Volume 51 No. 2 February 2007

Transcription

1 Volume 51 No. 2 February 2007

2 VOLUME contents 51 NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2007 COVER THE PRODIGAL SON Icon by Nick Papas of Greensburg, PA 3 EDITORIAL by Very Rev. John Abdalah 4 DIVINE LITURGY AND THE RESURRECTION by Fr. Michael Shanbour 8 MESSAGES FROM THE ANTIOCHIAN HOUSE OF STUDIES STUDENTS Editor in Chief The Most Reverend Metropolitan PHILIP, D.H.L., D.D. Primate The Right Reverend Bishop ANTOUN The Right Reverend Bishop JOSEPH The Right Reverend Bishop BASIL The Right Reverend Bishop THOMAS The Right Reverend Bishop MARK The Right Reverend Bishop ALEXANDER Founded in Arabic as Al Kalimat in 1905 by Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) Founded in English as The WORD in 1957 by Metropolitan ANTONY (Bashir) The Very Rev. John P. Abdalah, D.Min. Assistant Editor Joanne M. Abdalah, MSW Editorial Board The Very Rev. Joseph J. Allen, Th.D. Anthony Bashir, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Antony Gabriel, Th.M. The Very Rev. Peter Gillquist Ronald Nicola Najib E. Saliba, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Paul Schneirla, M.Div. Design Director Donna Griffin Albert Member The Associated Church Press Conciliar Press Ecumenical News International Orthodox Press Service Editorial Office: The WORD 635 Miranda Drive Pittsburgh, PA WORDMAG@AOL.COM FAX: Subscription Office: 358 Mountain Road PO Box 5238 Englewood, NJ Letters to the editor are welcome and should include the author s full name and parish. Submissions for Communities in Action must be approved by the local pastor. Both may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. All submissions, in hard copy, on disk or ed, should be double-spaced for editing purposes. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: U.S.A. and Canada, $20.00 Foreign Countries, $26.00 Single Copies, $ ORTHODOX PLEDGING, GIVING AND STEWARDSHIP by John Truslow 17 THE DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 21 FELLOWSHIP FOOTNOTES 25 STANDING CONFERENCE OF THE CANONICAL ORTHODOX BISHOPS IN THE AMERICAS 28 THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 30 ORATORICAL FESTIVAL 32 ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE 33 COMMUNITIES IN ACTION THE WORD (USPS ), published monthly except July and August, by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at 358 Mountain Road, PO Box 5238, periodicals postage paid at Englewood, New Jersey and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address changes to: THE WORD, 358 Mountain Road, PO Box 5238, Englewood, NJ ISSN The Word

3 editor s letter From one Juggler to Another Every once in a while, when life gets a little too busy, I take a minute to pause and ask myself if everything I m doing is worth the effort. This seems to happen when some of the many balls this juggler is trying to keep in the air start to talk back or drop! One such ball just hit me in the head, so here I go with my self-analysis. I share this with you, not because I think you are particularly interested in me, but because the process that I use at such times might be helpful. First, I try to get a grasp of the big picture. For me this time, the big picture is expressed in Luke 12:32: Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. This life, my life, is about accepting the Father s will for me to have His kingdom. He wants me to fear not, to have no anxiety or worry. It is His desire for us to have the kingdom. This is simple enough. I know God to be good, loving and mature. We just sang at Theophany that, in this feast, we meet our savior perfect, i.e., grown up. I need not secondguess His motives. He desires for us to have the kingdom. Second, I check my needs; not my desires, but my needs. This is not selfish. I can better serve those around me when my real needs are being met. Am I getting enough exercise, reading enough scripture and church writings, and getting the nutrients and rest that I need to function properly? This usually takes some adjustment. Third, I listen to what the people around me are saying and track the common themes. Am I taking for granted that others understand where I am coming from, and that they understand the goals I am trying to reach? Have I adequately communicated what I understand our relationships to be about? Again, I find that I have some work to do. I believe that God calls each of us to His service in baptism. Each of us is called to show His love for both God the Father and our fellow man from wherever we are and from whatever we are doing. We can do this best when we pause every once in a while and check to be sure that we are doing what we set out to do. We need to be deliberate in our actions and aware of their consequences. We all are jugglers with lots of balls in the air. Right now, writing this letter has allowed me to become much less anxious about the many things happening in my life right now. In sharing it, my hope is that this process may be helpful to others. May God bless your holy endeavors as you live your life aware of your Christian vocation, knowing that Jesus taught us, It is your Father s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. by Fr. John Abdalah The Word 3

4 Divine Liturgy and the Resurrection Great Lent is upon us, which is inevitably followed by Pascha. The Paschal season the celebration of the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ is an especially good time to reflect upon the meaning of the Divine Liturgy, which is first and foremost the Church s participation in the Death and Resurrection of our Lord. Indeed, every Sunday Liturgy (and every Divine Liturgy whenever it is celebrated) is Pascha, a participation and experience of the Resurrected Christ. If we understand this, then we will also understand why Pascha is not merely a feast like others among the Church year. Rather it is called the Feast of feasts and Holy Day of holy days, because without the Resurrection no feast of the Church (nor any fast for that matter) has meaning or redemptive power. And certainly, without the Resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Eucharist, or Divine Liturgy, becomes a dead ritual or mere enactment of past events, having no power to unite us with the living God. Our whole Christian Faith is rooted in and exists by the historical fact of the Resurrection. Saint Paul makes this clear when he proclaims: If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). Without the Resurrection of Jesus, the Church, His Body, is nothing but a lifeless, cold corpse! If we, the members of His Body, are united in memory of a mere man, then we are simply members of a club or social fellowship. And worse, if we are joined to a mere dead man, then we remain dead, doomed to the same fate. It is the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth that distinguishes Christianity from all attempts at religious life, selfdiscovery, transcendence, self-help, and the like. If Jesus is a mere man, we are only left with another philosopher or teacher who himself cannot transcend sinful, death-bound human existence. But if He is the Son of God become Man, and is raised from the dead, then the humanity He bears becomes the first-fruits of resurrection for all men. If He is God, then the human nature which He took upon Himself has been glorified and deified permanently and eternally in His eternal Person, and has been taken up into the very Life of the Holy Trinity. If He is the God-Man, risen from the dead and sitting at the right hand of the Father, then those who have been joined to His Body (the Church) become one with His deified and glorified Flesh. If all of this is true, then to be joined to Christ is to have our human nature leavened with His Divine Nature ( a little leaven leavens the whole lump Gal. 5:9), and to participate in the Life of God Himself. All who have been baptized into Christ, and who participate in His Body, have been bestowed with the great potential for the deification of our own flesh, our own humanity. If we understand these implications of Christ s Resurrection, it should not surprise us that the God-revealed, perfect means of union with our Lord is the partaking of His Deified and Resurrected Body and Blood in Holy Communion. 4 The Word

5 For those of us who have slipped into thinking about our Sunday worship experience as an option to other activities, a good time to learn, fellowship with other Christians, my family tradition, or my religious time, etc., we have fallen short of the real meaning and experience of the Divine Liturgy which is to be joined to Christ in His death and resurrection. But those who truly have communion with His death and resurrection receive the grace also to trample down death and our own sin, and to be glorified personally with Christ. This is how we must experience the Liturgy as the means by which we are personally transformed through the work of Jesus Christ. We must also struggle against the temptation to understand the Liturgy as a charming reminder of past events. The term remembrance in the New Testament (Greek: anamnesis) has a much stronger meaning than a mere mental recollection. Rather, the kind of remembrance which Jesus commands in relation to the Eucharistic Supper Do this in remembrance of Me (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24) is to recall, to re-present, i.e., to bring a past event into the present. In the Divine Liturgy, then, the destruction of sin and death and the Resurrection are current events, becoming present and available with all their power. The Holy Apostle Paul makes it clear that in the Eucharist we are both experiencing and showing forth the redemptive act of Christ when he writes, For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord s death until He comes (2 Cor. 11:26). Likewise, when in the Liturgy we ask God to remember us in His Heavenly Kingdom, we are not asking Him to keep a mental picture of us or to think of us now and then. What we are praying is that God would place us with Him in eternity, i.e., we would exist eternally by being in and with Him. Far from a mental reminder, the Divine Liturgy takes us into the eternal reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a reality which is always now in the Kingdom of God, as well as past and future. Therefore, when we meet the resurrected Christ in the Eucharistic Liturgy in general and in Holy Communion in particular, we come directly and personally in contact with the grace and power of the resurrection and the resurrected Christ. This means that our behavior, our mind-set, our heart of hearts, our spiritual condition (physical, moral, mental, emotional), our virtue and vice, are brought into the fire of the divine light, love, rule, and judgment of the resurrection. For this reason Saint Paul warns the Corinthians that they have placed themselves in danger of judgment by coming into the Eucharist of the resurrected Lord in a casual or defiled manner. Instead of examining themselves in Christ s Light through humility and repentance, they have come illprepared into what has become for them the fire of His judgment through Holy Communion. The Word 5

