Fr. Cassian was an Anglican priest before converting to Holy Orthodoxy. He serves a Western Rite Antiochian parish in Eustis Fl (near Orlando). His parish has been growing in high school students, college students, and young families after years of dependency on “snowbirds”.
Blessing kilts? Blessing motorcycles? Fr. Mark Hodges shares insights into mission work among American evangelicals. Fr. Mark, originally a Baptist before finding the true Church, is blessed with an opportunity in Bullhead City AZ. The only Orthodox presence for a two-hour radius in fast-growing Northern Arizona, the mission has survived for over 5 years on reader services and visits from clergy. Fr. Mark is their first fulltime priest, and he is thankful for the opportunity, the loving parishioners, and the support Share the Faith.
St. Andrew the Apostle is a Western Rite parish in a small town near Orlando in the fast-growing, important Central Florida area. St. Andrew’s has its own church facility, a dedicated core of families, and a talented rector in Fr. Cassian Dunlop. This parish has recently been attracting many families with younger children, high schoolers looking into Orthodoxy on their own, and college students.
Successfully greeting and providing hospitality to guests in our parishes are essential activities for growing the Kingdom of Christ. This article provides recommendations for preparing for guests and how to engage them when they arrive. The author, Lee Kopulos, is the Chairman of Share the Faith and is now advising over 20 GOA churches of the Detroit Metropolis’ as a member of their Evangelism and Outreach Committee.
Lee Kopulos is chairman of Share the Faith and has helped successfully plant multiple, successful Orthodox missions over the past 38 years. In this post, Lee shares his insights into successfully starting and growing Orthodox Mission parishes.
St. Brendan’s in Bullhead Arizona is a dynamic mission community. Sustained for years off mostly reader services, the mission has its own store front church complete with a handmade iconostasis carved by the parishioners themselves. The community is extremely excited to have Fr. Mark Hodges as a full-time priest living nearby. With regular services, we expect great things from this mission for the Glory of God.
