Protocol Number 202/15

October 25, 2015

National Leadership 100 Sunday

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable,
always excelling in the work of the Lord, because
you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
(1 Cor 15:58)

 

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this Sunday, October 25, following the Feast of Saint Iakovos on October 23, and the day prior to the Feast of Saint Demetrios on October 26, we give thanks to God for the faithfulness and the benevolent dynamism of the members of Leadership 100 and celebrate the manifold accomplishments of the Leadership 100 Endowment Fund for more than three decades since its founding by Archbishop Iakovos of Blessed Memory. Leadership 100 has steadfastly supported the ministries and institutions of our Church for the glory of God.  I have been a part of its deliberations and have witnessed these extraordinary leaders excel in the work of the Lord and dedicate themselves to the advancement of our Orthodox Faith and Hellenic Heritage.

Leadership 100 has made it a labor of love to provide scholarship aid to men called to the Holy Priesthood at Holy Cross School of Theology, to assist active clergy, retired clergy and their presvyteres, to support our youth and children and families through Church Summer Camps in the Direct Archdiocesan District and in every Metropolis and to the Archdiocesan Center for Family Care, along with similar programs in the Metropolises. Furthermore, Leadership 100 has strived to make more effective our outreach and evangelism and our ecumenical and interfaith ministries by providing resources for video and digital communications, religious literature and meetings and conferences, bringing greater public awareness to the faith and work of our Greek Orthodox Church.

In these trying times when Christians are being persecuted in the Middle East, refugees are fleeing daily from areas of conflict, and crime and racial divisions are besetting our cities, Leadership 100 has supported the charitable outreach of International Orthodox Christian Charities, the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry and other ministries under the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America.

We acknowledge too the readiness of Leadership 100 to respond directly to humanitarian crises here and abroad including support in the aftermath of September 11, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and the devastating fires in Greece and express with special gratitude the generous gift toward the building of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine at Ground Zero.

On this seventh commemoration of National Leadership 100 Sunday, I hereby ask all of our parishes to honor the steadfast and immovable commitment of Leadership 100 and to recognize its members.  We fervently pray that the Lord will continue to bless abundantly Leadership 100 over the decades to come, and keep its members in health and prosperity as they labor not in vain to fulfill their sacred mission.

With paternal love in Christ,

† DEMETRIOS

Archbishop of America