Dear Friends in Christ,
September 21 will mark the second year anniversary of the first liturgy at our mission parish, Nativity of the Holy Theotokos in Greenville! Eastern Carolina is a place where Orthodox Christianity is not familiar to most, and as such founding our mission presented a unique series of challenges. Yet in each case, God’s blessings allowed a solution to be found, often in an equally unique way.
I want to take the opportunity to thank all of the parishioners who have worked with me since Day One to establish, maintain, and grow this community. Those who help to establish a mission are pioneers of sorts, stepping into unfamiliar territory often with nothing more than hope and a vision for a bright future. God allowed a diverse group of people to meet each other and form the core nucleus back in early 2008. Property became available at a most convenient time, and I was ordained a priest by His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos that summer. From the start, we have realized we are fulfilling a plan that is bigger than any of our own desires, or even the sum total of all our goals and dreams. I certainly look forward to each liturgy, to fellowship with such dedicated persons, and in anticipation of new visitors, who always seem to enrich our church family in some way. We hope you’ll be inspired to attend liturgy if you have not already.