1500
E. Cotati Ave.
Rohnert
Park, CA 94928
Tel:
(707) 664-9892
For
many years, several first-generation Orthodox Christian families of Arabic
descent have resided in Sonoma County. Prior to the establishment of All Saints
Mission these families have attended either the OCA parish of St. Mary’s in
Santa Rosa, or have driven down to St. Nicholas Antiochian Church in San
Francisco to participate in the sacramental life of the Church.
In
July and August of 1993, Archpriest Fr. Alexander El-Far, a native of Palestine
and veteran priest who served for 25 years in Lebanon and 8 years in Jordan,
made house-to-house visits among the Arabic families to determine if there was
interest in starting a mission
church. On August 22, 1993, With the blessing of Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba),
the mission’s first service was held at Holy Family Episcopal Church at 1500
E. Cotati Ave. in Rohnert Park. Over 75 people attended. Fr. Alexander,
Khouriyeh Jasmine and his son, Karim, moved to the area to serve the new
mission.
In the years
immediately following the mission’s first service, a handful of
families and individuals, with the untiring service of Fr. Alexander,
kept the mission going. Karim El-Far was ordained a Sub-Deacon on July 4, 1996
at St. Nicholas Church in San Francisco. Parish membership has recently started
to grow and now includes approximately thirty-five adults and eight children of
Arabic, Greek, Polish, Russian, and American descent. Despite our small numbers,
Bishop Joseph has made three episcopal visits since 1996. Services are held each
Sunday at 12:00 noon at Holy Family Episcopal Church mostly in the English
language.
Our
goals are to continue to serve interested Orthodox in Sonoma County, and, with
God’s help, to increase membership and transition from mission status into a
church community with our own meeting location.