Dear Parishioners,

We will open the services to 16 attendees plus chanters beginning December 12th. Please sign up on our website as we have done previously.

The following requirements will be enforced:

Do not attend the service if...

On Sunday, December 6th, the Feast of St. Nicholas, we had the baptism of Everett Coleman, son of Jeff and Bailey Coleman. We extend our congratulations to the entire family as well as the sponsors, Jacob and Stephanie Klatte. May the Lord grant them all health, strength, salvation, furtherance in every good thing, and many blessed years!

#GivingTuesday is December 1. Please join us on this global day of generosity with a financial gift to support St. Elias Orthodox Church. An important goal for our church is to build a handicapped-accessible ramp so we can welcome ALL people through our historic doors and share the beauty of our worship. The first $1,000 donated on #GivingTuesday will be matched dollar for dollar.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: In light of the skyrocketing numbers of COVID-19 in La Crosse County, and for the safety of all, services at St. Elias Church will temporarily change starting this weekend. There will be no Vespers on Saturday. Divine Liturgy and Matins will be closed to all except the chanters. The Sunday services will be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel. You will find a link posted on our website.

Beginning on October 8th, we will be studying the book "Toolkit for Spiritual Growth: A Practical Guide to Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving" by Fr. Evan Armatas.  

This 8-week class will be held on Thursdays at 6:00 pm via Zoom meeting. 

We're celebrating the heritage and delicious food of our German parishioners and friends with a drive-thru dinner event! 

When: Sunday, October 18th

Meals will be served from 3 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. (or sold out, whichever comes first).

Cost is $10 per meal. Cash sales only. Please pay when you arrive; no advance tickets will be sold. 

Dear Parishioners, due to the increase in the spread of COVID-19 in La Crosse, with Bp. ANTHONY's blessing there will not be any services until after September 27th. We will re-evaluate the situation at that time. Please feel free to contact Father Dionysios if you require his assistance.

On Saturday, September 12th, we were very pleased to receive Jeff Coleman into the Orthodox Church through the mystery of Holy Baptism. We sincerely congratulate Jeff,  his sponsor Fr. Photios Parks of the Carpatho-Russian Archdiocese, and their families on this joyous occasion, and we ask the Lord to grant them many blessed years!

Our MEOCCA-sponsored, 12-week, fall 2020 cooperative catechism course on the basics of Eastern Orthodox Christianity will begin on Tuesday, September 15, from 7-9 pm. The class is open to all people interested in learning more about Orthodox Christianity, inquirers, catechumens, and current Orthodox Christians as well! The course is an excellent opportunity to deepen the knowledge of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Classes will be held virtually via Zoom to begin the semester.

We are overwhelmed and grateful for the enthusiastic response to our first-ever drive-thru dinner. We sold out in an hour! Thank you very much for your support!  We are hoping to have a German drive-thru dinner in October. We will be making more food to ensure everyone who wants a meal gets one. 

Thank you to all who worked hard to make this event a success!

This year due to COVID-19 situation we were unable to hold our annual Mediterranean Festival. But we couldn't let summer go by without at least a modified version of our popular Fest, so we are offering Mediterranean Drive Thru Dinner on August 30th  from 4:30-6:30 PM. 

Spread the word! We are looking forward to seeing you!

Dear Parishioners,

Bishop ANTHONY wants to remind you about the YouTube channel where you can find His Grace's sermons and messages.

Further, you can subscribe to the channel, and when new videos from Bishop ANTHONY are posted, you will be notified.

Orthodox Life Presentations sponsored by the Antiochian Department of Homeschooling.

June 23-29, 2020 at 6:00 pm CT (7:00 pm ET)

A number of Orthodox Christian leaders and teachers, who are a great blessing upon all of us, have organized a series of presentations on Orthodox Life.  Nightly sessions run from June 23rd to June 29th. Dr. John Mark Reynolds of The Saint Constantine School in Houston, Texas will be offering a presentation on Orthodox and Classical Education.  In addition, the Antiochian Department of Homeschooling (Saint Emmelia Ministries), including Fr. Noah Bushelli and Dn. David Hyatt, will be offering a presentation on Orthodox Christian Homeschooling.  Below you will find the presenters and the topics of their sessions.  Zoom information is being provided.  These sessions are open to everyone.  Please pass the word as freely and often as you can. Please contact the presenters directly with any questions. Technical questions, such as logging in, should be directed to Dn. David Hyatt at jhyatt.duluth@gmail.com or by calling 218-576-8324.

