One of the communities receiving a 2008 Parish Health grant was Holy Cross Mission in Chisago City MN.

The grant dollars were used to build awareness for the community by expanding their presence at community festivals and also to establish and stock a bookstore for distributing books and pamphlets on Orthodox Christianity.

The community reports that they used the funds in the manner planned and learned a lot about how to do this better "next time". Over 250 crosses were distributed, along with numerous books. Countless people encountered the church via the booth. Like seeds that at length bear fruit, the community believes that the individuals who received their information will at length be inspired to "come and see" the Orthodox Church.

In addition, the project strengthened the parish internally -- through the fellowship of working on a common goal, through prayer --parishioners gathered to pray about the effort on Wednesday evenings during the summer -- and through their improved understanding of how to talk openly to non-Orthodox about the church.