Mar Gregorios on Mission
With all the hustle and bustle of the season, we need to be focused on
our mission which is profoundly tied to the eucharistic celebration.
Paulos Mar Gregorios (of blessed memory!) left us a riches of
direction and assistance in his writings.
Paulos Mar Gregorios was a Bishop in what was a mission diocese (New
Delhi), so it is clear that he believed in mission work. He believed
in mission work that proved one's Christianity rather than one that
counted converts. As an Orthodox Bishop, he understood non-Orthodox
manners and forms of missionary work are not compatible, perhaps even
contrary, to Orthodox manners and forms of missionary work. In
addition, he was very proud of the Church's ethnic and cultural
history in India and felt it important for it to have a truly Indian
identity - however not to the detriment of its universality.
Here are several quotes from the small collection of his writings
called, "Introducing The Orthodox Churches," published in 1999 by the
Mar Gregorios Foundation in Kottayam that indicate his views.
I have typed out seven quotes:
1. "The Orthodox Church in India lives at peace with followers of
other religions like Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsee, Jains, Buddhists,
etc. They are not aggressive in trying to convert the others but are
prepared to live with them in peace and concord, and with respect. For
this reason they are often accused by more aggressive Protestant and
Catholics, of being defective or lacking in missionary zeal.
"The Orthodox place greater emphasis on the quality of spiritual life,
on worshipping God in a fitting way, and in showing love and
compassion to all, rather than on evangelism or social activism. They
run schools and hospitals, orphanages and homes for the destitute, but
not for the sake of attracting converts. It is a silent labour of
service in humility which is its own reward." (p.4, "Introducing the
Eastern Churches" original article written in 1976)
2. "The witness of the Orthodox is a quiet one, based more on worship
and a holy life of love and service, than on preaching and
proselytism. This lack of aggressiveness is often criticized by
Western Christians as a lack of missionary fervour. But we know that
the aggressive Western missionary movement is intimately linked with
the economic, cultural and colonial expansionism of the west, and we
would rather not be associated with such an aggressive and
institutionalized mission." (p.15, "How Different is the Eastern
Orthodox Church?" original article written in 1991)
3. "The Eucharist is not a mere teaching session for the edification
of those who attend. It is the vital link between Creation and God. It
is the highest response to the Creation to God...The converse of
representing the Creation before the Throne of God would be for the
church to represent God before the heart and mind of mankind. The
mission of the church thus flows naturally out of worship. Only a
church which lives by the rhythm of eucharistic self-dedication to God
on behalf of the Creation can truly become the bearer of God's saving
grace for mankind. The rhythm of worship in the matrix of mission."
(p.49, from "Central Concerns of Eastern Orthodox Church" date of
original article not given)
4. "The real failure of the Orthodox Church does not appear to lie, at
least to the present writer, in her missionary laziness, but rather in
her unsanctified, power-hungry, quarrelsome, self-pre-occupied and
selfish life in the world. It is not missionary organization that she
stands most in need of, but rather evangelical simplicity and
eucharistic sanctity in ordinary life, manifesting the love, freedom,
and wisdom of God to mankind." (p. 50, same article)
5. "Eastern orthodox communities in the East have clung to the
cultural forms with desperate favour. They have been unable to
disentangle their national identity from their Christian faith, and so
have tried to hold blindly to many archaic traditions of a national
culture quite unnecessary for maintaining a Christian commitment in a
new Western culture." (p.53, same article)
6. "Orthodoxy holds the pure tradition of the ancient undivided
Church. But because of its ethnic group egoism remains incapable
either of enjoying their rich spiritual heritage or of sharing it with
others." (p54, same article)
7. "We are ahead of almost all the Orthodox Churches of the World in
using our own modern vernacular as the liturgical language of the
Church. No other Orthodox Church has so far been able to do this to
the same extent as we have.
"Yet in areas outside Kerala, do we have to insist on Malayalam
always? Can we have a Tamil Eucharist at Tadagom or Madras, a Bengali
one in Calcutta, and Hindi or English in Delhi and Bombay? This would
make it possible for non-Malayalees to enter into the riches of our
heritage and thus help us break out of our ethnicism...
"I am only saying these in the hope that the Church in Calcutta would
show a way to the whole church to break out of its narrow ethnical
confinement. The final decision depends upon the Episcopal Synod, the
leaders and people of our Church there, and on the boundless grace of
God who is always willing to give more than we dare ask for."
(p.61-62, "The Ethnic Character of Orthodoxy" date of original article
not given)
===============
As I was typing the quotes out, I was rejuvenated in spirit after a
difficult day. Thank you, Paulos Mar Gregorios, and pray for us.
I hope everyone in the Madison area will come and celebrate the birth
of Christ with us on Sunday 12/25 at 5:30am (sunrise), when we will
burn palms as the shepherds did outside Bethlehem.
In service to God and humanity,
Rev. Fr. John-Brian Paprock
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Syrian Mission
Madison, Wisconsin (608) 242-4244
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
December 22, 2011
December 4, 2011
Younger spiritual audience dwindling - AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - The Altoona Mirror
Younger spiritual audience dwindling - AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - The Altoona Mirror
Younger spiritual audience dwindling
Religious institutions work to bring back unaffiliated youth
December 4, 2011
By Linda T. Gracey (lgracey@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror
Church is out, and spirituality is in. That's how people in their 30s and younger think.
Those born after 1980 are considerably less religious than older Americans, according to a 2009 report "Religion Among the Millennials" from The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Locally, leaders of denominations are noticing the trend.
"Clearly, we are missing young adults in our parishes," said Bishop Gregory Pile of the Allegheny Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The proportion of young adults in the general population is not being reflected in the pews."
The Pew report states that young adults "are less likely to be affiliated than their parents' and grandparents' generations were when they were young. Fully, one in four members of the Millennial generation are unaffiliated with any particular faith."
"Young adults also attend religious services less often than older Americans today," the Pew reports states. "And compared with their elders today, fewer young people said that religion is very important in their lives."
Experiencing change
Jeff Miley, pastor of Tyrone Church of the Brethren, said it is the age group that goes to college, a time when young adults tend to pull away from their faith.
"They go out in the world for the first time and experience so much," he said. "They have difficulty processing it."
"They may leave their faith and seek the ways of the world," Miley said. "Unless they come to a pastor or someone of faith who is more mature, they flounder."
