St. Michael's church photo

Welcome to St. Michael's Orthodox Church!

Founded: 1907

Diocese:  Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania

Deanery:  Frackville Deanery


Saint Michael's Orthodox Church in Mount Carmel, PA strives to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything He has commanded” so that all people may be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth. We do this by witnessing to the fullness of the Gospel of the Kingdom to the peoples of the Coal Region in PA (and by God's grace, beyond the region), and in the power of the Holy Spirit, by revealing Christ’s way of sanctification and eternal salvation to all. We invite anyone interested in authentic Christian worship to come and see, and join us in this labor.

Thanks!

Thanks to all who donated toward the school supply project. We delivered $200 of supplies to Mt. Carmel Elementary School and provided an additional check for $400. They were very appreciative.

New online giving option

At a recent Parish Council meeting, the council recommended and approved a motion to have online giving as an available option for donations. Father Aleksey has graciously developed an online option for our website in order to allow both parishioners and non-parishioners to give/donate/make an offering.

The process is simple and straightforward and is outlined here.

Blessing of new altar robes

On June 22, following Divine Liturgy, Fr. Aleksey blessed our new altar server robes and the priest's new vestments.

Two girls standing in the church hall, smiling and holding Christmas cards that they created. They appear in the left half of the frame, and there is a long table to their right, running from the right lower corner to the back center of the frame. There are cards and art materials on the table. Five people are seated at a long table, writing out Christmas cards. The table has a white table cloth and runs from the foreground to the background, with three people seated on the left side and two on the right.

School Supply Collection

On Sunday, August 10th, and on the following Sunday, August 17th, we will be accepting donations of school supplies on behalf of the Mt. Carmel Elementary School. Alternatively, you can place a monetary donation on the gold dish on the center table in the church. Lists of the school's current needs are located in the vestibule and in the church hall.

Cemetery clean-up

Please remove your old flowers from the cemetery, and help us clean-up St. Michael's cemetary for spring!

Preparing a Pascha Basket

Wondering what to put in your Pascha basket, or curious why certain items are traditionally included? Father Daniel Ressetar has shared an article with us that provides the details. Take a look at it here on the Educational Items page.

Lenten Appeal

As we continue our Lenten journey, we are reminded that this journey should not be limited to fasting. Each parishioner should consider putting aside each day the money saved from fasting or from giving up something of enjoyment, and use the gold collection plate on the center icon table to donate savings in support of our Annual Lenten Appeal. Donations can also be mailed to or dropped off at the church. Donations will be directed to help with the care of Father John Nightingale. Donations will close on Palm Sunday.

Easter Flower Pledges

We will again be having our annual Pascha flower pledge program. Pledging flowers is a nice way to remember those dear to you at this special time. If you would like to participate, please submit the 2025 Easter Flower Pledge form along with your donation. You can also get copies of the form from any member of the Parish Council.

Pledge forms are due by April 16th, and the pledges will be published on April 27th.

Lenten Mission service at St. Michael's

Our parish will host a Lenten Mission service on Sunday, March 16th, at 5:00 PM as part of a series of Lenten services being held throughout the Coal Region OCA area. These beautiful services provide an opportunity for different parishes to pray together and enjoy fellowship following the service. See the list below for information about all Lenten Mission services being held this year within the Frackville Deanery.

2025 Lenten Mission services:

Saint Tikhon's Summer Camp registration is now open!

Registration for Saint Tikhon's Summer Camp is now officially open, and organizers are also seeking adult volunteers!

Saint Tikhon’s Summer Camp is a one-week, sleep-away, camp program for Orthodox Christian children between the ages of 7 and 17. The camp begins on June 29, 2025 and runs thru July 5th. Applications are due by early May for both attendees and those interested in working at the camp, but campers should apply as soon as possible as available openings are limited.

Campers can register for this year's camp at https://accounts.doepa.org. If you would like to volunteer as a counselor or staff member to help run the camp, you can apply here: https://accounts.doepa.org/counselor_application

Subscribe to our YouTube channel!

We have started a parish YouTube channel this year in order to live-stream our services for those unable to attend in person: https://www.youtube.com/@SaintMichaelOCA

In order to continue offering the live-streams, YouTube requires that we have at least 50 subscribers. So, please subscribe, and share the link for others to subscribe!

Opportunities and Outreach

While these challenging times are disrupting our lives and causing a lot of stress, please keep a couple of things in mind:

Let's follow our orthodox mission of helping each other!