6 Liturgy and Resurrection WORD MAGAZINE Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner [casually, without preparation] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [in death]. For if we would judge ourselves [by confession and proper preparation], we would not be judged [by God] (1 Cor. 11:27-31). If the Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion do not place us in the realm of resurrection and judgment, why would the Church provide and encourage pre-communion prayers as a way of assisting us to proper preparation? Both the Canon of Preparation for Holy Communion (to be prayed the night before) and the collection of Pre-Communion Prayers (to be prayed the morning of), demonstrate the seriousness of our approaching the deified Flesh of the Lord. For example, one troparia of the Eighth Ode in the Canon of Preparation states: I tremble as I receive the Fire [Holy Communion], lest I should be burned as wax and as grass. O dread mystery! O divine compassion! How is it that I who am but clay partake of the divine Body and Blood and am made incorruptible? Thus, we are taught that we do not approach a mere symbol of the Lord s Body, but the Lord Himself. We not only touch (as did the Apostle Thomas) but take into our bodies His Flesh, which through the Resurrection is filled with the uncreated, divine, omnipotent power before which angels tremble! These beautiful and holy prayers serve to teach us why and how we approach the Holy Eucharist. Through them our hearts and minds can be placed in a proper condition of humility, contrition, awe, and thanksgiving, by which we may bring benefit and not condemnation unto ourselves. The Saints who wrote these prayers were so united to Christ that they themselves lived in a condition of deification by grace, and thus are able to teach us how to approach this great Mystery. In their holiness they hold together two realities as one first, we are not worthy to receive Holy Communion, yet God s grace is always accessible to us when we approach with true repentance. Although we are dead on our own, if we pursue Christ, we are graced to participate in His resurrected and incorrupt Life. In the words of our Holy Father John Chrysostom: Wherefore, though I am unworthy of both Heaven and earth, and even of this transient life I, the wretched one, do not despair of my salvation; but emboldened by Thine immeasurable compassion, I draw nigh. The Holy Gospels provide us with a clear link between the resurrection of Jesus, and Holy Communion and the Eucharistic Liturgy. From the beginning, the Eucharist is celebrated on Sunday because it is the day of resurrection and the day He appears to His disciples after His Resurrection. Jesus first comes into their midst as they gather together on the evening of the Sunday of His Resurrection, saying to them: Peace be with you (Jn. 20:19). He appears to them again, after eight days, i.e., again on Sunday. The third appearance comes as some of the disciples are fishing. Jesus breaks bread and shares an early morning meal with them (Jn. 21:1-14). In the Gospel according to Saint Luke, Jesus appears after His Resurrection to two of His disciples as they are on the road to a village called Emma us (about seven miles from Jerusalem). Jesus accompanies them on their way, but their eyes are kept from recognizing Him (Lk. 24:16). He then opens their minds to the (Old Testament) scriptures, explaining how they speak of Him and of His incarnation, death, and resurrection. This is an image of the first part of the Divine Liturgy, in which the minds of the faithful are opened, through the presence of the resurrected Christ, in the reading of the New Testament scriptures and in the homily by the one who bears the priestly ministry of Christ. In the passage, the Holy Apostle Luke goes on to record that toward evening, Jesus sat down to meal with these same disciples. Then Jesus took bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them (24:30). It is at this moment that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. Again, through this appearance (on the Sunday of His Resurrection), we are given an image of the Holy Eucharist, by which we are enabled to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread of Holy Communion. Therefore, our understanding, preparation, and experience of the Divine Liturgy must be a participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus, by which we eat and drink of the eternal and resurrected life of God. Far from a merely 6 The Word

7 human gathering for teaching or friendship, the celebration of the Eucharist is our unity with the deified resurrected Body of Christ, along with the bodiless powers and all the Saints who also participate in His glorified Flesh. The Apostle Paul provides us with this very same teaching, writing to the Hebrews: But you have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus [resurrected], the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 12:22-24). Fr. Michael Shanbour is pastor of Christ the Savior Mission, Spokane Valley,WA. The Word 7

8 Fr. Joseph Allen (R) and Fr. Donald Shadid (L) lead Members of the Antiochian House of Studies in Trisagion prayers for victims of Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA. St. Stephen Student Address Week 1, 2006 Your Grace Sayedna THOMAS, Father Joseph, beloved clergy and faculty, and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ: I fear that there is nothing left to say. On Tuesday when they asked me to speak, I still had no idea of the breadth and depth of teachings I was to receive in the remainder of the week. His Grace Sayedna THOMAS said it and I second it: there is nothing more that I can say to add to what has already been said by this amazing array of faculty and the depth of experience and theology that they have shared with the students here this week. It is almost uncanny; it is the kind of thing that we have come to expect when we participate in something that is truly God s work. Yet, I was asked to share my experience. After being asked to speak tonight, I took a brief break from classes and I went down to the fitness room here at beautiful Antiochian Village. There, after a few exercises, I hit the treadmill and started walking swiftly. A few minutes later I was in the zone, working hard and really giving my heart a workout. However, sometime later, another voice in my head disturbed my reverie and reminded me that it would soon be time for another class meeting and I must get off. I stayed for another minute; the momentum and the exertion were exhilarating. It was hard to stop, get off and go to the next meeting. While stepping off the treadmill, it came to me how much this resembles our lives: hurrying; working; studying; writing papers; taking care of the family, and ministry, social responsibilities; getting in the zone and then being interrupted by the reality of having to stop, come to the Village, and reflect. I think this is what God in His grace has called us away to do this evening at the Gala Banquet, so let us step off the treadmill of life and study, examine where we are, where we have been, and where we hope to go. Here is where I hope my story fits in. I hope that there is something in my story that many of you will relate to in your own inner lives and that, by a miracle of God s grace, might find encouragement to keep moving forward in your studies and efforts with a heart full of hope and expectation. Here is where I came from: from infancy my parents brought me to church in downtown Los Angeles, to Church of the Open Door, once located at 6th and Hope streets; its half-century-old slogan is hauntingly applicable to our life at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Los Angeles: Your neighborhood 8 The Word

9 church via the freeways. I began to grow to love Christ in those years, and then, when we moved south to Orange County in my youth, I began going on mission trips to Mexico a couple of times a year with our new church. All through this time I heard the Gospel proclaimed and the Bible taught several times per week. I went to Biola College and for two years attended every Bible and doctrine class I could fit in and every service project that would have me. But something was missing that I could not quite put my finger on. Twenty-seven years ago, I married my wife, Laurie. Soon after, God intervened and within months we left all to go off to Colombia, South America, where we were to plant churches. I taught, preached, led building projects, tutored, served, developed curricula for semi-literate folks, started raising our family; but most of all I learned Spanish. I learned much there plus I gained a new perspective, a new heart for the people of Latin America, which would be with me everywhere I ever went thereafter. I was never again comfortable when I was not serving God and His people in some way. Still, that something was still missing and eluded description. Twenty-three years ago we returned to the US. We spent the next ten years in ministry to Cambodian refugees and later with Hispanic immigrants through training programs that I was blessed to develop or establish at a large bi-lingual church in Santa Ana, California. I worked with over 200 Spanish speakers, teaching them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Through a sequence of events and the study of Church history, I was soon to learn what that something, that I had been missing, was. Sixteen years ago, on a fateful New Year s Eve, my Biola College friend, David Thatcher (now Fr. David of the OCA mission in Merced, CA), played a video for us about a group of Campus Crusaders that converted to Orthodoxy. Images of Fr. Jack Sparks in particular struck me. I remembered as a Sunday School kid seeing pictures of him baptizing hippies in the fountain at Berkeley, that had captured my imagination. However, his group had disappeared mysteriously from the scene by the time I graduated from high school. But here I saw he had started to wear black, put on a big gold cross, and become Orthodox. I did not even know what it meant, but my interest was piqued at the same time that I remained quite skeptical. After beginning to read about Orthodoxy and comparing the truth I was learning with the carefully edited church history I was teaching at the evangelical extension Bible institute, I could not continue on my path. I spoke with our pastor, and surprisingly, he gave us his blessing to continue the journey saying that reading the life of St. Anthony was the best reading he ever had in seminary. We converted to Orthodoxy at a small AEOM parish which at that time met in a tiny, dilapidated school building. We lost our livelihood as missionaries, but gained the Holy Orthodox Faith. We spent thirteen years at St. Barnabas parish going through the liturgical cycles, leading services from the The Word 9

10 St. Stephen WORD MAGAZINE FIRST WEEK Bishop THOMAS with Antiochian House of Studies Residency Program, Aug./Sept Faculty, Staff and Students: St. Stephen s Students, Seminarians and Doctor of Ministry Students chanter s stand, learning and absorbing the hymns heard again and again for all those years. We were content, but I still had that something within me that cried out to serve even more. After being steeped in the hymns and the liturgical life of the Church by being there every time the doors opened through those years, I was prepared for what was to be the next step: starting to study the St. Stephen s course. After obtaining my Pastor s blessing to begin the studies, I realized that one of the course requirements was to do ministry projects. I wanted to do these in Spanish with Spanishspeaking people if at all possible. Again, with my Pastor s blessing I called around and, at Fr. Peter Gillquist s recommendation, I called Fr. Michel Najim. He opened his heart to my wife and me and welcomed us to the Cathedral as missionaries. Each of my projects for each of the years of the course involved active ministry to the Hispanic mission at St. Nicholas Cathedral. The first year got me started preaching and teaching Bible studies again after a near fifteen-year hiatus, the second, compiling and translating as necessary a bilingual Spanish/English Vespers book for our community. The third year produced a draft of a bilingual Divine Liturgy book for priests and deacons. I must thank all of the professors who carefully read and commented on the myriad pages of exams I wrote for the St. Stephen s course. My dear wife, Laurie, is especially deserving of thanks for her support throughout these grueling three years of evenings and weekends of reading and writing. Most of all, we must thank our beloved visionary, Metropolitan PHILIP, for his tireless efforts and support that created this opportunity for people like me to obtain an Orthodox theological education. But that is where we have been. Where are we right now? We must thank and stand in awe of the fantastic faculty and administrators at the House of Studies residency program. Here and at home we have learned, with the support of our hierarchs and the dedication of our much-loved faculty and staff, like Fr. Joseph Allen, Deacon Peter Boulokos and Cheri Mullins, our pastors and parishes and the aforementioned endurance of our wives and husbands. It has been a privilege to be a part of this amazing program of residency classes on love and Church history, of love and apologetics, of love and pastoral practice and theology, of love and canon law, of love and the chant and singing of love and how to be a Christian Human Being. No matter what we studied, love infused and permeated everything. Where are we going? Will we go into the later graduate programs? God sneaks things in sometimes. What else? Only God knows. We are all in God s hands. The guarantee is He will always be with us to the end of the age, as we read on the ceiling of 10 The Word

