On the weekend of Nativity, we were blessed to receive five people into the Orthodox Faith. May God grant our newly illumined and their sponsors, Many Years!

On December 10th, after Family Church School, the children filled stockings with donated items for the Monroe County Pregnancy Center. During the Fast, we collected various baby care products, such as diapers, baby shampoo, baby body wash, baby lotion, and diaper cream, and wrapped them up as gifts for the mothers in need. Additionally, we hosted a traditional tree-trimming and card-making party, just like in previous years.

On Sunday, December 10, we honored Judge Ray Lanier for his many years of Service to the Orthodox Church of America. Here are some of the things that were said:

Many people work hard behind the scenes and receive little recognition. Last week, Judge Ray officially retired from his position as the General Counsel for the Orthodox Church of America. A General Counsel is the chief counsel or chief legal officer and the chief in-house lawyer for the OCA. In this position, Ray worked closely with the OCA synod, the Metropolitan Council, and the Legal Committee of the OCA.

Here are some highlights of his service over the years:

- In 2011, he worked tirelessly in Alaska and New York to return the vast lands of Alaska to the Alaskan people.
- He served as Chair of the Legal Committee of the OCA Metropolitan Council from 2012 onwards.
- He was a member of the Task Force on Statutory Revision, which worked on the revised Statute of the Orthodox Church in America adopted by delegates to the 18th All-American Council in July 2015. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, and the Holy Synod of Bishops awarded him the Order of Saint Innocent Silver Class for his years of service to the Church.
- He served as lay vice-chair in four All-American Councils, including the one in Parma where Vladyka Tikhon was elected primate.
- He also served as the Lay Vice-Chair of the All-American Councils convened in Seattle, Parma, and Atlanta.
- Over the last ten years, he dealt with every legal matter the OCA has faced. Much of his work was challenging and isolating.
- He helped create policies to prevent legal issues from arising in the future.

Many people work tirelessly behind the scenes, using their God-given talents to contribute to the growth of the Church. I want to thank Judge Ray for his service and example of lay ministry, and I pray that God will richly reward him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Metropolitan and the Holy Synod gave Judge Ray an icon of St. Nicholas. May God grant him Many Years!

On the Feast of St. Nicholas, we got together to enjoy a meal and some good company, while also learning about the life of St. Nicholas. To our delight, we even had a surprise visit from St. Nicholas himself! Later on, we celebrated Akathist to St. Nicholas, and some of our young members led the chanting during the service.

The Ladies of  SIOC gathered for an evening of sweet treats, ornament decorating, cocoa, cider, and fellowship!

On Saturday, November 11th, the men of St. Innocent gathered at the Dorogy farm for food, discussion, and fellowship. We are looking forward to having more events like this throughout the year. 

May God grant Anthony and Amanda many healthy and happy years together as newlyweds in His service.

We were blessed to have Bishop Garesim and a few priests from our deanery visit us for our parish feast day.

On Sunday, September 10th we had our annual Family Church School Kickoff, which included a taco bar, introduction to those years classes, ice cream, and outdoor fun. The Lord has blessed us with many beautiful families!

On Sunday, August 6th, we celebrated the Great Feast of Transfiguration. After the Liturgy we blessed fruit and our students and teachers as they return to school. 

On Lazarus Saturday we welcomed James, Daphne, and Moses into the Orthodox faith! May God grant them many faithful years!

This year we had our first annual Sunday of Orthodoxy Pan-Orthodox Vespers. We were joined by Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know our fellow Orthodox Christians in Middle Georgia. Next year they will be hosting us!

Another beautiful Sunday of Orthodoxy! 

Congratulations to the newly illuminated handmaiden of God, Dympthna! May God grant her, her sponsors, and her family Many years!

On Saturday, January 7th our Subdeacon Columba Croft was ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St. John the Wonderworker Church in Atlanta. Dn. Columba will be our first active deacon since 2010 so we are very thankful. May God grant Dn. Columba and Mat. Molly Many years of service to Christ and His Church!

Click here for more pictures of the Hierarchical Liturgy and Ordination. Some of the pictures posted are from Photographer Kurtis Johnson. 

We were blessed to have a visit from our Archbishop, Alexander who served the Great Blessing of the Water on the Eve of Theophany. It was a short visit but very edifying. On the Sunday after Theophany, we Blessed the Ocmulgee at Amerson Waterworks Park. The weather, service, food, and fellowship were fantastic!