An Article has appeared in today’s version of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about the conference taking place this week here in PA. The reporter stayed all day at the conference and then she was there at the evening session as well. Great article. I have posted the link below.
The Road to Unity
Well I was going to live blog the event but it did not quite work out that way. I it is hard to summarize the meetings that took place today other than to say there is a great deal of optimism here for something to happen soon to unify the orthodox here in the US.
Tonight at dinner Metropolitan Jonah of the OCA spoke about unity from a bishops perspective. One thing he said that just glared out at me was the following statement. “Nothing is more important the remaining in communion with the entire Orthodox Church.” For me that says it all. If we cannot have communion it is game over.
That’s all for tonight I will try again in the morning but I am fried.
I have Arrived
Well I arrived last night but this is the first chance I have had to blog. What a journey to get here. Ten hours on the road through wind and rain and fog and dark of night. One wrong turn and I managed to arrive without incident.
I have this GPS system, I call her Margaret, and like most women in my life she likes to tell me where to go… LOL Anyway, she had me get off the highway onto a state road, nice road through some towns and what not. Then she had me turn and the road ended. So I got on the highway but I was going in the wrong direction and it was 30 miles before the next exit. Who says there are no open spaces left in the US. So I turned around and went back. Not too bad it did not throw me too far off.
So here we are for the next few days to meet and talk about Orthodox Unity. I will try and post nightly on what is going on or you can follow me on Twitter if that makes life easier. Just click the little box down below.
Off to breakfast!
Off to the Village
I am leaving in a few hours for an 8 hour drive to the Antiochian Village where I will be taking part in a conference called “The Road to Unity – From Vision to Action” sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Laity. Should be a good conference as long as we leave with some plans and not just another time for people to talk and do nothing.
I am presenting on Youth but more specifically using Social Media in the Church to keep in touch with the youth in the Church. I heard, some years back, that less than 17% of our college age people return to the church after graduation. For the most part it is because there was no Orthodox presence on campus or the closest Orthodox Church was too far away to get too. So they stop going or they start to attend another church. In the end we loose them and they lose their faith.
Metr. Jonah of the OCA spoke some months back about his vision for Orthodoxy in America. He laid out a plan that included Orthodox houses on major college campuses around the country. This is extremely important I think. A recent census of Orthodox students in Boston pegs the number somewhere around 10,000 and i am sure the other big cities are the same. We need to fix this problem. We need houses and churches near major universities to begin and then work form there.
If you are an Orthodox Priest and reading this, or a lay person in leadership in your church, as yourself this question. Is there a college campus near the church? If yes, what are you doing to reach out to the campus? Do you know if there is a chaplain on campus of any faith? If not become that chaplain. Reach out to the students you just might be surprised.
Shepherd of Souls
As you know, dear readers, I host a weekly syndicated radio program/podcast called Shepherd of Souls. I am proud to say that this program is part of the Ancient Faith Radio family. The other day I received an email with some stats on the program from the AFR website. This is where the listeners of the program happen to come from.USA
Canada
Bahamas
Portugal
Thailand
New Zealand
Australia
Russian Federation
Oman
United Kingdom
Germany
Sweden
Finland
Romania
Poland
Slovakia
China
Austria
United Arab Emirates
Canada
Bahamas
Portugal
Thailand
New Zealand
Australia
Russian Federation
Oman
United Kingdom
Germany
Sweden
Finland
Romania
Poland
Slovakia
China
Austria
United Arab Emirates
One of the most interesting stats is the one that tells me what cities people are from who listen. I find it very interesting that the top city where my listeners come from is Durham, North Carolina. Second is Whitesburg, Tennessee and third is Raleigh, North Carolina. Looks like I am popular in the South. The 20th most popular city for listeners is Hanscom Air Force Base right here in Massachusetts. My own town of Southbridge is not on the list. Guess they get enough of me on Sunday.
So to my faithful listeners THANKS!
Inspiration
Here is a little inspiration on a cold wet Tuesday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI]
25 October ~ St Tabitha the Widow, raised from the dead by the Apostle Peter
Saint Tabitha, the widow raised from the dead by the Apostle Peter, was a virtuous and kindly woman, belonged to the Christian community in Joppa. Being grievously ill, she suddenly died. At the time, the Apostle Peter was preaching at Lydda, not far from Joppa. Messengers were sent to him with an urgent request for help. When the Apostle arrived at Joppa, Tabitha was already dead. On bended knee, St Peter made a fervent prayer to the Lord. Then he went to the bed and called out, “Tabitha, get up!” She arose, completely healed (Acts 9:36).
St Tabitha is considered the patron saint of tailors and seamstresses, since she was known for sewing coats and other garments (Acts 9:39).
