The parish was recently given some old photos from the first few years of our parish, most of them before we were given St. Jacob of Alaska as our patron, and when it was simply called the Orthodox Mission of Bend Oregon. One of those sets of photos were from the funeral of one of our founding members, Zachariah Hogue, and being one of the founding members, the first three priests who served our parish came to serve at his funeral.
Fr. Stephen Soot, the priest who helped the Hogues and others start the mission here in Bend, driving over from Corvallis, is main celebrant for the funeral. To the right, in this photo, is Fr. James McKee, the first priest assigned to the parish; and to the left is Fr. Peter Guilianotti, who also helped serve the parish for a season.
Glory to God for sustaining our parish these 20+ years. There were certainly times that the mission almost folded, but it was the will of God for us to continue. Thank you to the reverend priests, the faithful founders, the generous benefactors, and all the pious parishioners who have lived and served and benefitted the flock here in Bend.
