St. John's was honored to welcome Fr. Timothy Hojnicki and his eldest son Nicholas on Saturday, January 15, 2022. On Saturday afternoon, Fr. Timothy gave a rousing presentation focused on strategies for mission growth based on his experiences growing Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in Mechanicsburg, PA. Holy Apostles has grown from a small mission to a vibrant community of 85 families under his leadership. Approximately 30 people came for the presentation and the dinner that followed, including some from our sister missions in Alexandria, VA, and Culpepper, VA. We were overjoyed to welcome His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon to the presentation as well.
Following dinner, Fr. Timothy served Great Vespers assisted by Dn. Matthew Prentice and servers Nicholas Hojnicki and Gabriel Woodill. Following vespers, Fr. Timothy generously gave our community a beautiful icon of the Touching of Thomas. In recognition of his visit, Dn. Matthew presented Fr. Timothy with a card and icon of our patron, St. John the Theologian.
On Sunday, January 16, our community gathered to celebrate the Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Tikhon. Upon his arrival, he was greeted by Mr. John Bilyeu, Parish Council President who welcomed Vladyka back to his mission station. Serving with His Beatitude were Archpriest Joseph Woodill-Retired, Priest Alessandro Margheritino-OCA Secretary, Deacon Matthew Prentice-Mission Station Administrator, Subdeacon Larry Basalyga, Victor Lutes, and Gabriel Woodill. Also in attendance was Mr. Andrew Smith-OCA Treasurer. During the Divine Liturgy, the choir sang two settings of Eis Polla Eti, Despota that were composed by members of the mission station community for Metropolitan Tikhon. At the conclusion of the service, Deacon Matthew presented Vladyka with a framed print of the sheet music to commemorate the occasion.