Church to open at new site in Ocean Township Plans call for Greek Orthodox church facility to double in size BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer A rendering of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church complex that is planned to be built on a 6.5-acre lot in Ocean Township. OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The six-decadeold St.GeorgeGreekOrthodox Church ofAsbury Park is expected to open at a newsite in Ocean Township. The church opened its doors at 700 Grand Ave. in Asbury Park in 1949 and is planning to move to a new facility in Ocean Township because the current structure no longer supports the growing parish, according to the Rev. Andrew Eugenis, pastor of the church. "We are physically running out of space," Father Eugenis said about the church,which also hosts Sunday school classes. "We don't have a full-size gymandwe are running out of classroom space. We don't have a real parking lot that belongs to the church," he said, adding, "We are using an abandoned parking lot now." Plans call for a 47,000-square-foot structure to be constructed on a 6.5-acre lot at the intersection ofWest Park Avenue and Route 18 in Ocean Township. The current church facility is 23,000 square feet, according to Eugenis, who said he is looking forward to seeing the church facilities more than double in size. The estimated cost of the new church project is $8 million, according to parish spokeswomanMarissaCostidis,who said the project is being funded primarily through donations. The new parish facilities will consist of a church, an administration and classroom building for Sunday school, a banquet facility and a full-size gym. "It's a happy, sad thing," Father Eugenis said. "There is a lot of history in the current church. "Alot of families were married, had their children baptized and family members buried there," the pastor said. "The church has physically outgrown its current [structure]. "Looking into the future, 10 to 20 years, the church would be handicapping itself [if it doesn't relocate]," he said. When the church first opened 59 years ago,most of the parishioners lived inAsbury Park, according to Father Eugenis. Today, many of the approximately 350 families of the parish have moved to other areas inMonmouth County, includingOcean Township and Colts Neck, he said. The families of the church are welcoming the move, according to the pastor. "We had a general assembly, and almost 90 percent [of the parishioners] voted in favor of the move," he said. Costidis said she is a lifetime member of the church and she, too, is in favor of the church's decision to relocate. "The community is wonderful, but there is just no room for growth," Costidis said. "There are a lot of extracurricular activities and there is just no room at our current church," she said, adding, "There is a need to move." The Greek Orthodox Church hosted its "Taste of the Shore" fundraising dinner Feb. 11 to help offset construction costs for the future Ocean Township facility. The event was held at the Eatontown Hilton and featured more than 25 area restaurants, according to Costidis. The parish has held other fundraisers for the newchurch project, but thiswas the first fundraiser that was open to area residents who are notmembers of the church. Previous fundraisers have been exclusively for members of the Greek Orthodox faith, Costidis said. "There were probably 320 to 350 people [at 'Taste of the Shore']," Costidis said. Itwas really well attended. "Itwas awonderful chance to reach out to the community and showpeoplewhowe are," she said. FatherEugenis added that the fundraiser was a very successful event. "It was opened up to the entire Asbury Park area, just to bring outside people in to see who we are and where we are going," he said. The church invited all members of the community to the fundraiser to not only informthemabout the new church project, but also to tell them about the Greek Orthodox faith, according to the pastor. "I think that I'd like to educatemore people about the Greek Orthodox faith in general," Father Eugenis said. "We came over as an immigrant church afterWorldWar II," he said. "Current generations have assimilated, andmore andmore people are becoming aware of the traditional Orthodox churches."