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On the weekend of November 17–19, 2017, His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH and His Grace Bishop NICHOLAS made their first visits to St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis, Tennessee. The occasion was the celebration of the parish's 30th anniversary as well as the blessing of the new St. Raphael Hall which was completed in November.
The joyous weekend included a visit to St. Jude Children's Hospital, a wonderful presentation explaining the vestments of the bishop to the children of the Church, and a banquet on Saturday evening in the brand new parish hall.
At the Hierarchical Liturgy on Sunday morning, His Eminence tonsured David Twombly of Memphis and Paul Sudduth from St. Paul Mission in Tupelo, MS as readers. He also elevated Fr. Don Berge to Archpriest. This was a complete surprise to Fr. Don; he has faithfully served as a priest for thirty years and now cares for the mission in Tupelo. Axios!
His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS stayed two extra days and celebrated the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God with the community. It was a great blessing to the community to have the first visit for both Metropolitan JOSEPH and Bishop NICHOLAS. May it be the first of many!
