Book of Memories

Greek Orthodox Church Looks Back In Time

Hellenic bridge group of 30 women. The camaraderie created by weekly bridge lessons and monthly play solved the problem. The $12 yearly membership fee was used for Sunday school equipment, library books and philanthropic efforts.

One hundred years of history are depicted in black and white and sepia photos. In wedding shots from 1924 and earlier, brides elaborately dressed for their time looking fetchingly oldfashioned.

The Greek Language School, founded in 1924, still functions today to instruct children in the liturgical language of the church, as well as the language of their families and forebearers. In the past, classes were held in different places with various instructors. Today, they are offered at the Hellenic Center on church grounds.

symbolically reflect the radiant light of God.

The ceiling features a dome centered by a massive mural of Christ surrounded by individual murals of the apostles. The church today is a far cry from the stable on N Street where the first Divine Liturgy was held Christmas Day 1921.

Praying, playing and working together cement this congregation as it plans for further development, growth and sharing. The 100th anniversary book is an heirloom to be cherished. For more information, visit www. annunciationsac.org/100years.

BY LEANE RUTHERFORD

Celebrating 100 years, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in East Sacramento has published a compendium of its history, family stories, memories, parochial groupings and historical photographs.

“Celebrating 100 Years: Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation” is not to be taken lightly. The book is a ton of tome, weighing 7 pounds. The two-year project “was done with love and devotion,” says church docent Pauline Cazanis.

“Getting the history of our Greek community written down is something special,” says Terry Kastanis, Keeper of the Papers for the Church of the Annunciation. He sees the book as important because it is not only a “history of the church and its community, but a history of Sacramento.”

The album leads readers on a historical journey of an energetic church that never stands still. The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is ever building and expanding. Embracing its congregants—more than 600 families—the church has evolved to meet the needs of all ages and interests. The book explores the church’s parish governance, groups and organizations, as well a youth ministry, choir, dance classes and even a senior league for gettogethers.

Stories in the anecdotal and retrospective sections detail how church members know how to turn straw into gold. Sophia Evrigenis tells how a minor animosity between several Greek associations was resolved by forming a

After regular school, children attend the language school three times a week for several hours. The school is a crucial part of their education. Language is a vehicle for sharing and perpetuating culture. With fewer Greek newcomers to America, the need to learn Greek is even more vital.

The Byzantine church was built in 1952 at Alhambra and F streets across from McKinley Park. Inside the basilica, dominated by a dozen large stained-glass windows, it is cool and serene. At the front of the church, the eye is drawn to a wall of saints and sacred images gilded to

LeAne Rutherford can be reached at lrutherf@d.umn.edu. More stories can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

City Fumbles Efforts To Solve Homelessness

Progress on the homeless crisis needs five components: monetary resources, political will, a model for housing and services, a place to implement the program and adequate service providers. asking for cleanup and enforcement efforts, then reverses the directives.

With collaborative effort, the city and county can make real progress. But first, elected officials must admit homelessness is a crisis. We often hear the words “crisis” from the City Council. But the actions enable people to camp in squalor on our streets.

That’s not compassion. And it’s no way to solve a crisis.

An example is “Camp Resolution,” where staff was told to move people illegally squatting on land deemed unfit for humans by state water authorities.

This was a tremendous waste of money. Staff was demoralized. An opportunity lost.

Not enough resources have been allocated to programs that create real change. With state and federal pandemic funds, we had opportunities. But much of that money was spent on other projects. Homelessness was not effectively addressed.

Many models have been built to address the housing and behavioral health needs of homeless people. Permanent housing and supportive housing are a piece of the puzzle, but extremely expensive.

By Jeff Harris City Skeptic

City staff did outreach at the camp. But on the night before cleanup, Councilmember Katie Valenzuela brought so-called homeless advocates to a City Council meeting. The work was canceled.

The city can’t bear the financial burden alone. Private philanthropy needs to engage. City Council needs to stop tossing out one-off projects and create a cohesive plan to shelter and treat as many homeless people as possible.

A lot of money is squandered on knee-jerk reactions to storm events for underused respite centers. As the “Camp Resolution” story shows, City Council gives staff the runaround,

The city has supported a lot of affordable housing. But to deal with the sheer numbers of unhoused people, the best option is interim housing. Our congregate shelters are only marginally successful and difficult to manage.

For interim housing, I’m talking about small structures such as pallet shelters, modular stackable shelters or tiny home communities where behavioral health needs can be addressed. In a declared emergency, building code restrictions are relaxed, which brings down costs.

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Newly Remodeled Home With Best View On The Lake

6541 Chesbro Circle, Rancho Murieta, CA 95683

This property is a little slice of heaven. Overlooks water and hundreds of acres of ranch and conservancy land with snowy Sierras in background. Step onto your lake deck and experience abundant wildlife with swans, wild turtles, otters and Canadian geese. Watch bald eagles dive for fish. Secluded 2706 sf single story home was completely remodeled in 2021-2022. Primary suite has enormous walk-in closet and two separate vanities, seated shower and Jacuzzi tub. New junior suite has extra-large shower with pebble stone floor reminiscent of nearby Cosumnes River. Additional guestroom with bath. Open floor plan has floorto-ceiling windows for lake views and all new Hunter Douglas shades. Expansive great room opens to large deck overlooking Lake Chesbro. Remodel includes stunning new whole-house hand-scraped random plank designer hardwood flooring, tall baseboards, all fresh paint and new decorator LED lighting and fixtures. New kitchen with slab quartz counters has extensive counter space, glass tile backsplash, farmhouse sink, solid-panel cabinetry and entertaining bar. Oversized three-car-garage has new Alpine cabinets, new epoxy floor, new garage doors and a back fenced courtyard for a garden or dog run. New Bel Air Market, Napa-style restaurants, golf club, miles of hiking trails, biking, fishing, tennis and pickleball make this a unique 24 hour guard gated community. $1,298,000

The city currently spends up to $550,000 per unit for permanent supportive housing. Interim housing can be erected for about $50,000. Dignity Moves, a Bay Area nonprofit, has built three interim housing communities and demonstrated encouraging results getting individuals stabilized and ready for a future in permanent housing.

The campus-to-courtyard model used by San Antonio’s Haven for Hope is very effective, but requires many millions of dollars to build. Haven is supported by 60% private investment.

WellSpace has developed the Crisis Receiving and Behavioral Health center. It’s an effective intervention for substance abusers. We need to replicate this effort and build a wellness campus, a front door for homeless services.

The needs are clear: Cities and counties must supply places to build housing. They must support programs and service providers.

Sacramento purchased 102 acres in the south area to tackle the homeless conundrum. But all we’ve heard from City Council is a desire to build a soccer complex there. It’s an ideal place for interim housing.

In contrast, the county has purchased a large warehouse to create a campus-style model. The county also set in motion two tiny home communities. I cheer these efforts, and wish the city would show similar enterprise.

As far as providers go, we have many. Most are excellent. Volunteers of America, Hope Cooperative, WellSpace, Shelter Inc., Women’s Empowerment and many others do tremendous work. This is not our problem area.

If we want to resolve this crisis, we need coordination of providers, more private resources, and cohesive political direction and leadership. Without these elements, the situation will only get worse.

Jeff Harris represented District 3 on the City Council from 2014 to 2022. He can be reached at cadence@mycci. net. n