Sorrell Grove Baptist Church

Early in September 2000, a group of about 20 Orthodox faithful in the Raleigh area of North Carolina asked their Bishop for permission to start a new parish. Archbishop DMITRI granted his blessing, approved the parish's name ( Holy Transfiguration ), and assigned a priest. Through the end of October 2000 we met for weekend services at the Holiday Inn in Cary. After an intensive search, we found and rented space in a light industrial complex off US-70. With the enthusiastic help of our members, that warehouse was transformed into a place of worship. At the same time, the national Church ( OCA ) and Diocese of the South awarded Holy Transfiguration a three year church planting grant. By the beginning of 2001 we were "up and running."After only a year ( January 2002 ), we had outgrown our facilities. Our next step was to rent the adjoining unit in our building. This allowed us to expand the original worship area and provide space for fellowship and church school classes.In January 2004, the church successfully assumed full financial responsibility when the church planting grant came to an end. Financially independent and still growing, the parish offered a full cycle of services with an average attendance of about seventy at Sunday Liturgy.