Today we will go in an entirely different direction. We are going through a time of testing as a parish. There are many things that are happening and some of us might not be fully aware of what a major change we are going through. We are entering a new epoch as a parish. Stress is often not fully understood until the time of testing is finished. Let me begin by first refreshing in our minds what God has done here in this little parish. In the past century a group of people got together to establish an Orthodox Church in Venice, as there was none. We now stand on the shoulders of those valiant pioneers who sacrificed much as servants of God to do His will among the residents of this area. Some of them are still with us. Some of them are too infirm to continue to attend the services. They held services in many places where they could find a space that was for rent, and gathered those who were interested. They worked hard, they sacrificed much. Gradually they grew and in the early 1980’s they purchased a bank that was for sale and in 1984, Archbishop Dimitri of Dallas declared them no longer a mission but a full parish, and he came and blessed them all with a hierarchical liturgy. And thus they did everything in what is now the hall. And they continued to grow. In 2013 Nancy and I came to become the leaders of this family. We came at a time when there was very serious turmoil and trouble due to a financial scandal in which the pastor had been stealing the money from the parish. He eventually pled guilty to Felony Theft and is no longer a priest. But the devil had given this holy parish a great blow. The people were reeling. How can they continue. But God prevailed, unity was restored and gradually people recovered and peace was brought back. The next year we began a building project and Marie and others helped accomplish the expansion of the parish into the space we are in now. We turned the drive through lanes of the bank into the temple of God. This truly renewed the focus of the people in the correct direction. And God has been faithful to continue to grow us, through ups and downs. We struggled through COVID, but that was when the influx began, first a trickle, then a flow of new people. So, similar to the demoniac, even though we were battered and bruised, God was faithful and brought healing, new life, and a revival started happening all over the US, not just here. And God has not abandoned us, nor been angry with us. He did not give us over to the evil one, but sent the destroyer into the sea. He is not willing to give up His Venice stronghold, but despite us has caused us to grow. We must be grateful, we must give Glory to God that He has prospered His vineyard here. And now He is moving us to a new land. It has been obvious for a few years that we need more room. It is easy to see that this land and building where God has strengthened us has served its purpose. With thanksgiving we honor the founders of this holy parish, we honor God for His will be established here. And so we began to look for a place to move to. For the past few years Nancy and I have been searching. Going and looking at property. In the meanwhile we had a plan for expansion here but realized that the plan was not worth it, that we needed more space, more land. As we continued to search, more and more people were coming. We all began to realize the position we were in and people got more serious about moving. Many possible places seemed to have potential, but ultimately they did not work. This year we found some places that we got excited about. They were very expensive, and not well located or not zoned properly. We were looking at commercial land that was $500,000 an acre and up. Nancy and I walked on a property on Sklar Dr. 15 acres. We soon found out that it was too much wetland. But while we were there we saw a nice piece that had tennis courts on it. And we wondered. By then we were using a commercial realtor, Nick, who did research on it and an amazing opportunity opened up, seemingly by accident, as it was not on the market but the owner wanted sell. I think the word is serendipitous. In August of this year, during the Dormition Fast, we got serious about praying about our search. We did special prayer services. I sent out prayers for everyone to use at home. We fasted, we prayed. We added two special petitions to the Divine Liturgy. We kept in touch with the Diocese throughout this process, keeping Bishop Gerasim in the loop. This has all been done with a Building Committee who has worked very hard through this process. We are so thankful for the people of this committee. The committee and the parish council, asked Nick to help us enter into negotiation with the owners and now we have reached an agreement on price. A few years ago this property was on the market for 1.9 million. We are agreed to purchase it for $850,000. BUT we can’t unless the congregation approves and the bishop blesses the purchase. I know the bishop will bless this. I am fairly certain that all the membership will approve, so we are allowed to vote by a verbal yes or no vote. Today at the end of the liturgy. Then on Tuesday we will sign the purchase agreement. We will then have 90 days to be sure that this is truly a viable piece of land, according to the county. Many surveys, zoning approvals, environment surveys, etc. have to be done. If anything goes awry in the 90 day period we can walk away and get our deposit back. We have a total of 360 days until closing in which to raise the necessary funds. The Parish Council and the Building Committee agree that this is a necessary investment to continue the growth of our parish. Let me share with you why I think it is essential, and ask you to vote for it. We have a vision. We are convinced we must move. This seems like the perfect piece of property for our needs, for the future. Our vision is that we have an Orthodox enclave in Venice. A refuge from the storm. We will build for the next hundred years, not just building some kind of warehouse to get by with. We will build a place of beauty, a sanctuary of holiness. Room for growth. We will design a church than is built to expand. It will be designed to look like it belongs in Florida. We will build a place for your children’s children. How about having extra room in the hall? How about adequate storage space? How about a temple that draws people in and elevates the soul, with enough space for weddings, baptisms. Plenty of parking. Outdoor places to fellowship, room for activities. How about a meeting room, Sunday School rooms. How about a real office room? We are planning on a church building that can hold 250 people. More than doubling our capacity. We have about $500,000 now. We are beginning a fund raising effort. I think we can have the remaining funds by the end of the 90 day contingency period. Today at coffee hour we are asking for donations for the Building Fund. All proceeds from this lunch will be put in this fund. We ask for a donation of $20 each, which is ridiculously low. We are not paying for food here like in a restaurant. We are giving to grow. All donations today will be matched up to $5000! We really should hit that easily. When you think about how much you will donate, don’t think about food, think about a new hall, a new Temple. Think about the future, not today. Think about how hard it is to have Sunday School now. Remember how crowded you feel where you are right now, shoulder with the person next to you. Raise your expectations of what we can have for the Glory of God when we all work together. We are at this point today, not because we are super talented, or great at outreach. We aren’t here on our own strength and holiness. We are here in this situation because of the Blessing of God that takes the 5 loaves and 2 fishes and feeds 5000 with it. We give glory to God. We give thanks for His loving generosity towards us. We thank Him for this place of healing and salvation. And we ask Him to work through us for His Names Sake.