- 1520 GREEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123
- 415-567-WEST(9378)
- webmaster@dowoca.org
Your Eminence, Your Grace, fellow clergy, brother and sisters in Christ,
Masters, bless!
It has been two weeks since the devastating Almeda fire ravages our community, and burned more than 3,000 residences and over 100 places of business in the cities of Talent and Phoenix, Oregon. Finally, the air is breathable, and the sky is turning blue again. We still pray for rain, but the gift of being able to breathe non-toxic air is a gift!
I want to personally thank everyone around the country (actually, around the world!) who have generously donated toward the relief work in our community. Not only have we been able to help our own parishioners who lost their homes get their immediate needs met (five households were destroyed by the fire), but we are also working to help the most severely affected in our wider community. We have had the amazing opportunity to work with the Latino community to help support and serve our Hispanic neighbors who lost EVERYTHING in the fire! Many of them were completely uninsured, invisible and do not speak enough English to find help for themselves. Your donations have helped us bring sack lunches and snacks to 500+ children, we have provided temporary housing/shelter for 17 families, and we have provided 50+ families with groceries and gas for their cars. Many loads of supplies have been donated. But our work continues! The immediate need was to get people off the streets, as they were sleeping in their cars, or outside in the hazardous smoke, and to get them much needed supplies (some families were forced to re-use disposable diapers for their children!).
Moving forward we are looking at intermediate needs, both for our own parishioners and for those in our community who have the greatest needs. This work will go on for a long time, and we are excited for our growing relationship with the Latino community in our Valley. We are immensely grateful for the generosity you have show which enables us to serve “the least of our brethren.”
In Christ,
Fr. Andreas Blom
Rector, Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church
The Diocese of the West is the geographical district of the Orthodox Church in America consisting of the Western United States. The diocese has active parishes in Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. San Francisco is home to the diocese’s cathedral, Holy Trinity, as well as the Chancery offices. The diocese is led by His Grace Vasily, Bishop of San Francisco and the West.