11 FIRST WEEK Bishop THOMAS, Faculty and Staff with Seminarians (St. Vladimir s, St. Tikhon and Holy Cross) at Antiochian House of Studies Residency Program the chapel here at the Village. The promise is that He will build His Church and the gates of hell with NOT prevail against its onslaught. The opportunity is that you can be part of building His Church. We are all invited to be part of it and, thanks to the St. Stephen s Course of Studies, we have a path to follow that will help prepare us on in His service. Subdeacon Ron Olson is a father of three grown daughters and husband to Laurie, a Software Development Implementation Manager, who loves his role as Chanter/Assistant homilist and catechist of the Hispanic Mission at St. Nicholas Antiochian Cathedral in Los Angeles and has participated in the St. Stephen s Course as an avenue to be able to increase his contributions to this ministry. Saidna THOMAS, Reverend Clergy, brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is in our midst. Before attending St. Vladimir s Seminary, I lived in the great state of South Carolina, known best for seceding from the Union and starting that War of Northern Aggression that we all know about. But, perhaps the other thing that South Carolina is known for is its Christianity. It is the heart of the Bible belt and home to thousands of churches. My father is the priest of a community in Aiken, South Carolina and he tells me that there are more than 300 churches just in Aiken, a city of no more than 25,000 people. That is almost literally one on every street corner. Things are about the same in Columbia, South Carolina, where I went to college at the real USC, home of the fighting Gamecocks. We had every kind of Christian campus organization that you could think of, Campus Crusade, Neuman Club (Catholic organization), Fellowship of Christian Athletes, you name it, we had it, it was South Carolina after all. At college I was a religious studies major in preparation for attending seminary later; what else was I going to do with a religious studies degree? In my sophomore year, I took a course entitled The Quest for the Historical Jesus. It was a very interesting class, to say the least. I remember clearly a discussion that we had in class about the Virgin Birth of Christ. During this discussion, our professor, who was an ordained Methodist minister, vehemently

12 St. Stephen WORD MAGAZINE WEEK TWO Metropolitan MAXIMOS (R) and Metropolitan NICHOLAS (L) with Faculty, Staff and Doctor of Ministry Students denied the fact of the Virgin birth. As you can imagine, many of my classmates and I were shocked. To make matters worse, a few minutes into the discussion one of my fellow students asked, Professor, how do you preach a Christmas sermon? Without skipping a beat, he responded, Well, you don t bite the hand that feeds you. People aren t ready to hear these things, so we try to ease them in and just tell them what they are used to. I could not believe it. In South Carolina, the middle of the Bible belt, filled with so many Christians, you still could not get the real truth. I know that USC is a public university, but it just showed how much work there is to do and how great the need is for a solid theological education that is more readily available to the average person who is confronted with these issues and does not know where to go. Where do we go? My fellow seminarians and I are blessed with the opportunity to study at places like St. Vladimir s, St. Tikhon s, and Holy Cross, places where we are able to really make the faith of our fathers our own. Not everyone is so blessed. Not everyone has the opportunity to take three years out of his or her life to study Orthodox theology full-time. But it is not only the seminarians who desire to know the Truth. This room is a living witness of that fact. In this room we have computer programmers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, restaurant owners, teachers, and many other professions, busy people who barely have time to spend with their families and yet are filled with a zeal to know God more fully and to serve the Church in whatever capacity that they can. In lieu of seminary, for you and many others, there is the St. Stephen s Course and the House of Studies, where even in this mixed up world you can receive a lasting and profound theological education no matter what background you come from, giving you the ability to serve the same one God in diverse manners. St. Paul reminds us: There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. THIS IS THE BODY OF CHRIST! The proof of our faith lies in this reality witnessed in this room right now. St. Athanasius wrote that the proof of the incarnation is shown in the desire of the faithful and their willingness to give their life for the Gospel of Christ. This goes for whatever it is that each of us does in life, teachers, doctors, lawyers, not just 12 The Word

13 WEEK TWO Antiochian House of Studies, Residency Program with Metropolitan MAXIMOS (R) and Metropolitan NICHOLAS (L) priests. Everyone in this room has given his or her life for Christ, like the patron of this program, St. Stephen, in the face of any number of persecutions or difficulties in completing the program. The St. Stephen s program is not easy, I know. It takes a giving up of much of your life, of much of your free time, writing and studying on top of a full-time job. Many of you even give up an entire week of vacation just to be here, to participate in the services and to hear from your professors first-hand. In today s world, that is a priceless sacrifice. And yet, each one of you continues to do it, for three years, because of your love for God and your desire to serve God more fully with the particular gifts that each one of you has been given to strengthen the Body of Christ. As a young priest, looking to my third and final year of seminary, armed with the knowledge that after this year, my wife and I will be sent to a parish to do the work of God, I am nervous, in all honesty. My story from college was merely a mild example of the challenges that lie before us. We all know the situation of our world; I do not have to recount it here. But I find comfort in looking around this room tonight, and looking back on the last three years, and seeing the writings of the Fathers and the scriptures come to life. THIS IS THE BODY OF CHRIST. There is only so much that the priest can do by himself. It is with the help of educated laity, educated fellow ministers that the Church is able to come together and shine with the light of Christ that will change the world we live in. In no other way. This is the mission and ministry of the St. Stephen s Course and the House of Studies, offering a theological education to all who deserve it. Tonight, all of you who are in this room, please accept my appreciation for the work that you have done and will do to build up this Church, the incarnate Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. by Fr. Philip Rogers

14 ORTHODOX PLEDGING, GIVING AND STEWARDSHIP 18th Sunday of Pentecost 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; Luke 5:1-11 Eucharistic Readings for 18th Sunday of Pentecost Luke 5:1-11 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. But Simon answered and said to Him, Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord : For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of the fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. 14 The Word

15 Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 But this I [Paul] say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work [Proverbs 11:24]. As it is written: He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever [Psalm 112:9]. Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, [Isaiah 55:10; Hosea 10:12] while you are enriched in every thing, for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. The study notes to the Orthodox Study Bible identify 2 Cor. 9:6-11 as St. Paul s landmark teaching on Christian stewardship (p. 417). What makes this passage so special for stewardship? Why does the Church, year after year, pair this Epistle passage with the Gospel from Luke 5:1-11 for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost? The Gospel concerns Christ s calling of three fishermen to become fishers of men, and His filling of their empty nets with an overwhelming abundance of fish. What may we learn for today from these readings, particularly about pledging, giving and stewardship? In Good and Faithful Servant: Stewardship in the Orthodox Church (p. 189), Fr. Scott defines stewardship in two ways: (a) an ongoing response to God in thanksgiving expressed in the sacrificial giving of time, talent and treasures and (b) the good management and faithful maintenance of those values and goods temporarily given into one s keeping including the mysteries and the parish facilities and the mission of the Church. We are particularly concerned here with pledging and giving, while remembering the larger scope of stewardship. Background of St. Paul s Letter In A.D , just two decades after the resurrection of Christ, St. Paul had a problem involving pledging, giving and stewardship (among other problems) with the Christians living in Corinth. The church of Corinth was one of a number of Gentile Christian churches that Paul a Jew of Tarsus in modern Turkey had started outside of Palestine. The church in Jerusalem, at that time still composed mostly of Jewish Christians, was suffering financial poverty. Paul was raising money for them and he was seeking it from his churches in southern Greece and in Macedonia. The church in Corinth had pledged ( seriously promised ) in A.D. 54 to raise a sum of money for the relief effort. Paul boasted about the Corinthian pledge to the Macedonian Christians, who responded with their own pledge and substantial collections. In an example of the proper sequence for all pledging efforts, the Macedonians first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God (2 Cor. 8:5). However, in A.D. 55, Paul heard that the Corinthians were dragging their feet and not making timely collections, which Paul preferred to be made Sunday-by-Sunday and prior to his coming to Corinth so he would not be seen as engaging in arm-twisting upon arrival (1 Cor. 16:2). All of these pledging, giving and stewardship problems should sound quite familiar to us in Christian parishes 2000 years later. Paul decided to write the Corinthians a letter, the one we know as 2 Corinthians. Much of Paul s teaching about stewardship appears in chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians. St. Paul s Teaching in 2 Corinthians 9:6-212 First, Paul wants all Christians to understand that they cannot ever give more than God, Who thought up the idea of giving in the first place, Who gives us whatever we have to give, and Who tells us specifically that we are to give back tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:6-12; Matthew 23:23). As with everything God says to us, the idea of giving is initially for the good of our souls and bodies in every imaginable way, spiritual and material. And giving with the right attitude, in humility and love (see Matthew 6:1-4), the results of giving are objectively subject to quantification, as Paul teaches using the example of growing crops: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully (or with The Word 15

