St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church in Atwater.
St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church in Atwater finally has a home of its own and will mark the occasion March 3 with a Church Blessing and Parish Celebration.
Church members bought property at 1635 Shaffer Road in Atwater. Their celebration will take place at 10 a.m. during the Divine Liturgy service.
The new property has large worship and fellowship facilities, ample parking and room for growth. A mission parish of the Orthodox Church in America, the congregation is led by the Very Rev. Lawrence Gaudreau.
The mission was started in 1984 when Janet Choma-Boyle placed a newspaper ad about forming an Eastern Orthodox church in Merced. Choma-Boyle, Elizabeth Wallace and Helen Wajdak then met to worship in the Scout Hut in Applegate Park. The Rev. Alexander Golitzen, now an archbishop, was the first pastor.
Before finding its Atwater location, church members worshiped for 19 years at the St. Joseph Chapel at Dignity Health Center, the former Mercy Hospital at Bear Creek Drive and M Street. The local Catholic Diocese provided chapels for the church services for many years.
Regular worship services are held Saturday at 5 p.m. with Great Vespers and Sunday at 10 a.m. Many other special services are held throughout the year, especially during Lent and the Christmas season.
Archbishop Alexander Golitzen, archbishop of the Diocese of the South, the first priest here, and Archbishop Benjamin Peterson, Archbishop of the Diocese of San Francisco and the West, will visit during Sunday’s services.
The full schedule of services for the church is available on the church websites: StMaryMagdaleneChurch.org and OrthodoxMerced.org. Further information also is available by calling (209) 384-0673.