He said young adults are looking for worship where they feel invited and loved.
About a dozen or more young adults attend services at Tyrone Church of the Brethren, which is a fair representation of that age group for the Tyrone church as a whole, Miley said.
He said young people are eschewing imposing edifices and ritual.
"We are more relaxed. You feel the presence of God because of the love of God [among the people], not because of stained glass windows," Miley said.
Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has observed that all age groups, not just those in their 20s and 30s, are attending Mass less frequently. Although Catholics may not be as active in their parish communities, "I am keenly aware that their faith is still there, especially in that young adult crowd," he said.
"When I visit college campuses, students don't want to talk about sports. They want to talk about their Catholic faith," he said.
Off campus, young adults gather at Theology on Tap sessions offered by the diocese, where they openly discuss their Catholic faith and ask questions of clergy in a pub/restaurant setting.
"It's a very popular venue," Bartchak said.
Seeking personal connections
Bartchak believes people enjoy small groups and one-on-one contacts because "they hunger for real personal attention."
He said Americans live at a hectic pace where it is important to have technological gadgets cellphones, laptops and iPads - that make it quicker and faster to perform tasks and communicate. But on the flip side, technology leaves out the personal element when it comes to communicating.
"People are looking for a real personal contact as opposed to a virtual contact," Bartchak said. "When people talk to me about their faith, they want to be connected."
He said the church helps people to connect on two levels - the human personal level and an introduction or reintroduction to the person of Jesus Christ.
The trend to forgo services also can be seen in the Jewish faith.
Bill Wallen, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Altoona, said houses of worship do not have the authority they once did and fewer people are affiliated.
"There was a time when a rabbi, priest or minister used to carry more authority," he said. "And parents would reinforce that authority. It is less so anymore."
He said at one time, almost every Jewish person belonged to a synagogue. Now, especially in the cities, business and professional people belong to independent minyans or prayer services.
Wallen said young people use websites to enrich their Jewish faith or may attend services or events at an Orthodox chabad.
Interfaith marriage and a more mobile society may be part of the reason why attendance is less frequent.
"It used to be common that you only dated people within the Jewish world," he said. But now the barriers are broken down and the Jewish community is more welcoming to a non-Jewish spouse, he said.
In interfaith families, the partners may go to one or both services.
"A lot of others don't go. It's easier not to offend," he said.
A more transient society may also lead to less affiliation.
"They [young adults] don't stay in the community," he said. "They grow up and move away."
Starting from scratch
Another reason why young people don't make worship a priority could be because they never had a spiritual base in the first place.
The Rev. Ed Preston, pastor of Mardorf United Methodist Church in Juniata Gap, said people don't go to church for various reasons, including the fact that their parents did not take them when they were children.
For those who did go, images of how services were when they were younger don't always fit in a post-modern culture.
Preston said despite changes in society, the church tried to remain the way it was in the 1950s.
"We were a force to be reckoned with. We were in the public square. Clergy and religious leaders were looked up to for their opinions. Now we can't put a Nativity scene on the public square," Preston said.
"We lost the power of the public square, but that's OK. That's not what Christ called the church to be," he said. "We got full of ourselves and thought it was all about us. It's not about us. It's about those who aren't here yet.
"The gospel is relevant, fresh and exciting," Preston said. "The role of the church is making disciples. It's how we transform the world. We are supposed to be changing hearts."
Preston said the Mardorf congregation is working toward that goal. It has transformed its worship and is making other adjustments to make it more welcoming to those who grew up in the latter part of the 20th century.
The services include multimedia images and contemporary Christian music. Even the nursery has been revamped to assure young parents that their babies are in a safe, clean, well-equipped environment, leaving them free to worship.
Changing priorities
At Curryville Church of the Brethren, Pastor David Stiles believes attendance is down because of a shift in priorities.
"You have seven choices and time to do four. Three things get scratched. Church is not essential. It gets scratched," he said.
He called Sunday the new Saturday. People shop, do their laundry and catch up on chores on Saturdays.
"By Saturday night, they are exhausted. On Sunday, they want to chill out, stay home," he said.
Others don't have that luxury because their jobs overshadow worship. People might have to work on the weekends at their main job or a second job they have to keep food on the table.
If it isn't work that keeps families away from worship, it might be recreation. Miley said at his church, girls who play on a traveling softball team are no longer attending services.
"You have to maintain a habit [of going to church]," he said. "If you break the pattern, it is harder to get back."
Pile said fewer people are looking to the church to observe significant events in life.
"Everybody used to have a pastor when someone died. Now some have a party," he said.
When they marry, they have other options than the church, and baptism is not important as it once was, Pile said.
"People have drifted away from a deep and abiding relationship with God through devotion and prayer. They are so busy and are distracted by the demands on their time," Pile said.
Family units under attack
Monsignor Michael Servinsky, vicar general for the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, traces part of the spiritual deficit problem to the 1960s when the birth control pill was introduced and free love became the philosophy.
Servinsky said that Pope Paul VI warned in his papal encyclical letter "Humane Vitae: On the Regulation of Birth" that artificial birth control would damage the family.
"We see it happening," Servinsky said. "The family is under attack. We see more and more divorces. Families are scattered. We no longer have extended family connections to pass on religious values. Children have two fathers and two mothers."
Servinsky also spoke about how relativism has permeated the culture and how people look at life.
"Do your own thing" seems to be the guiding force, he said. "Absolute values aren't there. We have such a sense of individualism that we have lost a sense of community."
Servinsky said although these concepts began in the late 1960s, "It takes awhile for these movements to flower. We are seeing the fruit of what we were sowing."
Younger spiritual audience dwindling
Religious institutions work to bring back unaffiliated youth
December 4, 2011
By Linda T. Gracey (lgracey@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror
Church is out, and spirituality is in. That's how people in their 30s and younger think.
Those born after 1980 are considerably less religious than older Americans, according to a 2009 report "Religion Among the Millennials" from The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Locally, leaders of denominations are noticing the trend.
"Clearly, we are missing young adults in our parishes," said Bishop Gregory Pile of the Allegheny Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The proportion of young adults in the general population is not being reflected in the pews."
The Pew report states that young adults "are less likely to be affiliated than their parents' and grandparents' generations were when they were young. Fully, one in four members of the Millennial generation are unaffiliated with any particular faith."