16 Orthodox Pledging WORD MAGAZINE blessings ) will also reap bountifully (or with blessings ). Paul adds, So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity (or compulsion ); for God loves a cheerful giver. When we give as God says we should give, it makes good sense to be joyful about it, since the results will be wonderful. The truth about pledging, giving and stewardship is remarkably simple and positive. Second, Paul wants all Christians to understand that God has the blessing of multiple persons in His mind when He gives to us so we may give some back to Him and His Church for the good of all men, especially the poor. Paul writes, God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. God gives to us initially because He wants us to have sufficiency ( to have enough ) in all things, spiritual and material. St. John Chrysostom said (Homily XIX on Second Corinthians) that this means we are to desire for ourselves sufficiency alone and not abundance just for ourselves. That is superfluous, which is more than we need. When we are able to live healthfully and respectably without a certain thing, then certainly that thing is superfluous. Sometimes God does give us more ( abundance ) than enough; the reason He does is so we can do other good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). The last verse in the Epistle reading (2 Cor. 9:11) continues this idea: You are enriched in everything for all liberality ( generosity or open-handedness ), which causes thanksgiving through us to God. So we find we have come full circle, with the result of God s giving to us and our giving to God, His Church and others being thanksgiving ( the giving of thanks ) to the Triune God. What additional wisdom about giving may we discern from the Gospel designated for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost? Christ s Teaching in Luke 5:1-11 There is much to be learned from this passage about the calling of the three partners in the fishing business by the Sea of Galilee: Peter, James and John. We could focus as many have on the call of God to discipleship and apostleship, and on the quick response and total commitment of these three saints. The lesson about giving in this passage is also powerful. God in Christ can and does give toward our specific needs. There are few human endeavors more practical and difficult than being commercial fishermen. The whole point is to catch fish in quantity, to eat some and sell the rest, thus making a living. When they were called, these three men were not highly educated, not famous, and not professionally religious men. The three saints gave the Lord the use of a fishing boat (capital equipment of their partnership) to sit in a little way out from shore (the water s surface helped carry the voice of Jesus) and to teach the crowds. The fishermen had fished all night with no success. Christ gave them a catch, which was beyond their experience and proved to them that He was the Lord. As he dropped to his knees, Peter said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Then, they all left and followed Him. Peter, James and John gave Jesus their lives! Jesus gave them life and that they might have it more abundantly! (John 10:10) The reciprocal giving goes on and on! The more we understand about giving God s way and the more we give according to God s way the more abundant will be our lives in Christ. God will provide all we really need ( sufficiency ) plus enough extra ( abundance ) beyond what we ourselves really need to accomplish what He knows others need through us. Paul points out that if someday you are yourself in poverty, the abundance that God has given to others will supply your lack (2 Cor. 8:14). St. John Chrysostom (Homily XVII) observes that this lack can be material or spiritual and that the faithful poor have much (such as prayer) to give the faithful rich, in return producing an equality. We all have a reciprocal place in God s providence through giving, even if and as we shift between high, middle or low-income groups. Paul says, Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15) The same Lord Who can give so many fish to faithful commercial fishermen that their nets almost break and their boats almost sink, does and will give us spiritual and material blessings as a result of our giving. Concerning giving, God has taught us the right motives (thankful love and humble obedience), the right methods (tithes and offerings) and the predictable results (overflowing blessings both to donors and to donees). Test God by giving your tithes and offerings to Him and His Church. God Himself says to each of us, Put Me to the test in this (Malachi 3:8-19). Give Orthodox Christian giving a prayerful and cheerful test! by John Truslow John Truslow is a member of St. Elias Church, Atlanta, GA. 16 The Word

17 NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION & TITHING Sharing the Faith Educating Ourselves and Our Children in Godliness Calgary, Alberta Submitted by Dr. Wanda Magrowski, Church School Teacher On October 13 and 14, 2006, church school teachers and interested parishioners gathered at the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Calgary for teacher training and fellowship. Participants from St. Mary s Romanian Orthodox Church, St. Vladimir s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, St. Peter the Aleut OCA Church, as well as the host parish enjoyed a weekend of learning and sharing. On the first evening, the host priest, Fr. Ibrahim Chahoud, was joined by Fr. Michael Lupu of St. Mary s Romanian Orthodox Church to welcome Kh. Linda Funk, Diocesan Coordinator for Christian Education, as presenter. Kh. Linda enthusiastically shared her joy of the Orthodox faith with all present. The next day all participated in discussion and activities and enthusiastically listened to the teaching principles that Kh. Linda shared. Participants were motivated to pray for their students and all were excited and encouraged to learn more about their faith, and to teach it with joy to their students. From the Directors Desk Beloved Brothers and Sisters, As is the custom, our February newsletter is reserved for a photo essay on the Orthodox Institute held at Antiochian Village. For the past five years we have had instructors from the Greek Orthodox and Orthdox Church in America jurisdictions. This Institute, we were pleased to have in attendance three women from the OCA Department of Christian Education, Myra Kovalak, Daria Petrykowski, and Valerie Zahirsky. We had lunch together, spoke of each department s programs and networked to begin consulting on each other s projects. In the future, we hope the OCA can join us in sponsoring Orthodox Institutes around the United States and Canada. We sensed that our His Grace Bishop MARK, directors and staff members of the Antiochian Orthodox and OCA Departments of Christian Education. lunch was a historic occasion in the move toward a united Orthodox Church, and decided a picture was in order. Looking at the photo, one can only say, It s about time! The Word 17

18 christian education WORD MAGAZINE Saturday after lunch is reserved for an Akathist at the gravesite of St. Raphael of Brooklyn Antiochian Orthodox Depart Orthodox Antiochian Village, November 2-5, What do you get when you bring together 70 participants, quality instruction, and the Village? A spirit-filled weekend, educated and rededicated chuch school staff, fellowship and fun. See you next year, at OI at the Village! Sandra Mitchell teaching Helping Children Share Their Faith. Listening to the keynote address in the Katherine Ajjar Auditorium Participants in the Special Certificate program, Sharing Your Faith. 18 The Word

19 ment of Christian Education Institute 2006 Fr. John Reeves, of the OCA Department of Missions and Evangelism, teaching Overview of Evangelism. ORTHODOX INSTITUTE 2006 His Grace Bishop MARK, Overseer of the Department of Christian Education, delivered two keynote addresses Church School Director Certificate Courses Church School Director Seminar : Basic Curriculum and Resources for the CSD Build Your Staff, Build Your Students Teacher Training I Certificate Courses Overview of Orthodoxy Introduction to Teaching Curriculum and Resources Special Certificate Courses: Sharing Your Faith Overview of Evangelism Orthodoxy and Catholicism Orthodoxy and Protestantism Kh. Betty Randolph teaching Church School Director, Basic, and presentation of Church School Director Certificates. Teacher Training II Courses Moral Issues Overview Enriching the Classroom Experience Utilizing Crafts Additional Courses Classroom Management Helping Children Share their Faith Saint Raphael Saints Who Evangelized Implementing the Creative Arts Festival and Using a Theme Throughout the Year Small Church School Ideas and Resources "To Tithe is to Share" 2006 The Word 19

20 NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Certificates were given for Teacher Training I and II. Joe Tershay teaching Curriculum and Resources for the Church School Director. Department of Christian Education Diocesan Coordinators Please contact the Diocesan Coordinators for updates on trainings and other events in your region. Oakland, PA & the East; New York and Washington DC: V. Rev. George Alberts (203) frgeocar@sbcglobal.net Toledo and the Midwest: Robert Snyder (330) ; bobsny1107@aol.com Los Angeles and the West: Joseph Tershay (831) ; josephtershay@yahoo.com Eagle River and the Northwest: Linda Funk (306) lfunk@shaw.ca Ottawa and Upstate New York: Jacquelyn Fadel (716) imretired604@yahoo.com Wichita and Mid-America: Vasiliki Oldziey (512) vas@austin.rr.com Worcester and New England: Anna Hughes (978) matannah@aol.com Miami and the Southeast: Betty Randolph (864) , bettyrandolph@bellsouth.net Kh. Linda Funk teaching Overview of Orthodoxy, for the Teacher Training I certificate. 20 The Word

21 Fellowship Footnotes What s in it for Me? Beach Bonfire during Parish Life Conference in San Diego, CA, May, 2006 I WORK IN NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: LAND OF CEOS AND PRESIDENTS OF BANKS AND REAL ESTATE Investment firms. Plenty of lawyers, restaurants owned by celebrities, and two-bedroom thousand-square foot condos on the beach that sell for more than a million dollars. It s where people who have plenty of cash flow always question whatever they do financially; before spending or donating they ask. What s in it for me? I live in a world where successful, tangible results and instant satisfaction are the norm and expecting anything less isn t accepted. Don t think Newport Beach is all bad, though; we have nice people here. I know because I work with them at a non-profit organization here. But I find it very interesting that the basic motto of What s in it for me? is the forethought when asking others to help. Working in a non-profit organization, part of my job is to recruit and train volunteers to be successful in whatever service area is the best match for them. Whether it s participating in after-school programs, teaching swim classes, or raising money for our annual youth campaign, it takes someone who doesn t worry about what s in it for him or her, specifically. Rather, that special person already sees the good work being done that positively affects others, and wishes to see it multiplied. I recently heard California Congressional candidate Steve Young talk about serving others, and how being a leader is more than just guiding people in one direction. He reminded my group of volunteers why exactly it is we serve others in our leadership positions, and how to look beyond What s in it for me? Mr. Young made the word SERVE into an acronym and gave the volunteers ideas about how they can better SERVE their group. Whether he intended it or not, Mr. Young was relating the timeless message of our Savior, Jesus Christ, when He told His Disciples in the Gospel of St. Mark: The Word 21

22 Fellowship Footnotes WORD MAGAZINE For the Son of man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The acronym can be explained in the following acrostic: S See the Future E Engage and Develop R Reinvent Continuously V Value Results and Relationships E Embody Values See the Future. As the Proverb says, Where there is no vision, the people perish (29:18). It takes vision to determine what direction the leader will take the group or organization. Seeing and envisioning the future of the group is difficult, as we must not only look at today, but look toward tomorrow as well. Making decisions that will last longer than your time in the position will help ensure lasting vision and help guide those working towards that goal. I do realize that s the purpose a mission statement serves, but the mission statement doesn t make the agenda for the next meeting, either. We must act on the best interest of the group in the present and the future, while aligning our duties with our goals in mind. Engage and Develop. We find ourselves doing too much, not because we want to or need to, but rather because it s more convenient. We think, If I do it myself, then I don t have to ask anyone else and worry if the job will be done to my standards. But not training others in what we do well will only hurt the group in the future. Think of Donald Trump; while his show The Apprentice made millions of individuals want to be like him, it also gave Mr. Trump the opportunity to train someone to continue his legacy in the Trump Industry. At some point, Mr. Trump won t be able to run his company; eventually, it will be trusted to someone who is committed to continue the goals and mission of Mr. Trump. Training an apprentice, successor or just someone to help out not only means having a person to carry on a vision; it bears the responsibility of developing that person to the fullest potential. Seek others to help participate in what they normally might not have volunteered to do. By asking them to help, you are showing them that you think much more of them, and that they are of value to you and the ministry. Reinvent Continuously. Madonna. Many thoughts come to mind at the mention of her name. We remember her 1980s music and punk rock style, to her recent trends toward Kabala and dance music, and being a mother. The woman never fails to reinvent herself. Standing still in an organization is dangerous. But without accepting the past and, more importantly, moving forward, we can not look to the future and try to accomplish more or better. Think of what it is you are really doing in your organization. Ask yourself what can be done better, or what you could do more or differently than you already are. Reinventing what you are doing is not changing who you are, but merely focusing on the path ahead and what is to be accomplished. Value Results and Relationships. We all have friends. We all have people we say hello to once in a while, or if we see them for a special occasion. We even have those people who we call friends who aren t really friends, but if we needed something, we talk to them like friends. Long statement, but it s true; we value people differently based on our relationship with them. If we were planning a party, we know who we would want to help plan it. And if we were joining together to accomplish a goal, we know who the go-getters are to get the job done. But without the relationships we have built with those individuals, nothing will be accomplished. A friend once told me to shake every person s hand that I possibly can. He said this merely because you never know how taking the time to talk with someone for five minutes might be of benefit to you later. Do not wait to see how someone can be of benefit; rather, take the first step and say hello and invest a little of yourself into someone else. There might be a time when that person s skill will benefit others, and it s our job as leaders to have those relationships to find the match for the volunteers and their skills. Embody Values. I find it easier to be friends with those that share the Orthodox Faith because, more often than not, we share the same morals and values. The comfort level is much greater when the foundation of the person is similar. When the goals and values of a person are compatible with those of the organization, there is a sense of ease in which usually all members are more willing to give of themselves: their time, talents and treasures. They also don t question how they may benefit from this, as they already know what giving will offer others. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians that, regardless of what we do in life, or what organization or ministry we are involved in, we can do all things with Christ Who strengthens us (4:13). This means we can do nothing without 22 The Word

