The land reserved for our working farm and agriculture program is named in honor of St. Sophia. You can see it in the overhead view below. The farm land runs along the country road at right and extends from the upper tree line in #2 to the lower tree line in #3. It’s a big piece of land that’s separated from the main campus (#1) by a modest stand of timber.
Our Little Dairy Barn
It looks a bit forlorn on a damp November morning but, truth be told, it looks every bit as bad in high summer… At first we thought it would be a tear down, but then a neighbor shared a few childhood memories of the old barn.
Every fall, one of the previous owners would set out food for the local hunters in the milk room (smaller part of the building at left). That little dairy barn was a place where local men would eat breakfast, drink coffee, complain about their wives, and lie their backsides off about the 16-point buck that got away. When we heard that story we knew that we’d never be able to tear down that old barn. We had a responsibility to preserve it. We are Orthodox Christians, after all! We honor tradition. (We might even have to have an open house on the first day of hunting season).
What was once a place for community would, God willing, be that again some day. Maybe our boys will have their own memories of busy fall mornings and time spent with friends in that little barn.
But it’s going to take a lot of work… Apart from a paint job (c’mon, it’s got to be red!) and a new roof, the milking parlor (below) needs a major refurb.
Here’s a view looking out the back of the milking parlor to the pasture beyond. Note the two side paddocks. Clearing, fence repair, more work…
Fall has worked her magic by killing off a lot of the dense overgrowth on both sides of the barn. We couldn’t clear it in the summer because of wasps and snakes but nature has opened it up and revealed a few treasures. Wood for a chicken coop, cinder blocks, fencing, and a big box full of something. (Probably snakes…)
Standing by the milk room door looking north, you can see the huge — if sadly overgrown — pasture that will one day, God willing, support a few dairy cows and a small herd of sheep.
Our Board of Directors decided at the beginning of this project that all of our land and buildings would be named in honor of the Lord and his saints. That certainly holds true for the St. Sophia Farm and Dairy. It is named in honor of St. Sophia of Rome, but it is inspired by a brave little girl named Sophia who “loved farms.” We promised her mom and dad that we would always remember and honor her. We hope that the story of her Christian perseverance will be an inspiration to the boys who will work and study here. May her prayers help to sustain them in Christ and may her memory be eternal!
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We hope to find a benefactor (either an individual or a group) who will help us to restore our small barn and resurrect our overgrown pasture. A generous donation, strong backs, and a whole lot of sweat can build something truly beautiful for God’s glory.
