That’s St. Benedict and me, under the live oak tree outside our mission parish, St. John the Theologian, in Starhill, Louisiana. TMatt kindly gave me that icon of my patron. It was on the altar today being blessed as we held our first-ever Divine Liturgy at our new church this morning. How strange and wonderful that the same liturgy that was said in Constantinople for the Byzantine emperors was said today under the live oaks in the Deep South, in the same hills where my people have lived for generations. I’m so proud that my son Lucas served as an altar boy this morning, and my wife Julie sang in the choir. You can’t imagine how much hard work my brothers and sisters in our little congregation have put into making this day possible. God is good.

Here’s a link to our Facebook page. We’re working on the website.