Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
Stewardship

"Come and see" (from the Holy Gospel according to St. John 1:39)

Located in beautiful Camarillo, St. Demetrios has served Ventura County, California for over 45 years. St. Demetrios was founded in 1970 as the Greek Orthodox Church of Ventura County.

The parish became the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in 1977 by purchasing the Oxnard Air Force base chapel at the Camarillo Airport. In 2004, in response to our growing community, the Parish purchased land to build a new church, meeting hall, and chapel on a 4-acre parcel near Santa Rosa and Woodcreek Road in the Mission Oaks area of Camarillo. Work on the new property began in the fall of 2013. The first phase of construction was completed and the Thyranoixia Celebration was held on Saturday May 30th 2015 with the first Divine Liturgy the following day (Sunday).

Today the parish aptly reflects the American experience and comprises approximately 200 families representing at least 12 different nationalities, all witnessing to the Good News of Jesus Christ, striving to reflect His love, and living according to the ancient Christian principles and disciplines of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church.

All are welcome at St. Demetrios. The church hosts weekly meetings for Bible study sessions, baking groups, Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, a women’s group, potlucks and barbecues, and Family Integrated Religious Education…all to create a welcoming family atmosphere.

Message from Fr Gary

Fr Gary

I’m Your Buckaroo, I Wanna Be Like You


Country singer Rodney Atkins has a song called, “Watching You.” He talks about going through the McDonald’s drive thru and riding around town with his four-year-old. He says he stops quickly to avoid a red light and as he screeched to a stop the little boy’s fries and drink go flying all over the car. The four-year-old yells a four-letter word. Atkins says, "Son, now where did you learn to talk like that?" The boy said, "I've been watching you, dad, ain't that cool? I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.”

I want to be like you. Flattering words, but some of our actions don’t need to be repeated. As parents we all have instances where our kids, when they are young, imitate our behavior. Whether it is trying to shave with soap bubbles, make cookies with play-doh, put on our shoes, or use a toy lawnmower as we push the real thing: they want to be like us. Our example is an important one. They learn so much from what we do, what we say, and how we behave. Are we giving them the best version of ourselves?

Making the lives of our children easier is a goal of every parent. We do what we can to help them advance in life, teaching them lessons along the way. These lessons can be well structured and thought out, or the child can learn, like in the song mentioned, just by watching. What is it we display?


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