On September 26 & 27, 2025 a group of Orthodox and Evangelicals met at Beach Lake Lodge, near to Anchorage in Alaska. We are grateful to Jonathan Spiegel for sharing what happened:
The theme of this year’s conference was, Our Common Roots. On Friday, we took advantage of this being the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea for myself and Mark Oxbrow, representing the LOI Board, to speak about the Nicene Creed; its history, as well as the practice of dialogue and conciliation.
On Saturday Pr. Joel Stamoolis and Fr. Marc Dunaway both gave presentations on Initiation, Conversion & Baptism, from their respective backgrounds. In the afternoon Matushka Xenia Oleksa took the time to stop by and speak to us about Saint Matushka Olga, who is recognized as the first female Orthodox saint from North America. Matushka Xenia grew up in the Yup’ik village of Kwethluk along the Kuskokwim River and she described much of Saint Olga’s life. She told us that when she was a little girl Saint Olga never scolded her for coming into her cabin with muddy boots. Saint Olga was a midwife and mother, known for her generosity and healing of women’s pain.
Corey Schmidlkofer of Frontier Alaska Missions ended the evening, describing his conversion, redirection from city to village missions, highlighting his experiences in the Orthodox village of Marshal along the Yukon River. We planned time for questions and discussion, and there was much to learn from those that attended. I would highlight Daniel Lupie of Anchorage Native New Life Fellowship, for his insights and experiences as an Alaskan native growing up in a village with both Orthodox and Moravian churches present. As our allotted time at Beach Lake ended, we made our way to St. John Orthodox Cathedral in Eagle River for dinner and ended the conference with vespers. What do we have in common? Well, for starters, we have Jesus!
This is shared with deep gratitude, and thanks to God for the life and service of Fr Michael Oleksa in mission in Alaska, and also for his deep commitment to LOI.
