The photo to the left is our "maiden voyage" at St. Patrick Orthodox Mission of Carrollton. Most of the people depicted are from our parent church, St. John the Wonderworker in Atlanta. The priest, Fr. Tom, is retired from and still attached to St. John. The deacon, Deacon Stephen, is blessed by St. John's rector, Fr. Gabe, to serve at St. Patrick, but he is also formally attached to St. John. The subdeacon, Subdeacon Matthew, serves at St. John. Even the adorable little communicant with her mother is visiting from St. John.
You can see half of the head of Reader John Childs just to the right of mom's headcovering. He's all ours.
This was hardly our first service. We've had probably close to a hundred or more of those. But it was our first Divine Liturgy, and our first service as a mission that now serves liturgies on Sundays, and thus it was a big day for us. Interestingly, the picture doesn't really tell the story. We are still a very young mission. In terms of core Orthodox membership, there are three main families, some folks who visit a lot, and our core catechumens. Only one catechuman has yet been received, but we hope that number will increase soon. In fact, when we first started visitors outweighed "core" people who were brought up by the mission or joined after it was formed by a substantial margin. Today, that isn't really the case. In addition to the family shown here, we had a few other visitors, but most of our communicants were "our people." Most of our non-communicant visitors were as well.
Little things matter when missions are young. My wife and I took the weekend off for an anniversary trip. That left a lot of "to do" stuff in the hands of folks who are more than competent to do it, but used to having extra hands around. Others in our core leadership will do the same as time goes on. Many hands make light work. You learn to incorporate new people into that labor to divide the workload. You observe who among your people is inclined to pitch in without being asked. You learn to ask even if you think it is uncomfortable to do so in other settings. Responsibilities are organized and re-organized. It sometimes feels like everything is in flux, but the path to solidity is often unpaved.
Other little things matter too. When you're a small mission started by people who have never done this before, "learning things as you go" can sometimes be more difficult. We have been pleased at the support we have received from our leadership, especially Fr. Gabe, but also our Dean and Chancellor and, by extension, our Archbishop. A lot of grace is given to allow us to be successful.
We've been a little surprised at the lack of updated written guidelines. There are guidelines, but they are not easily accessible on the diocesan or Archdiocesan websites. That is not a criticism of the diocese or Archdiocese by any means -- somehow it still manages to work out because the people in charge of new missions are very good at what they do. But it would have sure saved us a lot of early confusion and grief if more publicly available guidance were present. Even if it were only a list of names to call if you would like to start a mission. We were fortunate the Chancellor of the Diocese of the South was visiting St. John the Wonderworker when two of our founders were there, and they struck up a conversation with him about starting a mission in Carrollton. But what if we were not so fortunate? What if their priest wasn't retiring and the Chancellor had no reason to be there? But missions teach you, and they teach you that wishcasting doesn't bake any bread. So inspired by the "DIY" spirit that permeates any young mission, it has occurred to us that we might ask a blessing to help revise and update the diocesan and Archdiocesan guidelines to assist future missions in their efforts. Don't talk about it. Be about it.
There are challenges for sure. But there is something about being at the beginning of what we pray will be a long and enduring presence in a town that did not have an Orthodox presence before. It might tempt one to pride if it were not so humbling. Measures of our individual and collective unworthiness abound. We persist not because we wish to be seen by men, but because we know God is at work despite our failings. We have seen the fruit of His labor among us. Whatever our failings, He is using us and those He places in our path to effect His will.
I'm sure I'll have more to say as time goes on. For now, it is enough to say that we are blessed and thankful.
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