23 Him! Our Faith, prayer and love for God and each other must be at the forefront when leading or serving in any organization. We must ask God for His guidance and to lead us in the direction He has planned for us. We are people who, with love for our Church, want to do all we can to help those around us. While many do ask, What s in it for me, others do not. Remember to pray for those who help our organizations and ministries because they believe in what we believe: that working together as the Body of Christ, everyone together can accomplish anything. Our Lord calls us to SERVE with Him, just as He serves us. Christ proved this with many works and miracles. Right after He spoke those famous words in Mark 10:45, Jesus served the blind man, Bartimaeus, by giving him his sight, just as he asked for. Jesus did not just entertain the idea of helping Bartimaeus, but He committed the act. Therefore, making our organizations and ministries believe that they can make a difference is good, but actually making the difference is great! UPDATE ON THE FELLOWSHIP, DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES AND THE WEST During this past year, we have continued to do what works, and moved forward to try new ideas to build on the successes and strengths of the Fellowship in the West. And in the end, we have accomplished the coming together of praying, learning and growing together in Christ. Here is a small recap of what we have accomplished. Spring 2006 We had two retreats during the Lenten Fast: our Third Annual Retreat in Northern California with 60 people in attendance; and a First-ever Retreat in Washington State with 20 people in attendance. Thanks be to God for the efforts of Alyson d Arms, who coordinates our Retreats for our Diocese; and to our gifted Keynote Speakers who inspire so many. Both the Northern California and Washington Retreats will happen again in the spring of Summer 2006 Our Parish Life Conference brought together the Young Adults in a suite in the hotel which served as home base for discussions with priests, late night Q & A sessions and great opportunities to reunite with old friends and to meet new people. Many other events on the schedule specifically for the Fellowship served as a great invitation for others to join us who normally might not have. Fall 2006 Our First-ever Pan-Orthodox Young Adult Conference was held Labor Day weekend in Oakland, California. Forty Young Adults came together for a weekend to grow and play together. The weekend had a feel like a Parish Life Conference with workshops, keynote speakers and Participants on dinner boat cruise at the Pan Orthodox Young Adult Conference in Oakland, CA, September, 2006 Fr. James Coles from St. Ignatius Church in Mesa, AZ and Fr. Kevin Scherer participating in Q & A Session during from Parish Life Conference in San Diego, CA, May, 2006 evening events including a beach bonfire and dinner boat cruise, but with the direct intention of reaching our Young Adults. In fall of 2007, this Conference will take place in Orange County, California and all Young Adults from across the country are invited to join us! Information about our Retreats and Conferences can be found at On behalf of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, we ask for your prayers for all the Young Adults in our Diocese as we continue to grow together in Christ. Kyra Pelachik serves as the President of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine for the Diocese of Los Angeles & the West and the Southern California Deanery Youth Coordinator for Teen SOYO. Kyra works for the YMCA of Orange County as a Program Director and can be reached at hi_imkyra@yahoo.com. The Word 23

24 daily devotions MARCH, ISAIAH 6:1-12; GENESIS 5:1-24; PROVERBS 5:30-20 (fast) 2. ISAIAH 7:1-15; GENESIS 5:32-6:8; PROVERBS 6:20-7:1 (fast) 3. HEBREWS 3:12-16; MARK 1:35-44 (fast) 4. HEBREWS 1:10-2:3; MARK 2:1-12 (fast) 5. ISAIAH 8:13-9:7; GENESIS 6:9-22; PROVERBS 8:1-12 (fast) 6. ISAIAH 9:9-10:4; GENESIS 7:1-5; PROVERBS 8:32-9:11 (fast) 7. ISAIAH 10:12-20; GENESIS 7:6-9; PROVERBS 9:12-18 (fast) 8. ISAIAH 11:10-12:2; GENESIS 7:11-8:3; PROVERBS 10:31-11:12 (fast) 9. ISAIAH 13:2-13; GENESIS 8:4-22; PROVERBS 10:31-11:12 (fast) 10. HEBREWS 10:32-38; MARK 2:14-17 (fast) 11. HEBREWS 4:14-5:6; MARK 8:34-9:1 (fast) 12. ISAIAH 14:24-32; GENESIS 8:21-9:7; PROVERBS 11:19-12:6 (fast) 13. ISAIAH 25:1-9; GENESIS 9:8-17; PROVERBS 12:8-22 (fast) 14. ISAIAH 26:21-27:9; GENESIS 9:18-10:1; PROVERBS 12:23-13:9 (fast) 15. ISAIAH 28:14-22; GENESIS 10:32-11:9; PROVERBS 13:19-14:6 (fast) 16. ISAIAH 29:13-23; GENESIS 12:1-7; PROVERBS 14:15-26 (fast) 17. HEBREWS 6:9-12; MARK 7:31-37 (fast) 18. HEBREWS 6:13-20; MARK 9:17-31 (fast) 19. ISAIAH 37:33-38:6; GENESIS 13:12-18; PROVERBS 14:27-15:4 (fast) 20. ISAIAH 40:18-31; GENESIS 15:1-15; PROVERBS 15:7-19 (fast) 21. ISAIAH 41:4-14; GENESIS 17:1-9; PROVERBS 15:20-16:9 (fast) 22. ISAIAH 42:5-16; GENESIS 18:20-33; PROVERBS 16:17-17:17 (fast) 23. ISAIAH 45:11-17; GENESIS 22:1-18; PROVERBS 17:17-18:5 (fast) 24. HEBREWS 9:24-28; MARK 8:27-31 (fast) 25. HEBREWS 2:11-18; LUKE 1:24-38 (fast) ANNUNCIATION 26. ISAIAH 48:17-49:4; GENESIS 27:1-42; PROVERBS 19:16-25 (fast) 27. ISAIAH 49:6-11; GENESIS 31:3-16; PROVERBS 21:3-21 (fast) 28. ISAIAH 58:1-12; GENESIS 43:26-31; PROVERBS 21:23-22:4 (fast) 29. ISAIAH 65:8-17; GENESIS 46:1-7; PROVERBS 23:15-24:5 (fast) 30. ISAIAH 66:10-24; GENESIS 49:33-50:26; PROVERBS 31:8-31 (fast) 31. HEBREWS 12:28-13:8; JOHN 11:1-45 (fast) Gulf Coast, struggling but not forgotten IOCC SENDS FIRST WAVE OF VOLUNTEER HOME- BUILDING CREWS TO DEVASTATED COMMUNITIES Baltimore (IOCC) The media s spotlight may have faded from the Gulf Coast, but International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) has not forgotten that there are whole communities where people are still living in tents, motels and FEMA trailers. IOCC will be sending volunteer crews to the area every month through July 2007 to build new homes as part of its comprehensive $4 million relief and reconstruction program for the Gulf Coast. The first wave of IOCC volunteers are currently in Covington, Louisiana for a weeklong assignment. Housing is the most critical need, says IOCC U.S. Programs Coordinator Nicholas Chakos. You have to get people back into homes in order to stimulate the return of schools and businesses, he said. Volunteer help is greatly needed considering the extreme shortage of skilled laborers on the Gulf Coast and land values that have doubled and tripled. IOCC is building new homes in partnership with local Orthodox churches and Habitat for Humanity. Teams will put up dry wall and install windows and insulation. Communities in New Orleans and parts of Mississippi will also benefit from IOCC s home-building initiative. If you would like to volunteer to help build new homes with IOCC on the Gulf Coast, please visit our web site at to complete an on-line application, or call toll-free at IOCC (4622). IOCC was founded in 1992 as the official humanitarian aid agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). Since then, it has implemented over $226 million in relief and development programs in 30 countries around the world. Very Rev. George Alberts

25 Nag's Head, North Carolina. Each roadside flag commemorates a fallen U.S. soldier in Iraq. Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas TO OUR BELOVED, THE FAITHFUL CLERGY AND LAITY OF the Holy Orthodox Church throughout North America, We greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! At the invitation of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Chairman, and the other Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), we gathered together in Chicago, Illinois from October 3 to October 6, Over four days we discussed issues of concern for the entire Orthodox Church in North America. We represent every member church of the Standing Conference that our good and loving Lord has planted in North America. Conscious of our need to give concrete witness to the unity of the faith we share, we gathered in Chicago at the heart of our North American continent, as the shepherds of this holy flock that has been entrusted to our care, building on the work of our two previous meetings in Ligonier, Pennsylvania (1994) and Washington, DC (2001). Mindful of the presence of our Lord among us, we prayed together each morning and evening. Through spiritual reflections offered to us by two of the bishops among us, we heard and meditated on the words of the Holy Scriptures. We gratefully accepted the hospitality of the Greek Orthodox Parish of St. Haralambos and Taxiarchai to worship with them, thus sharing the joy of our gathering with the faithful Orthodox Christians in Chicago. And finally, we prayed together during The Word 25

