I wish to welcome Fr. Vasili to the world of blogging. You can read his posts here. It is nice to see another Orthodox priest blogging.
Doctor
If you follow me on twitter you know I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow up to my stay in hospital. You also were able to follow the fact that I waited 2 yes 2 hours to see the doctor. Talk about stress!
Well my cholesterol is up, way up, and I am what is called pre-diabetic. So I have some life style changes to make. Some I have already made and I will be making more. I have been put on medication to bring my level down because it was so high. I have already made changes to my diet and will be making more. I will be exercising more and maybe even get back to running. Yes I used to be a runner. I spent 12 1/2 years in the military how could I not run. It seemed we ran everywhere.
So that is the update. I am thinking of doing a series of podcasts and articles on clergy health and what we do to relax, if anything. So any of you clergy out there who read this, would you like to participate? If so drop me a line.
Gentlemen
Last night I watched Barack Obama give his acceptance speech in Colorado. Next week I will watch John McCain do the same thing. From an oratory prospective I think he did a good job. He did lay out some of his vision but we need to understand that he will not reveal all. Remember the George Bush Read My Lips thing. It was also not as what’s the word I am looking for, flashy as I thought it was going to be. Now, I have not listened to any of the so called spin doctors or the fair and balanced people, I am Self-Ruled, and make up my own mind. If you search around the internet you can find the speech and read it for yourself without anyone else telling you what it said.
I thought it was nice that Obama thanked McCain for his service and really did not slam him as I thought he was going to do. And when it was all over McCain released an ad congratulating him. WOW! Maybe we are going to see a civil campaign season ahead of us. That would be nice.
We have a big decision to make in November and one that we need to study and think about. I will say this again. Read the words of the candidates and not what someone else says they said. Make up your own mind and do not let anyone who is fair and balanced or not make it up for you. It only takes a few minutes to read their own words.
I will put links on the side bar to both candidates official webpages and make it easy for you to find them. So surf on over there and read for yourself.
So now we wait for the big announcement today on who McCain is going to pick as his VP. I hope he makes a choice not so much to help him win but one that will help him govern. The other thing we need keep in mind no matter who wins in November he will be President and we need to support him and give him a chance. Remember they are only human and they, like us, are flawed and will make mistakes.
Obama
You may not like his politics but I could not help but get a tear in my eye when Sen. Obama was nominated by the democrat party yesterday. The camera panned around the room to all of the people of color and they were very emotional. You know it was not that long ago that someone like Sen. Obama could not drink from the same water fountain as I could. America we have come a long way! Not matter what happens in November we have made history.
Last Few Days
The last few days have been busier than normal around here. It seems that things run in a cycle and I am in the busy one right now. Meetings, small trips, writing and the like have all seemed to come together to steal my time away.
Today I have a follow up doctors appointment and then a meeting. The afternoon looks a little free so maybe I can sneak outside again and read as I did yesterday. I also need to get some work done in the church that needs to be done before the weekend. And I need a haircut! So we shall see what happens.
New Orleans
As we approach the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Friday it seem wild that another hurricane is on its way to the area. Let us remember the people of the Gulf Coast on our prayers this weekend as they prepare for what could be another devastation. Let us also remember those who are still trying to clean up from Katrina.
Shepherd of Souls Episode #25
Episode # 25 is now online and in the feed. Hope you enjoy!
The Waushakum Live Steamers
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending a one of a kind event. The Waushakum Live Steamers meet in Holliston, Massachusetts.
These guys, and gals, have built to scale steam engines that you ride on! It was fantastic! Check out their website for pictures of what they do.
I was invited by Fr. Jay Finelli, aka the iPadre and I am glad I made the trip. I took Onchu with me and we rode the trains.
Nice relaxing days!
Church 2.0
If you are reading this post then you have some idea of what Church 2.0 is all about. This is the concept of the church using what has been called the new media, blogs, podcasts, etc. Any internet search will bring many examples of this including this blog. My question is this, why is it that the orthodox church has taken part in this new media?
Okay we have the Orthodox Christian Network and Ancient Faith Radio and some priests do have blogs, but I do not believe that one of our bishops has any sort of out reach at all into the internet and this needs to change! Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston was the first blogging cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church and if he can do it, as busy as he is, then our bishops can find time to do. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t picture Cardinal Sean blogging away as I am now but he ha someone who publishes his posts for him.
The generation coming of age right now is called the wired generation. We need to be able to reach them and the best format is to use the internet as they all do. I am surprised at the number of Orthodox Parishes that do not even have web pages! As Fr. Vasiliy Vasileivich, contributor to the Onion Dome would say, IS OUTRAGE!
I have said this before and I will say it again and again, if we are to be relevant we need to be relevant! Our clergy are not that busy that they cannot find time to post their homilies. For $125 one can purchase a recording device and record your homilies and post them on iTunes or on the web. We are loosing and need to regain ground that we have lost. This is not hard stuff!
All of the jurisdictions have website and each should have links to their parishes websites. If the parish does not have a website, the diocese should create one with nothing more than a picture of the church, the priests name, and service times so, God forbid, people might be able to find us!
Website design is very simple. I am sure there are teens in the church that could teach us. Reach out into your community and find someone who can do it for you. There are also the social networking sites like Facebook, twitter, plurk, ping and the like. These can be used for ministry purposes and they are FREE, an orthodox dream!
The church needs to use whatever tools it can to reach the generation that will be the leaders in the church. We need to keep them coming and keep them interested and involved. Yes it takes work but it needs to be done. Come on and admit it we are not that busy. We like to think we are but we have five minutes a day to post something like this. Okay it has taken me 10 because I ramble on.
Just do it!
Facing East #26
Episode #26 is now online and in the feed. I hope you enjoy!