Being Good Stewards of our World, our Church and Each Other

Transcription

1 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 10 October 2017 Being Good Stewards of our World, our Church and Each Other Dearest Spiritual Ohana, The last few months have been a true wake up call for all of us who inhabit the earth. Many tears have been shed and their has been an immense and incredible amount of suffering, as recovery from everything is long, slow and painful! Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria left unimaginable devastation in their paths specifically in Texas, Florida, the Southern States and Caribbean Islands. The magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Mexico and continuous aftershocks brought destruction to that country s southern-most part. On top of all that, the peace of the world is at stake with the growing disunity and tension between Nations. We cannot put the blame on God, Who entrusted us to be stewards of the earth, each other and all He has given us. For God has and is and always will love us! He is a God of Immeasurable Love and Mercy, unfailingly! What we collectively have done as human beings is disrupt the natural balance of the earth through our focus on being consumers rather than stewards of it. It is our selfishness and self-centeredness and lack of love and care that we find ourselves in the situation we are in. Besides, we collectively as the world, are relying less and less on God and are constantly turning away from Him. We read in the Gospel of Luke 21:25-26: And 1 there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Lord have mercy! What have we done?! We have fallen into consuming the resources of the earth, especially through our dependence on fossil fuels and oil. We rely on them to get us from point a to point b, through the use of our vehicles for transportation. Our phones, gaming devices and gadgets are replaceable items that are changed every few years or even sooner! And guess where the materials of these items come from? Oil, of course! The main ingredients of our addictive possessions come from plastics, which are products of oil. Indeed, we find ourselves in a physical and spiritual crisis! The good news is that we can make efforts to reverse the course of the out-of-control spiral of events and actions which are taking place. Simple solutions, but not necessarily easy to carry out, because we have come to a point that we cannot let go of our reliance on what we are consuming the earth with and our constant quest to acquire the latest and the greatest technology! (Continued on page 2)

2 grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God's light! Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything you will perceive the divine mystery in things. And once you have perceived it you will begin to comprehend it ceaselessly, more and more every day. And you will at last come to love the whole world with an abiding universal love. Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and untroubled joy. Do not therefore, trouble it, do not torture them, do not deprive them of their joy, do not go a g a i n s t G o d ' s i n t e n t. (Continued from page 1) Our world does not have the choice but to take drastic measures to reverse the damage already done. We have to make the move to become, once again, stewards of the earth rather than consumers of it. In the physical, tangible world, we have been steadily depleting the ozone, our protective barrier in the atmosphere. Our water is becoming more and more acidic rather than alkaline, making our water less and less safe to drink and less inhabitable for the creatures that live in it and for us who rely on it to sustain life. In our spiritual lives we are turning away from our reliance in God, and replacing the need for His Presence with satisfying our physical needs and pleasures in excess of what is necessary. To become stewards and caretakers of the earth and one another we need to make a 180 degree shift, physically and spiritually, making the movement towards being conscientious, caring, more selfless and ever more aware of the need for God s Presence in our lives. ~Starets Zosima in the novel The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky Just as a pebble is cast into the water and produces ripples, let us each make a concerted effort, in our own special little way, to take care of one another, protect the environment and earth, and commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God. I found a beautiful quote about our responsibility and stewardship of the world and one another: With Love in Christ, +Fr. Alexander "Love all God's creation, the whole of it and every Shorelines is published Monthly by: Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street Honolulu, Hawaii Phone : (808) Fax : (808) office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Parish Web Site: Regular Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday thru Friday Rev. Father Alexander M. Leong fralexanderleong@yahoo.com Church Staff Katherine Pasieta Amanda Jackson - Office Coordinator Philoptochos Board office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Anita Akel, President; Anita Higashi, 1st Erica Jansen - Bookkeeper Vice President; Eres Eddy, 2nd Vice 2017 Parish Council President; Ludmyla Solyar,Treasurer; pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Julie Ličina, Recording Secretary; Maria Naval, President Valentina Varovaya, Corr. Secretary; Trish Kiladis, Vice President Alma Chu, Advisor Roni Katsikas, Treasurer Choir-Chanters Christina Dimitrion, Secretary Orest Saikevych, Music Director John Kiladis, Cleopatra Kritikos, Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis Nicholas Kyriakakis, Parish Ministries Dimitri Nicholas & Andrew Tujios. Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth Choir; Sunday School Director T.B.A., Bookstore; Dianna Graves, Presbytera Nicole Leong Greek Dance Groups; Stelio Scordilis, Sunday School Teachers Greek School; Julie Ličina Web Master; Shawn Chu, Alice Malick, Greg Malick, Anita Higashi, Facebook Maria Naval, Dimitri Nicholas, & 2

