Our Church is Open!

As we pivot towards the season of Pentecost, we are pleased to announce that our beloved parish is once again open to “in-person” worship! For both our parishioners and for those seekers who might wish to visit our parish, what does our “being open” mean?

• The full cycle of services (which never ceased but were strictly limited in terms of in-person attendance) continue, as they always have; but now with extra services to accommodate desire to pray in-person.
• The church office is fully open and anyone may stop by to pray, visit with the priest, and make Sacramental Confession.
• Our weekday services are fully open (no sign-up required.) We simply ask that adults who come wear a face-mask, wash their hands, and observe appropriate spacing inside the church.
• Our weekend services (10am Saturday Liturgy; 630pm Sat. Vigil; 10am Sunday Liturgy) are open to those who have reached out to our staff and have been assigned to 3 42-person rotating teams. If you are a member of the parish (or a regular visitor,) feel free to ask Fr. Justin if you may join one of these teams at our next “expansion” of the teams (likely in mid-June.)
• You can read our full and ongoing plan for reopening here. If you have questions, please reach out to Fr. Justin or to members of our parish council.

Beyond limiting our weekend services to about 42 people per service, the other significant limitation on church life–at this time–is our inability to host social and educational functions at church. God-willing, sometime (sooner rather than later,) we will be able to get back to some kind of in-person fellowship time.

For those not on teams, for visitors not yet connected to our parish life in-person, or those not able to attend church at present, we invite you to pray along with us via our livetream on our St. Athanasius YouTube Channel. (Wednesday night Vespers, Saturrday night Vigil, and Sunday Liturgy are all livestreamed and archived on the channel.) Other lesser services, talks, and announcements are being shared out via our parish Facebook Page (which you can access without having a Facebook account.)

Additional Resources During This Recovery Time

• Divine Service for Lay Home Worship 
  • Vespers (fixed text)
  • Typika (fixed text, prayed in place of Liturgy)
  • Variable texts by day (oca.org)
• Pastoral Conversations & Sacramental Home Visits  
  • Please reach our to Fr. Justin by email or by contacting him at 859-361-2823
• Parish “Virtual Coffee Hour” Sundays (12pm) and Wednesdays (720pm)
  • We are using the app “Houseparty” (learn how to download and use here)
• OCA-wide Online Resources (visit here)
• OCA-wide Online Church School Resources (visit here)

We invite you to come visit our church and pray either for our weekday services or to schedule a time to meet with our priest, Fr. Justin (859-361-2823.) Of course, you are still welcome to connect virtually, through the livestreaming options and by praying along with our community. Blessings with the Feast of Pentecost!