Memorable Past Events

Nativity 2009

We were blessed to have visitors with us from
Salt Lake City Utah and
Cincinnati Ohio who assisted with services.

Deacon John who read the hours
and his wife from Salt Lake City
were in town to visit family
for the holidays who all joined us for services.

A family from Cincinnati Ohio vacationing
in the area also joined us.
Their sons joined Yaroslav to serve as altar boys.

A blessed nativity was had by all.

November 2009

Judy celebrating a milestone birthday
in November 2009.

God grant you many years!

October 2009

We are blessed to have Amanda and Aleksei
attending church services with us.

Amanda became a Catachumen and was received into the church
in preparation for their November wedding.

It is wonderful to see younger faces at Liturgy.
God grant them many years!

It was a joyeous day when Amanda
was received into the church!

September 2009

In September, we bid a fond fairwell to Tamara.

She moved to Vermont to live with family members.

She is pictured at right with her daughter Margie.

She will be dearly missed by all who attend St Raphael's.

God grant her many years!

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The Blessing of Fruit
Gives Thanks for an Abundant Harvest

Dormation of the Theotokos
including the blessing of Mustard Seeds

Father David blessing the Mustard Seeds

Nick, John, Pat

August 2009 Celebrations

Nick

Dolores, Tamara, Liliana, Anne

Metropolitan Jonah entering the Assembly

July 2009
Atlanta Diocesan Assembly

We were blessed to have several church members attend the Assembly
and hear Metropolitan Jonah's
Inspirational Speech in person.

In addition, church member Milo Chelovitz was sworn in as a member of the Diocesan Council.

Metropolitan Jonah during Speech

Divine Liturgy

Swearing in of the Diocesan Council Members

Worshiping during Divine Liturgy

Matushka Mary and Fr. David

2009 Assembly Banquet Pictures

Mary Ann Bassett and Ellen Skowronek

June 2009 Events

All Saints of America
Father's Day Brunch
June 21, 2009

Women of The Holy Myrrhbearers Group
sponsored a
Father's Day Brunch.
The food was plentiful and delicious!

Thank you ladies...and
other helpers too.

The church was beautifully
decorated with
live greens
for
Pentecost - June 7, 2009

May 31, 2009

Recently Ordained
Fr. Deacon Jason Franchuk
assisted with celebration
of services.

We were happy to have
Fr. Deacon Jason, wife Jennifer
and his parents
join us for services.

May 17th was a day of multiple
   celebrations.
o Joan and Steve Pereny's Chrismation;
o John Kozel's birthday;
    He was able to make it to church after an
extended absence thanks to his daughter Susan
o    Nancy Kinley's birthday
       [Founder, church member and tireless
         volunteer]
       that week was also celebrated.

We wish you ALL Many Years!

Pereny Chrismation
May 17, 2009

Friends and frequent attendees
Joan and Steve Pereny
were chrismated and received communion
officially becoming members of our church.
Milo and MaryLou Chelovitz
sponsored the couple.
Congratulations are extended to the Perenys.

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On March 8, 2009 - First Sunday of Orthodoxy - Guest Altar Servers

We were blessed to have Father James Mason and his grandson join us to assist with celebration of services.
They are the father and nephew of church member and altar server John Mason.

February 2009 Events:
International Food Festival
February 28, 2009

February was a busy month for St. Raphael Church members.
In addition to our Pre-Lenten Retreat, Pierogi Making and Patron Saints Day Banquet, we sponsored a booth at the International Food Festival
giving us an opportunity to make others aware of the presence of the Orthodox church in the area.

Our table was close to the music
and entertainment!

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Patron Saints Day Banquet
February 22, 2009
Church members and friends gathered for a luncheon at Citrus Hills Country Club to honor
Saint Raphael of Brooklyn.
Festivities included the singing of hymns
and a drawing for several
door prizes.

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Pierogi Making
February 12 & 13 2009

Church members participated in our first ever
2 day pierogi making effort
resulting in
96 dozen pierogi
that sold out within 2 weeks!

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Pre-Lenten Retreat
February 7, 2009
We were blessed to have
Mother Raphaela
abbess of the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery in Otego, New York
as guest speaker

Mother Raphaela being presented with an Icon of
St Raphael of Brooklyn
by Fr David.

