Bishop MARK welcomed at St. John the Baptist • Nanticoke - 03/31/13
On March 31, 2013, the Feast of St. Gregory Palamas, Mission Vespers was served at St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Nanticoke, PA. Presiding over the service was His Grace, Bishop Mark, who was greeted by the parish council president, Joseph Paprota, shortly before 4pm. A choir composed of parishoners from many local parishes in the deanery sang the service beautifully, and after the entrance and Gospel reading, Fr. Daniel Kovalak preached a homily on the false promises of the secular world, the need to find the truth in the Gospel of Christ and the importance of silence as found in the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas. After the service, His Grace, Bishop Mark spoke of the importance of camaraderie in the Christian life and how wonderful it was to have clergy from throughout the Deanery present for the service. Clergy in attendance included V. Rev. John Kowalczyk, Rev. Nicholas Solak, V. Rev. Eugene Pianovich, V. Rev. Daniel Kovalak, V. Rev. David Shewczyk, V. Rev. Joseph Martin, and Rev. John Malcom who is currently the acting rector of the parish.
After the services, a meal that had been prepared by the parishoners of St. John's was given, and then the rectory which had been renovated following a fire just over a year ago was opened so that people could get a first hand look at the hard work that had gone into repairing it.