To celebrate St. Nicholas Day, we came together for a warm and festive dinner. The atmosphere was filled with joy as we enjoyed a brief video that beautifully narrated the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The highlight of the evening was the special visit from St. Nicholas himself, who brought smiles to everyone’s faces. The children took the lead in the Akathist service dedicated to St. Nicholas, their voices ringing with enthusiasm and reverence. To the delight of all, the children discovered special surprises waiting for them in their shoes, making the celebration truly memorable.

On the Sunday before Veteran's Day, a few of our parishioners wore their uniforms for the occasion. We also said farewell to Timothy Marble, who is off to the Army for basic training. 

On Saturday, November 9th, we held our annual Men's fellowship retreat at the Dorogys' farmhouse. It was great for relaxing, fellowshipping, and having fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get an image of us all together. 

On Sunday, October 27th, we welcomed the Truhn family into the Orthodox faith. May God grant them many years of faithful service to Christ and His Church!

On Sunday, October 6th, we celebrated our patronal feast day with Chrismations and a special lake party. Congratulations to our newly illumined! It was a great time of water, pontoon boats, food, and fellowship—many thanks to the Laniers for hosting us. Through the prayers of St. Innocent, may God continue to bless our community.

On Sunday, October 22nd Herman and Xenia were united in the Mystery of Marriage. May God grant them Many years!

On the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, following Marina's baptism and the Divine Liturgy, we celebrated the start of the Church School year with classes, water slides, food, and fellowship.

On Saturday, September 7, the Saint Olga Society Loaves & Fishes team gathered to prepare meals. Our Loaves and Fishes ministry focuses on giving and fellowship. We take pride in creating and delivering meals to parish families or individuals in need (due to situations such as birth, death, illness, or injury). We usually meet on the first Saturday of each month in the church kitchen (except for October, when we meet on the second Saturday) to cook three meals. These meals are then frozen and made available to anyone in need throughout the month. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact one of the SOS co-chairs (Diane Dorogy and Stephanie Douglass) or the Loaves & Fishes coordinator (Amanda Mosallam).

Do you like animals? We recently received a commissioned icon of the Creation of Animals. 

Genesis 1:20-25 "Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

On Sunday, July 30th, we bid farewell to the Werner family, who have been part of our community for three years. It was a joy to have them with us, and we hope to see them again in the future. May God grant them Many Years!

A beautiful celebration of Palm Sunday!

We are grateful to our gracious hosts tonight as we shared in a beautiful Pan-Orthodox Vespers with Holy Cross. There was lovely company, delicious food, and a deep-felt unity throughout the service and dinner that followed.

Iconographer Vladimir Grygorenko is finally installing the first phase of the temple iconography after many years of anticipation. This project is being completed with a lot of volunteer effort from our community. Dn designed the scaffolding. Columba Croft, and the men of the parish spent a full day putting it up. A few people have even helped paint some of the ornamentation. Vladimir and his wife, Olga, are a pleasure to have at St. Innocent.

You can see our WMAZ interview here.

On a Saturday evening, we built a fire pit and gathered for Vespers. Afterwards, we grilled food, made s'mores, and enjoyed each other's company.

We recently bid farewell to Dr. Gary Cox as he moves closer to his family. Dr. Gary is one of the original founders of our mission and has always been a great support and leader in our community. Over the years, he has shared many talents with our community such as leading prayers and worship, participating in the choir, and writing. Gary wrote much of what was on our initial website and our 20th-anniversary magazine. He also worked as a teacher and catechist and led church tours, classes, and Church School. Gary served as Parish Council Chair and contributed to many committees. He is a faithful Orthodox Christian. 

If St. Innocent is your parish home or if you found Orthodoxy or Christ here, it's because God works through people to build up His Church. Therefore, we are grateful for the time Gary spent with us and ask God to bless him in this new chapter of his life.

It's always a wonderful time celebrating Holy Theophany by blessing the Ocmulgee River at Amerson River Park. This year featured the cross getting hung up in a tree!