Suzy Antonopoulos

As I reflect on the last 20 years of my life, I have come to realize that I am truly blessed to have grown up in a living, vibrant Orthodox Christian community. I was raised in Saint Mark of Ephesus Cathedral, but also was fortunate to have St. Anna's Church right next door, as well as the Holy Transfiguration Monastery and Holy Nativity Convent nearby. The Church and our Faith is the one thing that has remained constant and unchanging through all of life's expected and unexpected joys and sorrows. This Orthodox community I have grown up in has been a great strength to me throughout my life. This stems from growing up in a living Orthodox parish - attending services, developing friendships and fellowship through the Church's youth groups, being involved with the Philoptoxos, attending and now assisting Sunday school, to mention a few aspects of parish life. As if this were not enough to thank God daily for, we are blessed to be so close to two thriving monastic communities, which provide us with a daily living example of how to lead an Orthodox life and how to best keep God at the center of our lives. Through their daily routine of services, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, labor, and hospitality, we see the ancient Orthodox tradition of monastic life thriving in our own backyards here in the 21st century.

For these reasons, I wholeheartedly support and pray for the growth and success of SPFL in aiding the various Orthodox communities - whether monastic or lay - through labor. It is truly remarkable that, while benefiting various Orthodox communities in need, SPFL also provides a greater benefit to those who participate in its projects, allowing individuals to learn about the Orthodox faith from the clergy, monastics, and fellow parishioners, not only by their sayings but by their examples of selfless devotion, as well as learning such things as team work while laboring to get a project completed. Of course, with SPFL we also have the opportunity to travel to wonderful places while meeting new people and make lasting friendships.