"Young adults also attend religious services less often than older Americans today," the Pew reports states. "And compared with their elders today, fewer young people said that religion is very important in their lives."
Experiencing change
Jeff Miley, pastor of Tyrone Church of the Brethren, said it is the age group that goes to college, a time when young adults tend to pull away from their faith.
"They go out in the world for the first time and experience so much," he said. "They have difficulty processing it."
"They may leave their faith and seek the ways of the world," Miley said. "Unless they come to a pastor or someone of faith who is more mature, they flounder."
He said young adults are looking for worship where they feel invited and loved.
About a dozen or more young adults attend services at Tyrone Church of the Brethren, which is a fair representation of that age group for the Tyrone church as a whole, Miley said.
He said young people are eschewing imposing edifices and ritual.
"We are more relaxed. You feel the presence of God because of the love of God [among the people], not because of stained glass windows," Miley said.
Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has observed that all age groups, not just those in their 20s and 30s, are attending Mass less frequently. Although Catholics may not be as active in their parish communities, "I am keenly aware that their faith is still there, especially in that young adult crowd," he said.
"When I visit college campuses, students don't want to talk about sports. They want to talk about their Catholic faith," he said.
Off campus, young adults gather at Theology on Tap sessions offered by the diocese, where they openly discuss their Catholic faith and ask questions of clergy in a pub/restaurant setting.
"It's a very popular venue," Bartchak said.
Seeking personal connections
Bartchak believes people enjoy small groups and one-on-one contacts because "they hunger for real personal attention."
He said Americans live at a hectic pace where it is important to have technological gadgets cellphones, laptops and iPads - that make it quicker and faster to perform tasks and communicate. But on the flip side, technology leaves out the personal element when it comes to communicating.
"People are looking for a real personal contact as opposed to a virtual contact," Bartchak said. "When people talk to me about their faith, they want to be connected."
He said the church helps people to connect on two levels - the human personal level and an introduction or reintroduction to the person of Jesus Christ.
The trend to forgo services also can be seen in the Jewish faith.
Bill Wallen, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Altoona, said houses of worship do not have the authority they once did and fewer people are affiliated.
"There was a time when a rabbi, priest or minister used to carry more authority," he said. "And parents would reinforce that authority. It is less so anymore."
He said at one time, almost every Jewish person belonged to a synagogue. Now, especially in the cities, business and professional people belong to independent minyans or prayer services.
Wallen said young people use websites to enrich their Jewish faith or may attend services or events at an Orthodox chabad.
Interfaith marriage and a more mobile society may be part of the reason why attendance is less frequent.
"It used to be common that you only dated people within the Jewish world," he said. But now the barriers are broken down and the Jewish community is more welcoming to a non-Jewish spouse, he said.
In interfaith families, the partners may go to one or both services.
"A lot of others don't go. It's easier not to offend," he said.
A more transient society may also lead to less affiliation.
"They [young adults] don't stay in the community," he said. "They grow up and move away."
Starting from scratch
Another reason why young people don't make worship a priority could be because they never had a spiritual base in the first place.
The Rev. Ed Preston, pastor of Mardorf United Methodist Church in Juniata Gap, said people don't go to church for various reasons, including the fact that their parents did not take them when they were children.
For those who did go, images of how services were when they were younger don't always fit in a post-modern culture.
Preston said despite changes in society, the church tried to remain the way it was in the 1950s.
"We were a force to be reckoned with. We were in the public square. Clergy and religious leaders were looked up to for their opinions. Now we can't put a Nativity scene on the public square," Preston said.
"We lost the power of the public square, but that's OK. That's not what Christ called the church to be," he said. "We got full of ourselves and thought it was all about us. It's not about us. It's about those who aren't here yet.
"The gospel is relevant, fresh and exciting," Preston said. "The role of the church is making disciples. It's how we transform the world. We are supposed to be changing hearts."
Preston said the Mardorf congregation is working toward that goal. It has transformed its worship and is making other adjustments to make it more welcoming to those who grew up in the latter part of the 20th century.
The services include multimedia images and contemporary Christian music. Even the nursery has been revamped to assure young parents that their babies are in a safe, clean, well-equipped environment, leaving them free to worship.
Changing priorities
At Curryville Church of the Brethren, Pastor David Stiles believes attendance is down because of a shift in priorities.
"You have seven choices and time to do four. Three things get scratched. Church is not essential. It gets scratched," he said.
He called Sunday the new Saturday. People shop, do their laundry and catch up on chores on Saturdays.
"By Saturday night, they are exhausted. On Sunday, they want to chill out, stay home," he said.
Others don't have that luxury because their jobs overshadow worship. People might have to work on the weekends at their main job or a second job they have to keep food on the table.
If it isn't work that keeps families away from worship, it might be recreation. Miley said at his church, girls who play on a traveling softball team are no longer attending services.
"You have to maintain a habit [of going to church]," he said. "If you break the pattern, it is harder to get back."
Pile said fewer people are looking to the church to observe significant events in life.
"Everybody used to have a pastor when someone died. Now some have a party," he said.
When they marry, they have other options than the church, and baptism is not important as it once was, Pile said.
"People have drifted away from a deep and abiding relationship with God through devotion and prayer. They are so busy and are distracted by the demands on their time," Pile said.
Family units under attack
Monsignor Michael Servinsky, vicar general for the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, traces part of the spiritual deficit problem to the 1960s when the birth control pill was introduced and free love became the philosophy.
Servinsky said that Pope Paul VI warned in his papal encyclical letter "Humane Vitae: On the Regulation of Birth" that artificial birth control would damage the family.
"We see it happening," Servinsky said. "The family is under attack. We see more and more divorces. Families are scattered. We no longer have extended family connections to pass on religious values. Children have two fathers and two mothers."
Servinsky also spoke about how relativism has permeated the culture and how people look at life.
"Do your own thing" seems to be the guiding force, he said. "Absolute values aren't there. We have such a sense of individualism that we have lost a sense of community."
Servinsky said although these concepts began in the late 1960s, "It takes awhile for these movements to flower. We are seeing the fruit of what we were sowing."
November 30, 2011
Interview re: Evangelization
From: Nina Tkachuk Dimas
http://oca.org/cdn/PDFs/evangelization/evangelism-interview-fr-eric-tosi.pdf
At the November 2011 All American Council in Seattle, Fr. Eric Tosi, Secretary of the OCA, presented a workshop on Orthodox evangelism. The editors at oca.org interviewed Fr. Eric and learned that his interest in evangelism grew not only out of his experiences in the Church as a parish priest, but also through his academic studies and his interaction with spiritual seekers in the military.
