<div>Around 10:45 on Saturday, March 7, our parish, St. John of the Ladder in Greenville, SC was struck by lightning and caught fire. This is a thriving parish that was at capacity before this unfortunate natural disaster. It was the beautiful temple building where we worship.
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<div>(<em>In addition to this fundraiser, we have established a </em><a href="https://crisisresponse.sjotl.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>dedicated donation portal</em></strong></a><em> for the offering of physical, liturgical and sacred items to equip our chapel ministries in neighboring Spartanburg and, as envisioned, Greenville's "Northside"</em>.)
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<div>We are a blessed community, but we do not have the funds to properly respond to this crisis while continuing to minister to all of the souls that have been entrusted to our care. Your help is vital!
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<div>Far from being discouraged, we see this as a clear opportunity to continue with our mission in the upstate of South Carolina. The scripture readings the following day (March 8, the Sunday of the Paralytic) speak directly to this: Hebrews 1:10-2:3 tell us that heaven and earth (these temporal, physical things) will perish, but God remains. Mark 2:1-12 shows that the paralytic's friends tore open a roof to reach the Lord, so that those in need could reach Christ amidst the crowds.
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<div>We can rebuild and restore, but restoration will take time, and we are out of space. We serve roughly 500 souls each Sunday, with no signs that the growth is slowing down. We need to not only restore the beauty of our temple, but there is an urgent need to accelerate our regional chapel expansion plans to continue serving the souls entrusted to our care.
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<div>How Your Donations Will be used:
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<li>Covering losses, expenses and deductibles, and contribute to the restoration of our beautiful iconography.
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<li>Providing essential resources to ensure that we can serve a liturgy in three locations - our parish hall, our Spartanburg Chapel and a potentially a new chapel on Greenville's North Side.
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<li>Your tax-deductible donations will be sent in full from the Diocese of the South (sponsor of this fundraiser) to St. John of the Ladder Orthodox Church.
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<div>Far from being discouraged, we see this as a clear opportunity to continue with our mission in the upstate of South Carolina.
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<div>If you would like to learn more about our parish, visit our parish website: <a href="https://www.sjotl.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.sjotl.org" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.sjotl.org</a></a>
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<div><strong>Below are some photos of the building/community prior to the damage:</strong>
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<div>The dome painting of Christ that no longer exists.
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<div>Picture facing East on a typical Sunday Morning.
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<div>Our community gathered downtown at the Reedy River on Theophany.
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<div>Typical evening Vespers service.
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Anonymous

Beth Hill

Janice Douglass

Major Fire at St. John of the Ladder Orthodox Church

Still $13,935 to go. Help us build momentum.