Christ is risen!  Indeed He is risen!

2026 marked the first time that we celebrated Pascha in our new church and it was glorious!

Many of the girls and ladies of the parish gathered on Friday afternoon to prepare the kouvouklion for veneration and procession during the Good Friday Lamentations service.  The kouvouklion was adorned with a variety of flowers collected from parishioners gardens. During Friday's service the girls of the parish processed around the kouvouklion while dropping flower petals.  At the concluson of the service Fr. John distributed flowers to the attendees.

Following a Typica service on Lazarus Saturday many of the faithful of St. Thekla particated in a palm cross workshop in preparation for Palm Sunday.  

On Wednesday evening Fr. John celebrated the rite of Holy Unction which was administered to all participating congregants.

Following Divine Liturgy and the icon processeion, the faithful of St. Thekla gathered to hear a presentation by Merona Benfeldt.  Merona is a local iconographer originally from Romania.  During her talk she shared with us how she became interested in learning to write icons while studying art.  Merona delivered an inspiring presentation on the role of icons in the Orthodox Church.  She brought with her a beautiful icon of the Theotokos which she said took several months to complete.

February was a busy month at St. Thekla.  Dn. George presented a homily specifically for the parish children, but it was also well received by all the adults.  During the month we received a gift of two new candle holders for our altar servers.  On Sunday, February 22 we exited church to a lovely snowfall (which ended up being a major ice storm).  Finally, we began our journey through Great Lent with Dn. George serving the Canon of St. Andrew.

January was a busy month at St. Thekla.  We began with the blessing and distribution of St. Basil's bread.  On January 6th, some of the more adventurous parishioners took a quick dip in Tuckahoe Creek to celebrate Theophany.  This was followed by a pot luck dinner and a well earned bonfire at the Parish Hall.

The Nativity season was one of joy for the parishioners of St. Thekla.  We were blessed to be celebrating Christ's birth in our new home.  During this advent season we were able to provide gifts to residents of a local nursing home/rehabilitation center.  Our church was adorned with decorations which added to the beauty of our celebration.  Services were attended by family and friends who gathered to give glory to God.  And, on Christmas Eve we had a wonderful surprise -- our stained glass windows were reinstalled!

On Sunday, December 7th, the children of St. Thekla participated in a St. Nicholas Day Workshop where they had the opportunity to make ornaments and paper chains for the Christmas tree in the parish hall.  In addition, they baked cookies, made small St. Nicholas dolls, and large snowflakes.  Following those acitivities , Fr. John spoke to the children and their families about St. Nicholas of Myra and how his care and generosity should be an example for each of us. St. Nicholas then made an appearance and gifted "gold" coins to each of the children.  

Following their lesson on November 9th, the youngest Sunday School class decorated "Angels" that will be used as gift tags for residents of The Resorts at Chestertown where one of our parishoners is currently staying.  Those angels were hung on a tree in the hall where parishioners could choose a tag and purchase the items needed to help make a bright Christmas for someone in need.

Work has begun on the repair of two stained glass windows on the western wall of the church to address severe bowing of the windows.  The contractor is hoping to have the project completed before the really cold weather sets in.  Much of this work is being funded by donations for which we are extremely grateful.  You'll see in the photos that some of our youngest parishioners are actively helping to raise funds for this!  May God continue to bless them.

Sunday, September 28th we celebrated the Feast Day of our patron and protectress, St. Thekla (September 24).  This is the first time we held this celebration in our new home.

On September 13th, Eric Glenn (Patrick), Kohl Miller (Gabriel), and Eric Morris (Patrick) were received into the Orthodox Church.

May God grant Zeb (Silouan), Sarah, and Winston (George) many years!

On Sunday, August 10th, the St. Thekla family gathered to honor Reader Dylan Thomas Smith as he gets ready to leave us to attend the Hellenic College & Holy Cross Greek School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts.  We know that we will miss his support of our church (as well as his smiling face), but we wish him the best as he continues with his studies.  At the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, Fr. John presented Dylan a newly hand-written icon of St. Thomas.  During the luncheon Dylan also received several photos and gifts from his church family.

Following Divine Litugy on Sunday, July 13th, His Grace Bishop Thomas blessed our new church building and hall.  This was followed by a parish luncheon in his honor.

On Saturday, July 12, we were blessed to have His Grace, Bishop Thomas join us for Vespers followed by dinner with the Parish Council.

Things have been very busy at St. Thekla.  Deacon George and Reader Dylan hung beautiful icons of St. Thekla and Christ in the Parish Hall.

The Sunday School children under the direction of Kh. Laura created beautiful cards that were delivered to one of our parishioners who is currently in rehab.  Needless to say, he was very happy to receive these.

On June 8th we celebrated our first Pentecost with Kneeling Vespers in our new church.

May 25th was a day of joyful celebration for St. Thekla.  On that beautiful morning over 100 people gathered to celebrate our first Divine Liturgy in our new church.  During the service we also acknowledged the recent college graduation of our Reader Dylan who will be going to seminary in the fall.  At the conclusion of Liturgy each family received a cross created by one of our contractors from wood that was removed from the altar area during renovations.  The group than moved to the Retreat House for a cookout and fellowship.

After years of searching, followed by several months of repairs and renovations we finally reached the day when we could move into our new home.  Monday, May 19th was a flurry of activity in both the church and the Retreat House.  Volunteers worked tirelessly all day in both buildings to ready them for our first Divine Liturgy on Sunday the 25th.