Oca.org: Tell us a bit about your academic and pastoral background. How did your interest in Orthodox evangelism develop?
FR. ERIC: I grew up in the Orthodox faith; in fact I am 4th generation in the Metropolia/OCA. I had a wonderful formation in my home parish in Wayne, NJ and first began to really learn about my faith as a teen worker for the Church. As I learned more about the Faith, I was asked more questions about the Church from non-Orthodox. So really my first experience with evangelism was really in the form of apologetics. I went to Fordham University and received a degree in history and economics. It was through my historical studies that I was to gain a deeper appreciation for the deep and rich history. After graduation, I served in the US Army in Germany. The closest chaplain was a few hours away (when we had one) so I also began to realize the need for small group worship in isolated areas. I completed a Masters Degree in European History from Fordham after my years in the military and began to make a deep connection between the historical Faith and the events in Europe.
I decided to attend St. Vladimir’s Seminary with the intent to deepen my understanding of the Faith and connecting it to a historical context. But it was while I was at Seminary that I began to realize a deeper and deeper interest in mission work and evangelism. Upon graduation, I accepted a mission in Billings, Montana that was on the new planting grant program. I was excited to do work in the field where theoria was not so much disconnected from praxis. In the mission field, one had put in practice the principles of evangelism in a very concrete manner or the mission would either flounder or collapse. The mission in Billings became my classroom. It was there in working with the mission that I learned not just about parish management and pastoral care, but what was it that people were looking for and how do we connect people to God through the Church. It became clear to me that real evangelism is through the Church. It is not an isolated, personal event but rather a corporeal reality that links people together in communion with God and each other. It is a koinonetic reality. I also started other missions in the region before being asked to go to Las Vegas and be the priest in a very large and very eclectic parish. This was a parish that had every possible group including a large number of Eritreans and Russian immigrants. How did we put these disparate groups together with American Orthodox and converts to the Faith? It also became my classroom as I learned that the Church was really a mosaic in which so many different pieces were fitted together to form this beautiful picture. Different groups had different needs but in the end they were all seeking the same thing, a closer relationship with Christ through the Church. It was at this time that I was asked to chair the Department of Evangelization for the OCA. I served in that position for seven years and helped establish missions throughout North America as well as write the policies for missions. Through my work in the parish and department, it became increasingly clear to me that we Orthodox speak of evangelism but really do not understand what it really means. We use methods and theories from differing Faith traditions but rarely do we look at our own history and theology. We have this incredible repository of saints and missionaries, even in North America, but yet never really examine what they did and what made it particularly “Orthodox.” In other words, what is theology and practice of evangelism in the Orthodox Church?
I decided to do doctoral work in this area and begin to answer that question. I was accepted in the Doctor of Ministry program at the University of Toronto in conjunction with the Toronto School of Theology and Trinity College. Over the past three years, I have been examining that very question but not just in some dry theoretical manner but rather on how can the rich and deep theology of evangelism in the Orthodox Church be applied to practical and pragmatic parish life. In the end, when my dissertation is completed, I hope that I will have some answers and be able to provide a more complete assistance to parishes and missions. Of course, my job as Secretary of the OCA, enables me to examine this question in an administrative manner. I do believe that whatever the job is that we have, whether it is as a parish priest, seminary teacher, administrator, clergymen, layperson, young or old….they all provide new and varied inputs into evangelism. And we should all be evangelists in everything we do for God and the Church. Evangelism is the very lifeblood of the Church.
Oca.org: How is evangelism both "external" and "internal?" Why do we need both?
FR. ERIC: This concept has been around for some time among contemporary evangelists. External basically means that we are reaching out those who are seeking Christ and drawing them into the Church. It is what we would typically see in evangelistic efforts…how are we reaching out to the world, how are we drawing people into the net as good fishermen. And ultimately, a Church or a parish that does not reach outward is not fulfilling the commission that Christ gives to us. The Church from the very beginning reached outward and was bold in going out into the world.
But we most also look inward. That is looking to flock that Christ has entrusted to us. As it states in John 10, the shepherd knows his sheep. We must always look to the needs of the parish, the people in the parish need to be filled and need to grow. A dynamic inward evangelism that teaches the Faith and enables the community grows naturally turns outward and shares that Faith. So we need to have healthy internal evangelism in order to have healthy external evangelism (and probably vice versa). And this applies equally to the self. We cannot give what we do not have so we need to grow as Christians and understand our Faith in order to share that Faith with others. Fr Alexander Schmemann once wrote that I am sent to myself first before I am sent to others. I would also add two other categories, active and passive. Active evangelism is just what you think it is…going forth and preaching and teaching the Gospel though it is much more than that. It is also serving the community, confessing the Faith, witnessing to its truth, defending the Faith, sometimes when called upon with our very lives. It is dynamic and engaging. But there is another side and one in which we see so evident in the lives of the saints. Sometimes it is passive by which I mean it is by and through living our lives as Orthodox Christians that others are drawn to the Faith. Some of the greatest evangelists in the Church’s history were those who lived simple yet powerful Christian lives. St. Herman of Alaska is one of the greatest examples. His simple caring, loving and praying drew those around him into a deeper relationship with God and the Church. The memory of this still pervades the people of Alaska and the OCA to this day. Passive evangelism is as powerful as active evangelism.
Oca.org: Many Orthodox converts come out of churches which employ aggressive evangelism and outreach methods. How is Orthodox evangelism different?
FR. ERIC: The Orthodox Church in America has evolved in a particular manner, it still is very much tied to and part of the universal Orthodox Church. Her Faith and Traditions are part of her very nature. This can be summed up in the word “fullness”, the Orthodox Church is the fullness of the Faith. While people may be grafted unto the Church, they will bring many good ideas and experiences. But they are really rounded out in the fullness that is the Orthodox Church. Whatever manner or methods that can be brought to bear which are good, right, and holy; then we rejoice.
But to be Orthodox means that we are joined to a community. No Orthodox can be Orthodox without being part of the dynamics which are actualized around the Eucharistic table. We are Orthodox because we have been baptized, chrismated and ultimately communed in the Orthodox Church. In this lies the very real nature of evangelism in the Orthodox Church. We are not looking for people to have an “alter call” and have that singular event of confessing Christ as their personal savior, though confessing Christ is critical in evangelism.
