Please join in prayer and fellowship for Pan-Orthodox Vespers at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Long Beach, CA. His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco will preside at this service, with concelebrants His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas of the Dardanelles and His Grace Bishop Maxim of the Western Serbian Diocese. All Orthodox faithful are invited and encouraged to attend.

The homily will be offered by His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas of the Dardanelles, a Hierarch of the Ecumenical Throne, who serves the Mother Church in Constantinople in numerous important areas including as Coordinator of the Patriarchal Committee on Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery.

Following the Vespers service will be a Reception and Silent and Live Auction fundraiser to benefit the The Theotokos Girls and Boys Orphanage in Bakeswar, India. Proceeds will support the completion and furnishing of their St. Ignatius School. For over 25 years, Sister Nectaria has been heading the Orphanage and combatting human trafficking, one child at a time. Sister Nectaria nurtures and educates the extremely poor and abandoned children in the outskirts of Kolkata, India. We invite you to share in this meaningful opportunity for almsgiving, which is an important part of our collective journey of prayer and penitence during Great and Holy Lent.

“Great Lent provides us with the opportunity to remove ourselves from worldly distractions and focus on prayer and spiritual development on our journey towards the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection,” commented His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos. “This Pan-Orthodox Vespers service will bring us together as one Orthodox Christian family where we can truly make a positive impact on the work of Sister Nectaria and provide hope, love and a safe haven for these children entrusted to her care.”

Joining us for this event will be Jonathan Jackson, musician, writer and award winning actor who has starred in numerous TV and films including “Nashville”, “General Hospital”, “Tuck Everlasting” and several others. Jonathan is a devoted Orthodox Christian who dedicated his fifth EMMY® to the Mother of God, the Theotokos, on Mount Athos. He is also the lead singer and writer for the band ENATION which recently completed an international tour.  Jonathan is committed to raising awareness to combat the growing global atrocity of modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

If you are interested in supporting this effort and live outside the Los Angeles area, please contact help@fili-inc.com or visit their website for more information.

Youth Rally

Special Opportunity for youth in grades 5 – 12: Participate in an exciting Youth Rally which will be held at 4:30 p.m. at the Assumption Church immediately preceding Great Vespers. This Youth Rally will focus on the theme, “Habits in our Habitats”, with Nicholas Kouracos leading this event. Recognizing the many challenges faced by our young people, the Youth Rally will share valuable ideas on how to refocus on Christ amidst the many distractions in our world.