On Thursday, January 15/28th, we had the great joy of celebrating the baptism of Daniel Lee. Daniel has been attending catechism classes and services at St Herman’s for over two years now and the time was right for his entry into the fulness of the Orthodox faith. His sponsor, Nathaniel Batlle, as well as a few friends were present for Daniel’s baptism. Daniel attended the Liturgy yesterday to receive his first Communion. It is a joyous and inspiring thing that God continues to grow His Holy Church no matter what challenges we may be facing. We pray that Daniel, who served our country as a Marine (as did his sponsor Nathaniel), will bring forward into his Orthodox life the motto of the Marine Corp: ‘Semper Fidelis’ – ‘Always Faithful’.