Nor are we trying to make someone Orthodox by having them become part of some monolithic structure. Rather we are asking them to be Orthodox by becoming a person of God who communes with God through the Sacraments. One Orthodox author even went so far as to say that we don’t evangelize as much as we sacramentalize. The key is again that word koinonia. We are to form a communion with God just as God Himself is a communion in the Trinity. This, in turn, is reflected in the communion that is the community gathered around that Eucharist. If there is something that sets us apart, in our thinking and our methods, it is that the Orthodox evangelists went forth to establish Eucharistic communities that formed the Church. Thus, the Church grew not just through individuals but through communities. We may preach, teach, serve, defend, witness and confess but it is only made real through our participation with one another as a community. If there is something that really sets the Orthodox apart, it is how this is actualized through our liturgy, our art, our sacraments, canons, traditions and so on. All of these form our community and in turn lead us into a deeper communion.
Oca.org: When parishes adopt a Biblical, Church-centered approach to evangelism, what does this look like?
FR. ERIC: There is a simple answer to this. They have two very clear dimensions. First they are a community of love. It is a place where people are guided by love; the love of Christ. This love formulates and actuates their actions. They feel loved and likewise share that love with others. Love always moves outward and draws people to it because it is precisely a reflection of the love that God has for all of His creation. So they are ultimately vessels of love incarnated.
The second is how that love is incarnated which is by being the Church. The parish lives the life of the Church. It serves the divine services, it utilizes the gifts of the sacraments, and it leads people to repentance and life in Christ. We Orthodox rejoice in the beauty of our Liturgy but we also need to hear the words of the services to see how clear and deep the message is that is being put forth. The Church is at its best when we live the life that Church asks of us, through feasts and fasts, the joy of birth and the transition to death, all the moments of our life are feed by the Church and the services. We learn to live a cycle that draws back again to the central message of Christ and His Resurrection. We also learn to pass through this life as creature of God given the royal dignity of his children. All of this is found at its very best when the Church acts like the Church and lives the life of the Church. Ultimately, that is the message of the Bible. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that the services of the Church are one long Biblical meditation that we need to participate in with our very life.
Oca.org: What feedback did you receive from your AAC workshop participants? In general, what are the greatest obstacles American Orthodox Christians face as we seek to evangelize?
FR. ERIC: It was a small but dedicated group. They are all looking for the same thing, how do we present to the world this gift of the Orthodox Church. I think that many people have a misunderstanding abut what evangelism is and very often in such workshops, much time is spent alleviating those misunderstandings. For example, evangelism is not marketing. We are not trying to get someone to buy something. Instead we are looking to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bring people into a deeper relationship with Him through the Church.
Another misunderstanding is that evangelism is a program. If we do XYZ then we will grow as a Church. Programs may be helpful and useful but ultimately it is not a business plan to grow. It is being the Church and living the life of the Church. Another misunderstanding, and this is a bit controversial, is that evangelism is meant to grow your church and if successful evangelist have big churches. I would disagree. Church growth may be an offshoot of good evangelism, albeit a desirable one, but evangelism is not just about growing the Church. It is about growing in Faith and communion with God. There are some wonderful evangelistic parishes which are small and dynamic while there are some large parishes which are simply stale. In the ideal world, an evangelistic parish is growing but sometimes there is just as much in smaller prayerful community.
There was another interesting topic which was on what I would term the “issue mission.” That is a mission which takes up a particular cause or issue and makes this the reason for their existence. These almost always fail in the long run. People think that they can be “really” Orthodox if they champion one particular cause or issue. But the Church is far larger then one cause or issue but rather it is fullness. As the Apostle Paul states, “be all things to all people to save some.” Be a mission that is full rather then singular. Usually it will only attract one type of person and drive away so many others who are looking for the Truth. Teach the teachings of the Church, live the life of the Church, and immerse the community in Holy Traditions. All the other issues will be driven away by such simple Faith.
Oca.org: Which OCA resources have been most effective at supporting the clergy and faithful in their evangelism efforts at the local level?
FR. ERIC: The OCA has a very successful Planting Grant program. Over the years, it has assisted manymissions blossom into parishes with a full-time resident priest. I would firstly suggest giving to the Mission Appeal to keep such a successful and valuable program going. The OCA is exploring ways to expand that to revitalize declining parishes and give them the boost to succeed.
There is the Mission Handbook which has been on the frontline of assisting missions. It is also a valuable tool. There are also new books coming out in the Orthodox world on the topic of evangelism. We are only really getting started on this topic.
I would also recommend supporting OCMC and their efforts. Be on a mission team, support their work financially, bring in a mission priest to talk to the parish. They do great work and the more we reach outward, the stronger our witness to the world.
Finally, and most importantly, pray. Pray is the most effective and powerful tool we have as Christians. It alone can move mountains and change hearts. In St Innocent’s Instructions to Missionaries, his first instruction is just that. Pray. Begin all work and dedicate all work through prayer. Our success as evangelist will rest on this simple, primary rule
http://oca.org/cdn/PDFs/evangelization/evangelism-interview-fr-eric-tosi.pdf
At the November 2011 All American Council in Seattle, Fr. Eric Tosi, Secretary of the OCA, presented a workshop on Orthodox evangelism. The editors at oca.org interviewed Fr. Eric and learned that his interest in evangelism grew not only out of his experiences in the Church as a parish priest, but also through his academic studies and his interaction with spiritual seekers in the military.
Oca.org: Tell us a bit about your academic and pastoral background. How did your interest in Orthodox evangelism develop?
FR. ERIC: I grew up in the Orthodox faith; in fact I am 4th generation in the Metropolia/OCA. I had a wonderful formation in my home parish in Wayne, NJ and first began to really learn about my faith as a teen worker for the Church. As I learned more about the Faith, I was asked more questions about the Church from non-Orthodox. So really my first experience with evangelism was really in the form of apologetics. I went to Fordham University and received a degree in history and economics. It was through my historical studies that I was to gain a deeper appreciation for the deep and rich history. After graduation, I served in the US Army in Germany. The closest chaplain was a few hours away (when we had one) so I also began to realize the need for small group worship in isolated areas. I completed a Masters Degree in European History from Fordham after my years in the military and began to make a deep connection between the historical Faith and the events in Europe.
