St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox ChurchParish InformationClergy:Fr. Gabriel Bilas, Rector.
Fr. Dn. Michael Schlaack Lay Leadership: Reader Gregory Jannakos, Choir Director
Jenni Otis, Church School Coordinator Rebekah Humphreys- Pastoral Assistant Contact Information:2439 S. Long Lake Rd
Fenton, MI 48430 810-750-1401 smmocafenton@gmail.com Website: www.st-marymagdalene.org/ Services:Sundays:
9:50 am: The Hours followed by the Divine Liturgy 11:30 am: Coffee hour and Church School (on hold at this time due to COVID-19) Thursdays: 10:00 am: Divine Liturgy (Please check the parish website for updates) Saturdays: 5:00 pm (4:00 pm During Winter Months): Great Vespers (or Vigil during fasting periods) followed by Confessions Services Celebrated in English Social Media:
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE ORTHODOX CHURCH
JUNE 14, 2002: A NEW ORTHODOX MISSION A new Orthodox mission begins in Genessee County Michigan. The first Divine Liturgy is held in the chapel at St. John Catholic Church in Fenton, MI. 2003 — MAY 2008: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HALL Before and during the construction of the church building, we held our worship service in the K of C hall at St. John Catholic Church. During this time our parish continued to grow. SEPTEMBER 9, 2004: OUR FIRST SEMINARIAN ORDAINED Fr. John Baker is ordained into the Presbyterate at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary. Fr. John is now Rector at Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church in Chicago, IL. JUNE 18, 2005: ARCHBISHOP KYRILL BREAKS GROUND At the newly purchased property on South Long Lake Rd in Fenton, MI, Archbishop Kyrill (of blessed memory) breaks ground. This began St. Mary Magdalene's journey toward a new place of worship. NOVEMBER 21, 2006: OUR SECOND SEMINARIAN ORDAINED Fr. Robert Royer is ordained into the Presbyterate at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary. Fr. Bob is now attached to St Nicholas in Burton, MI. AUGUST 24, 2007: TORNADO HITS FENTON An F2 tornado touches down in Fenton damaging many local homes and businesses. Several large maple trees are knocked down on our property, but by the grace of God, our new building is not damaged. Fr. Paul has a plan for these downed trees though. MAY 2008: CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETED Fr. Paul stands in the empty sanctuary of the newly constructed church building. There is still lots of work left to be done but worship services are ready to be held at our new home. APRIL 4, 2010: SETTLING INTO OUR HOME After construction is finished, St. Mary Magdalene Parish settles into their new home and community. Our church family sees a lot of changes during these first years with the unstable economy in Michigan. Some beloved members move around, but now our family just extends across the country. JUNE 26, 2011: A NEW DEACON IS ORDAINED Dn. Mike is ordained into the Holy Diaconate by Bishop Benjamin. After years of serving as a reader, teaching the youth, and many, many, other acts of service, Dn. Mike begins his new role as Deacon at St. Mary Magdalene. MARCH 3, 2013: GOODBYE DN. JOHN Our beloved Dn. John serves his last Divine Liturgy at St. Mary Magdalene. He and his wife move to Colorado to be closer to their kids and grandchildren. The parish is sad to see him go but look forward to his visits in the future. APRIL 2015: FROM TORNADO TO ICONOSTASIS Fr. Paul had the trees that were knocked down by the tornado in 2007 cut and planed. It was then carved into our iconostasis. Members helped to stain the wood and construct this essential piece of Orthodox worship. APRIL 25, 2015: NEWLY CONSECRATED TEMPLE Bishop Alexander, a crowd of clergymen, and the St. Mary Magdalene faithful, participate in the consecration of our Church building. This completes the ceremonial final step in the building of the church, moving us from a mission parish, to a permanent place of worship. JULY 2015: RIVERFRONT MOSAIC Parishoners work together to erect a beautiful shrine to the Theotokos. The mosaic is created by Kathryn Pritchett who studied Monumental Art at St. Tikhon's Orthodox University in Moscow. NOVEMBER 22, 2015: BITTERSWEET TRANSITION Fr. Paul and Popadia Michelle say goodbye to St. Mary Magdalene. They move to St. Luke's in Chicago, Illinois to be closer to their growing family. Left behind is a legacy of love and devotion. The Orthodox community in the Flint area is forever grateful for their service. APRIL 16, 2016: A NEW ERA Fr. Gabriel and Matushka Laura begin their service together at St. Mary Magdalene. They bring a new energy to the community in Fenton and immediately begin the Lord's work. DECEMBER 2016: HEAVENLY RING St. Mary Magdalene receives a new set of church bells. The use of bells in Orthodox worship goes back centuries. Bells are used to mark special points in the worship service like the singing of the Creed and the Hymn to the Theotokos. The collection of bells would be completed in late 2019 MARCH 2017: CLASSROOMS ARE FINISHED Our Religious Education finds a permanent home in the newly renovated Annex. The youth and adults now have a dedicated space for learning. To view more history of St. Mary Magdalene click here |
2439 S. Long Lake Rd
Fenton, MI 48430
Fenton, MI 48430