Rasophore Monk Michael conducted the 2007 advent retreat. Brother Michael was formerly a deacon and monastic in the Episcopal Church. He was received into the Orthodox Church in November of 2002 at which time he was active in St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To this day he is a member of their Boston Byzantine Choir which has recorded several excellent CDs.
He moved to Los Angeles at the end of 2006 and was attached to St. Nicholas Antiochian Cathedral. He was active in their youth program and school. While at the Cathedral, he was also tonsured a rasaphore monk in April of 2007. Recent to this retreat, he had moved to Washington to be close to his aging parents.