I decided to attend St. Vladimir’s Seminary with the intent to deepen my understanding of the Faith and connecting it to a historical context. But it was while I was at Seminary that I began to realize a deeper and deeper interest in mission work and evangelism. Upon graduation, I accepted a mission in Billings, Montana that was on the new planting grant program. I was excited to do work in the field where theoria was not so much disconnected from praxis. In the mission field, one had put in practice the principles of evangelism in a very concrete manner or the mission would either flounder or collapse. The mission in Billings became my classroom. It was there in working with the mission that I learned not just about parish management and pastoral care, but what was it that people were looking for and how do we connect people to God through the Church. It became clear to me that real evangelism is through the Church. It is not an isolated, personal event but rather a corporeal reality that links people together in communion with God and each other. It is a koinonetic reality. I also started other missions in the region before being asked to go to Las Vegas and be the priest in a very large and very eclectic parish. This was a parish that had every possible group including a large number of Eritreans and Russian immigrants. How did we put these disparate groups together with American Orthodox and converts to the Faith? It also became my classroom as I learned that the Church was really a mosaic in which so many different pieces were fitted together to form this beautiful picture. Different groups had different needs but in the end they were all seeking the same thing, a closer relationship with Christ through the Church. It was at this time that I was asked to chair the Department of Evangelization for the OCA. I served in that position for seven years and helped establish missions throughout North America as well as write the policies for missions. Through my work in the parish and department, it became increasingly clear to me that we Orthodox speak of evangelism but really do not understand what it really means. We use methods and theories from differing Faith traditions but rarely do we look at our own history and theology. We have this incredible repository of saints and missionaries, even in North America, but yet never really examine what they did and what made it particularly “Orthodox.” In other words, what is theology and practice of evangelism in the Orthodox Church?
I decided to do doctoral work in this area and begin to answer that question. I was accepted in the Doctor of Ministry program at the University of Toronto in conjunction with the Toronto School of Theology and Trinity College. Over the past three years, I have been examining that very question but not just in some dry theoretical manner but rather on how can the rich and deep theology of evangelism in the Orthodox Church be applied to practical and pragmatic parish life. In the end, when my dissertation is completed, I hope that I will have some answers and be able to provide a more complete assistance to parishes and missions. Of course, my job as Secretary of the OCA, enables me to examine this question in an administrative manner. I do believe that whatever the job is that we have, whether it is as a parish priest, seminary teacher, administrator, clergymen, layperson, young or old….they all provide new and varied inputs into evangelism. And we should all be evangelists in everything we do for God and the Church. Evangelism is the very lifeblood of the Church.
Oca.org: How is evangelism both "external" and "internal?" Why do we need both?
FR. ERIC: This concept has been around for some time among contemporary evangelists. External basically means that we are reaching out those who are seeking Christ and drawing them into the Church. It is what we would typically see in evangelistic efforts…how are we reaching out to the world, how are we drawing people into the net as good fishermen. And ultimately, a Church or a parish that does not reach outward is not fulfilling the commission that Christ gives to us. The Church from the very beginning reached outward and was bold in going out into the world.
But we most also look inward. That is looking to flock that Christ has entrusted to us. As it states in John 10, the shepherd knows his sheep. We must always look to the needs of the parish, the people in the parish need to be filled and need to grow. A dynamic inward evangelism that teaches the Faith and enables the community grows naturally turns outward and shares that Faith. So we need to have healthy internal evangelism in order to have healthy external evangelism (and probably vice versa). And this applies equally to the self. We cannot give what we do not have so we need to grow as Christians and understand our Faith in order to share that Faith with others. Fr Alexander Schmemann once wrote that I am sent to myself first before I am sent to others. I would also add two other categories, active and passive. Active evangelism is just what you think it is…going forth and preaching and teaching the Gospel though it is much more than that. It is also serving the community, confessing the Faith, witnessing to its truth, defending the Faith, sometimes when called upon with our very lives. It is dynamic and engaging. But there is another side and one in which we see so evident in the lives of the saints. Sometimes it is passive by which I mean it is by and through living our lives as Orthodox Christians that others are drawn to the Faith. Some of the greatest evangelists in the Church’s history were those who lived simple yet powerful Christian lives. St. Herman of Alaska is one of the greatest examples. His simple caring, loving and praying drew those around him into a deeper relationship with God and the Church. The memory of this still pervades the people of Alaska and the OCA to this day. Passive evangelism is as powerful as active evangelism.
Oca.org: Many Orthodox converts come out of churches which employ aggressive evangelism and outreach methods. How is Orthodox evangelism different?
FR. ERIC: The Orthodox Church in America has evolved in a particular manner, it still is very much tied to and part of the universal Orthodox Church. Her Faith and Traditions are part of her very nature. This can be summed up in the word “fullness”, the Orthodox Church is the fullness of the Faith. While people may be grafted unto the Church, they will bring many good ideas and experiences. But they are really rounded out in the fullness that is the Orthodox Church. Whatever manner or methods that can be brought to bear which are good, right, and holy; then we rejoice.
But to be Orthodox means that we are joined to a community. No Orthodox can be Orthodox without being part of the dynamics which are actualized around the Eucharistic table. We are Orthodox because we have been baptized, chrismated and ultimately communed in the Orthodox Church. In this lies the very real nature of evangelism in the Orthodox Church. We are not looking for people to have an “alter call” and have that singular event of confessing Christ as their personal savior, though confessing Christ is critical in evangelism.
Nor are we trying to make someone Orthodox by having them become part of some monolithic structure. Rather we are asking them to be Orthodox by becoming a person of God who communes with God through the Sacraments. One Orthodox author even went so far as to say that we don’t evangelize as much as we sacramentalize. The key is again that word koinonia. We are to form a communion with God just as God Himself is a communion in the Trinity. This, in turn, is reflected in the communion that is the community gathered around that Eucharist. If there is something that sets us apart, in our thinking and our methods, it is that the Orthodox evangelists went forth to establish Eucharistic communities that formed the Church. Thus, the Church grew not just through individuals but through communities. We may preach, teach, serve, defend, witness and confess but it is only made real through our participation with one another as a community. If there is something that really sets the Orthodox apart, it is how this is actualized through our liturgy, our art, our sacraments, canons, traditions and so on. All of these form our community and in turn lead us into a deeper communion.
