1982-1988

Father MacKinnon served the community until July of 1982, at which time Deacon Mark Koczak and his wife Jan arrived in Santa Maria. Father Deacon Mark continued to serve the community as a deacon until February of 1984, when he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Gregory (Afonsky) of the Diocese of Alaska. The ordination took place at the chapel and more than 100 people attended. After laboring for three and one-half years at Annunciation, Father Mark and Jan transferred to St. Nicholas Church in Saratoga as an assistant priest in February of 1986.

With the transfer of Father Mark, Father John Bernardi became the parish’s temporary priest, until August of 1986. Financial hardship forced him and his wife to relocate to Las Vegas, Nevada. The people of Annunciation were very grateful for his willingness to serve them, if only for six months.

After Father John’s departure, the parish was without a priest for a year. Periodically, Hieromonk Andre (Levshin), a retired priest, would come from San Luis Obispo and celebrate the Divine Liturgy, but most weeks the parish was without a priest. However, the faithful remained steadfast, and continued to meet among themselves and hold Reader Services. It is to their credit that the parish survived during this period, for it would have been easy to disband. However, our Lord blessed them during this period of clerical absence, and in August of 1987, Father George Masters and his wife, Georgette, arrived from Holy Cross Seminary in Boston. Father George remained in Santa Maria for one year. Shortly after his arrival, he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop TIKHON at St. Herman’s Church in Oxnard. The people of St. Herman’s and Annunciation jointly hosted the reception afterward. Father George remained in Santa Maria for one year, and he, like Father Mark, transferred to St. Nicholas in Saratoga as an assistant priest under Father Basil Rhodes in July of 1988.

The four priests who served Annunciation from 1979 to 1988 all experienced a common difficulty: lack of financial support. All four were forced to seek out full-time employment in an area where housing costs are high and salary levels are low.

All four reported leaving the area in debt, having exhausted their personal resources. Rather than continue the same pattern of bringing newly-ordained clergy to the parish, it was decided by Bishop TIKHON to appoint Father Ian MacKinnon (the parish’s first rector) as priest-in-charge in July of 1988. Father Ian was able to enlist the help of two other priests, Father Luke Hill and Father David Ogan, to serve the parish on a temporary basis. At that time, a realistic salary goal had been established for the next resident priest; essentially, however, the emphasis then was on establishing the parish on a firm foundation through worship, Bible study, and patient evangelism.

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