St. John the Merciful Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission

09/08/2026

Happy Feast Day on the day of the Nativity of the Mother of our Lord!

"Your Nativity, O Virgin, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from you, O Theotokos! By annulling the curse, He bestowed a blessing. By destroying death, He has granted us eternal Life." -Festal Troparion/Apolytikion

09/07/2026

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Mission updates:

Fr. Thomas served again today and brought his khouria and baby grandson. It was wonderful to have all of them with us.

Fr. John announced the upcoming adult education class, as well as the new iconography, which is being finalized and will be mounted next month.

The mission's meal ministry has started again and will run to December. Several members collaborated on providing a delicious, multiple-course meal for a single mother and her family. Alison added kale and cherry tomatoes from our garden to the salad. Thank you to all who participated, and especially to Alison S. for coordinating this effort. We welcome more volunteers, since we plan to deliver at least two meals a month.

Mika has graciously volunteered to work on the flower decoration for feast days, starting with the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos this upcoming Tuesday, September 8th.

The weekday liturgies for the next two weeks are scheduled for this Tuesday and Monday next week, respectively. We will celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14th. All services begin at 9:30 a.m.

Online music education classes start this week. Exciting!

Thanks be to God for all things!

08/31/2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Greetings from the DC mission! Here we are with some updates: We were joined by several visitors at Divine Liturgy this morning, which is always a pleasure. Many Years to this week's birthday boy, our new visitors and inquirers, and Fr. John and Kh. Sabine!

We shared coffee and a light meal, and some of our garden crew then went to work, planting fall veggies, applying organic fungicide, turning compost, harvesting, and taking mission produce to the Missionaries of Charity down the street.

Members of the beekeeping team checked on some potential swarm activity and did important hive maintenance. Speaking of the mission beekeeping effort: Congratulations to our two recent master beekeeping course graduates!

In time for the Ecclesiastical New Year, the small meal ministry is set to start up again next Sunday. If you are interested in helping to prepare a healthy and child-friendly meal for a family in Ward 8, please get in touch.

The Ecclesiastical New Year begins September 1st, 2026. Here are the dates for upcoming weekday services and feast days for September:

-Thursday, September 3rd, Saint Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedea
-Tuesday+, September 8th, Nativity of the Mother of God
-Monday+, September 14th, Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
-Thursday, September 24th, The Commemoration of the Miracle of the Theotokos Myrtidiotissis in Kythyra, Thecla the Protomartyr & Equal to the Apostles

With the new Liturgical Year also begins online music education by the Antiochian Archdiocese for several mission members, as well as adult education/catechumen class.

We're looking forward to the new iconography due to arrive this fall. Plus, we're thinking about having a small Octoberfest celebration before heading into the Nativity fast. Stay tuned!

Thanks be to God for all donors, supporters, and volunteers! You all are making a difference.

If you haven't been to St. John the Merciful mission and are interested in what is going on, please come and visit. This is a small and friendly outreach community, and we love visitors, whether Orthodox or inquiring. Whether you would like to attend services, are interested in getting involved as a volunteer in an underserved part of DC, or both: You are most welcome!

Have a blessed week!

08/24/2026

Christ is in our midst!

A short list of DC Mission updates:

The weekday service is scheduled for Thursday, August 27th.

Fr. Thomas Underwood again served yesterday's Divine Liturgy, the Apodosis (Leave-Taking) of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. Mission members also got to meet Fr. Thomas' lovely wife.

Father John and Khouria celebrated 40 years of marriage this past week. God grant them many years!

Several community members are now signed up for the music education class beginning on September 7th, which is offered by the Antiochian Archdiocese and sponsored by St. John the Merciful Mission.

We're looking forward to more blessings this fall, beginning with another series of adult education and catechism classes starting with the new liturgical year on September 1st. In addition, the new iconography is expected to arrive at some time in October.

Finally, we continue to learn to be better at community gardening and are addressing problematic issues as they arise. Some catechumens spent time at the mission setting up another trellis for the vines, and cleaning the inside of the mission. Most plants are healthy and producing delicious organic vegetables and hearty herbs. The okra has been surprising gardeners and visitors with its prolific growth and beauty, and we were able to offer zucchini and butternut squash for Fr. Thomas and his wife to take home. Glory to God for all good things!

Blessed week to all!

08/20/2026

Christ is in our midst!

The weekday liturgy took place on Wednesday, on the occasion of Father John's 36th ordination anniversary. May God grant Fr. John many more blessed years of holy priesthood!

For two days in a row, some of our young catechumens carried out gardening and clean-up work at the mission. Their unprompted voluntary labor is a real gift.

Fr. John and Kh. Sabine picked up the remaining 48 backpack donations from The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, Bethesda, Maryland and drove them to two Ward 8 schools for delivery today. They were met by the wonderful and dedicated staff of Center City PCS and Leckie Education Campus and informed that several of the previously dropped-off backpacks had already been claimed. Both schools were abuzz today with excitement for this coming Monday, the first day of school.