Oca.org: When parishes adopt a Biblical, Church-centered approach to evangelism, what does this look like?
FR. ERIC: There is a simple answer to this. They have two very clear dimensions. First they are a community of love. It is a place where people are guided by love; the love of Christ. This love formulates and actuates their actions. They feel loved and likewise share that love with others. Love always moves outward and draws people to it because it is precisely a reflection of the love that God has for all of His creation. So they are ultimately vessels of love incarnated.
The second is how that love is incarnated which is by being the Church. The parish lives the life of the Church. It serves the divine services, it utilizes the gifts of the sacraments, and it leads people to repentance and life in Christ. We Orthodox rejoice in the beauty of our Liturgy but we also need to hear the words of the services to see how clear and deep the message is that is being put forth. The Church is at its best when we live the life that Church asks of us, through feasts and fasts, the joy of birth and the transition to death, all the moments of our life are feed by the Church and the services. We learn to live a cycle that draws back again to the central message of Christ and His Resurrection. We also learn to pass through this life as creature of God given the royal dignity of his children. All of this is found at its very best when the Church acts like the Church and lives the life of the Church. Ultimately, that is the message of the Bible. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that the services of the Church are one long Biblical meditation that we need to participate in with our very life.
Oca.org: What feedback did you receive from your AAC workshop participants? In general, what are the greatest obstacles American Orthodox Christians face as we seek to evangelize?
FR. ERIC: It was a small but dedicated group. They are all looking for the same thing, how do we present to the world this gift of the Orthodox Church. I think that many people have a misunderstanding abut what evangelism is and very often in such workshops, much time is spent alleviating those misunderstandings. For example, evangelism is not marketing. We are not trying to get someone to buy something. Instead we are looking to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bring people into a deeper relationship with Him through the Church.
Another misunderstanding is that evangelism is a program. If we do XYZ then we will grow as a Church. Programs may be helpful and useful but ultimately it is not a business plan to grow. It is being the Church and living the life of the Church. Another misunderstanding, and this is a bit controversial, is that evangelism is meant to grow your church and if successful evangelist have big churches. I would disagree. Church growth may be an offshoot of good evangelism, albeit a desirable one, but evangelism is not just about growing the Church. It is about growing in Faith and communion with God. There are some wonderful evangelistic parishes which are small and dynamic while there are some large parishes which are simply stale. In the ideal world, an evangelistic parish is growing but sometimes there is just as much in smaller prayerful community.
There was another interesting topic which was on what I would term the “issue mission.” That is a mission which takes up a particular cause or issue and makes this the reason for their existence. These almost always fail in the long run. People think that they can be “really” Orthodox if they champion one particular cause or issue. But the Church is far larger then one cause or issue but rather it is fullness. As the Apostle Paul states, “be all things to all people to save some.” Be a mission that is full rather then singular. Usually it will only attract one type of person and drive away so many others who are looking for the Truth. Teach the teachings of the Church, live the life of the Church, and immerse the community in Holy Traditions. All the other issues will be driven away by such simple Faith.
Oca.org: Which OCA resources have been most effective at supporting the clergy and faithful in their evangelism efforts at the local level?
FR. ERIC: The OCA has a very successful Planting Grant program. Over the years, it has assisted manymissions blossom into parishes with a full-time resident priest. I would firstly suggest giving to the Mission Appeal to keep such a successful and valuable program going. The OCA is exploring ways to expand that to revitalize declining parishes and give them the boost to succeed.
There is the Mission Handbook which has been on the frontline of assisting missions. It is also a valuable tool. There are also new books coming out in the Orthodox world on the topic of evangelism. We are only really getting started on this topic.
I would also recommend supporting OCMC and their efforts. Be on a mission team, support their work financially, bring in a mission priest to talk to the parish. They do great work and the more we reach outward, the stronger our witness to the world.
Finally, and most importantly, pray. Pray is the most effective and powerful tool we have as Christians. It alone can move mountains and change hearts. In St Innocent’s Instructions to Missionaries, his first instruction is just that. Pray. Begin all work and dedicate all work through prayer. Our success as evangelist will rest on this simple, primary rule
August 5, 2011
Mission to Self-Identified Christians without Church Home
The Barna Group research has given some interesting numbers for Orthodox Christian mission in America. There is a significant gap in America between those that identify as "Christian" and those that attend church during the last six months - roughly 80% of Americans identify themselves as Christian but only 31% have attended "any church service during the past six months, excluding special services such as weddings or funerals." Only 47% attend a church in any given week!
This is a special challenge for Orthodox Christians who are not specifically identified in this research, probably because Orthodox Christianity is statistically too small a sample or because of some biases of the research group. Nevertheless, Orthodox Christians may have some of the same issues as other American "Christians" but there is also a real opportunity in being open, accessible and available for those in the "gap" whether they are Orthodox Christians that are "unchurched" (to use Barna's terminology) or some other self-identified Christians - as well as the 20% that do not know Christianity or have rejected it.
Below is the section of the actual report from the Barna Research Group:
Faith Group Category: Self-Identified Christians
Most Americans – roughly four out of five – consider themselves to be Christians. For that majority, the past two decades have been a time of substantial religious change. Just as American society itself is in a state of substantial upheaval, so are those who declare themselves to be Christian redefining the core practices and beliefs of Christianity in America. Five of the six religious behaviors tracked underwent statistically significant changes since 1991, and five of the seven belief measures also changed notably.
The five transitions in religious behaviors included the following:
This is a special challenge for Orthodox Christians who are not specifically identified in this research, probably because Orthodox Christianity is statistically too small a sample or because of some biases of the research group. Nevertheless, Orthodox Christians may have some of the same issues as other American "Christians" but there is also a real opportunity in being open, accessible and available for those in the "gap" whether they are Orthodox Christians that are "unchurched" (to use Barna's terminology) or some other self-identified Christians - as well as the 20% that do not know Christianity or have rejected it.
Below is the section of the actual report from the Barna Research Group:
Faith Group Category: Self-Identified Christians
Most Americans – roughly four out of five – consider themselves to be Christians. For that majority, the past two decades have been a time of substantial religious change. Just as American society itself is in a state of substantial upheaval, so are those who declare themselves to be Christian redefining the core practices and beliefs of Christianity in America. Five of the six religious behaviors tracked underwent statistically significant changes since 1991, and five of the seven belief measures also changed notably.
