“To everything, there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal…”
As we read in Ecclesiastes, there are seasons, each with particular qualities and unique responsibilities. We have entered a profound and blessed new season at our parish, truly different from those in years past. This season is one that was and has been being prayed for since the inception of our community all those many years ago. By the Grace of God, through the intercessions of St. Anna, and on account of the dedicated stewardship of so many - clergy and laity alike - we are now a parish firmly rooted in Roseville.
Beginning in the 1990s, our faithful gathered in homes and later rented space in a local church and then in an office complex for worship. In the early 2000s, we built upon our campus, constructing Founders’ Hall, which accommodated more people for worship and provided us with office space and classrooms. It served us well for many years, but this was not the desired end.
Our founders longed for our community to have a permanent dwelling place dedicated solely to the patron saints of marriage and family, Ss. Joachim and Anna, a place where the Orthodox faithful could one day come and worship. For these individuals, it would become their spiritual home. For those who had yet to discover the beauty of Orthodoxy, it would be a “light upon the hill,” a local landmark, a place of beauty and hospitality. Thanks be to God, we’ve entered this season.
This blessed season, though, has its challenges or, more appropriately, its responsibilities. I underscored responsibility because, with our community's physical maturation, namely the building of the new Shrine Church, our clergy and laity must take up a seemingly new mantle of spiritual responsibility. Thanks to God, the number of people who attend our parish has grown significantly. The opportunities to worship, study, fellowship, and serve have also increased. The responsibility to fund the construction of the Shrine, sustain an increased budget, and support, if not lead, many of our ministries must now be ours. We must steward our spiritual home together, maintaining our ministries and paying down our mortgage to the glory of God.
After Divine Services on Sunday, my brother clergy, the Parish Council, and I invite you to join us for our Fall General Assembly. We will gather for a parish potluck and then begin discussing our responsibilities as clergy and laity. What might seem overwhelming is, in all honesty, simply humbling when we consider how God and our faithful have synergistically worked up to this point to advance the Gospel in our region. I trust that together, we will prayerfully fund our ministries through stewardship AND pay down the debt for our Shrine.
Please review the proposed agenda and other relevant documentation found on our website (the link is provided below). Come with grateful hearts and prayerful dispositions to best learn how you, too, can share in the responsibilities of this season, responsibilities that we are meant to bear together and to God’s glory. I look forward to praying Great Vespers with you on Saturday and Orthros and Liturgy on Sunday morning.
Most Resp.,
+Fr. Christopher