SEALED WITH THE GIFT: Baptisms at Pentecost

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1 VOLUME 3 NO. 5 JULY - AUGUST 2018 SEALED WITH THE GIFT: Baptisms at Pentecost On May 27th, the Church received new gleaming souls into its fold, and these souls - Noah (Isaac), Mindy (Mary), Selah (Lydia), and Kisiah (Kassiani) Clark - fittingly received the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost. Of Baptism and Chrismation following Pentecost, St. Seraphim of Sarov said, This same fire-infusing grace of the Holy Spirit [given to the Apostles] which is given to us all, the faithful of Christ, in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, is sealed by the Sacrament of Chrismation. [...] On what do we put our seals, if not on vessels containing some very precious treasure? But what on earth can be more precious than the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are sent down to us from above in the Sacrament of Baptism? This Baptismal grace is so great and so indispensable, so vital for man, that even a heretic is not deprived of it until his very death; that is, till the end of the period appointed on high by the Providence of God as a lifelong test of man on earth, in order to see what he will be able to achieve (during this period given to him by God) by means of the power of grace granted him from on high ( St. Seraphim of Sarov: A Spiritual Biography ). Annunciation rejoices to welcome the

2 newly illumined who have been given such grace, and we anticipate with hope their journey into God ahead! SUMMER WEDDINGS AT ANNUNCIATION The smell of love and blueberries is in the air at the parish, so now is the time when marriages bloom. Annunciation is privileged to have already officiated a wedding this month as well as to anticipate another! On July 1st, Miles Dressler and Meisha Shaw (pictured left) rejoiced to enter the sacrament of marriage. Then, on Sunday, July 15th, at 2:00 p.m., Noah Warila and Emily Olson (pictured below) will also participate in the marriage liturgy. In preparation for Noah and Emily s wedding, the Olsons would like to make the following announcement: Noah and Emily are getting married Sunday! And with that exciting news comes many friends and family who will be here to celebrate with us. In order to accommodate everyone, those who are comfortable are invited to stand on the Ambo in front of Saint Herman. The monitor in the basement will also be on if there is not room in the church. Also it would be helpful for parishioners to park in the park so there is enough parking available in the church lot. At the reception out on the grounds, there will be picnic blankets available for use as well as tables and chairs. Please feel free to sit where you would like, but if you have a young body, or young children, consider grabbing a blanket so our older guests can have a chair. We are so blessed to have you all celebrating with us! Page 2

3 FROM ST. VLADIMIR S SEMINARY by Laura Wachsmuth Laura Wachsmuth is a member of Church of the Annunciation. She converted to Orthodoxy at Annunciation in the Summer of 2017 after having attended the parish for several years. She now attends St. Vladimir s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York and has completed her first year towards a Master of Arts degree in Theology. These are her reflections on her experience thus far. How wonderful it is to be back in Portland this summer and to have the opportunity to worship with you again here at Annunciation. I always feel such love and support flowing out of this beautiful community. While I have talked with several of you about my experience at St. Vladimir s this past year, I have not made it to everyone, and so at the prompting of Evan Ziegenfus (the new editor-in-chief of this newsletter!), I thought I would take the opportunity to write down some highlights from this past year in case there is wider interest. It is difficult to describe my experience at St. Vlad s as the year has been quite full, and I am still processing all that I have learned. That said, there are three aspects of seminary life that particularly stand out: liturgy, academics, and community. One of the greatest blessings of studying at seminary has been liturgical life. Honestly, when I first came to St. Vlad s, I was not sure how I would deal with the regiment of services required of students. To my surprise, however, I have found that the daily rhythm of Matins and Vespers is one of the greatest joys of seminary. Of course it is not always easy to get up early for Matins nor is it easy to be present in services so as to pray and lift my heart towards God. Still, I find that these services, despite my weak efforts, continually nourish, center, and strengthen my faith. What a blessing. Another highlight of liturgical life is music. Students at St. Vlad s are required to sing in the choir and to take music classes. Our choir director, Robin Freeman, who recently won the teacher-of-the year award, is excellent as she has the ability to work with a wide range of students -- some who come with a great deal of musical experience and some, like myself, who have virtually no musical background. Under her guidance, I have slowly but surely developed singing skills, and I Page 3

