Holy Mother of GodThe New Church

A personal invitation from Fr. Moses McPherson

Our church is full every Sunday. Help us complete our new one.

Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church has outgrown its building in Georgetown, Texas. Ground has been broken for a new church on twenty acres in Hutto, and Fr. Moses would like to speak with you about helping us complete it.

Architect's rendering of the new Holy Mother of God church in Hutto
A word from Fr. MosesVideo coming soon
Book a Call with Fr. Moses

Thirty minutes with Fr. Moses. No obligation.

How it works

  1. Choose a time that suits you
  2. Talk with Fr. Moses about the new church
  3. Decide afterward how you would like to help

The parish today

By God's grace, we have outgrown our walls.

About 250 people now attend the Divine Liturgy on a typical Sunday. Every chair is taken before the service begins. Families stand along the walls, and the children sit on the carpet at the front because there is no room anywhere else.

We moved into this building at the end of 2020, and within three and a half years it was full. The parish baptizes ten to fifteen people at a time, and after each baptism about twenty more enroll as catechumens. A church this full cannot take in the next family who comes, so we are building a larger one.

  • ~250attend on a typical Sunday
  • 10 to 15baptized at a time, then about 20 new catechumens
  • ~100preparing to be baptized within the next year
The Divine Liturgy at Holy Mother of God in Georgetown: a full church, with families and children seated on the carpet before the iconostasis
The Divine Liturgy in Georgetown.
The current Holy Mother of God church building in Georgetown, a white church with a small gold dome and a wooden cross
The church in Georgetown, the parish's home since 2020

How we got here

A parish that has not stopped growing.

  • 2001Holy Mother of God is founded in Central Texas.
  • 2010 to 2011The parish worships in Pflugerville.
  • December 2020The parish moves into its own church in Georgetown.
  • Within 3½ yearsThe church is full.
  • Five months of 2025Seventy people enroll as catechumens to prepare to enter the Church.
  • TodayAbout 250 attend on a typical Sunday, and about 100 are preparing to be baptized within the next year. The parish owns twenty acres in Hutto, where the new church will stand, and construction is underway.

The wider picture

It isn't only Georgetown.

Since 2020, most American congregations have stood still. Orthodox parishes have grown, and they have grown younger, with more children and young families than the national average.

Families are also more willing to travel to get to church. In parishes like ours, fewer than one member in four lives within fifteen minutes of the church.

+166%

growth in regular members, 2020 to 2025

All US congregations: +17%
54%

of members are under 35

All US congregations: 35%
27%

of members are children and teenagers

All US congregations: 21%
49%

joined in the last five years

All US congregations: 29%

Source: Alexei Krindatch, National Coordinator of the US Census of Orthodox Christian Churches, Orthodox Tradition in Transition: What New Data Reveal About US Orthodox Christian Parishes, drawn from the Faith Communities Today survey of 7,500 US congregations (December 2025). Figures are for parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the diocese Holy Mother of God belongs to.

The new church in Hutto

Ground has been broken.

Ground was broken in Hutto in October 2026. The Hawaiian Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, which visits the parish every year, was present for the ceremony. During its visit, more than 400 people came to the Vigil and more than 300 to the Divine Liturgy.

The new church is dedicated to the Mother of God and to this icon. The first phase, on the parish's twenty acres northeast of Austin, is a church and a dining hall, standing side by side with a forecourt between them.

The church is a cruciform temple with a single dome over the center. The iconostasis stands at the east end, and a choir loft sits above the west doors. The rest of the land is set aside for a retreat center, a learning center and a cemetery in later phases.

The parish gathered on the cleared site in Hutto, inside the stakes and chalk lines marking out the new church, with open country beyond
The parish on the site in Hutto, inside the marked-out ground
Clergy in blue vestments process across the site carrying an icon of the Mother of God, with children in traditional dress walking behind
The procession around the site
A hierarch and clergy read the prayers of the groundbreaking, with families and children gathered behind them
The prayers of the groundbreaking
A priest holds an icon in a blue case, flanked by two deacons with wooden processional fans
The icon, carried between processional fans
Clergy in blue vestments with ceremonial shovels in the turned earth, the parish gathered behind them
The shovels in the ground

Photographs from the groundbreaking in Hutto, October 2026.