3 LITURGICAL LIFE OF OUR PARISH WEEKDAY SERVICES IN OCTOBER ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST Wed. 10/18 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am ST. DEMETRIOS THE GREAT MARTYR Thu. 10/26 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am MAUI SERVICES Sat. 10/28 Liturgy 10:30 am Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 October Parish Council Teams 10/01 Andy 10/08 Cleo 10/15 Dimitri 10/22 John 10/29 Maria Please remember in your prayers Dina Giannakopoulos Paul Kelley Suzanne Keyser Julie Licina Alice Marie Malick George Missias John Mitsis and all those needing our prayers. Announcements Adult Religious Education Hot Potatoes Issues Led by Dr. Robert Arakaki & Peter Kay Sundays 12 to 12:45 p.m. September 24- Defending the Truthfulness of Scripture ~Dr. Robert Arakaki October 1- Women s Ordination and Orthodox Tradition ~Dr. Robert Arakaki October 8- Orthodox Responses to Atheism ~Peter Kay October 15- Orthodoxy and Ecumenism ~Dr. Robert Arakaki T.B.A.- Understanding the Divine Liturgy ~Fr. Alexander Leong Learn Greek! Elementary Thursday 5:30 6:30 PM Intermediate Sunday 12:00 1:00 PM Advanced Monday 6:00 8:00 PM 3

4 Parish Christmas Card If you wish to be listed on our Parish Christmas Card, please print your name below and return to the church office by December 4th. Please consider including a donation to offset the cost of printing and postage for the card. MAHALO! Please print. Your name will appear as written here. Share your news! Announcements that you would like to see in the November issue of Shorelines should be submitted to the church office by October 15th. Weekly Bulletin announcements should be submitted by noon on Thursday for the upcoming Sunday. office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Our Vision To be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the Pacific and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith Our Mission To proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith. To sanctify and minister to the spiritual growth and needs of the faithful through liturgical worship and spiritual programs. To safeguard and keep the traditions, values, and faith of the Orthodox Church pure and undefiled. Call: Or drop by with a copy of your announcement. Maui Orthodox Christian Mission reminds those who attend services on Maui to visit or call to verify services. or look for other activities that may be posted. 4

5 News from The Aloha Youth Choir Aloha Ss. Constantine & Helen Ohana, September 17 th was the first Sunday School Day. I took a peek into the classrooms and found that the rooms were filled with children. What a blessing! I am thankful for the parents support and the teachers dedication. Here is some information along with coming events I would like to share: The high school class teachers are inviting young adults to join in the class. (Three young adults participated in the first lesson. It seemed both the high school students and the young adults were interested in the class.) If you are a young adult, come and check it out! The Sunday School students are going to sell baked goods for a charity at the Philoptochos Rummage Sale on Saturday, October 28. Please support them! Prior to the Rummage/ Bake Sale, there will be an opportunity for the youth and their parents to bake some treats with experienced Philoptochos Ladies on Sunday, October 22, after the Liturgy. Come and have fun! Our Philoptochos Ladies also invite our Sunday School Families to join in Making Strides of Hawaii, the Breast Cancer Walk, on Saturday, October 21. If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Anita Soileau for more details. I request your continuous prayers for our teachers, students, parents, me and our entire community where our children grow with the love of all of their uncles and aunties. If you have any suggestions or questions, please contact me in person or me at: nicolehleong@gmail.com. After a very successful concert at the Greek Festival, we are pleased to announce that The Aloha Youth Choir will sing the Divine Liturgy on October Budget Please pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org with any suggestions for the budget, or if you are interested in being on the committee. A copy of 2017 budget is posted upstairs. Pres. Nicole, Sunday School Director 5

6 Social Dimensions of Creation Care Orthodox theology takes all this a step further and recognizes the natural creation as inseparable from the identity and destiny of humanity, because every human action leaves a lasting imprint on the body of the earth. Human attitudes and behavior toward other people. Ecology is inevitably related in both its etymology and meaning to economy; our global economy is simply outgrowing the capacity of our planet to support it. At stake is not just our ability to live in a sustainable way, but our very survival. Scientists estimate that those most hurt by global warming in years to come will be those who can least afford it. Therefore, the ecological problem of pollution is invariably connected to the social problem of poverty; and so all ecological activity is ultimately measured and properly judged by its impact and effect upon other people, and especially the poor (see Matthew 25). On Earth as in Heaven, 139 6

