The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco Stewardship Ministry
invites you to the 2023 Monthly Ministry Series. Please join us on
Monday, May 15, 2023 for a special presentation on “Spread the Word,
Call and Challenge”, hosted by Rev. Fr. Jerry Markopoulos and Kenny
Scott, co-leaders of the Metropolis Missions and Evangelism Ministry.
They will be joined by Rev. Father Luke Veronis who has been involved
with the Orthodox church’s missionary movement since 1987 and brings a
valuable perspective on missions and evangelism as an effort to grow our
faith.
“The spirit of apostleship is indelibly wrought in the very nature of the Church and should be lived in every age,” states Archbishop Anastasios of Albania. “Mission is part of the Church’s genetic makeup, a fixed element in her DNA. Church without mission is a contradiction in terms. If the Church remains indifferent to the apostolic work with which she has been entrusted, she denies and contradicts herself and her very essence.”
Reading these powerful words from the foremost Orthodox missionary in the world today, should remind each of us about the central and primary role of sharing our Orthodox Christian Faith with the world around us, locally as well as globally. Like most everything else, however, this is easier said than done.
We invite you to dialogue with us about the call and challenge of being evangelists and how to practice evangelism at the parish and local level today within our own American context.
For more information, please email metropolis@sanfran.goarch.org or call 415-753-3075.
Your Hosts
Rev. Father Gerasimos “Jerry” Markopoulos and Kenny Scott, Co-Leads
Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco Missions and Evangelism Ministry
Rev. Father Gerasimos “Jerry” Markopoulos
Rev. Father Jerry co-leads the Missions and Evangelism Ministry (MEM)
for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco working alongside a
dedicated team of clergy and laity. Father Jerry is a parish priest who
serves in Eugene, Oregon.
In addition to his home parish of Saint George, Father Jerry has served, for more than ten years, the mission parishes of Holy Resurrection in Salem, OR, and Holy Cross in Roseburg, OR. Father Jerry joined the Missions and Evangelism team when the ministry transitioned from COME (Commission for Orthodox Missions and Evangelism). Earlier this year, he was asked to serve as interim director of the ministry. In addition to his work with MEM, Father Jerry is involved with the Clergy Continuing Education and Orthodox Parish Leadership ministries of our Metropolis. Father Jerry is currently a doctoral candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary in their Doctor of Ministry program (Leading Congregational and Organizational Change). He and his wife, Presvytera Maria, have three grown children, Nicholas, Demetre, and Paras.
Kenny Scott
Kenny Scott currently co-leads the Missions and Evangelism Ministry (MEM) for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco. He is a parishioner at Saint George Orthodox Church in Prescott, AZ where he was baptized on Christmas Eve, 2010, with his wife, Laura. He has served on the Parish Council, and various other boards and committees, and is currently the lead of the Evangelism Team at his parish. His is employed by the City of Prescott as a web developer. On the side, he creates websites with an evangelistic focus for Orthodox churches.
Guest Presenter
Fr. Luke Veronis
Father Luke serves as the Director for the Missions Institute of
Orthodoxy Christianity, which is located at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
School of Theology and teaches as an Adjunct Instructor at both Holy
Cross and Hellenic College since 2005.
He taught at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in NY (2005-2008), and guest lectured at St. Herman’s Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska and at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge, UK. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) in St. Augustine, FL.
Fr. Luke also pastors Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Webster, MA since December 2004. He and his wife, Presvytera Faith, have witnessed a wonderful turnaround of this parish, which has grown from a parochial church of 90 families to a vibrant, outreaching, missions-minded church of 160 families.