23 October ~ James the Apostle, brother of Our Lord
According to some, this Saint was a son of Joseph the Betrothed, born of the wife that the latter had before he was betrothed to the Ever-virgin. Hence he was the brother of the Lord, Who was also thought to be the son of Joseph (Matt. 13: 55). But some say that he was a nephew of Joseph, and the son of his brother Cleopas, who was also called Alphaeus and Mary his wife, who was the first cousin of the Theotokos. But even according to this genealogy, he was still called, according to the idiom of the Scriptures, the Lord’s brother because of their kinship.
This James is called the Less (Mark 15:4) by the Evangelists to distinguish him from James, the son of Zebedee, who was called the Great. He became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, elevated to this episcopal rank by the Apostles, according to Eusebius (Eccl. Hist., Book II: 23), and was called Obliah, that is, the Just, because of his great holiness and righteousness. Having ascended the crest of the Temple on the day of the Passover at the prompting of all, he bore testimony from there concerning his belief in Jesus, and he proclaimed with a great voice that Jesus sits at the right hand of the great power of God and shall come again upon the clouds of heaven. On hearing this testimony, many of those present cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” But the Scribes and Pharisees cried, “So, even the just one hath been led astray,” and at the command of Ananias the high priest, the Apostle was cast down headlong from thence, then was stoned, and while he prayed for his slayers, his head was crushed by the wooden club wielded by a certain scribe. The first of the Catholic (General) Epistles written to the Jews in the Diaspora who believed in Christ was written by this James.
Evangelism
I mentioned in my post on Trust that I am working with my parish council on recasting our vision. Like most things we are in a rut and need a little spark to get us moving again. Orthodoxy is this funny thing. During the Divine Liturgy we exclaim that we have found the true faith, but we really don’t want to tell anyone about it. Orthodox as a general rule are not good at evangelism. My feeling is this has to do with the fact that for years we had an endless supply of people coming from the Mother land and filling our churches. Well my church is 85 years old this year and no one is coming here from Romania or any other “traditional” Orthodox country. So what do we do.
Some of you who read this blog comment to me here or on facebook when I post something from Rick Warren or the other Evangelicals I read or listen too that we should not be listening to these folks. Well excuse me but I have never seen an Orthodox Church in the US with 10,000 people in it on a Sunday morning! I believe there are things we can learn from everyone. We are all in this ministry thing together and we can all learn lessons from others doing ministry.
I have been listening to this podcast from Andy Stanley. It is a podcast about leadership more specifically church leadership. Andy is the pastor of a large Evangelical Church in fact I think they have three churches and several church plants. He gives very piratical advice on how to lead your organization be it church or business. Yesterday whilst listening he said the following, “If you want to reach people no one else is reaching, then you have to do things no one else is doing!” Someone say AMEN!
Recently I read a survey that stated that less than 18% of people in the US attend church on Sunday. Okay using my town as an example, we have about 17,000 people here. 18% of that is 3,060 which means that 13,940 are home on Sunday morning. That is here in my town. Do the math and see what you come up with.
As Orthodox I think we think all we have to do is open the door of the church and people are going to flock in. Well I look out at the same faces each week and have not seen many new returning faces for a long time. So what is a priest to do? How do we get more folks into the church?
We need to take church where the people are. We, the clergy need to be seen in the community and need to be seen involved in the community. We need to train our folks to talk about their faith and yes invite people to come to church. If you ask any Evangelical pastor how to get people in the church they will tell you personal invitation is the best advertisement. That’s the secret we need our people to get excited about their church.
I am reading the Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren. He asks a question in the book about people asking folks to come to church. The question is, if people are not asking people to come to their church, what does that say about the church? Why are we not asking people to come to church? What is it about your church that stops you from asking people?
So back to the quote from Andy Stanley. What is it that no one else is doing? Well it will be different for each church. We need to find that one thing that will reach people, but the bug thing we need to do is pray. Pray for those people that God will send to your community. And we need to be open to what God is asking us to do with HIS church! That’s right, the church is not ours it is God’s. Let Him drive for awhile and see where He takes you. TRUST!
20th Sunday After Pentecost ~ St. Luke the Apostle
This Apostle was an Antiochean, a physician by trade, and a disciple and companion of Paul. He wrote his Gospel in Greek after Matthew and Mark, after which he wrote the Acts of the Apostles, and dedicated both works to Theophilus, who, according to some, was Governor of Achaia. He lived some eighty-six years and died in Achaia, perhaps in Patras, the capital of this district. His emblem is the calf, the third symbolical beast mentioned by Ezekiel (1:10), which is a symbol of Christ’s sacrificial and priestly office, as Saint Irenaeus says.
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
As a disciple of the Word of God, with Paul you illuminated all the earth and dispelled the gloom in writing Christ’s divine Gospel.