7 Dance Group News RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE! YES, DANCE GROUP NEEDS YOUR RECYCLABLE DONATIONS! WE ARE GOING TO FDF 2018 IN JANUARY, AND THIS IS ONE OF OUR FUNDRAISERS. SOMEONE SAID TO ME, DANCE GROUP MUST MAKE A LOT AT GREEK FESTIVAL WITH THE RECYCLABLES! THE RULE FOR GREEK FESTIVAL IS: NO MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH WILL PROFIT FROM THE FESTIVAL; ALL MONIES GO TO THE CHURCH. THE FDF DANCERS WILL BE PRACTICING AFTER LITURGY. ANY NEW DANCERS WISHING TO JOIN THE DANCE GROUP MUST WAIT UNTIL AFTER FDF IS OVER IN JANUARY. WE TAKE A SMALL BREAK, AND THEN IN THE SPRING WE START DANCE PRACTICE FOR EVERYONE WHO WISHES TO JOIN AND HAS FILLED OUT A DANCE FORM. WATCH FOR THE SPRING START UP TIME IN THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. THIS IS A PERFORMING GROUP FOR AGES 5 TO ADULT. ANYONE WISHING TO LEARN JUST 3 GREEK DANCES THAT ARE DANCED AT MOST CELEBRATIONS, SEE DIANNA TO SET UP A TIME. SEE DIANNA FOR DANCE FORMS OR ANY QUESTIONS. C O F F E E H O U R Each individual/ family is requested to sponsor a coffee hour one Sunday per year. Sign up on the calendar posted outside the Social Hall or contact Suzanne A. or Frances R. Instructions/tips for sponsoring a coffee hour are available in a 3-ring binder in a cupboard in the hall. The Ladies of Philoptochos appreciate any donations of coffee supplies, including paper supplies to help defray some of the coffee hour expenses. If you are hesitant to prepare and serve a coffee hour 7 yourself, consider making a monetary donation. Please do not bring non- Lenten food including cake & ice cream during fasting periods. Thank you to our September Sunday Coffee Hour sponsors! The Nicholas Family (9/10) & The Katsikas Family (9/24) If you have not hosted a coffee hour this year, please sign up on the calendar posted outside the social hall.

8 The Holy Fathers on Prayer For what is prayer? Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God--for praise and thanksgiving and beseeching Him for the good things necessary for soul and body. The essence of prayer, then is the mental ascent to God from the heart. The mind stands in the heart consciously before the face of God and, filled with proper and necessary reverence, it begins to pour out its heart before Him. This is prayer of the heart! ~Bishop Theophan the Recluse - Prayer of the Heart: the duty of those living in the world Although prayer is a habitual action for us, it needs preparation. For anyone who knows how to read and write, what is more usual than reading and writing? Yet if we sit down to read and write we do not do so suddenly, we first get ourselves into the mood for what we are going to do. This kind of preparation is all the more necessary before we start to pray, particularly if our occupation immediately beforehand was very different from prayer. So, morning or evening, immediately before you begin to repeat your prayers, stand awhile, sit for awhile, or walk a little and try to steady your mind and turn it away from all worldly activities and objects. After this, think who He is to whom you turn in prayer, then recollect who you are; who it is who is about to start this invocation to Him in prayer. Do this in such a way as to awake in your heart a feeling of humility and reverent awe that your are standing in the presence of God. It is the beginning of prayer, and a good beginning is half the complete task. ~St. Theophan the Recluse BROTHER: How ought we to pray before God? OLD MAN: For the return of sinners, and the finding of the lost, and the bringing near of those who are afar off, and friendliness towards those who wrong us, and love towards those who persecute us, and a sorrowful care for those who provoke to wrath; if a man does these things, truly there is repentance in his mind, and sinners will often live, and their souls be redeemed in life. For the prayer which our Lord delivered unto us for the need of the body is a word which covereth the whole community, and was not uttered solely for those who are strangers to the world, and who hold in contempt the pleasures of the body. For he in whose dwelling the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof are found lacks nothing, even when he asks not. ~E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," Seattle, St. Nectarios Press, 1984, pp We had our first developmental meeting for our prayer group on September 28th. We discussed our plan and vision for this new ministry. Our first official group meeting will be on Thursday, October 19th, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please come and join us in prayer, as we invoke the All-Holy Spirit to come abide in us and guide us in praying for ourselves, one another and the world that surrounds us and giving praise to God! 8