Dearly beloved in the Lord

With His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas’s blessing, we will be bringing forward our biannual Church Board elections this year to 18 June 2023.

It is an exciting time for the Church of the 318 Holy Fathers.  It is growing faster than ever  with expanding families, Orthodox Christians moving to live in Shropshire, and people from all backgrounds joining the Orthodox Church through holy baptism and chrismation.

The will of God is for ‘all people to be saved, and come to the full knowledge of the truth’.  For our church, this means that, our mission is to continue to be ‘fruitful and multiply’ by bringing as many people as possible to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, who is ‘the way, the truth and the life’.  The role of the Church Board members is to serve as leaders of the mission in collaboration with the clergy and to direct and make decisions on the ministries of the church to help achieve that mission, namely:

• to support the presbyters in ensuring that the Divine Offices are conducted regularly and in order according to the needs of the people of God;
• to ensure that we have the space for as many people as possible to attend the Divine Offices and that our building does not restrict our future growth;
• to direct and support the education ministries – the teaching of the faith to young people and adults;
• to help, direct and support the ministry to those in need: the poor, the orphaned, the widows, the bereaved, the sick and the suffering;
• to help direct our mission to make our church known to the people living in Shropshire and the surrounding area through internet ministries, social media, podcasts, events (such as the 1700th anniversary of the 1st Ecumenical Council in 2025) etc 
• to oversee the members’ fundraising activities to raise sufficient funds for the church to fulfil its mission 

The members of the Church Board serve God by ensuring that all the church members are led and have the support and direction needed to help fulfil the church’s mission.  For example, the Church Board are not all teachers at the Youth Club, but are required to ensure that the Youth Club team has the facilities, the training and other support to fulfill its duties.  That means that each board member will serve within one of the activie ministries of the church and will lead the advancement and growth of that ministry.  Naturally, Church Board members attend church as often as possible so that they are known by and know the people of our church.

Other ministry teams are active: liturgical team; philoptochos (that raises money the poor), building project working group, mission, youth education, adult catechism.  So, if you want to get more involved in ministry of the church you don’t have to be on the board.

We must elect eight board members and His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas may appoint a further four if he wishes.  Nominations have opened, and we currently have the following people nominated for election:

If you want to know more about serving on the Church Board or serving in other ministries, please talk to Father Stephen (01939 291 078) or me (01743 245 122).  

Attached to this email is a candidate nomination paper.  All candidates must give their agreement to stand and have a proposer and a seconder.  Nominations must be submitted by Thursday, 8 June.  Election nomination.pdf

Only members of the community may stand or vote so please ensure that you have completed your membership declaration using this form: https://shrewsburyorthodox.churchsuite.com/forms/z6idfn4u . If you are struggling with completing the declaration form for any reason please email Adrian Pavel treasurer@shrewsburyorthodox.com to authorise him to make the declaration on your behalf.

Voting will take place in the church and electronically (for those who are absent with good cause) from 9am to 12pm on 18 June 2023.  

God bless you

Fr Panteleimon