There is no doubt in my mind that we are all looking for a better year ahead of us. We all have reflected on this past year as one that we never will encounter again. But let us remain clear that even in the worst of times, Christ is in our midst; He is and shall Always be!

We all, in some way, have been affected by the Covid-19 virus. Some suffering physically, others emotionally, some financially, and even some have suffered the loss of family and close friends. Our church of Saint Barbara has also experienced and continues to experience the affects of the pandemic. Church attendance had declined, our ministries are suffering, our finances have declined drastically due to the fact that fund raisers are at the bare minimum.

But throughout all of this, we continue to do the best possible to keep our Saint Barbara family together. Sunday school classes meet weekly through zoom meetings, Greek school classes are meeting in the classrooms with all necessary precautions, GOYA meetings and fund raising have been resumed, again with all the necessary precautions, PTO meets monthly via zoom meetings, and we thank them for the beautiful Christmas tree in the church this year, Philoptochos also will be meeting via zoom, and the backbone of our family, the parish council, continues to meet in person several times a month in order to keep our parish operating on a daily basis.

I personally thank all of members of these ministries for their love of our Saint Barbara Church. I thank all of you, my Spiritual family of Saint Barbara for your love and patience throughout this past year. Yes, changes have been made in the church in order to keep everyone safe; we have been inconvenienced, but the good news is we are all here! Great is God!

Let us all pray for a healthy New Year of 2021, a year of peace and unity in America and most of all faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is in our midst and shall always be!

With love in Christ,

+ Fr. Paul

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