Orthodox Faith and traditions to even more exalted heights – in our communities, our institutions, and our society.
Thank you all for your wondrous dedication and devotion. I am very proud indeed to be your Archbishop and to minister with you in this beloved Archdiocese.
* * *
Benediction (at the conclusion of the meeting):
ARCHBISHOP: Let us close our fellowship this evening with a prayer of thanksgiving.
Father Mott intros with “Glory to the Father … Kyrie Eleison (X3) Holy Master give the blessing.”
ARCHBISHOP:
Heavenly Father, glorified with your Only-Begotten Son and Holy Spirit – we give You thanks and praise for these days of fellowship and ministry.
Protect and guide the precious Members of Leadership One Hundred and their families as they return to their homes. Let ministering Angels keep them safe and sound, and bring them to their loved ones with rejoicing.
For You are our God – the God Who shows mercy and saves, and to You we ascribe all glory, honor, and worship – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.