Please come join us at 9am on Saturday, April 5th for an indoor/outdoor work day to clean up for Pascha. For those who prefer to be outside, there is weeding, planting, and raking to be done. For those who would rather help out indoors, there’s sweeping, polishing, and de-waxing. Please consider helping with this effort as an offering to God as we prepare to celebrate the joyous “Feast of Feasts,” our Lord’s Holy Pascha.
If you have not had your house blessed, you still have time. Below are the available dates contact Anna -(text or call (814) 409-8170) about getting something set up or sign up here. Or let her know if you need an appointment on a day not listed here. We have plenty of slots still open these days.
| Morning | Afternoon | Evening | |
| Thur, Jan 30 | |||
| Sun Feb 2nd | X X X | ||
| Sat, Feb 15 | X X X | ||
| Sun, Feb 16 | X X X |
Orthodox Christians aged 18-35 are invited to a weekend of reflection, fellowship, and spiritual renewal at the annual Young Adult Fall Retreat, happening the weekend of October 25-27, 2024, at Camp Nazareth. This year’s theme, “Caring for God’s Creation: The Self,” will be explored by keynote speaker Alex Balouris, who will guide participants in understanding how we can honor God by caring for our mental, physical, and spiritual health. Our Archdiocese is co-hosting the retreat with the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh Y2AM, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. Father Alexander Cadman and Luke Sidorick from our archdiocese is serving on the retreat’s planning committee and will also attend the event. For more details and registration, visit https://tinyurl.com/yafall2024.
On Saturday April 27 2024, the youth of the church (and adults) enjoyed egg coloring, crafting handprint flowers, making Pascha bread, and folding Palm crosses.
We would like to extend a big Thank You for Making SOUP-er Sunday a success!
We are truly overwhelmed by the incredible support and generosity shown at our recent SOUP-er Sunday luncheon! Thanks to all of you who attended and contributed, we were able to raise an astounding $3,702 for Project Mexico! A significant step toward our $6,000 Matthew 25 drive goal this lent!
A special shoutout goes to our amazing Sunday school students (and parents/teachers) who not only crafted delicious soups but also served up smiles to all our guests. 
We also want to extend a thank you to Wegman’s and Weiss for their invaluable support and contributions. Your partnership helped make this event a success.
Project Mexico is an Orthodox Christian charitable organization that operates in the vicinity of Tijuana, Mexico. Project Mexico operates a boy’s orphanage that helps raise around 25 orphaned or abandoned boys (at any given time). They also run an extensive homebuilding program to provide housing for some of the poorest and most vulnerable families in their area, as well as running a rescue orphanage for abandoned infants. It is our hope to raise at least $6000 this year to support Project Mexico, which is enough to feed all of the admittedly-voracious, mostly teenage boys for 6 weeks or to build one housing unit for a family in need.
The Feast of St. James “the Lord’s Brother” falls annually on October 23rd, and it is customary in many parishes for the ancient “Liturgy of St. James” to be celebrated on that day. This year, however, we have been blessed by our bishop to serve the James liturgy on October 22nd, as the Sunday which falls closest to the feast of St. James.
The St. James Liturgy was the typical parish liturgy of Jerusalem, Palestine, Mount Sinai, Georgia, and parts of the Levant from the 4th century until the time of the Crusades and was prayed almost daily by great saints of the Church such as Cyril of Jerusalem, Sabbas the Sanctified, and John Climacus. It is very distinct from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, with no antiphons at the beginning, the singing of the hymn “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent” at the entrance of the gifts, a unique anaphora, litanies with the refrain “remember, O Lord our God,” the singing of “O Taste and See” at communion, and many, many other diverse and distinct features.
Come, let us pray together on this blessed occasion with these words and songs from Holy Zion, the Mother of Churches
What’s an “Antiochian?” Are there “Pro-ochians” somewhere? Why are there “Georgian” Orthodox parishes over 800 miles from Atlanta? If the Orthodox Church in America used to be the “Russian Orthodox” Church, why are there all of these “Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia” churches dotted all around the American countryside? What do all the acronyms mean? ACROD? OCA? GOA? And what is the relationship of all of these people to one another?
If you find these many names and the jurisdictional situation of American Orthodoxy a bit confusing, you’re not alone! Thankfully, help is on the way to assist us in understanding what is going on here. On Thursday, October 12, at 6 pm, Fr. Isaac Daneviscious of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Altoona will deliver a public lecture on the present ecclesiastical situation of Orthodoxy in America.
This lecture is open to the public and will be streamed live on our YouTube feed, as well as being available for replay in that format.
Every year, the Matthew 25 ministry partners with case workers at Strawberry Fields, who identify area children and their parents that, without your generosity, would not otherwise receive presents at Christmas.
As with our other charitable drives during the pandemic, we have moved it fully online so more parishioners can participate.
Please review the gift list and help as you are able in order to spread cheer to someone in need. The deadline for dropping off gifts at the church or arranging a contactless pickup is Monday, December 21. Please wrap each gift with the ID tag securely fastened. Thank you in advance for your generosity!
This year, the annual Matthew 25 Thanksgiving Drive goes virtual so you can provide complete holiday meals to 23 families (100 adults and children total) from the comfort of your home. Simply visit the link below and you will be directed to a gift registry where you can make your contributions.
Walmart.com Thanksgiving Drive Gift Registry (registry closed)
In addition, monetary donations are also being accepted, since the Matthew 25 fund is also used to purchase a full-size turkey for each family.
On behalf of our charitable partner, Strawberry Fields, we thank you for your generosity!
