Help Save St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church!

*THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS, TOGETHER WE HAVE SAVED ST. HERMAN’S ORTHODOX CHURCH! As of Nov 27th, By the combined $30,000 that we have received on GoFundMe, plus the donations and other funding provided by our immediate community, we have made our goal of raising a total of $582,327 in under 2 weeks! We are amazed at all the support we’ve received and are so grateful to you and God. Should you still wish to contribute, we will leave this fundraiser up for a while, as the longer term commitments to this building will require more $ eventually. But rest assured that as of today this project WILL go through and we WILL be building the first English speaking architecturally Orthodox Church on Canada’s west-coast, with the completion date estimated for May/Jun 2023. All who wish to see where their donations went are encouraged to visit us then! And if this information seems to make no sense whatsoever, please read the following letter to be filled in on our whole story...*

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are a Christian Orthodox community of about 60 households that came from humble beginnings, gathering at first in a parishioner's backyard in Langley B.C. (Canada) before we found a physical building to occupy. Since then, under the leadership of Fr. Lawrence Farley, we have been preparing spiritually, physically and financially for the day when we would finally build our own place of worship that truly reflects our faith, helps us continue to grow and reach out with the Gospel, and is an opportunity for us to create something beautiful for God. Beginning the building project in 2019, we have encountered many costly delays along the way including the onset of the Covid pandemic. Despite these hurdles, 3 years and $1.6 million in investments later we are now halfway completed the project. Should we succeed, it would be the first architecturally Orthodox building for a primarily English speaking parish on Canada's west coast.

Here is the bad news...

We have just been informed that if we do not come up with $582, 327 (CAN) by Dec. 5th, the bank will no longer release our loan to us. This means that if we cannot raise the funds within the next 2 weeks, the building project will be stalled to the degree that we will end up losing a significant amount of $1.6 million that has been invested so far into this 35 year dream. As well as this, we will be required to re-apply for a new building permit in the future, which our half-completed church may not conform to. Altogether, after recovering from this great loss, we will likely be set back for many years.

Donations external to this platform have already generously rolled in, bringing down the amount we still need to raise on this platform to only $80, 228 (CAN). But we need your help, and we need it by Dec. 1st (taking into account bank transfer delays).

And so here we are, reaching far and wide into the rest of the body of Christ to ask for help from those who may not worship next to us each Sunday, but are so much a part of us that we are destined to share in both our sufferings and joys in Christ (1 Cor 12:26). Therefore, with humble hearts we are asking you...

If you consider yourself a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and if you believe in the power of Orthodox Christianity as a light for the lost in a time where there is much darkness, would you consider helping us save St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church?

I will end with the words of our very own Fr. Lawrence Farley, who has been our faithful father since the beginning:

"Those that know me well will attest that I almost never post personal messages online, and even more rarely ask for money for the church. But current challenges require that today I do both...I am therefore taking the extraordinary step of reaching out and asking you for help as well. If my ministry has been of benefit to you, I ask that you consider a one-time sacrificial gift to our parish..."

-Fr. Lawrence Farley

We are grateful for whatever offerings - prayers or pennies - you have, and please do pass this on to the other Orthodox Christian communities you know.

With all our heart,

the St. Herman Orthodox Church community

Notes:

-You have the option to donate in different currencies; remember that our goal is based on the Canadian $ standard.

-We will continue to update the information on this page to be up to date to our current circumstance, should they change unexpectedly again. This includes adjusting the total amount we need to still raise as donations external to this platform come in and lower that number.

-Tax receipts will be available only for donations over 100$ (CAN).

-If we do not meet our goal, your donations will not be in vain and, God willing, we will continue to work towards our goals in the future, albeit on a different and much extended timeline.