Orthodox Mission Needs Land to Move

We are St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Mission in Show Low, Arizona under the Omophorion of Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco in the Western American Diocese of ROCOR. We were established in 2018 as a satellite of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church in Sun City, Arizona to serve Orthodox Christians in this remote part of the state as well as to evangelize in an area where there are no parishes for hundreds of miles and there has never been an Orthodox Church before.

Background: we began as a satellite of All Saints after the founding family here in the White Mountains expressed interest in setting up services for the disparate Orthodox families spread across the White Mountains and to establish a mission whereby the Orthodox Christian Faith could be spread. Before the establishment of this mission, Orthodox Christians would have to travel 2 hours Northwest to Flagstaff, 3 hours South to Safford, 4 hours West to Prescott, or 4 hours East to Albuquerque New Mexico. This was a “dead zone” for Orthodoxy.

Fr. John Peck readily agreed to help get services going and began making the four hour drive on a monthly basis to do so. In 2021, his spiritual son, Fr. Michael Vallecillo was ordained to the Diaconate and then a year later in 2022 to the Priesthood and assigned to this mission so that it could grow and remain viable.

In the beginning the community struggled to find a consistent space to worship as there were little to no feasible rental options or anyone willing to lend space for us to do services. Eventually the founding family built an annex onto their house and we began to hold services there. While beautiful, this location was off of dirt roads on Porter Mountain and the difficulty in getting to the property made it hard for people to attend services and impossible if there was snow or rain so we continued to be on the lookout for other options.

Eventually we were approached by a local Orthodox businessperson who had acquired over a hundred acres with the intention of building an “Orthodox Community” and offered to subdivide a 5-10 acre parcel for us to build a Church on. One of the families purchased a large portable building to serve as the chapel and had it delivered to the land. We have since spent tens of thousands on the building, beautifying the building, constructing an iconostasis, developing the parking lot, renting a portable restroom, setting up generators and electricity, and finishing the walls and ceiling.

THE PROBLEM: the “benefactor” showed us all the information regarding the subdivision and transfer of the property and while they had the means to do this immediately they began to stall. A year went by and then two and it became increasingly clear that they had no intention on relinquishing control to the community so that they could hold it over our heads. We received numerous warnings from non-Orthodox people in the community that they were doing this, and more than that, that the land could not be developed. Due to the condition of the soil, a well would be impossible to dig, septic would be impossible to set up by normal means, and as a result, electricity would not be able to be set up either. We could have found ways around this (albeit expensive ways), but as the situation deteriorated with the land-owner and their relationship with the Mission, they also became embroiled in a lawsuit and an investigation by the Arizona Department of Real Estate that would make it impossible for them to transfer the land even if they wanted to. Beyond that, there is the possibility that the land owner may lose the land we are on in the lawsuit. A few months ago, we decided as a community that it would be in our best interest if we found somewhere to move and cut our losses in our current location, however, we have not been able to acquire a true benefactor to donate land to us, so we are turning to our brethren on the internet for help.

What we are asking: We desperately need help to remove ourselves from this situation by acquiring land that the Mission collectively owns and no individual has control over. We have sunk tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into this chapel and don’t want to lose it and start over with next to nothing. The building can be moved and, in fact, we have numerous standing offers of help from people in the White Mountains to help us do this, but we need land to move the building to.

What we need: We need between 50,000 and 70,000 dollars as that is the average cost of land in the area that is close to town, can have utilities set up, and is close to traversable roads. We would prefer to get as close to this goal as possible, because most sellers of land in the area prefer cash, but if we can at least get a down payment, we will make do with what we can get and it is within our budget to make mortgage payments within this price range.

Why you should help us: We are a growing community on the frontiers of the missionary growth of the Orthodox Church. We have a community split down the middle between baptized Orthodox Christians and brand new catechumens who have discovered the faith. We are a young community with many children and an average age of thirty(!) years old. We are in an area surrounded by people groups and tribes that have never encountered the Orthodox Church with growing interest hampered only by anxiety over our situation and who our current “benefactor” is. Please help us to raise the banner of the Orthodox Church in a place where it has never stood before.

May God abundantly bless and reward your generosity and lay up treasure for you in Heaven!

In Christ,

Fr. Michael Vallecillo