Make plans to join the Department of Sacred Music and Keynote Speaker Fr. John Erickson and participate in the first ever Virtual Sacred Music Institute. 

Friday, July 17 - Sunday, July 19, 2020
 

Vistual Sacred Music Institute (SMI) will replace the 35th Annual Summer SMI, and will occur the same weekend. There will also be a Youth Music Ministry.

More information will be coming very soon - schedule, presenters, registration, etc.

Antiochian Village Camp was founded in 1978 and since then has been one of the premier facilities for Orthodox youth and families in our country. This year Antiochian Village is excited to annouce Virtual Camp opportunity. They have created 8 weeks of programming starting Monday June 15th. You can access all programs and get additional information on their website.

SAVE THE DATE! We are excited to announce the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest Virtual Parish Life Conference coming VIRTUALLY on June 27, 2020!

There will be virtual session for teens, young adults, and Christian Ed teachers, as well as a virtual senior presentation for high school graduates, and more.  So mark your calendars for Saturday, June 27!  Sign up for the Senior Presentation with Bishop ANTHONY as well as nomination forms for the diocesan teen officer elections.

On June 6th, the Eve of the Holy Pentecost, we were very pleased to receive Sylvie Moser into the Orthodox Church through Holy Chrismation. We sincerely congratulate her on this joyous occasion and we ask the Lord to grant her many blessed years!

Beginning June 23rd, we will be studying the book "Race, Identity, and Reconciliation" by Mother (Nun) Katherine Weston. It can be found at many places online. Please order yours now.

The class will be held virually on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm via Zoom meeting. Please register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The June edition contains the following articles:

Getting the Church Back to Full-Time Work by Bishop JOHN

A Quarantine Opportunity: The Way of the Warrior Saint by Fr. Chris Salamy

Orthodox Chaplaincy at the Front Lines: Christ is in our Midst! by Sarah Byrne-Martelli and Fr. Adrian Budica

Healing, Health, and Holiness by Bishop Anthony

Information about the Antiochian House of Studies, Archdiocesan news, and more!

This year, the beloved Ancient Faith Women's Retreat moves online for a special journey into the lives of seven women saints and the ways they foster our own spiritual identity. Created as both a deeply personal and enriching communal experience, this interactive webinar retreat will feature the writers of Seven Holy Women: A Storytelling Devotional, which releases from Ancient Faith Publishing this fall. A copy of the book is complimentary with each registration package, and registrants will receive the book in time to begin reading and writing in it before the retreat.

Click below to see a full list of speakers, featured sessions, and registration information!

We have received a letter from Met. JOSEPH giving us permission and guidance as to opening the parish again.

It is with great joy and appreciation that we can announce that through the kindness and generosity of many people the #GivingTuesdayNow campaign has raised $970.

May God Bless all those that gave.

Watch a YouTube video from +Bishop ANTHONY to all 2020 graduates.

We are having a class on Tuesday evenings discussing a book “How to be a Sinner: Finding Yourself in the Language of Repentance” by Dr. Peter Bouteneff.

The Word is the official news magazine of the Antiochian Archdiocese. It is published monthly (with the exception of July and August). The magazine was founded in 1905 in the Arabic language by St. Raphael of Brooklyn, and later was turned into an English language publication by Metropolitan Antony Bashir in 1957. While content is primarily intended to keep readers informed of Orthodox news, it also educates and inspires with articles on faith and practice. Back issues are available in PDF format here.

Check the latest updates​ from the Archdiocese regarding the COVID-19 pandemi​c to be informed on the directions provided from His Eminence, and to access resources for your family and parish during this difficult time.

The workshop was lead by Stacey Sabadash Kalas and Kh. Margaret Wilhelm on March 15th, 2020. We spent a fun afternoon making pysanky.

Pysanky are Ukraininan Easter eggs.  The name comes from the Ukraininan verb "pysaty", which means "to write" or "to inscribe", as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax.