Dear Clergy-Laity Congress Delegates,

On behalf of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios and the entire Eparchial Synod of our Archdiocese, I welcome you to Phoenix, Arizona and the 41st Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress! We hope this congress will provide you with a memorable experience and a greater insight into your National Ministries as well as the administrative and legislative processes of your Archdiocese.

In order to supply you with resource materials needed for the meetings of this Clergy- Laity Congress we have compiled this binder containing reports from the ministries and institutions of the Archdiocese. Each ministry was asked to offer a brief overview of their growth over the past two years as well as goals and plans for the future of each ministry and institution. In addition to the ministry reports in this packet, you will also find the official agenda items (Resolutions) that were voted upon and passed at the local Metropolis Assemblies and presented for consideration at this Congress. These items will be discussed in the appropriate committee meetings during the congress as well as the Congress plenary sessions.

As a delegate to this congress and in accordance with Article 4 Section 8 of the Regulations, each delegate is required to “Provide a written report of the proceedings of the Congress together with copies of any written reports that were distributed, to his or her Parish, at the Parish Assembly immediately following each Congress.” In order to assist you in providing a more comprehensive report to your community, the Archdiocese will be providing a report of the Congress on our Clergy-Laity website. This report will contain a summary of the congress, resolutions approved as well as a summary of the ministry workshop sessions held during the congress. Additionally, our website will also have the complete presentations for your parishioners to view at their convenience.

Please make the most of this extremely important communication tool for your Parish and Parishioners.

During committee meetings and the plenary sessions, Congress delegates are asked to fill the seats in the front of each meeting room and non-delegates are asked to remain in the rear of each meeting room. These sections or rows will be identified by the committee chairperson during each committee meeting. Only registered delegates, wearing proper credentials identifying them as delegates, will be allowed a vote and given the right to speak at the microphones.

In order to provide you with a well-rounded congress experience, in addition to the regular committee meetings and plenary sessions being held throughout the week, you will have the opportunity to participate in many ministry workshop sessions by our Archdiocese. We hope that these sessions are inspiring and provide you with a better working knowledge of our ministries as well as leave you with valuable resources to take home to your Parish.

Once again we welcome you to the 41st Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress and thank you for your Stewardship to your Parish and our Archdiocese through your attendance and participation at this congress. We hope you have a memorable and enjoyable time in Phoenix.

Sincerely,

Jerry Dimitriou
Executive Director of Administration 

You may download a pdf version of the cover letter here