The event was well attended
by church members,
Episcopal clergy
(pictured below with
Mother Raphaela)
and
visitors from the area.

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Theophany

January 6, 2009

The Blessing of Water, Baptism of Christ and Procession around the church and hall.

Natalia, Lilliana and Wavil return the icons to the alter after the procession.

Birthdays

and

Anniversaries

Fr David, Andrew, Judy

November 2008

Fr David celebrated his

ordination to Priesthood,

and Judy Besserman and

Andrew Stuchlak

celebrated birthdays.

God Grant You Many Years!

Andrew ... 90 years young!

pictured with the icon of his patron saint,

St Andrew

Mary Ann McConn, daughter Elizabeth and her husband had a memorial service for family members who have fallen asleep in the Lord.

Memory Eternal!

Holy Myrrbearers Hall Mosiac Update

At the right is a picture of the mosiac taken in October or November 2008. It is now almost complete!

Church members with an artisitic talent have been diligently working on it. We thank everyone for their participation in creating the beautiful shrine for the Holy Myrrbearers social hall.

Blessing, placement and dedication of the shrine will take place in early 2009.

Matushka Mary, Judy and Mary Lou

Mary Lou and Helen

Yaraslov showing Matushka the tiles he cut for them with Helen looking on.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Church members and guests gathered to give thanks for our blessings and partake in a delicious and bountiful meal.

In June 2008,

Fr David was honored to assist in celebrating services at St Seraphim Cathedral

Dallas Texas

The beauty of the Cathedral

is shown in the pictures below

provided by Judy Besserman taken while attending the Assembly of the Diocese of the South with her husband Paul and

Fr David and Matushka Mary.

St. Seraphim Cathedral

Dallas Texas

Saint Michaels Day Service November 08, 2008

Following Great Vespers

Milo and MaryLou Chelovitz

sponsored a ceremony to pay tribute to

Saint Michael.

October 2008

Our October 17 & 18, 2008 Trinkets and Treasures Tag Sale was a lot of work; however, it provided two days of food, fun and fellowship.

The baked goods and ethnic food were especially enjoyed by all!

On October 5^th,

we were blessed to have

Fr. James Mason,

father of John Mason,

assist

Fr. David Balmer

in celebrating

Divine Liturgy

John Mason and father,

Fr. James Mason

Holy Myrrhbearers Hall Mosaic

Update

Matushka Mary and Judy Besserman

with some help from

other church members

have made much progress

on the shrine for the social hall.

The mosaic is looking beautiful!

Watch for future updates.

Fr David

and

Matushka Mary

recently

celebrated

their wedding anniversary

and Matushka's birthday

within the same week!

God Grant You

Many Years!

September 2008

September 14, 2008

Elevation of the Holy Cross

and Procession

We were blessed with many church members and guests in attendance.

Tatiana, Tamara & Matushka Mary

Highlights from September Coffee Hours

We were happy to have Tatiana and Jill join us for worship and coffee afterwards during the month of September.

Tamara and Jill

2008 Planning Meeting Snapshots

In September, council members participated in a meeting to review and update a Five Year Plan for the parish.

Pictured are Milo, Paul and Nancy

Holy Myrrhbearers Hall Mosaic

Matushka Mary, Judy Besserman and Betty King have been working on a shrine for our hall. The work is very detail oriented and time consuming.

We thought you'd enjoy seeing some pictures of the mosaic 'In Progress'.

Thank you ladies for your dedicated effort.

Watch for updates soon!

Icon Presentation

An icon of Saint George was presented to Saint George's Episcopal church in the Villages as a token of our appreciation for allowing us to use their church for Orthodox vesper services on Tuesday evenings.

Father David, Paul Besserman and Harry Jordhamo, whose wife is a Saint George's church member, are shown below signing the back of the icon.

January & February 2008

Theophany 2008

Our new baptismal font

was used for the first time for

Theophany 2008.

A procession around the church

followed

with parishioners partaking of

Holy Water afterwards.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone

who made the purchase of the

font possible through their

donations.

A Fund Raiser Concert to

Benefit the Homeless

in Citrus County was held on

January 20, 2008

by parishioner Jim Brennen

and his band: Gold Fever.

