Big Announcement!

[Fr. Ignatius Valentine]

Dear St. Raphael Family and Friends,

Christ is risen!

I recently learned that I am being transferred to St. Nicholas Church in Cedarburg, WI where I will become pastor beginning August 1. This will be a bittersweet transition. After serving as pastor for 17 years at St. Raphael, it will be very difficult for me to leave the beloved people of our precious church. Yesterday was an emotional day at St. Raphael when I made this announcement following liturgy. This move will put me and Kh. Maria much closer to our parents and reunite us to our home parish, where we first became Orthodox and where I was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood.

We also learned that beginning August 1, our new pastor will be Fr. Symeon Kees. Fr. Symeon currently lives in Houston, TX and serves at St. George Church. He is married to Kh. Jing (Anastasia) Kees, a physician specializing in Internal Medicine, who works as a hospitalist in the Texas Medical Center and serves on faculty of Baylor College of Medicine. Fr. Symeon and Kh. Jing have three children: Marina, 11; Genevieve, 8; and Alexander, 3.

Please welcome them warmly when they arrive later this summer!

Fr. Symeon's bio and two photos are attached.

In Christ,

Fr Ignatius