Fr. Basil Biberdorf—priest-in-charge of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, a ministry of Holy Trinity—blesses Beaver Creek in Beaver Springs, PA in 2013.
On Sunday, January 12 at 1 p.m, Holy Trinity Orthodox Church will host a public gathering at Spring Creek Park as part of the worldwide Christian celebration of Theophany. All in the community are invited to the park (near Pavilion 2; use the Houserville Road entrance), where a procession to the creek bank and a brief service will be held.
The ceremony will call upon God’s blessings upon the Centre County community and the environment as a whole: During the service, special prayers will be invoked asking God to bless and preserve Spring Creek and the towns through which it flows. Following the practice done annually throughout Russia and Greece, this ancient Christian tradition recalls the baptism of Christ and belief that the Jordan River was made holy through the presence of Jesus. Likewise participants will ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in the water and those that partake of it, offering thanks to God and all those responsible for efforts, past and future, to make the 25-mile-long tributary a clean, thriving stream.
For more information on the Orthodox Christian tradition of blessing water, you are invited to read online reflections offered by Holy Trinity clergy, Fathers John Reeves and Basil Biberforf, or email Deacon Alexander Cadman, Director of Ministries.