It was a chilly day

but as the pictures show, a good time

was had

by all who attended.

Funds raised were greatly appreciated.

Thank You Jim for your heart of gold!

January 20, 2008

Fundraiser Concert for the Homeless of Citrus County

A young participant kicking up his heals.

On February 10, 2008, we were blessed

to have Fr. David Rucker and his family

with us to celebrate Divine Liturgy while

Fr. David and Mat. Mary Balmer made

a brief trip to Mississippi to see

Fr Matthew Jackson and celebrate

services there.

The Rucker Family

Fr. David, Mat. Roseann & son

Fr. David Rucker is the Associate

Director of the Orthodox Christian

Mission Center (OCMC) in

St. Augustine Florida.

He shared with us the good work the

OCMC is doing spreading Orthodoxy

in developing countries.

Pictures from our Patron Saints Day Dinner on February 24, 2008 which began with Blessing and Cutting of the Kolach Bread (The Slava) and ended with a tribute hymn sung to St. Raphael

Events from 2007 & Prior:

Our November 11, 2007 coffee hour was also a special day.

It was Father David's birthday and a second spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the parish.

Our first customer arrives.

On the evening of

October 16, 2007

a spaghetti dinner

was held to meet

to our friends and neighbors.

Church member volunteers consult with our cook: Helen Kaimer.

Thank You to all who attended.

Our Paul Street neighbors, church members who brought friends; and, others who attended to help make the event a success.

The hostess FINALLY taking a well deserved break to enjoy a meal and the companionship of others from the parish.

On September 9, 2007

an egg and sausage breakfast

fundraiser

was hosted by

Al and Helen Kaimer.

Our Chef

The food was delicious

and a good time

was had by all

as you can see from

their smiling faces.

Consecration of the

Holy Myrrhbearers Hall

July 15, 2007

On May 11, 2007,

we helped

Helen and Al Kaimer

celebrate their

50^th Wedding Anniversary.

We wish the happy couple

many more years of

wedded bliss.

On May 13, 2007,

Phil and Theodora Succarotte

were received as

Catechumens.

Our Parish welcomes them!

On May 23, 2007

the Humanities Class

from Beacon College in

Leesburg visited our

parish.

The picture on the left shows

some of the greenery that

decorated

the church on

Pentecost: May 27^th.

In addition, Helen Kaimer

prepared a WONDERFUL

dinner consisting of

baked chicken,

yellow rice and green beans.

Other ladies in the parish

assisted with

salad, rolls and many, many

tempting desserts

AND

the MEN of the parish assisted

as servers.

Thank you all!

Pictured are Joan Steele

with her daughter Lydia

who visited us in May.

Lydia lives in Texas.

It was a special treat having

Lydia add her beautiful voice

to our choir during her visit.

April 2007:

Pascha Services were observed with the traditional burial tomb and red eggs symbolizing the resurrection and rebirth of our Lord.

Father David says a prayer to bid some of our “snow birds” a safe journey on their return to their northern home states.

We look forward to their return in the fall and winter months.

Icon of St. Seraphim donated by Betty and Bob King.

Renown local artist and Saint Raphael church member Tatiana McKinney donated one of her works to the church.

We are greatly honored by her donation.

Tatiana McKinney was born in Russia and educated in Riga, Lativa where she studied art with Professor Sergei Vinogradov. After her marriage to Sammuel McKinney, A U.S. State Department official, she traveled extensively and lived in Brazil, Greece, England and the United States. She continued her art studies in the various areas where she lived and has been painting and teaching around Florida since 1963.

She has received national and international awards and has had numerous one-man shows both in the United States and abroad. In 1971 she was awarded the prestigious Capa D'Ora Award sponsored by Il Domo, Brussels, Belgium. This was the first time an American had won the honor.

A beautiful triple candle to be used during Easter service was donated by Helen Rynack

and

Wedding Crowns were donated by Bob and Claudia Horohoe

We thank them for their generous donations.

Thank you to Steve Zrowka for creating the two beautiful icon stands for each side of the altar.

February 2007

The Blessing of New Church Candle Stands

On February 4, 2007 two beautiful brass candle stands on permanent loan to us from the Deanery were blessed at the same time as the blessing of the candles by Father David.