Pastoral visit of His Grace Bishop Maxim to the faithful of Seattle
On September 23 and 24, 2017, on 16th Sunday after Pentecost, His Grace Bishop Maxim visited both Parishes in Seattle: The Holy Protection of the Theotokos in South Park and St. Sava Parish in Issaquah.
On Saturday evening, Bishop Maxim officiated at the Great Vespers Service at the Church of Holy Protection, together with local priest Fr. Serafim Gascoigne, Fr. Zoran Aleksic from St. Sava Church, and the Diocesan Deacon Vladan Radovanovic. After the Vespers, parishioners prepared a dinner and a warm welcome for their Bishop.
On Sunday morning, the clergy and the faithful greeted Bishop Maxim at St. Sava Church in Issaquah, and with the ringing of bells and singing of hymns together entered the Church. Bishop Maxim presided over the Holy Liturgy concelebrated by guest priests, Very Rev. Serafim Gascoigne, Very Rev. Vidoslav Vujasin from Portland, parish priest Rev. Zoran Aleksic, and the Diocesan Deacon Vladan Radovanovic. The responses at the Liturgy were sung by the Parish Choir led by Choir Director Dejan Subotic. The Church was overflowing with faithful from both Parishes, and the faithful, with many children among them, partook of the Holy Communion. During the sermon, Bishop Maxim invited all to receive the message of the Liturgy and to allow the grace of God to work within ourselves, so that at the end, as a sign of God’s mercy, we can receive His own life within us, and to live not only with the Word of God, but also with His own life offered to us through the Holy Eucharist.
After the Liturgy, the Parish KSS served a delicious lunch for everyone, the children’s orchestra presented a short program, and everyone enjoyed a fellowship and a nice sunny afternoon in Seattle.
That afternoon, Bishop Maxim also met with the members of the Feasibility Analysis committee who presented to His Grace the research that they have done considering possibilities of building a new Church.
