The parish of the Visitation at Lesozavodsk (LESS-oh-zah-VODSK) was officially founded on November 4, 1999. The first Mass was celebrated by Fr. Myron Effing in the office of the Society for the Blind on the same day.

In 2001 the parish bought a former barber shop with several attached rooms to use as a parish center. The money to buy and redecorate the barber shop came from our daily mail benefactors of the Mary Mother of God Mission Society, approximately $40,000. Even though we are no longer in the Society for the Blind, the blind still like to attend our Mass, which is in Russian, instead of in Old Slavonic as in the Orthodox Church (they don't understand Old Slavonic). They don't mind that they don't have a beautiful church with beautiful icons, because they cannot see them anyway!

In 2005 Fr. George Park was appointed pastor of the Lesozavodsk Visitation parish. The Mary Mother of God Mission Society will continue to provide operational assistance.

Here is a picture of Fr. George Park, the new pastor of Visitation parish in Lesozavodsk.

After Sunday services, the parish feeds about 15 poor children who come to the parish center from the three surrounding high-rise apartment buildings, which have only one-room apartments. We are anxious to do more with these children, who have nothing to do but watch TV in their small apartments or wander the streets. To this end, we've introduced scouting, and the boys are quite ready; however, it has been difficult to find a scout master. Another outreach of our small parish is a Women's Support Center (crisis pregnancy center), which is located in the Lesozavodsk Public Hospital.

The parish is growing. We currently have 20 parishioners. The parish is in need of a sister parish in America that could help foster its growth. The new space is too small to expand our social work, but the building in which the parish is located still has empty space that we could buy. The parishioners have been active in supplying the mission society with handmade souvenirs that we offer to our benefactors.

Parishioners with Our Lady of Fatima statue.