A New Way of Giving at St. Demetrios

Dear Stewards & Friends of
Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios - Elmhurst, IL

 
We pray that this message finds you and your families well and safe.  The Covid-19 Pandemic has spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially affected all of us. Our parish home of St. Demetrios has not been immune to the effects of the Coronavirus. We were only allowed to have 4 people worship in the church and all ministries & programs that contribute to the vibrant life of our community came to a sudden halt for over 80 days. 
 
We did our best to keep you engaged via live-streamed Divine Services, Zoom meetings, and through the vehicle of Social Media. We made the conscious and sincere effort not to burden any of you with a financial plea during this turbulent period. This is credited to our Parish Council who for years has been frugally and wisely protecting the resources of our parish. Our sincere appreciation goes out to all of you, especially to the leadership of our Parish Council for helping sustain our Church - even in the most unprecedented of times.
 
With the Blessings of the Metropolis and the guidance of the State of Illinois, we have now opened our doors to Divine Services inviting our faithful to come back home into the warm embrace of our parish. To be sure things are different now. We still have a limited capacity of faithful that can attend and we won't be at full capacity for quite some time. However, opening up the doors of the Church is a monumental step forward. We all hope, with great anticipation, to return back to normal as soon as possible.  
 
After nearly 100 days of being relatively shut down, we are now respectfully asking for your continued prayerful and financial support. Like so many, our finances have taken a major hit. Our parish relies on a vibrant Liturgical schedule, heavy foot traffic and engaging ministries that bring the entire family together in Jesus Christ - under our Pantocratora.
 
To the aforementioned points, we are excited to introduce to you a new way of giving to St. Demetrios. By going to our website, you will find a "Donate" button where you can virtually make a much-needed offering to our parish home. Please consider renewing your Stewardship for 2020 or making any other gift above and beyond to help out our parish. In addition, you can also give an offering towards "Lighting a Vigil Candle". Please give not only for the struggles of today, but more importantly to the shared vision and mission of Christ's eternal message for all people. 
 
We thank you in advance and once again ask you to help us sustain our beloved Parish of St. Demetrios during Covid-19.
 
With Deep Appreciation and Love in Christ