St. Anne Orthodox Church, Corvallis, Oregon

“We’ve been wanting to build a church for quite some time,” said Father Stephen Soot, Rector of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Corvallis, Oregon. “We need to expand because we can’t have everyone together in one space.”

Father Stephen created a temporary chapel downstairs during the pandemic, where he’d live-stream services to those who couldn’t fit into the nave. However this space was only a temporary solution, and had to be packed away after each service.

Because he had worked with OCCIF before, Father Stephen turned to OCCIF for a loan. “Thanks to OCCIF’s previous help, we’re now at a point where we are able to pay off our current loan and apply for a new OCCIF loan to build a new temple.”

The new hillside location, which has beautiful view of the entire valley, has been secured. The plans are to create a church that can host twice the number of their current space. “This will allow us to do some of the things that we just can’t really do here,” said Father Stephen. 

“[For example] we don’t have room for classroom – right now we’ve got kids in various corners of our current space doing church school. With OCCIF’s help we are looking forward to continuing our relationship and building an Orthodox temple up on the Hill.”

For Father Stephen, working with OCCIF is a vital step in the grown of the Orthodox Church. “If you are considering working with OCCIF, have take the leap of faith and submit an application,” said Father Stephen. “These are other Orthodox Christians who want to support what you are doing. The biggest mistake you can make is sitting back and doing nothing.”

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