Below you will find communications from our NSP President, Pearlann Bithos.

March 26, 2026

My dear Sister Presvyteres,

As we find ourselves nearing the end of Great Lent and turning our hearts toward Holy Week, I gently encourage each of us to be mindful of something very important—care for our families, and for ourselves. Let us make the time to ensure our spouses are well rested, our children are cared for, and that we, too, pause and restore our own strength.

Even as we anticipate the beautiful and life-giving Feast of Pascha, we know what follows—end-of-school activities, graduations, weddings, baptisms, and the full rhythm of daily life. WHEW! I find myself taking a deep breath just writing it all!

Amidst all of this, we have Clergy Laity. I would like to share some important updates. The Archdiocese, in collaboration with the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, has been working diligently in preparation for the upcoming Clergy-Laity Congress, taking place June 30 – July 3. We extend our deepest appreciation to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and the entire Archdiocese for their continued love and care for clergy families—including each of us.

If you have not yet made your hotel reservations, please do so as soon as possible. Registration is now open at www.clergylaity.org. As a reminder, everyone must be registered, including children ages 2–17.  The children's registration is at no cost.

We are also blessed with wonderful news: registration for ALL Presvyteres is $200. This includes lunch, the Tuesday evening event, the Grand Banquet on Thursday, and the Clergy Family Event on Wednesday evening. Please note that registering for Clergy-Laity serves as your RSVP for the Clergy Family Event—no additional registration is needed.

You will soon receive more information regarding our Presvytera Thursday afternoon luncheon. Please continue to watch for updates via email and on our private Facebook page. As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and remember that your Metropolis Representative is also available to assist you.

A few weeks ago, the National Board had the blessing of meeting in Lynn, Massachusetts, at the parish of St. George. We are so grateful to our Boston Metropolis Representative, Patricia Orphanos, her husband Fr. Alex, and the entire parish community for their warm and gracious hospitality. It was especially meaningful to pray together as His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios presided over the Second Stanza of the Salutations to the Theotokos—a truly beautiful and spiritual blessing.

In the coming weeks, please be attentive to emails from your Metropolis Representative regarding elections to the National Board. As outlined in our constitution, each Metropolis meets annually, and every other year elects a representative. Additionally, the Nominating Committee will be sending information regarding Executive Board elections.

During this Lenten season, I have been trying to live out the many spiritual lessons we read about—kindness, listening, and leading with a heart full of love. What I continue to learn is this: a kind heart, a listening ear, and a soul filled with love are the greatest gifts we can offer one another.

Over these past 21 months, I have been blessed to meet so many incredible people. Often, I am asked, “What is the NSP?” And it fills me with such joy to share about all of you—who we are, our families, and the beautiful bond we share in Christ. It is truly a blessing to know each and every one of you.

When I say to you, “Choose Joy,” please know that I mean it with all my heart. I choose joy because of my daughters and son-in-law, my beloved grandchildren, and my family—which includes YOU.

Thank you for being who you are—wonderful women who, like me, fell in love with a man who chose to serve our Lord. What a blessing that is.

Kali Anastasi,
Pearlann

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October 1, 2024

My Amazing Sisters,

Kalo Mina!  I pray that this month provides all of us health and peace.  Please keep in your prayers our clergy families in the Metropolises of Atlanta and Detroit as they and their families and parishioners are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.  Reach out to those you know, not only as they are putting their homes back together, but a call, email, or text to a fellow Presvytera goes a long way. 

Monday night the executive officers had their monthly zoom meeting. We are gearing up to our Fall National Board Meeting held in the suburbs of Chicago on October 25-27, 2024.  I am amazed at the women on this board!  We come from all walks of life but bonded by one thread – and we constantly talk about what we can do for all of us and our families.  As many of you have asked what we do at the meeting and you wanted to know if we would open the meeting up for everyone, we have planned to do so.  We will schedule a zoom for Saturday, October 26 for an hour, for you to participate.  Because our listserv has not only Presvyteres on the list, your metropolis rep will be sending you the link.  We are hopeful that it will work out…pleases pray for that!  I hope to send out a loose agenda for you to follow.  During that time you will hear information on our upcoming National Retreat being held next fall in the Metropolis of Denver.  I'm excited to participate and I can't wait to see everyone there.  

