The Diocese of the West supports many different charitable organizations each and every year. The four posted below are varied in what they do and whom they help, but all do wonderful work in helping those in need, which is why the diocese gives of its first fruits to them each and every year. Please explore their websites and consider giving to them yourself!
Charities
Diocese of Alaska
They are the mother diocese of the Orthodox Church in America. Their beginnings date back to the 18th century, when Catherine the Great of Russia sent monastic missionaries to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the native peoples of Alaska.
The Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20) remains the sole purpose of the diocese today. Through its seminary, the diocese prepares spiritually mature Orthodox Christian men for ordination to the Holy Diaconate and Priesthood. The seminary also provides the necessary theological, liturgical, and moral foundations nurturing various vocations. Therefore, the seminary curriculum is arranged to prepare readers, catechists, religious educators, and counselors, as well as deacons and priests.
The diocese along with the seminary have integrated the preservation of native Alaskan heritage with the Great Commission. Seminary students receive an introduction to Alaska native liturgical languages such as Yup’ik, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Unangan/Aleut, Tlingit and others. Introduction to conversational Yup’ik is also being offered. Church Slavonic, a rich part of the religious experience of the peoples of Alaska, is also being taught. The seminary will continue to expand its native language offerings as resources become available. They have a large number of Yup’ik, Tlingit, and Alutiiq texts. Click here to view.
The diocese is also committed to meeting the material needs of her flock. The Orthodox Care Network of Alaska is a program that enables anyone to help provide for the basic needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ across the state.
Diocese of Mexico
The diocese had its origins in the Mexican National Catholic Church that was a Mexican reactionary movement away from the colonialist Spanish Roman Catholic Church. The Mexican church was led by Bishop Jose (Cortes y Olmos) of Mexico City. Leading his church to Orthodox Christianity, he petitioned the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, in 1971, for acceptance into the Orthodox Church. The church, of some 10,000 persons, was accepted as an exarchate by the Holy Synod in 1972, and Bp. Jose was consecrated as its first bishop. After Bp. Jose’s death the diocese remained without an administrator until the consecration of Archimandrite Alejo (Pacheco-Vera) as the new Administrator/Bishop of Mexico City on May 28, 2005.
On October 16, 2008, the Synod of Bishops of the OCA elected His Grace, Bishop Alejo as the ruling Bishop of Mexico City and the Exarchate of Mexico. The previous Exarch of Mexico was Archbishop Dmitri (Royster) (also archbishop of the Diocese of the South), who played an active part in the acceptance of Bp. Jose’s group into Orthodoxy and the establishment of the exarchate. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, the exarchate became a diocese of the OCA.
Gobezie-Goshu Home
The Gobezie-Goshu Home in Ethiopia is a ministry to help the abandoned and destitute elderly, the disabled, and the children of Adwa, Ethiopia. GGHE is a faith-based 501(c)3 nonprofit founded by Tsige-Roman Gobezie and based in Santa Maria, California.
What began as one woman’s dream to be able to feed and provide shelter for a few destitute elderly in 2003, has now grown into a ministry that provides for nearly 60 formerly destitute and homeless residents. In 2005 the main residence was completed and was able to house up to 60 adults. A school started with about 20 children from the town of Adwa and has now grown to over 1,500 children in an attempt to provide a private pre-K to 1st grade education for them to help prepare for their traditional, government-provided schooling. The ministry continues to grow each year. The vision is to create a self-sustaining community that provides food, shelter and basic necessities, however, at the present time your generous gifts are what support this humanitarian effort. Unlike many charitable organizations, the Home has no administrative costs deducted from contributions; this means that 100% of all donations go to helping the people GGHE serves.
Project Mexico
Building homes since 1988, Project Mexico’s impact is now visible in the modest stucco homes embedded into the dusty hillside of our neighboring communities. Project Mexico has built more than 200 homes in Baja California, the majority of which are located in a single community. For an impoverished family, a new home means that after a rainstorm they will no longer step out of bed into knee deep mud. Instead, during the three month-long rainy season, families have the ability to keep their young children warm and dry with a cement floor and a weather-tight house. Project Mexico aims to be a catalyst for families, providing a physical foundation so that their modest earnings can be spent on education, groceries, and perhaps electricity. The families we build for know that they will forever be part of our Project Mexico family and in that we hope they know the Lord is ever-present with them.
The volunteer experience at Project Mexico is one that has been profoundly affecting people of all ages for 25 years. Coming from wealthy countries where potable water, electricity, and paved roads are commonplace, our volunteers are often humbled by the third-world conditions they experience in Mexico. Our one-week long mission trips have led many of our volunteers to dedicate their lives to serving those in need, both in the States and abroad. We continue to encourage new volunteers to serve the Lord through our ministry.
Orthodox Christians for Life
Orthodox Christians for Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing the Orthodox community to live out the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life by joining the movement to save babies and support women in crisis pregnancies. We do this through helping parishes to form affiliated pro-life groups that pray, educate, and serve, equipping Orthodox Christians with practical pro-life resources, contributing a peaceful, prayerful presence at pro-life marches and outside abortion facilities, and building a bridge between the Orthodox community and the broader pro-life movement.