Some years ago, someone left the parish a building, which was once a centrally located shop. The will stated that the building could not be sold or rented. So the decision was made to turn it into what we call in Greece a "spiritual center," or parish hall.
The project came up against many adversities, not just from the indifference of the people (as is often the case), but actually the outright hostility of a few members of the community toward the Church.
In any event, the project was at a standstill when we came, about half-finished. Interest in completing it was renewed, and you can some photos here, taken several months ago, of us installing a traditional wooden ceiling and painting the walls, through the goodness of some local donors.
Finally, this October, it was ready. Of course, we still are hoping to collect money to buy some new furniture and a wall heating unit, but it's useable. So one Sunday, after Liturgy, we headed to the parish hall, performed an Agiasmos, and had our first coffee and American-style "coffee hour" there.
The building is only about 240 square feet, and it was packed. Since then, we've opened it every Sunday and feast day after Liturgy for coffee and socializing, and the people are very pleased with it.
We also started our first reading group, which we do hold there every Monday evening. We are reading Hieromonk Grigorios' book on the Divine Liturgy (which was recently translated into English).
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