We are of the Orthodox Faith,
celebrating the Western Rite,
Divine Liturgy of Saint Gregory the Great,
located in the Shenandoah Valley
in the Town of Woodstock, VA.
celebrating the Western Rite,
Divine Liturgy of Saint Gregory the Great,
located in the Shenandoah Valley
in the Town of Woodstock, VA.
Mission Statement
The mission of Holy Family Orthodox Church in Woodstock, VA is to keep, practice, and proclaim the Orthodox Christian Faith. The work and ministry of our Parish will include proclaiming the Gospel, sanctifying the faithful through God's grace in worship, the Divine Liturgy and the Sacraments, and enhancing our spiritual life. We will fulfill the great commission of our Lord, King, and Savior Jesus Christ by inviting others into the Orthodox Church through Baptism and/or Chrismation, educating them in the Orthodox Catholic Faith through the establishment of programs, and implementing Christian ministries.
The mission of Holy Family Orthodox Church in Woodstock, VA is to keep, practice, and proclaim the Orthodox Christian Faith. The work and ministry of our Parish will include proclaiming the Gospel, sanctifying the faithful through God's grace in worship, the Divine Liturgy and the Sacraments, and enhancing our spiritual life. We will fulfill the great commission of our Lord, King, and Savior Jesus Christ by inviting others into the Orthodox Church through Baptism and/or Chrismation, educating them in the Orthodox Catholic Faith through the establishment of programs, and implementing Christian ministries.
COMMUNITY
The Early Church didn't grow to cover the face of the earth by encouraging bureaucracies, but by encouraging people. The Church grew by planting communities, and those communities were places of refuge and refreshment, of learning and spiritual growth, of healing and encouragement. First and foremost they were places of prayer and hospitality, where a weary traveler or a seeking pilgrim could find a place to draw aside for a while, or stay to minister, and where those in need of prayer knew they could find help.
As neither the Old or New Testaments know anything of mere private religion, there is no other way. It is not enough for people to hear the Gospel, or even to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour; they must be grafted into the Church - the Body of Christ - where they can share in its sacramental and corporate life. As the Scripture says, “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). Scriptural Christianity is not a private religion. It is ecclesiastical. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
Christian communities were the first schools, the first hospitals, the first "social service agencies." God has given us a vision to carry this tradition on.
DO YOU HAVE A NEED?
We'd love to pray with you. If you would like your prayer request placed on our Altar, please send us a message via our contact page. All correspondence is confidential.
The Early Church didn't grow to cover the face of the earth by encouraging bureaucracies, but by encouraging people. The Church grew by planting communities, and those communities were places of refuge and refreshment, of learning and spiritual growth, of healing and encouragement. First and foremost they were places of prayer and hospitality, where a weary traveler or a seeking pilgrim could find a place to draw aside for a while, or stay to minister, and where those in need of prayer knew they could find help.
As neither the Old or New Testaments know anything of mere private religion, there is no other way. It is not enough for people to hear the Gospel, or even to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour; they must be grafted into the Church - the Body of Christ - where they can share in its sacramental and corporate life. As the Scripture says, “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). Scriptural Christianity is not a private religion. It is ecclesiastical. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
Christian communities were the first schools, the first hospitals, the first "social service agencies." God has given us a vision to carry this tradition on.
DO YOU HAVE A NEED?
We'd love to pray with you. If you would like your prayer request placed on our Altar, please send us a message via our contact page. All correspondence is confidential.
May God bless your discernment and bring you into the fullness of His Church.
Wisdom from St. John Chrysostom
God draws, but He draws the willing one.
God, having placed good and evil in our power, has given us full freedom of choice; He does not keep back the unwilling, but embraces the willing.
Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life.
No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger. Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.
God draws, but He draws the willing one.
God, having placed good and evil in our power, has given us full freedom of choice; He does not keep back the unwilling, but embraces the willing.
Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life.
No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger. Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.
