On September 12/25, 2022, the servant of God Joel Thomas was ordained a deacon at the Monastery of Saint John Maximovitch in Cobleskill, NY. Father Deacon Joel was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 11, 1986. He was baptized at Saint John the Forerunner Orthodox Church in Illinois as a convert in 2016, and recently moved to Cobleskill with his wife and three boys.
May God bless Father Joel to minister in the Vineyard of Christ, for many years!