Beloved brothers and sisters of Holy Theophany and St. John the Baptist,

Christ is in our midst!

St. Paul writes to the Philippians: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace…”

I know that I speak for both myself and Fr. Anthony when I say that I am grateful beyond words for each one of you. Almost every time I come to the church, no matter what time of day, someone is usually at the property watering our plants, fixing a squeaky door, repairing something broken, cleaning the church, mowing the lawn, sorting books in the bookstore, or shoveling snow! The love and the ownership that I see people have for our temple, our property, and our communal life is truly amazing.

Our parishes are a beautiful example of generosity, hospitality, kindness, and attendance. Thank you, each of you, for offering your time and talents to serve the Church — both at Holy Theophany and at St. John’s!

This has been a very eventful year, full of changes. Opening St. John’s in January, and having the temple consecrated in February was an enormous milestone in our history! Fr. Anthony Karbo of blessed memory spoke of a second church in Colorado Springs ever since Holy Theophany was built, and now, here we are. Glory to God! It is inspiring to me, that every time I get a chance to go out to St. John’s something new has happened: new iconography, landscaping progress, and both inner and outer beautification. You guys are amazing.

But I want to emphasize that the planting of St. John’s is still not completed! While the opening and consecrations were milestones, we still have a short distance to cover until St. John’s is a completely self-supporting and separate parish. This is simply a matter of continued numerical and financial growth. Holy Theophany is still legally holding the mortgage for St. John’s (at roughly $15K per month), and when we are at a point that St. John’s can manage the mortgage and all their other expense by themselves — we will celebrate the completion of the planting of a new church. And we are not far from that! But until then we are still working together, as a mother and a daughter parish.

And we have certainly seen growth this year! Between our two parishes we currently have close to 100 catechumens. This last year we have together baptized or received over 80 people. Holy Theophany is now basically finding itself in the same place as before the opening of St. John’s, with dozens of people having to stand outside because the temple is full on Sunday morning. Glory to God!

This has made Fr. Anthony and myself discuss seriously how we can increase our pastoral capacity, and manage this growth. For me personally, this is especially important as I, in addition to being Rector of Holy Theophany, also serve of District Dean over the Rocky Mountains (covering 15 parishes and missions in the region of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah). It has become abundantly clear that I can use a full time assistant priest, which is reflected in this coming year’s budget. While it is quite unlikely that a priest will somehow suddenly materialize at the turn of the year, I pray that this salary line will be approved to make us ready as soon as a priest is available. At the very least we will have an Intern Priest from one of our seminaries here this summer, for the months of July and August.

I would also like to inform you all that this year we will host our Diocesan Assembly (150+ people). This will be a great opportunity for our whole community to welcome and serve the clergy, leaders and lay delegates from around our God-protected diocese! The Assembly will take place October 20-23, 2026.

But now, I would like to draw your attention to something that Fr. Anthony and I have discussed over the last month or two, and which has been presented to the Parish Council before this meeting. As we move forward, it is important that we do that with a common understanding of our mission and purpose. To that effect we have drafted a Strategic Plan (which was sent out to you), including both our communities, in order to clarify our Mission, Vision, and direction for the next 2 to 5 years…

Mission Statement: The Mission of Holy Theophany and St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church, is to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all [things that He has] commanded” so that all people may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth:

To preach, in accordance with God’s will, the fullness of the Gospel of the Kingdom to the peoples of Southern Colorado and to invite them to become members of the Orthodox Church.

To be the Body of Christ in Southern Colorado and to be faithful to the tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church.

To witness to the truth, and by God’s grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, to reveal Christ’s way of sanctification and eternal salvation to all.

Vision statement: To be the Church of Jesus Christ for all in Colorado Springs, and to foster a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable communal, spiritual, and liturgical life for members, visitors, and those who serve the Church.

Two Year Plan:

1. COMPLETE PLANTING OF ST. JOHN’S: To complete the planting of St. John’s Mission as a self-supporting sister parish.

• By increasing giving capacity at St. John’s.
• By working toward paying down the mortgage, so that it can be managed by St. John’s alone.
• By Holy Theophany assisting St. John’s until they are financially capable to pay their own mortgage.

2. INCREASE PASTORAL CAPACITY: To facilitate pastoral care for all inquirers, catechumens, and members of our community.

• By bringing on a full time assistant priest.
• By training and ordaining deacons.
• By fostering lay leadership and increased involvement (catechists, administrators, etc.).
• By encouraging vocations, and preparing and sending young men to seminary.

3. ESTABLISH HOLY DORMITION CEMETERY: Name pending Bishop’s blessing.

• By applying for, and developing Holy Dormition Cemetery at St. John’s property.
• By forming a cemetery board, organizing an office, and establishing cemetery bylaws.
• By constructing a small cemetery chapel.

Five Year Plan:

1) HOLY THEOPHANY:

• Assess demographics of the parish and look for new land to purchase for expansion.
• Third church plant, potentially led by our assistant priest.
• Continue beautifying church grounds, improving our facilities, and facilitate growth with staff and additional clergy.

2) ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST:

• To build a parish hall, and turn the temple basement into classrooms and offices, and continue the iconographic adornment of the church.
• To establish or assist in the establishing of another mission in the greater Colorado Springs area.
• To develop a pan-Orthodox local ministry to the poor, needy, or homeless.

V.Rev Andreas Blom, Rector, Holy Theophany         

Rev. Anthony Machnee, Priest-in-charge, St. John the Baptist