February 2, 2026, the liturgical life of our mission parish continues to deepen. While we are not yet at a point where we can celebrate the full cycle of Nativity—unfortunately, we do not yet have the staff to include the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil—we were blessed to celebrate the Royal Hours, Christmas Vigil, and the Divine Liturgy for January 7/December 25.
On Sunday, January 11/December 29, we held our Annual Parish Meeting. Our level of participation was striking to me! Thirteen of our fourteen voting members were in attendance, with the fourteenth away out of state for graduate school.
It is a joy to reflect on the fact that we had six more voting members than we did at the last annual meeting. Furthermore, as of February, we have a seventh who has just passed the six-month attendance threshold. Last Sunday we installed our Warden and Parish Council, with our first meeting scheduled for Sunday, February 8/January 26.
On the Old Calendar this year we celebrated Great Vespers of Theophany on Sunday evening; with all the readings we would have had at the Vesperal Liturgy but without the Liturgy. It’s always a treat when the calendar throws us something unusual! We had a significant snowstorm on the morning of Theophany (January 19/January 6) and I was forced to consider whether we would have to cancel services. But thank God, we were able to proceed and had good attendance for Liturgy and the Great Blessing of the Water.
On Sunday, January 25/January 12, we held our outdoor Great Blessing of Water at Teal Lake after Liturgy. We rented Al Quaal Lodge for the afternoon to serve as a base. It was -20°F (temperature, not windchill!) when I woke up that morning, and we had serious doubts we could safely participate outdoors. I even had a cooler of water ready in case we had to move the blessing inside the lodge.
But Glory to God, by the time Liturgy had finished it had warmed up to around 0°F, and because Teal Lake sits in a sheltered valley on the Ishpeming side, there was almost no wind. Thank God, we had our largest participation ever for a lake blessing–and a great time of food, fellowship, and warmth at the lodge afterward. We plan to rent that lodge again!
In January we received a grant to Mother Olga Food Pantry from Superior Health Foundation for &1,500. We received also received a cash donation from TV 6 Canathon, administered by United Way Marquette County, for $2,400; the check was made out to Mother Olga Food Pantry. In light of this, we have added a DBA for Mother Olga Food Pantry and are in the process of setting up a separate bank account from which to manage this growing ministry. Glory to God!
Finally, I am happy to report that our newly ordained Fr. Deacon George continues to do well and is well-received by the parish. I have been using Google Calendar scheduling for our house blessings, offering options for Monday evenings with Fr. George accompanying me or other days without him. So far, everyone has chosen the Monday evening slots.
In Christ,
St. Jacob of Alaska Orthodox Christian Mission
