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Priest Andrew Smith, Program Director of the Thriving Parishes Project, visited St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in San Anselmo, CA on Sunday, March 16, to present the whole scope of the project and introduce the parish health survey to the community. Mitred Archpriest Stephan Meholick invited Fr. Andrew to concelebrate and to preach at the Divine Liturgy. It should be noted that this is the parish in which Fr. Andrew grew up, a fact that did not go unmentioned in his homily. Actually, it was the first time in almost ten years that he was able to attend a Sunday Divine Liturgy here!
Fr. Andrew gave his presentation after Coffee Hour. Parishioners were intrigued by the new work the Diocese is embarking on and asked many questions about the parish survey. While there may have been a few nerves in the beginning at being at his home parish in an ‘official capacity’, at the end of the day it was a positive and joyous experience.
The excitement and positivity carried over to May 3, when Fr. Andrew returned to meet with the Church Health Team to go over best practices when administering the survey. Ideas were flowing left and right even though results had not even been generated!
The topic of church health is not new to St. Nicholas Church. About 25 years ago, the parish invited Archpriest John Reeves (+2022) to lead a parish-wide, weekend retreat on church health and organization. Since that retreat, the parish has organized itself into various ministries (Capital Improvements, Maintenance, Liturgy and Music, Charitable Outreach, etc) administered by a Ministry Head. These leaders report to the Parish Council and are responsible for recruiting and training those parishioners involved in their ministry.
Fr. Andrew looks forward to more excuses to visit his home parish in the coming months as St. Nicholas Church turns its focus once again to the important work of self-improvement.
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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.