26 Orthodox Bishops WORD MAGAZINE the sublime mystery of the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, crowning the unity we share by partaking of the Holy Eucharist. From the outset we were mindful of the changes in our world since the last time we gathered in May of The terrorist attacks on September 11 of that year have set humanity on a course of violence and brutality that has not left one corner of the world unaffected. During our worship we were called to reflect on the words of St. Nicholas Cabasilas, All violence is against the nature of God. Our world needs the comforting message of the Good News, the truth and love of Jesus Christ. Each of us is called to bring the peace which our Lord gives to us to those around us. As the Church of Christ, we are called to witness to the healing that the All- Holy Spirit brings to those at enmity with one another. We grieve over the senseless and inhumane killing not only abroad, but here at home, even in our schools, even among our children. We are especially mindful of the young men and women who have given of themselves to serve our nation in the Armed Forces. We offer our prayers to our Lord who is allmerciful to keep them safe and unscathed by the traumas of war, and bestow His boundless comfort on their families and loved ones. We also shed tears with those who have lost loved ones to terrible acts of violence. When we gathered in 2001 we said the following: We affirm the need to bear public witness together on matters of spiritual and moral concern. We have the profound obligation to address the crying needs of the society in which we live. We must reach out. These are issues of vital concern to the future of humanity and the planet. There are people suffering from economic and political injustices. Many in our society are morally adrift. We cannot remain silent. The oneness of our voice will help to provide spiritual direction not only to our own faithful, but will also offer a witness of the truth of the Gospel to those around us. Christ has come for the life of the world; through the Cross joy has come into all the world. We have a responsibility to bear witness to this life in Christ and to this joy. In the many reports heard and discussions held during these days, and especially in the encounters with people who are engaged in this good work, we begin to see our words put into action. During these days we learned in more detail about the substantive work of the SCOBA Agencies and Commissions which have been energetically building up the common witness of our Church here and throughout the world in practical and tangible ways. We have carefully studied critical issues that the Church here must address if we are to be faithful to our responsibility toward you, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. We share a vision of the Church that is at once faithful, grounded in tradition, and dynamic, prepared to address the challenges of the modern world. Our calling is to find ways in which to put this vision into effect. We were inspired and moved by hearing the detailed reports from the many SCOBA Agencies and Commissions. SCOBA Agencies are chartered for a particular ministry done on behalf of the whole Church. Simply to list their names gives one a sense of the work being done by faithful Orthodox Christians in the name of the Church. The International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) ministers to the suffering of those afflicted by natural and human catastrophes, abroad but also here at home, as we saw in its effort during the Katrina tragedy. The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) promotes foreign missions and supports indigenous clergy throughout the world, but especially in Africa and Asia. The Orthodox Christian Education Commission (OCEC) prepares religious educational materials and curricula for young and old. The Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is active on 230 college campuses. The Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), building from a simple radio program, is becoming an ever-increasing presence in the major media markets. Its weekly Come Receive the Light program is now available even over the internet. The newest Agency of SCOBA, the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM), brings together Orthodox Christians presently ministering to those in prison and encouraging, building and expanding this ministry throughout the country. SCOBA Commissions are specific committees of scholars and experts charged to offer counsel and resources for the work of the Church. We heard reports on the work of the Ecumenical Commission that is responsible for overseeing and coordinating each of the dialogues that are being held with other Christian churches and denominations. The Social and Moral Issues Commission provides scientific and theological reflection on contemporary issues in order to assist in the formulation of pastoral responses to the pressing questions we all face in today s world. The Information Technologies Com mis sion provides the Church with technological tools and services at the national, diocesan and parochial levels. We held workshops on six important subjects, inviting men and women expert in their particular field to help us understand the changing dynamics and challenges within the 26 The Word

27 life of the Church. These were: Issues in Coordinating New and Mission Parishes; Protecting the Church from Sexual Misconduct; Keeping Young People Connected to the Church; The Diaconate; Teaching in the Church: Witness in Society; and Internal Ecclesial Issues. Each of these subjects will require much more discussion and reflection, but we were grateful for the insights given us and the opportunity to talk with each other about things affecting every diocese and parish. We also heard reports from some of the groups whose Christian work has been endorsed by SCOBA: The Orthodox Peace Fellowship; Zoe for Life; The Fellowship of the Transfiguration; Project Mexico; and The Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion (OCAMPR). At the May meeting of the SCOBA Hierarchs, composed of the Primates of each of our member bodies, the question was raised of the diversity of Canonical and Pastoral practices within and among the Orthodox traditions in North America. This is a difficult and delicate matter. The Orthodox Church present throughout the world has responded to the actual situations in a variety of ways, as it has lived the truth of the Gospel within its canonical framework. In those places, the diversity of world-wide Orthodoxy presents little if any difficult. Here, in our context, this diversity of practice is interpreted by some as a perceived disunity. The SCOBA Hierarchs decided to refer this very important question to our gathering, the Bishops Conference. We recommended to the SCOBA Hierarchs that they establish a Commission on Canonical and Pastoral Issues. This Commission will allow thoughtful and prayerful examination of the issues and challenges of our different traditions, looking toward bringing coherence and unity to our expression of Orthodoxy. At the same time, it is our strong feeling that each of us, and our clergy and faithful, must respect and honor the legitimate differences that exist within our one Church. We give thanks to our good and loving Lord for the gift of this time together, strengthened by the prayers of our beloved clergy and faithful all across North America. We look forward to the future, committed to building on the work we have done here. As we closed our work, we gathered together for the Holy Eucharist, partaking of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect sign of our unity. This experience renews us and reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above, from Him who is the Father of lights. Glory to God who offers us this opportunity to witness to Him! Glory to Him who is always with us and upholds us! Glory to Him who breathes life into all that is! Signatories to this communique are the twenty-eight hierarchs (representing the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Orthodox Church in America, Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada, Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA) who were in attendance at the 3rd SCOBA Bishops Conference held in Chicago, Illinois, October 3-6, Present from and representing the Antiochian Archdiocese were His Grace BASIL, Bishop of Wichita and the Diocese of Mid-America; His Grace THOMAS, Bishop of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic; and His Grace MARK, Bishop of Toledo and the Diocese of the Midwest. STATEMENT CONCERNING RECENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE The Bishops Conference convened by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), which met in Chicago, IL, from October 3-6, 2006, issued the following statement: We express our sincere concern over the ever-increasing acts of violence that have been perpetrated in the schools of this nation. We call upon all civil and religious leaders to address this evil that has caused these tragic incidents. We especially bemoan the loss of innocence of the youth of this nation who have been the target of this violence. We express our heartfelt sympathy to the victims and to their families and offer our prayers to the All-mighty God for those involved. Finally, we pray for the eternal rest of those who lost their lives in these tragic acts of senseless violence. The Word 27

28 department of planning and future development WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY Leave a Lasting Legacy for Orthodoxy I am very proud to be an Arab-American and a member of the Holy Orthodox Christian Faith. That s why I easily decided to leave a legacy gift through my will, both to my local parish(es) and to The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Why not consider joining me by doing the same at this time? Like many of you, I was born into the Orthodox Church. When I was growing up at St. George in Charleston, West Virginia, my late grandfather, George Mitchell Haddad, told us how he came to West Virginia via Ellis Island from Syria. He arrived in the United States in 1901, the very day President McKinley was assassinated. Imagine how he felt, not being able to speak a word of English, but determined to make a better life for his family. Orthodoxy sustained him. He passed the legacy of responsibility to his son. My late father, Freddie Duke Haddad, Sr., shared a quiet faith. He was not a letter writer; yet one day while I was in college in 1971, I received a letter that I still retain. Dad said that he was proud of me and that I always needed to believe in God, family and country, in that order. Having fought in World War II with distinction, Dad was also proud to be an Orthodox Christian. I still feel my father s inspiration to promote Orthodoxy, carried on today by my wonderful mother, Betty Haddad Campbell, in Charleston. My father s words and deeds remind me of the Venerable St. Job of Anzera, who showed amazing love for others. He actively helped all those in need, showing concern for those who suffer. St. Job constantly asked Our Lord for mercy. Because of his tremendous example of love and caring through his life, God revealed to him the exact time of his coming death. Leave a Lasting Legacy for Orthodoxy While we do not know when our lives will end, I take comfort in knowing at that moment in time, I will be leaving a legacy through my will that will benefit other Orthodox Christians, known and unknown to me. Why did I create a will to benefit Orthodoxy and why should you consider this? * I am able to support my local church and national ministry plus promote God s work * I can provide resources that the Church can use to help in many ways * I can reduce estate taxes * I can legally provide for my wife and children plus charities * I created a simple financial plan for my family members who do not have a background in finance * I can, if I so desire, promote a lasting memorial to those via memory eternal * I am thankful that I will have an ongoing relationship with my Church after I fall asleep in the Lord * I hope my actions provide an incentive for others to follow, regardless of amount given * If I so desire, I can provide income to the Church and family through my estate plan * I feel grateful knowing I made a much larger gift using my will than I could ever make while living and making a current gift * I found that creating my will was easy, inexpensive and the right thing to do At this time, I prayerfully ask you to join me in promoting Orthodoxy through creating a will. If you have already created your will, please take the thoughtful step of designating your local parish(es) and the Antiochian Archdiocese in your will. Monies will be used wisely for many projects, including local church priorities, Missions and Evangelism, Christian Education, Youth Ministry, Clergy Insurance and Retirement, Youth Camping Programs, Seminarians, and humanitarian causes. If you have not yet made a will, please do so at this time, if for no other reason than it will benefit your family! A will is just a piece of paper that speaks for you after you pass away. This paper includes your wishes and follows your directions. An attorney can usually create a simple will in a matter of minutes. Without it, families may be affected for years. A will is a legally binding instrument of the law. Sadly, the majority of Orthodox Christians do not have a will. This may be due to a lack of understanding, a fear of discussing the topic of death, or believing their gifts would not make a difference. If everyone realized that the least wealthy parishioner in your church could make a very significant gift to the church just by donating their home through their will, it would be amazing to see how many additional dollars could 28 The Word

