+++St. Nina Mission Summer 2023 Schedule Update+++

In summer 2023, our mission has been meeting at Lake Reba Park Pavillion (in Richmond) for Vespers and a Mission Picnic. We are in the process of securing medium-term quarters for our mission where we can leave our liturgical furniture in place–and expand our mission! (If you have questions about location of our upcoming gatherings, please check out our St. Nina Facebook Page or reach out to Fr. Justin at priest@athanasiusoca.org. Thank you!) We are very much looking forward to getting into our own space in the next couple of months and will continue to meet bi-weekly until that space can be occupied!

For many years, St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Nicholasville has maintained an active outreach to students at Berea College–which itself has always welcomed many students from historically-Orthodox nations like Greece, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Ethiopia. In recent years, the St. Athanasius community has experienced growth along the I-75 Kentucky corridor, from London and Corbin in the south, to Berea and Richmond, further north. We also have a small Orthodox community in Somerset and in other areas across Southern Kentucky. With the blessing of Archbishop Alexander of Dallas and with much prayer, we have launched a Mission Station for this I-75 corridor in a central location, Berea. In September of 2021, Archbishop Alexander has given our new community our holy mother among the saints, Nina (Nino) of Georgia, to be our patron saint. Our hope is to gather the many families and persons in this area, building on the youthful community we already have among Orthodox Fellowship at Berea College. With God’s help, we hope to see St. Nina Mission Station grow into a full-fledged Orthodox parish in due time–and to serve as a foundation for establishing Orthodox missions towards both the east and the south. We are pleased to welcome Orthodox Christians from all backgrounds–and particularly to be a place where local people (who are not yet Orthodox) might encounter the living apostolic Orthodox Christian Faith!

After enjoying a strong organizational meeting at a parishioner’s Richmond home in June 2021, our founding group identified a location central to many of our people: the Friends Meeting House, located about a mile from campus in Berea, KY. Our regular meetings are:

• every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month
• 630pm Vespers, Potluck Fellowship, and an informal “Questions of Faith” Teaching & Discussion Time
• Visitors are always welcome!

Visit our Facebook Page (“Berea Orthodox Christian Mission Station”) or contact our priest, Fr. Justin, at priest@athanasiusoca.org or 859-361-2823. Below are photos of the Berea Friends Meeting House (Quakers) where we are meeting for our bi-monthly Tuesday gatherings. We also include some photos from our planning meeting this past June, from our semi-regular hikes and Vespers at the Pinnacles, and from our first “official” meeting on August 31, 2021. We invite you to join us!