St. Sebastian Mission Slava in Carson City, Nevada
Following the formal opening of an exhibition of paintings by Archbishop Maxim in Banja Luka, Serbia, His Eminence flew back to the Diocese in order to celebrate a parish Slava for the second consecutive Sunday. This time, it was St. Sebastian Mission parish in Carson City, Nevada, on September 6th, (Transfer of the Relics). Archdeacon Dragan, and wife Victoria, Stojanovich from Jackson, CA, once again joined in the celebration, as did Reader Alexi Kolpakov who had been part of the community years before.
Archdeacon Dragan arrived with Archbishop Maxim while V. Rev. Protopresbyter Norman Kosanovich served Matins, and the church was already full as the Liturgy began. His Eminence preached on the Gospel parable of the wedding feast, reminding the congregation that this gathering was not taking place without emotion but rather, it was unity with the Lord whose love for all is evident. That’s the reality this parable reflects: the Lord Himself invites all without distinction of good or bad, wanting all to participate in His joy. Everything we do in this life reflects our attitude for preparing: perhaps
for those who weren’t willing to come, their love was under their own terms. How do we respond? To be joyful, to put on Christ in an ethos of joy!
At the conclusion of the Liturgy and blessing of the Kolach, the luncheon followed with the fellowship that every week here brings together cradle Orthodox, recently-Illumined, catechumens, and inquirers, but on this day in the presence of the shepherd of the diocesan flock. Fr. Norman reminded the assembly that this is the twentieth anniversary of Archbishop Maxim leading the Western Diocese, and a gift basket was presented with love and appreciation from the St. Sebastian Mission.
The rest of the afternoon featured an update on the building fund capital matching campaign that ends September 30th, some impromptu singing of folk songs from the Appalachians to Greece, and the departure of Archbishop Maxim to Jackson and his iconography workshop. As the day came to a close, a few inquirers seeking information on the Orthodox Faith stopped by, and were received in an ethos of joy.
