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by Fr. Andrew Jacobs
The Missionary District deanery of the Diocese of the West held its annual retreat on February 26-28 at Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church in Milwaukee, Oregon. Hosted by Archpriest Matthew Tate, Dean of the Missionary District, this retreat focused on a series of presentations by Fr. David Rucker, Associate Director of the Orthodox Christian Missions Center (OCMC), and himself an experienced Orthodox missionary.
With liturgical services, three sessions of Mission updates, liturgical services, Fr. David’s presentations, and very good food served by the parishioners of Holy Annunciation, the retreat kept attendees busy, informed, edified and well-nourished. Fr. David’s presentations were packed with informative and inspiring material, as he gave generously and enthusiastically of his expertise and direct experience in the missions field, peppered with wisdom gained from other missionaries working in a variety of countries—complete with examples ranging from “rookie mistakes” to wisdom applied to great effect. Over the course of an extended session on Tuesday evening and two extensive sessions on Wednesday, he gave a thorough, interconnected, and highly useful exposition of “missiology”—the science of mission building—under headings such as “Vision,” “Mission-building Tools,” and “God’s Plan for Making Disciples: the Master Plan for Evangelism.”
The following is a sampling of key concepts presented by Fr. David. Having a vision for the mission is crucial—so that we can communicate it, and then work on goals with the people. It is essential to understand the background and the physical and social gestures of the people we seek to bring into the Church—lest we drive them away by our own missteps. Each missionary’s own motives are important, and so, self-examination is important. Our actions must be consistent with our teaching.
In the midst of what Colorado officials described on Thursday, June 13, 2013 as “the most destructive fire in state history,” Archpriest Anthony Karbo and the faithful of Saints Constantine and Helen/Holy Theophany Church here once again requesting prayers, nearly one year to the day after they faced the Waldo Canyon fire.
What has been dubbed the “Black Forest fire” has already destroyed nearly 16,000 acres, displaced some 38,000 residents, and affected about 13,000 homes—nearly 400 of which have been destroyed. Much of Colorado Springs has been evacuated, while estimates on containment inched upward to a mere five percent as of Thursday night.
On Saturday, May 18th, the Pacific Southwest Deanery held a Youth Retreat hosted by St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana, CA. Archimandrite Gerasim (Eliel), sacristan at Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral served as retreat master. The retreat began with a Moleben in Church served by Fr. Gerasim.
The retreat was attended by youth and others from around the deanery, Archpriest Lawrence Russell, the Dean, and Priest Yousuf Rassam, the host pastor. SOSI – the sisterhood of St. Innocent Church, led by Grace Roberts, provided a delicious lunch and warm hospitality.
Fr. Gerasim spoke on the importance of Holy Scripture in our lives, our need to be reading the Scriptures as part of our spiritual lives, and then focused on the Gospel of John, which the Church is reading in the Paschal period. He discussed the structure and meaning of the Gospel, the “signs” with which the Evangelist shows us Jesus Christ, that we may believe in Him. After lunch he arranged for the participants to perform the the Gospel reading of the Blind Man in the court yard. Fr. Gerasm ably led the participants in such a way that all present, not just the youth, but those serving food, and his brother clergy were able to go away with edification and food for further thought, reflection, and action.
-Priest Yousuf Rassam
I was raised Christian fundamentalist and waded into more evangelical circles by the end of high school and into my early college years.I attended an evangelical camp every summer near Agia Sophia and would come for coffee and a quiet place to read my "latest and greatest" author. Even then, there was something I found attractive about the coffee shop, though I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.
Graduating from college, my wife and I moved to Colorado Springs and remembered to check out that "cool Agia Sophia place" again. We were very unsettled in our spiritual journey and were looking for a reason to stay in church as everything we experienced thus far felt incomplete.
Reacquainting ourselves with the coffee shop, my wife emailed Father Anthony to ask about Orthodoxy. He invited us in for discussion and "drinks on the house". That evening I walked out with five books from the hundreds of Orthodox selections always in stock at Agia Sophia. In the weeks following, my wife and I found ourselves at the coffee shop regularly as we talked to parish members behind the counter, asked more questions, read more books, and experienced Orthodoxy first hand. Agia Sophia bridged the gap between my unsettled Evangelical faith and the rich and ancient Orthodox tradition. My wife and I hope to be received into the Church in the near future.
Agia Sophia, the Orthodox coffee house/bookstore in Colorado Springs, was recognized in the 2013 “Best of Colorado Springs” competition. Local residents and out of town guests voted Agia Sophia “Silver” for best coffee place and “Gold”, the top spot, for its chai.
On the weekend of May 18-19, the clergy and faithful of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, gathered around His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the parish. On October 19, 1988, 118 men, women and children came to talk about the future of an all-English Orthodox Christian parish. The parish would be the first, and only, all-English Orthodox parish in the Las Vegas Valley. The meeting was most enthusiastic, and a decision was quickly made to establish such a parish under the authority of His Grace, Bishop Tikhon (Fitzgerald) in the Diocese of the West, Orthodox Church in America.
The very first liturgy of the new parish, subsequently placed under the patronage of the Holy Apostle Paul, was celebrated on Sunday, November 13, 1988, the Feastday of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople.