On Sunday, May 18th, we celebrated our final Divine Liturgy at the Talbot Evangelical Church.  Following Liturgy everyone pitched in to pack up in preparation for our move into our long awaited, new church.

Deacon George Kaloroumakis led the faithful of St. Thekla in a Typica Service on Mother's Day.  As the service concluded each of the mothers received a carnation in honor of their unwavering love and support for their family and for their St. Thekla family.

Photos of the newly purchased property for St. Thekla's Orthodox Church.  Check back often.  We will continue to add photos as we progress through renovations and repairs.

April - work is continuing to progress nicely.  The chapel has been painted inside and out.  The floors have been refinished and the carpet has been installed in the altar area.  There is still work to be done, but we are well on our way.

On the afternoon of Good Friday the ladies and girls of St. Thekla prepared the Kouvouklion for the Lamentations service.

On Wednesday of Holy Week, the faithful of St. Thekla gathered for the sacrament of Holy Unction.

On Sunday, April 13, the faithful of St. Thekla participated in a joyous procession with blessed palms and pussy willows in celebration of Christ's entry into Jerusalem.  Immediately following Divine Litugy, the group gathered to enjoy a delicious "fish fry" accompanied by many tasty lenten dishes.  During this time of fellowship a number of folks took part in a palm folding class. 

On Sunday, March 23, the faithful of St. Thekla celebrated the Sunday of the Cross.  This day also marked the one-year anniversay of Dn. George's ordination.

As you can see from the photos, March has been a very active month for the St. Thekla family:

• Our reader, Dylan Thomas celebrated his 21st birthday surrounded by his church family.
• The men's book club had a terrific turn out for its montly meeting at the Cambridge Diner.
• A group of ladies traveled to Diane and Pete Pappas' Bethany home for a Lenten retreat and a visit to St. Andrew's Orthodox Church in Lewes, DE. 
• In addition, on Sunday, March 16, Deacon George conducted a brief presentation on St. Ephraim's Prayer which was well received by the attendees.

On Sunday, March 9th, the faithful of St. Thekla gathered to celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy which commemorates the restoration of icons in the church and the end of the iconoclastic controversy, a period of persecution against sacred images. Fr. John led the youngest members of the parish in the procession of the holy icons.

On Saturday, March 1st, seven Catechumens were received into the Orthodox Church through Baptism and Chrismation.

Prior to Divine Liturgy on Sunday, January 12, Dn. George and Reader Dylan installed the new icon of St. Thekla on our iconostasis.  The icon was generously donated by Rob and Emily Lowe and was written by the artist who did the original icons on the iconostasis.

On January 5th, the faithful of St. Thekla's celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil for the feast of Theophany (January 6).  In addition, we celebrated St. Basil's Day (January 1) by blessing and partaking in St. Basil's bread (Vasilopita).

During his homily Deacon George shared information on the significance of St. Basil's bread.

"As we know, Jan. 1st is significant for several reasons, Christ’s circumcision, the civil New Year, and the feast day of St. Basil.  On his feast day, a tradition began centuries ago to acknowledge his defense of the faith, love for his flock and his charity. A special bread or “pita" is baked on January 1, to honor of our Holy Father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia - hence Vasilopita. 

One year, during a time of terrible famine, the emperor levied an excessive tax upon the people. TFAiling to pay would certainly put one in prison. The families had to relinquish their few remaining coins as well as pieces of jewelry, including precious family heirlooms. Learning of this injustice against his flock, St Basil the Great, armed with the gospels went to the emperor seeking his repentance. By God's grace, the emperor repented! He canceled the tax and instructed his tax collectors to turn over to St Basil all of the chests containing the coins and jewelry which had been paid for taxes by the people of Caesarea. 

But now St Basil was faced with the daunting and impossible task of returning these coins and pieces of jewelry to their rightful owners. After praying for a long time before the icons of Christ and His All-holy Mother, St Basil had all the treasures baked into one huge "pita." He then called all the townspeople to prayer at the cathedral and, after Divine Liturgy, he blessed and cut the "pita," giving a piece to each person. Wondrously each owner received in his piece of Vasilopita his own valuables. They all joyfully gave thanks to God who had delivered them from abject poverty, and to their good and holy bishop, St Basil the Great.

We observe the tradition of the Vasilopita each year on January 1st - the date on which St Basil reposed in the Lord in the year 379". 

adapted from AOCNA

On Sunday, December 8th, we were blessed to have Fr. Thomas Underwood lead us in the Divine Liturgy.  Afterwards he distributed Golden Coins (chocolate) in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra who was commemorated on December 6th.  A former parishioner generously donated a box of the coins.

On October 27th the parishioners of St. Thekla's hosted a farewell luncheon for George Cody, one of our founders.

Denise Howard and Jason Wise were received into the Orthodox Church on Sunday, September 8.

Dn. George Kaloroumakis receives the Master of Theological Studies from the Antiochian House of Studies.

On March 24, 2024, the newly ordained Dn. George Kaloroumakis served his first Divine Liturgy at St. Thekla.

Once Covid restrictions were loosened the Mission was able to move into leased space at the Talbot Evangelical Church.  This gave us the opportunity to have a semi-permanent home where we could erect an Iconastasis and display festal icons.