The plans

Civil engineering site plan for the new church: the proposed sanctuary and dining hall at the center of the site, a parking lot to the north, and the access drive curving around the west side
The site plan. Sheet C6 of the site development plans for the new church, by Migl Engineering and Consulting, sealed May 20, 2026. The proposed sanctuary and dining hall sit at the center of the site, with parking to the north.
Architect's elevations of the new church from the south, west, north and east: a cruciform church with a blue roof, an octagonal drum and an onion dome with a cross, the entrance doors on the west front
The elevations. Sheet A05 of the architect's design development set, by RPG Design, September 29, 2026. The church from all four sides, with the entrance on the west front.
Architect's cross section of the new church cut north to south beneath the dome, showing the choir loft, its stair and the height of the nave
A section through the church. Sheet A09, by RPG Design, September 29, 2026. Cut north to south beneath the dome, showing the choir loft and its stair.
Architect's rendering of the new church in Hutto: a stone church with a blue onion dome and cross, families gathering in the forecourt
Architect's rendering: the new church, from the forecourt.
Detail of the rendering: the onion dome and cross above the octagonal drum
The dome and cross
Detail of the rendering: families at the arched west doors of the new church
The west doors
Architect's rendering of the forecourt: a covered walkway, a live oak in a round brick planter, and the church wall
Architect's rendering: the forecourt, between the church and the dining hall.

Renderings by RPG Design. Design development, September 29, 2026.

Icon of the Mother of God holding the Christ child
The Mother of God, patroness of the parish

Dedications

Parts of the new church can be given as a dedication.

A dedication can be given in your name or in memory of someone. At every Divine Liturgy the Church prays for those who bring offerings and do good works in the holy temple.

  • The Dome and Cross

    Over the center of the church.

  • The Iconostasis

    The screen of icons before the altar.

  • The Holy Table

    The altar of the church.

  • The Icons

    For the iconostasis and the walls.

  • The Chandelier

    The horos beneath the dome.

  • The Baptismal Font

    For baptisms in the new church.

  • The Choir Loft

    Above the west doors.

  • The Dining Hall

    Across the forecourt from the church.

Fr. Moses will go through what is available when you speak. Book a time →

Book a call

Speak with Fr. Moses.

Fr. Moses McPherson is the rector of Holy Mother of God. Choose a time and he will call you.

  • Thirty minutes, by phone or video, with Fr. Moses.
  • Where the building stands, and what remains to finish it.
  • Your questions answered, about the church, the parish, or the faith.
  • No obligation. If you decide to help, you decide how.
A call with Fr. Moses30 minutes · phone or video

The booking calendar opens soon

Until it does, write to the parish and we will arrange a time with Fr. Moses for you.

OrthodoxHutto@gmail.com

Questions

Before you book

Will I be speaking with Fr. Moses himself?

Yes.

We aren't members of the parish. Should we still book?

Yes. Many of our families were not Orthodox a few years ago. Fr. Moses is glad to speak with anyone who would like to help.

What would a gift build?

The new church and its dining hall, on land the parish already owns in Hutto, Texas. Fr. Moses can tell you exactly where the building stands and what remains.

Can a gift be made in someone's memory?

Yes. A gift can be given in honor of a living person or in memory of someone who has reposed.

Will we receive a receipt?

Yes. The parish acknowledges every gift in writing. Speak with your own advisor about how a gift fits your taxes.

Can we give stock, or through a donor-advised fund?

Ask Fr. Moses when you speak, and the parish will tell you which ways of giving it can accept.

Can we visit before we decide?

Yes. Divine Liturgy is Sundays at 9:30 AM and Vigil is Saturdays at 5:00 PM, at 2806 Mesquite Ln, Georgetown, Texas. Services are in English.

Is there a smaller way to help?

Yes. You can engrave a brick for the courtyard of the new church. Design a courtyard brick.

Help us complete the church in Hutto.

Start with a conversation with Fr. Moses.

Book a Call