After a search for property, a suitable parcel was found on Annie Oakley Drive and purchased. Construction of the church began in 1994, and a beautiful temple was constructed modeled after the seventh-century Church of Saint Hripsime in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, which remains standing to this day. The church was consecrated by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius, and His Grace, Bishop Tikhon, on May 13, 1995.
On weekend of Thomas Sunday the Holy Resurrection/Holy Trinity Parish of Tacoma, Washington hosted a practicum for subdeacons and deacons. Participants came from throughout the diocese, but most were from the Pacific Northwest. Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, the director of the Diaconal Vocations Program of the Orthodox Church in America, offered two days of instruction along with the able assistance of Subdeacon Dimitri Pletz.
Two hierarchical liturgies were served over the weekend with six deacons serving at each. On Bright Saturday, Subdeacon Joseph Ramos was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and Deacon Luke Fordice was awarded the double orarion.
We are grateful for the opportunity to work on serving skills and for the gracious hospitality of the Tacoma community.
Today, Hell cries out groaning:
“My power has been trampled down.
The Shepherd is crucified and Adam is raised.
I have been deprived of those whom I ruled.
Those whom I swallowed in my strength I have given up.
He Who was crucified has emptied the tombs.
The power of death has been vanquished.”
Glory to Your Cross and Resurrection, O Lord!
Lord I Call Stichera, Vespers of the Feast
HOLY PASCHA 2013
To the Reverend Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese of the West
Dearly beloved:
Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!
What a glorious paradox we witness in the celebration of Resurrection. Hell was caught completely unaware of this paradox. It swallowed, in seeming victory, the crucified Shepherd, but instead of victory began to choke and suffocate in the attempt to contain Him. The demons struck the Shepherd down, but the sheep have been raised. Hell held man captive but its rule was overthrown and the captives are freed. The crucified, broken, bloody Victim has turned out to be the Victor.
How wonderful that you and I are not just witnesses to this paradox, but participants. Hell indeed groaned just before it was shattered. We are the sheep that have been raised. We are the captives that have been freed. We are those who benefit from and share in the Victory. Christ is risen and we have been given a new life. We have been given the power to be new creatures in the presence not only of the Creator, but of the Redeemer, lifted up from the valley of death and corruption which is life without the risen Christ. How much He loves us!
May the risen Son of God shine brightly in the heart of each one of you, my diocesan family! May we return the love of the risen Savior by living resurrected lives ourselves! And I say to you all again:
Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!
Yours in the risen Christ,
†Benjamin
Archbishop of San Francisco and the Diocese of the West
Dear Friends,
We are happy to announce that St. Juvenaly Mission, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, closed on the purchase of a new chapel building on April 24th.
The chapel is located in Honomu (close to Akaka Falls), on the East side of the island, about 11 miles north of Hilo.
This is a major step toward serving the Orthodox faithful on the East side of the island, and marks the first enduring physical presence of the Orthodox church on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is also the first permanent OCA location in Hawaii. This new outreach of the mission will be called "Holy Ascension Chapel."
The Mission was able to obtain full financing for the purchase through the SICA Foundation, and have received about $20,000 in donations - THANK YOU. (We are still grateful for donations to help with repair and beautification expenses.)
St. Juvenaly Mission is based in Kailua-Kona, on the West side of the island, about a two-hour drive from Honomu. Regular services will continue in Kona in the current location, where the Mission holds month-to-month lease.
GREAT LENT 2013
To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics and Faithful of the Diocese of the West
Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:16-18, read on Cheesefare Sunday)
Dearly beloved,
As we enter into the Great Fast in preparation for our celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, I exhort each and every one of you, my faithful flock, to heed the words of our Lord quoted above. So often we try to reduce our relationship with the Savior to a list of “dos and don’ts.” Certainly, Great Lent is quite a temptation in this way. What to eat, when to eat it, when not to eat it, how much to eat, if we can eat, etc., all can become the measuring stick for our effort.
But I remind you of two things, brothers and sisters. The first is that the Fast is not about “things.” It is about emptiness and repentance. The emptiness that we feel when we don’t eat or watch very carefully what we do eat is supposed to be a reminder to us that we feed our appetites constantly and never leave room for the Lord. The repentance is the turning around in effort to move away from our daily appetites to move towards a more godly and iconic life reflecting the Lord.
The second reminder is that in many ways, we are not to “measure” our Lenten efforts at all. The Pharisee measured his efforts and found them more than adequate. In all humility, let us strive to make a sincere effort and then allow God to measure it.
I ask your forgiveness as we enter into this holy time of year and wish for all my faithful parishes and each and every one of you a most fruitful and joyous Fast. May we all rejoice in the celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection at the end of this journey!
With love in Christ,
†Benjamin, Archbishop of San Francisco
The Diocese of the West is the geographical district of the Orthodox Church in America consisting of the Western United States. The diocese has active parishes in Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. San Francisco is home to the diocese’s cathedral, Holy Trinity, as well as the Chancery offices. The diocese is led by His Grace Vasily, Bishop of San Francisco and the West.