Thanks be to God for all donors and volunteer helpers! Join us this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for Divine Liturgy at the DC mission!

08/16/2026

Christ is in our midst!

Several updates:

- Two willing helpers visited the mission yesterday afternoon, placing diatomaceous earth on all the raised beds to prevent more damage to the produce. It was a pleasure for Fr. John to meet with them and to introduce them further to our mission.

- As our dedicated decorating specialists for feast days have moved on, Kh. Sabine, Viktoria and Alison B. took on the task of adorning the icons of the Theotokos for the Dormition feast.

- This morning's Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Fr. Thomas Underwood, a visiting priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. It was wonderful to have him, and we look forward to seeing him again next Sunday. He told the story of St. Joseph the Hesychast, whose feast day we commemorate today. St. Joseph reposed in 1959 on the Feast of the Dormition. Learn more about him and about the Jesus prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe4OtnPJGpo

- With the support of St. John the Merciful mission, five community members are scheduled to sign up for the upcoming Antiochian online music education classes. This offers a unique chance for mission members to better understand liturgical and musical elements of the Church, and to grow in the Faith. Plus, we are ready to step up our liturgical musical game!

- Today's garden bounty was shared among community members. Viktoria and several of the young men went out to the garden and inspected, clipped, harvested, and plotted future projects. We are extremely blessed to have such dedicated volunteers.

What an exciting, beautiful week it was. Thanks be to God!

- Last important update is for upcoming weekday liturgical services as announced by Father John - note that we meet on Wednesday this week:

Wednesday+, August 19th, Feast of Saint Andrew the Commander
Thursday, August 27th, Feast of Saints Pimen and Phanurius
Ecclesiastical new year begins September 1st 2026
Thursday, September 3rd, Saint Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedea
Tuesday+, September 8th, Nativity of the Mother of God
Monday+, September 14th, Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
Thursday, September 24th, The Commemoration of the Miracle of the Theotokos Myrtidiotissis in Kythyra, Thecla the Protomartyr & Equal to the Apostles

Have a blessed week!

Love in Christ from the DC Mission

08/15/2026

Blessed Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos!

08/14/2026

08/14/2026

Glory to God!

What a great day we had yesterday! St. John the Merciful mission hosted a successful back-to-school backpacking event, initiated by FOCUS NORTH AMERICA and courtesy of the beloved The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, Bethesda, Maryland. Volunteers at St. George's and St. John's were hard at work over the last few weeks, pulling the details together for delivery, in time for the first day of school, of 120 backbacks to deserving students in Ward 8. Fr. John and community members were happy to welcome Fr. Peter Thornberg, Presvytera Katherine, and the rest of the volunteers. The backpacks were delivered to Center City PCS Congress Heights and Leckie Education Campus.

St. George's Sunday school parents have been outstanding in their generosity. You can learn more about the Sunday school here: https://stgeorge.org/sunday-school/

In addition, St. George's youth group sent their wonderful teens to assemble backpacks and carry loads of them to the schools. Get to know the youth group here: https://stgeorge.org/st-george-youth-ministries/

St. John the Merciful mission is beyond thankful for all the love and generosity that our partner parish is offering to our DC neighbors. Below are photos, credit to Fotini, of this special day.

Some feedback we received from the St. George's volunteers: "Father Peter, Presvytera Katherine, and the Saint George volunteers were excited to be at the mission and to work with Father John and the St. John's community. Both school administration and teachers welcomed us and everyone was moved by the appreciation they felt receiving the backpacks."

On another note, it has been discovered that our mission garden is being attacked by a destructive bug, and we will apply diatomaceous earth, an organic pest control, to every bed this weekend. Thanks be to God for our new inquirer who arrived just in time!

Enjoy the photos below of a joyful event! God bless you all!

08/11/2026

Christ is in our midst!

The next weekday Liturgy is scheduled for this upcoming Thursday, August 13th. We are continuing the Dormition Fast, which ends on August 15th, the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Most Holy Theotokos.

If you can make it, join us on Thursday morning at 9:30 for Liturgy and light refreshments afterwards.

Important reminder -->

Also happening on the 13th: Our visiting group from The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, Bethesda, Maryland is going to be at the mission with a big task! With their help, we are going to assemble and deliver around 100 backpacks for economically disadvantaged students in the neighborhood of St. John the Merciful mission. Any additional volunteer packing assistance is going to be much appreciated!!

And speaking of volunteer power: A short-notice gardening and repair session took place at the mission yesterday, initiated entirely by catechumens and inquirers. Glory to God! The volunteer workers harvested produce and identified and addressed some minor gardening issues, repaired a sink problem, took a trip to Home Depot, changed out an air filter, and secured our flyer shelf to the wall. Blessings to them for their dedicated service! At the end of the day, we checked out the mission bees and their bearding behavior on a hot and humid day. Learn more about bees' bearding here: https://www.perfectbee.com/beekeeping-articles/what-is-bearding