Just thought I'd share that we had a very special ceremony today - the consecration of our new fully Orthodox church!
It was originally scheduled to open in the Spring of 2020.
Government red tape, financial issues and other things made it happen over 5 years late, but we got it done. Early on, we sold our original building, which was a converted Protestant church, so we have been an itinerant church for those years. We've worshipped in 5 different spaces, including a nice Italian restaurant, lol. I joked that we were the only church in town with a full bar. We were at one place which was a small office park and the city demanded we stop because the property wasn't zoned for a church, which is bogus because people hold church services in places not zoned for that all the time. The place was undergoing renovation and had no tenants, so we weren't bothering anyone. I think it was anti-religion or anti-Orthodox bigotry. Twice we worshipped in school gymnasiums. It was odd to see a basketball hoop up above the altar, but hey, during DL, Christ is in our midst wherever we are, right? 
So today was a great day. We finally have a proper Orthodox home. May God grant us many years.
It was originally scheduled to open in the Spring of 2020.
Government red tape, financial issues and other things made it happen over 5 years late, but we got it done. Early on, we sold our original building, which was a converted Protestant church, so we have been an itinerant church for those years. We've worshipped in 5 different spaces, including a nice Italian restaurant, lol. I joked that we were the only church in town with a full bar. We were at one place which was a small office park and the city demanded we stop because the property wasn't zoned for a church, which is bogus because people hold church services in places not zoned for that all the time. The place was undergoing renovation and had no tenants, so we weren't bothering anyone. I think it was anti-religion or anti-Orthodox bigotry. Twice we worshipped in school gymnasiums. It was odd to see a basketball hoop up above the altar, but hey, during DL, Christ is in our midst wherever we are, right? So today was a great day. We finally have a proper Orthodox home. May God grant us many years.
