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Orthodox Observer - May 20, 1997
Remarks of Archbishop Spyridon My beloved co-workers and brothers sisters in Christ: Christos Anesti! This is my first opportunity to be present at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of Leadership 100, and I wish to begin by expressing my deep and abiding gratitude to all of you, especially those who will be going off the Board this year, for the three years of dedicated service to our Holy Archdiocese and Leadership 100. I know that in a little while, you will be electing thirteen positions for a new three year term on the Board of Trustees, as well as the new officers for the Executive Committee of the Board, and I pray that God will illumine you with the glorious light of His Resurrection, so that your selections may be guided by His Holy Spirit. I know that sometimes, in the financial matters of the Church, we tend to think of our responsibilities in an overly secular way, and that sometimes we lose sight of the sacred and holy character of our responsibilities. But being a member of the Board of Trustees is precisely that — a matter of trust, fidelity, faith; because the Church has entrusted to you the precious gifts given not only by you, but your fellow Greek Orthodox Christians. And these gifts belong to the whole Body of Christ, because through the grants Leadership 100 is able to make on a yearly basis, the whole Body of the Church is nourished and made stronger. Therefore, I commend all of you to God, and I commend all of you for your love, your faith and your works; knowing that faith without works is dead. It is my fervent hope that in this coming year, Leadership 100 will become even more visible in the life of the Archdiocese. I believe that an increased presence and profile of Leadership will enable the program to grow more quickly and more substantially. I am committed to working with you to attain the goal of five hundred fulfilled members and even beyond. The needs of our Church are great, especially as we join together to face the challenges of the next Millennium. We need that special kind of unity of mind and heart that only the love of God can foster, so we can foster that same love in the children of tomorrow. This is where I see Leadership 100 as such a vital component to the life of the Archdiocese. In order to secure the faith of our youth, we need the means to reach them. Whether through the Internet, through well-prepared liturgical translations, programs that reach youth where they are, or the strengthening of our Theological School (the very reason you chose to meet here in Boston), we must build foundations firmer for tomorrow than we have known in the past. You know as well as I that our communities do not have the homogeneous character which they did even twenty years ago. The Greek Orthodox people are assimilating into the wider American society even better that their forebears may have anticipated, but there is always risk of losing the very things that make us Greek Orthodox in the first place. Most important of all, we must teach the fullness of our faith to our children in ways that are accessible to them. The impediments are not language or so-called mixed marriages. The only impediments are a lack of love and a lack of creativity. You have the love, or else you would not have led the way by making the commitment that you have. Now we must engage every resource at our disposal and search out creative ways to employ the benefits that Leadership 100 brings to the Church. I encourage you wholeheartedly to continue your committee work on the National Ministries of the Archdiocese and come up with, not only recommendations, but solutions to the common problems we face. We all know well from the secular world, that problems cannot be addressed simply by "throwing" money at them. It takes more; it takes thoughtful, incisive deliberations to decide how best the money will be spent. If I might share a passage from the Gospel with you. The Lord said: "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. Befriend the mammon of unrighteousness, and in the time of your need, it will receive you into eternal habitations. He who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much." (St. Luke 16;8-10) I take this to mean that our Risen Lord wants us to be at least as prudent in our dealings with the things of this world — the "mammon of unrighteousness" — as those involved in purely secular business. But we must also go one better. We must transform our material successes into spiritual successes as well. And if we will only be faithful, He will supply our every need and provide for our increase. Leadership 100 is by no means "a little," but it can and I believe it will become much more. I exhort you all, the members of this Board of Trustees, to continue to be faithful in your deliberations, your actions and your sacred trust of Leadership 100. If we prove wiser than the children of this world, we shall then truly deserve the name "children of light." In that same light of the glorious Resurrection of Christ our Savior, I pray that you always abide.
[ Orthodox Observer - Vol. 62, No. 1129 - May 20, 1997 - p. 5 ]
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