4 have also learned how to read (basically chanting on one pitch) Scripture during services. The latter is something I have especially come to love. As far as academics go, I have learned a great deal from the various courses I took this past year. First semester, I took Patristics, Greek, Church History, Old Testament, and Orthodox Spirituality. Second semester, I took two New Testament courses, Liturgical Theology, The Council of Crete (an elective), Iconology, and Theological Writing. These classes have acted to give me a solid base when it comes to reading Scripture, deciphering Patristic texts, understanding the history of the Church, and comprehending the Liturgy. This next semester I plan to take the following classes: Mission and Evangelism, Prayer and Sanctity, and Systematic Theology. But I imagine I will spend the majority of time working on my thesis project. After much grappling and going forth between ideas, I finally decided to focus on The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation -- a dialogue which has produced twenty-five plus documents related to what the Orthodox and Catholic Churches have in common, the divisive issues that have separated the Churches, pastoral challenges (i.e. mixed marriages) that have surfaced because of the division, and a vision for what reunification might look like someday. As many of you know, I have a real interest in this topic -- especially in light of the time I spent at studying at Mt. Angel Seminary and the many friendships I have developed with my Catholic brothers and sisters. I have found that the work of this Consultation fits wonderfully with this interest and already it has acted to inspire my prayers for unity and to renew my hope that someday there will be reconciliation. Having shared about liturgics and academics, I must say a word about community. Being one of four women students (out of about 70) has its challenges when it comes to fitting in and forming friendships. Thankfully, however, my needs have been provided for as I have found a group of amazing friends, who have supported me during the ups and downs of seminary. It is exciting too as many of my fellow seminarians come from a vast array of countries and represent various Orthodox jurisdictions, which include Serbia, Greece, Russia, Romania, and several countries under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Along with this, there are students who come from the Oriental Churches: Malakara (Indian) and Coptic (Egyptian). Such a demographic makes for a rich community to say the least, and it is beautiful to see friendships forming between Serbians and African-Americans, Lebanese and Americans, Greek and Australian, Coptic and Russian. Given the Page 4

5 jurisdictional troubles in America, it is inspiring to think that such friendships act to draw Orthodox jurisdictions into closer bonds of unity. Truly this is the work of the Holy Spirit. Seminary has indeed acted to enrich my life, and I am quite grateful for the experience I have been given. I thank you for all the love and support you have lavished on me, and I do ask that you continue to pray for me as I enter my second and last year -- that I would be given energy and vigor for my studies (especially my thesis), and that a path following seminary would unfold. Also, for those who feel led to support me financially, checks can be made out to Church of the Annunciation, and should be accompanied by a note indicating that it is for the Seminarian Fund. Donations can be mailed to the church address: SE Rusk Rd. Portland, OR 97222, or feel free to place them in the offering baskets distributed during Liturgy. Sometime in January or February, you will receive a tax statement from Annunciation outlining the amount you have given. Note that the school will match up to $3,000 of money donated through my home parish. Thank you again. Page 5

6 NEW AT WAY OF A PILGRIM BOOKSTORE from Mark and Elizabeth Romanenko We have lots of new items in the bookstore including honey and jam from St. John Monastery, incense from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, a couple new Russian language books, and more! Fr. Nicholas has a new book recommendation: St. Silouan the Athonite According to St. Vladimir Seminary Press (the publisher), The first part of this book is a remarkable account of St. Silouan s life, personality and teaching by his spiritual disciple Archimandrite Sophrony. Part two comprises the writings of Silouan, originally penciled in laborious, unformed characters on odd scraps of paper. The Lord said, "Every one that is of the truth hears my voice" (John 18:37). And according to Father Sophrony, "these words are applicable to Staretz Silouan's notes... [That] whoever has received from God the mind and wisdom to know him will be aware in the Staretz' words of the breath of the Holy Spirit. Fr. John also has a new recommendation that will be arriving in the bookstore in the next few weeks: Saint Paisios of Mount Athos Of this book, SVS Press states, Saint Paisios of Mount Athos ( 1994) is perhaps the greatest and most revered Elder of the Orthodox Church of our time. Even though he lived the monastic life in obscurity on the Holy Mountain of Athos in northern Greece, he became a shining light for thousands of faithful who flocked to see him. His life, miracles, and teachings continue to touch the hearts of people throughout the world to this day. Unquestionably, this present biography (written by his Page 6

7 spiritual disciple Elder Isaac), which is the most authoritative account of his life, will inspire readers forevermore. **This is a Second Edition of the book originally entitled Elder Paisios of Mount Athos. PROGRESS ON THE CHURCH EXPANSION from Fr. Matthew We have hired a new architect who is completing the fine details of the project. We have contracted with a civil engineering firm to design and process the approval of the sidewalk from the top of the property to the front door! The lead s expertise is impressive and his perspective on how to do the sidewalk should get us through this difficult project. These were the two key issues outstanding. We are targeting late Spring as our start time. Given the stresses of such packed Sunday services it could not come sooner. If you have submissions for the newsletter, please contact Evan Ziegenfus (evanziegenfus@gmail.com) Page 7