I'm also very excited to represent you at many different events.  It provides me the opportunity to speak about our sisterhood and what we do, it's amazing that people have no idea what our sisterhood is all about. Every chance you get to share what we do as a sisterhood, go for it! Sometimes one conversation at a time makes a big difference.  Last month I took a personal trip to Boston to “reset”.  While I was there, I had the opportunity to have dinner with several of our sisters in the Boston area.  Those of you who couldn't be there, I missed seeing you, but I'll be back again.  This month takes me to NYC for Archdiocesan Council Meetings, Archon Dinner and then fly to Naples to attend the APC meeting.  Patricia Artemas will be attending the ABC meeting, and on Tuesday morning all will come together to discuss things that are important to us. While I am at the Archdiocese Council Meeting, Tina Vlahos will be attending the National Philoptochos Meeting representing us. The DAD sisterhood is having a gathering while I'm in New York and I can't wait to see everyone!  

As I end, please continue to keep everyone in your prayers and if you have a moment, make a call, write a text or drop a line to someone you haven't spoken to in a while. This little gesture of kindness goes a long way, just as I mentioned in the Podcast that you can still watch on youtube “Live with the Louhs.” Patricia Artemas and I were honored to be guests with Fr. Nick and Roxanne Louh discussing our journey. I pray you get a chance to enjoy the podcast on your own time. So make that one small act of kindness. You don't know what something like that does!

With sisterly love,
Pearlann 

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September 1, 2024

Dear Sisters,

Happy  Ecclesiastical New Year!

There are so many beginnings in our lives, and we celebrate those, so why not celebrate this as well!  This new year brings focus on our church, our family and our clergy family!

Your NSP Board has been BUSY!  The executive board has met via zoom, and been in constant communication.  We are meeting in Chicago the weekend of October 25-27, 2024,  Our agenda is in the works, and we plan on sharing that with you, as well as the notes from that meeting.  It was brought up to open the board meeting and we have plans to do that.  Our focus will be on our retreat, being held in the Metropolis of Denver in October 2025.  Another topic is clergy family wellness and what we can do.  There are so many stories; so many branches from the Clergy Family Tree, and we need to keep talking!

I was invited to represent the NSP this past month to a private luncheon with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, while he was in Chicago to give the benediction at the DNC.  I sat  with Fr. Alex Karloutsos and two archons from the Chicago area.  It was a great opportunity because they asked questions about the sisterhood, what we do, what our focus is and what we need and how they can help.  Anytime we have the opportunity to speak about clergy families, I do so, it's important for all of us.

I received a beautiful letter this past week, and what it left me with was this passage from Hebrews 10:24: For in working closely together with one another, you can surely inspire all those around you “to love and good works”. We all are in the same village, we are there when one is celebrating or hurting, whether it is our husbands, our children or ourselves.  That’s what the Sisterhood is all about.  

Have a blessed month and year!

Pearlann Bithos

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August 3, 2024

To all who make up this wonderful group of ladies who we call Sisters, 

On behalf of our NSP Board, I humbly greet you during this time of the year, Dekapentagusto, dedicated to our Most Holy Mother of Our Lord.  As women of the church, how appropriate is it for us to look to her for guidance.

Forgive me for not greeting you sooner.  As all of us do, July came with time for vacation and spending time with loved ones.  We want to get that “last vacation of the summer in” before our lives change from “relax” to “routine”.

Our newsletter will be out shortly, and it will include the bios of your executive officers, metropolis reps and committee chairs.   As everyone who held these positions before, we have learned from them and will continue to do the good work of the Sisterhood, with standing by and supporting our husbands and family and our parishes.  

Our circle is made up of presvyteres and diakonisses from all walks of life, all ages, active, retired and widowed, couples, families, those without their spouse, cradle Orthodox and those who embraced the faith, and the list goes on and on!  The reality is we all fit in this circle!

Your metropolis reps have been asked to plan a gathering soon, whether it be “live in person” or by “zoom”.  I encourage you to participate when that happens!  Recently, I was on a zoom call with the retired and widowed presvyteres, as they elected a rep to the national board.  I now fit in one of those categories.  As I saw each one of these women log on, I told them how honored I was to be with them, as they are our mentors and I remember them when I was a young presvytera! 

I encourage you to visit the website, go on a zoom call, go to an event, read the great articles that are offered, use the Instant Church Directory and get in touch with a presvytera you haven’t seen in awhile, and find your place in the circle!  

Please do not hesitate to contact any one of us with questions, comments and concerns.

With Sisterly love,
Pearlann