29 be obtained to assist future generations! Look around in church on Sunday and see how many children could benefit through this simple, kind act of philanthropy. You can affect the future of your church through your love of Jesus Christ and by making a bequest. Your support is needed and much appreciated. The size of the gift is not important. What is important is having a great number of our faithful come forth and participate in this endeavor. May God bless you and your families for considering this request. Dr. Freddie Duke Haddad, Jr., has been a member of the St. George Parish in Indianapolis, Indiana for 18 years. His family includes his wife, Cindy, son Freddie Duke III ( Chip ), daughter Shannon, daughter-in-law Jamie and grandson, Bryant Duke. A development professional for 31 years, Duke is Vice-President of Development for the Children s Medical Center of Dayton, Ohio and a valued member of the Development Com mittee of the Archdiocese. He is a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch and strives to practice servant leadership every day. For information on how you can Leave a Lasting Legacy for Orthodoxy, make a planned gift, a bequest or donate to the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, please contact: Ruth Ann Skaff, Director of Planning & Future Development development@antiochian.org LEGAL NAME: ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF NORTH AMERICA 358 Mountain Road Englewood, NJ Please use this name in all wills, deeds and written documents designating a gift or bequest to the Archdiocese. The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is chartered as a religious corporation by the State of New York, and recognized as a organization by the IRS. 3rd Annual DOWAMA Parish Life Conference Host Parish: Ss. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church, Topeka, KS Presiding Hierarch: Bishop BASIL June 14-17, 2007 Keynote Speaker: H. Tristram Engelhardt, Ph.D., M.D. Host Priest: Rev. Fr. Joseph Longofono The Capitol Plaza Hotel is holding a block of guest rooms at the special rate of $88 per night. (800) Call by May 29, 2007 to reserve your room and reference PAUL for special rate. or plc2007@peterandpaul.net The Community of St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church invites you to join us for the 54th Annual Diocese of Ottawa Parish Life Conference Syracuse, New York June 28-July 1, 2007 At the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center in Downtown Syracuse Conference Features Free Parking Free trip to Carousel Mall Friday Night Party Saturday Night Hafli Sheraton Syracuse University and Conference Center 801 University Avenue, Syracuse, New York (315) Toll Free (800) Fax (315) Reservations Book before May 29, 2007 to lock the special room rate of $99 (US) per night From the fascinating Erie Canal parks to our terrific fishing, gorgeous lakes and numerous scenic parks, to our wide variety of performing and visual arts, Syracuse is a city that has it all! Check out all Syracuse has to offer at or at our website Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Fr. Terence Baz, Pastor 4988 Onondaga Road, Syracuse, New York Telephone Church (315) Telephone Office (315) Fax (315) steliasny@aol.com Web Site: The Word 29

30 St. John the Divine Oratorical Festival Judges Choice Mira Yazigi Dioceses of New York and Washington, D.C./ Oakland, PA and the East Your Grace Bishop THOMAS, Reverend Clergy, Honored Guests, Brothers and Sisters in Christ. As I look out my bedroom window, I see a little furry animal in the middle of the street. Up ahead, I see and hear the lights and sounds of an approaching car. Look out!!! I continue to gaze at the confused animal. It has no idea whether it should run to the sidewalk on its left or the one on its right. I think to myself, why isn t this little creature running to safety? Left sidewalk or right sidewalk, it doesn t matter as long as it lives. And yet I felt that left or right did matter to the little squirrel. As the car approached the fuzzy animal and came to an abrupt stop, the squirrel ran straight down the middle of the street until it disappeared into the woods. Even though I was in the safety of my bedroom, I somehow felt that I too could be, in times, in the middle of the street trying to decide which sidewalk to run to. I presume that I sometimes felt this way because I truly was in a sense of confusion. I live in a world where I must choose my way of life. Like the squirrel in the middle of the street I must choose which sidewalk to run to for safety, the left or right. Both are very appealing, causing even more confusion. The left sidewalk sucks me into its realm of materialism and easiness. The left sidewalk is the easy way of life; the way of life in which no one has control over me. On the left, I live my life for myself and myself alone. I worry about nothing and conform to the left s way of life. I do what I want when I want and I think of no one when I do it. I have no constraints and no morals. On the right, however, I live for God and his teachings. I try and lead a life that resembles that of Christ s. I love my neighbor as myself and I work hard to comfort others. When I sin, I ask God for His forgiveness and mercy. I live by the standards of the Orthodox Church. On the right sidewalk, I am under the protection of our Lord, for I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). I stand in the middle of the street pondering which side to turn to. Pressure from the left side weighs down upon my shoulders. Sometimes I feel if I give in to the pressure, the weight will disappear and I would be relieved from it. On the other hand, the right side welcomes me in comfort and lightness. I feel no pressure and no stress. Clearly the right side is where I belong. Nevertheless, as a teenager living in today s society, the left side is very tempting and persuasive. Alone I am lost and helpless. With guidance and love I can find my way to God. The prophet Joel once spoke these words, And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17). Today I repeat them, trying to understand their meaning and do as they tell me. I have tried to understand the things God tells me on my own, but the seemingly easy task is very difficult. On my own, I can not learn and demonstrate the meaning of these words or any other words. I need help and encouragement. But where and to whom do I turn to for help, my friends, my school or the one place where I have been loved from the day of my birth, the 30 The Word

31 Church? With the help of the Church, I can lead a life that God approves of. OK, I have made a decision. I will run to the right sidewalk and stay there until God calls for me. That wasn t so bad. Not too hard. And yes, if it isn t that hard why am I then walking straight down the middle of the street? Turn right, turn right!! It s no use, the left has entered my head. It tells me Why should I lead a life to please a Spirit I have never seen? Nothing will matter after I die. Why not just live and enjoy my life? NO!! I refuse to listen to such wickedness any longer! I live this life now. But when I die, my soul needs a place to stay, a peaceful, loving place in the presence of God. That is why I live now, to obtain eternal life later with God. On the left sidewalk, I can not obtain eternal life because my present life will not be what God wants. On the right, however, I can. Leading a faithful life will help me be prepared for the Day of Judgment when God opens the gates of heaven to all those who have lived lives in the reflection of Christ s. However, being prepared is not an easy task. It takes a lot of work, time, and dedication. Just like my inability to choose which way of life I want alone, I cannot prepare myself alone either. Christ once spoke the parable of the ten virgins. According to Henry George Bohn, Wise people learn by other s mistakes, fools learn by their own. Having heard this parable many times, I have learned from the mistake of the five foolish virgins. I must be like the five wise virgins who were prepared for the coming of the bridegroom. The Church can help me prepare myself. Teen SOYO is one of the many parts of the Church that has helped me prepare myself. Teen SOYO has taught me to live in the image of Christ. As a Teen SOYO member, I have experienced situations I never thought existed around me. For example, poverty is a major issue in this country. It just never occurred to me that it could be so close. One of the Teen SOYO activities that helped me realize that poverty is not thousands of miles from my home is the yearly visit to a big metropolitan city. I never once imagined poverty, hunger, and homelessness to be so widespread in that area. We all watch television, whether it s the news or a favorite TV series; and everything we watch has commercials. One of the many commercials that I always see is the one with the innocent poverty-stricken children. They live without food, water, shelter, and clothing. They look unhappy, cold, hungry and dirty. Never once in my life did I imagine actually seeing, in person, children and people in such a state. What I didn t imagine seeing, I truly did see in the streets of the city while passing out sandwiches, coats, hats, and gloves to people and children who looked exactly like those seen on commercials. I thanked God over and over because all the good things I had in my life were from above. I felt heartbroken and sad for the people on the streets; and yet at the same time I felt good about myself. I was doing what God wanted me to do. I was feeding the hungry, giving water to those who were thirsty, I was clothing the naked, and I loved my neighbor as God has loved me. Teen SOYO allowed me to do all that is stated in the book of Matthew, chapter 25 verses This section of the Bible contains the Judgment of Works. It tells me what I should do in order to be judged highly in the eyes of God. Teen SOYO has given me a chance to do the things that God wants those whom He will place on his right to do. Through Teen SOYO, I am able to physically prepare myself. However, I need spiritual preparation also. I consider myself to be very blessed. While many parishes have one priest, I am blessed with two. If one priest is unavailable for whatever reason, there is always another priest I can fall back on in times of trouble. My priests are another part of the Church that has helped me prepare myself. While Teen SOYO is a physical preparation, my priests help me prepare spiritually. Through church services, communion, and confession I can cleanse myself of all my sins. The Church is always there for me, to prepare me, help me solve my problems, and support me. John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, said, Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. Today, I look at that quote and I can see it pertaining to the Church. I need to start helping the Church rather than dwelling only on what the Church can do for me. The Church needs my support in the same way I need it. My helping the Church is another way for me to prepare myself. The Church needs to send an image of love and kindness into today s society. When a new family comes to the church and I welcome them and show them how kind our God is, they in turn do the same for another family. Love and kindness are contagious, they spread from one person to another. I should not be the kink in this chain, but a link that holds together two forces no one imagined could be brought together. As all these thoughts were racing through my head, I saw the little squirrel again. This time, however, it wasn t confused; rather it knew exactly what it wanted, for the light of God had opened up its closed eyes and it was proudly walking down the right sidewalk. I then found myself actually walking down the right sidewalk with no recollection of ever leaving my room. Suddenly I heard my mother s voice. It seemed very distant and far away. Was I dreaming? Was it all a dream? It couldn t The Word 31

