Share the Faith Helps Fund Orthodox Mission Success in Virginia

Update from Fr. Adam Sexton below on His Three Orthodox Parishes / Projects.

St. Andrews (Primary Parish):

St. Andrews Orthodox Church in Ashland, Virginia has enjoyed a robust and sustained increase in volume and Church life over the last 2 years. There are so many new faces weekly and catechumens are being made left and right. It’s becoming extremely crowded for Divine Services and that’s just fine with us. We have had a number of baptisms and weddings and thankfully very few funerals. Stewardship and giving are way up and parish activities and volunteerism are proceeding at a rate that is refreshingly vigorous. We have begun a targeted college outreach to our local college (literally at the end of our street) where we’ve previously not done any outreach. On our own we are cautiously thriving. With Christ doing faithfully what Christ always does, we are living well in the Kingdom!

Ss. Peter & Paul (Mission Parish):

Ss. Peter & Paul Orthodox Mission in Culpeper, Virginia has just completed its first year in existence. We began with about 5 solid souls (far too few to be sensible but we were determined to exist and to grow by God’s grace). Now we are at about 10 regular attendees at our bi-monthly gatherings. In October we had our first Annual Meeting. Chaired by Archpriest David Arnold, the Dean of the Appalachian Deanery of the Diocese of the South of the OCA, we discussed the glorious success this last year has brought to our small and growing mission as well as our prayerful vision for the next most blessed year as the Northernmost outpost of the Diocese of the South. We have one catechumen who was enrolled at our first patronal altar feast on June 29, the feast of Ss. Peter & Paul. Glory to God for all things!

Northern Neck/Middle Peninsula Orthodox Christian Mission Outreach:

Northern Neck/Middle Peninsula Orthodox Christians has begun to gather on a bi monthly basis on Monday evenings at the Middlesex Co Public Library in Deltaville, VA. We have been warmly welcomed and have had a very good beginning. To begin, we celebrated a “Molieben to the Holy Spirit at the Beginning of Any Good Work”. We were thankful to be joined by Fr. Deacon John Gresham of West Point (from the Antiochian archdiocese) whom we hope to have back with us soon and often.

Our regular gatherings include prayer, catechism, and fellowship for all ages. In October, three children from this mission outreach were baptized into Christ at the “mothership” (St. Andrews in Ashland). We trust in Christ to lead us and we are approaching this slowly and with purpose. All things are possible when we simply show up! Christ will accomplish the rest.