TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

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Barbara
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TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

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This RTOC parish of St Joseph of Petersburg was clearly founded on trust in God. When a new building was purchased for the use of the TOC Church, members had to take out 3 mortgages [ quite a financial burden ], and some acquired mortgages on their own homes.
However difficult the struggle, the sale went through on the Feast Day of the Church's patron, Holy New Martyr Joseph of Petersburg.

"We were able to purchase a 100-year-old protestant church in the small town of Boring Oregon. This was done through three mortgages.

The first mortgage is coming due in November of 2018. We only need $11,000 to pay off this debt. However, this is a huge amount for our tiny congregation.

Your donation could help. No matter how big or small this donation might be, we will pray for you at each Liturgy as a founder of the church. Your donations are tax deductible."

https://www.stjosephpetersburg.org/projects

***************************

Image
According to a 2012 survey, Time magazine listed Boring, Oregon as tieing for 3rd place amongst top unusual American town names. However, the word doesn't HAVE to be taken as dull. It can also be thought of as a verb, as in boring a hole through the darkness, so that the light can shine through. Surely the St Joseph of Petersburg parish has done this now for 9 years and will continue to, God willing !

P.S. Also in 2012, according to wikipedia,

"Boring was paired with the village of Dull, Perthshire, Scotland, followed by a grouping with Bland, New South Wales, Australia, each due to their unusual and etymologically-similar names."

This alliance, however, seems to be informal as it is not yet recognized by the authoritative Sister Cities International. Hazarding a guess at why not is the fact that Dull boasts only 84 inhabitants : hardly worthy of the description of a city.

Justice
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Re: TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

Post by Justice »

I've heard about this predicament, I hope everything will work out.

God save the pious congregation and his church!

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Barbara
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TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

Post by Barbara »

What a lovely sentiment, Justice. Yes, notice how the members of this parish even created a mosaic of the patron Saint, which I imagine is quite laborious to put together. Also, the congregation built the iconostasis. Everything has a homemade touch to it, one can see from the photos :

https://www.stjosephpetersburg.org/projects

Well, it looks like progress has been made in paying off the mortgage. A relatively small amount, $ 5,000, remains now to be collected to save this True Orthodox Church !

PS - I just noticed a striking line of Arbor Vitae trees on the right of the Church's doorway. ...

The smell of these trees is heavenly ! They produce the essential oil called Thuja, as the species name is Thuja Occidentalis.

Justice
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Re: TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

Post by Justice »

Isn’t this thread going a little off topic?

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Maria
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Re: TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

Post by Maria »

Justice wrote:

Isn’t this thread going a little off topic?

Yes, it is. However, if I split it at the point where Barbara mentioned the trees at the TOC Oregon Parish, then someone else might jump in and talk about those trees.

I do not think I have ever seen a parish that does not have trees or some bushes on the property.

This reminds me of the story of the Three Trees:
One tree was used to build the manger in which Christ was placed as a newborn.
Another tree was used to build the fisherman's boat that carried Christ ashore.
And still another tree was used to glorify Christ.

What about the trees that were used to build the house in Galilee in which Christ spent His childhood?
Oh, the tales those trees could tell. And then Christ Himself was a carpenter. How many trees did He fashion into tables, chairs, desks, beds, chests, and even a small boat?

By the way, back on topic: How is that parish doing financially? The people in the parish must be struggling to pay off their mortgages and credit cards which were used to make those donations. I know that we are still paying off our mortgage when our parish was in dire straits.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Maria
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Re: TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

Post by Maria »

I have split out the discussion concerning trees and shrubs.

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Maria
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http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/vi ... 890#p72890

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Barbara
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Re: TOC Oregon parish seeks help to retire a mortgage

Post by Barbara »

I believe the 1st mortgage was paid off successfully. That is what the website says.
Now to work on the next mortgages.

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