32 have been! It all felt so real; the squirrel, my confusion, everything. This dream was a picture, a vision, of what I was subconsciously feeling. My feelings were so real that whether it was all a dream or not didn t matter. God communicates with people in many different ways, and He communicated to me through this dream. I stand upon a rock with a strong faith, the same rock that Christ spoke of, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). The closer I am to God, the more connected I will be to Him. I know the Holy Spirit lives in the Church, and I experience Him every Sunday. I have to believe, with all my heart, that the Spirit of Pentecost can perform miracles through me, a child of Christ. Mira Yazigi is a member of St. George Church, Little Falls, NJ. archdiocesan office ORDAINED OLSON, Subdeacon Paul (Ronald) by Bishop JOSEPH to the holy diaconate at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA, on December 3, He is assigned to that parish. MAKOUL, Deacon Demetrius (Joshua) by Bishop THOMAS to the holy priesthood at St. George, Allentown, PA, on December 17, He is attached to that parish. IBRAHIM, Subdeacon Michael by Bishop ANTOUN to the holy diaconate on December 24, 2006 at St. George Church, Little Falls, NJ. He is attached to that parish. ROGERS, Subdeacon John (Joshua) by Bishop JOSEPH to the holy diaconate on December 25, 2006, at St. John Cathedral, Eagle River, AK. APPOINTED HAAS, Father Mark as proestamenos of St. James Brother-of-the Lord, Fort Collins, CO. DECEASED KARPELENIA, Father Basil, formerly of St. George, Houston, TX and retired in Tampa, FL, fell asleep in Christ December 3, MEMORY ETERNAL! He is survived by Khouriye Loretta, to whom condolences may be sent at Glenmont - Tampa, FL DEPOSED The former Archpriest Dale Autrey, effective December 15, The former Archpriest Basil Hartung, effective December 15, The former Priest Mark Cranor, effective December 15, Donations to The WORD Rose M. Wolochowicz $20.00 Maria Zarr Mary Pallas Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mansor Jamilee Aoude Mr. and Mrs. William Shamoun Mr. George Jabbour Isabelle Hakim Norman Arbeeny Mrs. Sally Takla Samira Deeb Ms. Mary Jane McCoul Ms. Helen Fackre George Salloum Jule M. Solomon Katherine Kouri Massad Sandy Thomas and Family Dimitri and Mary Chaber Rosa Khoury Sam Newey family Dr. and Mrs. Sammy H. Kouri Nicola M. Antakli Philip A. Ayoub 32 The Word

33 Fr. Matthew invites the congregation to Communion. Subdeacon Karl Michael Bundy is at Fr. Matthew s left, Fr. Les Bundy at his right and thurifer Reader Peter Pomeroy in front. St. Columba Lafayette, CO The last week in October 2006 marked a visit by His Grace Bishop BASIL to the Antiochian Orthodox parishes of the Rocky Mountain Deanery, in the greater Denver area of Colorado. The concluding weekend of this visit was an especially joyful one for St. Columba Orthodox Church in Lafayette, Colorado, where His Grace s visit to our parish began with a Solemn Festival Evensong on Saturday night. The Choir of St. Columba s and organist/choirmaster Rdr. Clement Price led the assembled congregation in hymns, canticles and Psalms. The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, as well as Psalms 136, 137 and 138, were all sung in Anglican chant with organ accompaniment. The Anglican chants for the canticles and Psalm 137 were composed by St. Columba s member Dean Huff. The festivities continued Sunday morning in His Grace s presence with the Western Rite Divine Liturgy of St. Tikhon. At the Liturgy, His Grace marked a highly significant moment in our parish history, elevating our founding Pastor, Fr. Lester Michael Bundy, to the dignity of Archpriest. At Fr. Les side His Grace Bishop BASIL preaches the homily. was his wife, Khouriye Sue Bundy. Also standing with him were other family members, including son Subdeacon Karl Michael Bundy and wife Laura, daughter Lisa Cover and husband Subdeacon Ben Paul Cover, son John communities in action Bundy and the Bundy s grandchildren. His Grace thanked not only Fr. Les for his many years of faithful service, but also the entire Bundy family for the many personal sacrifices they made to enable and strengthen Fr. Les in his ministry. Fr. Les retirement from the Pastorate of St. Columba s, and from his position as Professor of Religious Studies at Denver s Regis University, cap a remarkable era of growth for St. Columba s. Starting out in a converted garage, the fledgling mission progressed under Fr. Les leadership to a barn, then to rented storefront quarters (formerly the jail!) in Old Town Lafayette, and finally to the recently constructed temple at a highly visible intersection on Colorado Highway 7, located near booming residential developments and Interstate 25. Fr. Les remains canonically attached Fr. Les, Bishop BASIL and Fr. Matthew to the Holy Table at St. Columba s. As he does on most Sundays, Fr. Les served as Deacon at the Divine Liturgy, as is permitted under the rubrics of the Western Rite for parishes that currently have no Deacon. Among Fr. Les many notable contributions to St. Columba s is the reredos iconography, above the Altar. A large icon of Christ in Majesty is surrounded by icons of four Angels, each bearing a book with the symbol of one of the four Evangelists. The row of icons just above the altar commemorates various saints of the ancient Orthodox British Isles, with our patron, St. Columba, in the center icon. Fr. Les strove to emulate the Romanesque style of iconography, as is appropriate to the Western Rite, basing the Christ in Majesty and Angel icons on surviving Romanesque originals in the Church of San Clemente, Tahull, Lerida, Spain, the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Copford, England, and the Torpo Stave Church in Hallingdal Valley, Norway. In honor of Fr. Les retirement and his completion of the reredos icons in May 2006, St. Columba s member Dean Huff composed a new hymn tune, Bundy, to the text Stars of the The Word 33

34 Morning, translated by John Mason Neale. This hymn was sung at Divine Liturgy. One eagerly anticipated aspect of His Grace s visits to St. Columba s is always the homily. This particular occasion was no exception. Since this particular Sunday marked the Feast of Christ the King in the Western Rite calendar, His Grace stirred our hearts with his account of Christ our Humble King, reminding us in an unforgettable way that the very Hands that created the Universe ( without Him was not anything made that was made, from the Gospel of St. John) were the same Hands that our Humble King stretched out and allowed his Roman executioners to nail to the wood of the Holy Cross. His Grace also noted how this humility has never changed, so that in our own time, insults and contempt that continue to be hurled at Christ our True God by some are met with patient endurance, grace and unfathomable love. Bishop BASIL drew a sharp contrast between this eternal humility and the demands of a false god that his followers riot in the streets or commit gruesome murders over, for example, a quote from a medieval Byzantine emperor or a cartoon in a Danish newspaper. The Divine Liturgy of St. Tikhon continued with our new priest, Fr. Matthew Thurman, as the celebrant. Fr. Matthew is a recent graduate of Holy Cross Seminary in Boston, and comes to us with his wife, Khouriye Rachel, and their young son, Benjamin. Fr. Matthew brings to us a fresh energy and determination to grow the Parish, both spiritually and numerically. Here he invites the people to receive the Body and Blood of Christ with the words, Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him that taketh away the sins of the world. At the end of the Liturgy, we were blessed to witness the induction of one of our own, Lyle Ignatius Marti, into the Order of St. Ignatius, by His Grace Bishop BASIL, sponsored by Rex Moore of St. Peter s Orthodox Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Moore, who is Chairman of the Order of St. Ignatius for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, accompanied His Grace on the visit to Colorado to speak with Parish Councils and others about the work of the Order. After the Liturgy, His Grace joined members of the parish for a potluck lunch in our Parish Hall, which is really the balcony. Under the leadership of Fr. Matthew, rejoicing in the ministry of Fr. Les, and with great gratitude for the loving oversight of His Grace Bishop BASIL, St. Columba s looks forward with faith, hope and anticipation to a new era of growth in the service of Christ our True God and Savior. Dear to Christ, Beloved Fathers, Brothers and Sisters: Blessings! Most sincere thanks for the many Name s Day greetings which were conveyed to me on January 1st by mail, , fax and telephone, and for the hundreds of generous gifts made on that occasion to the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America s Bishop Basil Missions Endowment Fund. May this New Year be filled with profound peace and exceeding great joy for you, your families and your congregations. Assuring you of my continued love, prayers and blessings, I remain In the Theanthropos Jesus Christ, +BASIL Bishop of Wichita and the Diocese of Mid-America Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Beloved in Christ: I want to thank everyone who sent expressions of love and prayers for good health on January 17th, the feast day of my patron saint, Saint Anthony The Great (and also my birthday). These are all greatly appreciated. Please be assured of my continuing prayers for all of you, your loved ones, and your communities. In Christ, +ANTOUN Bishop of Miami and The Southeast Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America 34 The Word

35 Join the Order of St. Ignatius Have a heart. It s good for the soul. St. Theophan the Recluse said this about the Path to Salvation, just as friction causes warmth, so do good works warm the heart. The Order of St. Ignatius is involved in many good works. With God as our strength, there is no limit to what we can achieve. Join The Order and help your archdiocese, your parish, your community and the world. Learn more about The Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Call , theorder@antiochian.org or return this slip to: The Order 358 Mountain Road Englewood, NJ Yes, I want more information about The Order Name: Address: Phone: 2/07 The Word 35

36 THE WORD 358 Mountain Road PO Box 5238 Englewood, NJ Periodical postage paid at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church Montreal, Canada Welcomes You To The 48 th Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Convention July 23-29, Convention and accommodations at Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Montreal. Break those Winter Blues start planning your trip to Montreal! Here are some activities that should be on your list of things to do! Stroll through the historic streets of Old Montreal it s as if you traveled back in time! Climb the steps of the majestic St. Joseph s Oratory, located at the base of Mount Royal Walk along St. Denis Street and stop in at a café for a taste of Montreal living Drive up Mount Royal and stop at the lookout to view the city in its full splendor Book a boat cruise along the St. Laurent River, under the starry sky Take in one of the many cultural offerings, including the Fireworks Competition or the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts For more information on Montreal, or to register for the Convention on-line, book your hotel room*, access the schedule of events and get information on the souvenir journal, visit: Travel tip: We know we ve said it before, but we feel we need to mention it again! As of January 2007, the U.S. government requires citizens traveling to and from Canada to present a valid passport. For more information, visit See you soon! *Hotel reservations can also be made by calling the Sheraton at