The five transitions in religious behaviors included the following:
- Attendance at a church service in any given week has declined among self-identified Christians by nine percentage points since 1991. Now only a minority of this group – 47% - can be found in church events during a typical week.
- Adults from this segment are currently eight percentage points less likely to attend Sunday school in a typical week than was true twenty years ago. Less than one out of five (18%) now attend during a typical week.
- Whereas 30% of the self-identified Christians volunteered at a church during a typical week back in 1991, that figure has declined to 22% today.
- Bible reading dropped slightly over the last 20 years within this segment, going from 51% to 46%. This is another marker in which a majority of this group no longer participates.
- Those who embrace the label “Christian” for themselves are now ten percentage points more likely to be unchurched than was true in 1991. The 31% who fit this profile have not attended any church service during the past six months, excluding special services such as weddings or funerals.
July 26, 2011
Changes in Christian Religious Behavior
There is mission work needed in America. Here are some statistics from a non-Orthodox source.
The Barna Group, in its newest report (07-25-11), describes changes in Religious Behavior (Christian):
An examination of six religious behaviors tracked over the past 20 years among American adults shows that five of the six experienced statistically significant changes during that time frame.
[from http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/504-barna-examines-trends-in-14-religious-factors-over-20-years-1991-to-2011 ]
The Barna Group, in its newest report (07-25-11), describes changes in Religious Behavior (Christian):
An examination of six religious behaviors tracked over the past 20 years among American adults shows that five of the six experienced statistically significant changes during that time frame.
- Bible reading undertaken during the course of a typical week, other than passages read while attending church events, has declined by five percentage points. Currently an estimated 40% of adults read the Bible during a typical week.
- Church volunteerism has dropped by eight percentage points since 1991. Presently, slightly less than one out of every five adults (19%) donates some of their time in a typical week to serving at a church.
- Adult Sunday school attendance has also diminished by eight percentage points over the past two decades. On any given Sunday, about 15% of adults can be expected to show up in a Sunday school class.
- The most carefully watched church-related statistic is adult attendance. Since 1991, attendance has receded by nine percentage points, dropping from 49% in 1991 to 40% in 2011.
- The most prolific change in religious behavior among those measured has been the increase in the percentage of adults categorized as unchurched. The Barna Group definition includes all adults who have not attended any religious events at a church, other than special ceremonies such as a wedding or funeral, during the prior six month period. In 1991, just one-quarter of adults (24%) were unchurched. That figure has ballooned by more than 50%, to 37% today.
[from http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/504-barna-examines-trends-in-14-religious-factors-over-20-years-1991-to-2011 ]
July 14, 2011
Spiritual Principles of Mission
Spiritual Principles of Mission
Ten years have passed since Fr John Brian and few others have been tilling and planting seeds. On July 10, 2001, at the Family Conference in Toronto, Holy Transfiguration Mission officially joined the Mission Society of St Gregorios of India and began the mission work given to us in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
This week's Gospel (Luke chapter 10) focuses on the seventy disciples sent forth; the beginning of the ministry of Christian mission. The reading from Acts is about the Seven Deacons. St Paul's Epistle also speaks to the legacy of mission work - the continuing blessing to send forth dsciples to bring the message of Christ to a fallen world.
During this time of the Holy Apostles after Pentecost, Fr John Brian speaks about the basic spiritual principles and priorities of Orthodox Christian mission work in America. He stresses the importance for each of us in our continued spiritual development to participate in mission with the gifts and talents God has given us.
Fr John Brian uses the admonitions of Jesus Christ to those He sent ahead of Him to instruct us in s spiritual posture for this modern society and culture that does not understand Holy Orthodoxy.
This is an important teaching for every Orthodox Christian who lives in a non-Orthodox country, but also for those in countries and regions that are becoming increasingly secular.
It is clear that God's will is for everyone to know Him. As Jesus Christ admonishes in Luke 10:
"Tell them the kingdom of heaven is near to them."
This sermon lesson uses the readings and services appointed from the Malankara Syrian lectionary and was given on Sunday, July 10, 2011 by Fr. John Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission
Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of the power of God and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7.
PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
Listen on-line here:
Ten years have passed since Fr John Brian and few others have been tilling and planting seeds. On July 10, 2001, at the Family Conference in Toronto, Holy Transfiguration Mission officially joined the Mission Society of St Gregorios of India and began the mission work given to us in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
This week's Gospel (Luke chapter 10) focuses on the seventy disciples sent forth; the beginning of the ministry of Christian mission. The reading from Acts is about the Seven Deacons. St Paul's Epistle also speaks to the legacy of mission work - the continuing blessing to send forth dsciples to bring the message of Christ to a fallen world.
During this time of the Holy Apostles after Pentecost, Fr John Brian speaks about the basic spiritual principles and priorities of Orthodox Christian mission work in America. He stresses the importance for each of us in our continued spiritual development to participate in mission with the gifts and talents God has given us.
Fr John Brian uses the admonitions of Jesus Christ to those He sent ahead of Him to instruct us in s spiritual posture for this modern society and culture that does not understand Holy Orthodoxy.
This is an important teaching for every Orthodox Christian who lives in a non-Orthodox country, but also for those in countries and regions that are becoming increasingly secular.
It is clear that God's will is for everyone to know Him. As Jesus Christ admonishes in Luke 10:
"Tell them the kingdom of heaven is near to them."
This sermon lesson uses the readings and services appointed from the Malankara Syrian lectionary and was given on Sunday, July 10, 2011 by Fr. John Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission
Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of the power of God and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7.
PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
Listen on-line here:
American Orthodox Missionary Work
| Martyred Priest Daniel Sysoev & American Orthodox Missionary Work By Fr. Gregory Jensen Oct 6, 2010, 10:00 | |
Pravmir.com is continuing to publish reflections on parishes' missionary work in response to Fr. Daniel Sysoev's article.
Missionary work by contemporary American Orthodox Christians is similar in many ways to that undertaken in Russia by the recently martyred Fr. Daniel Sysoev. Some of Fr Daniel's practices--for example people gathering after Divine Liturgy to "drink tea or coffee together"--are the norm in American Orthodox parishes. Other things, like the daily recitation of the Psalms and the regular reading of Holy Scripture during the priest's communion at Liturgy, are practices worth introducing here in America.
On the other hand Fr Daniel's strong emphasis on religious education, especially catechesis and Bible study are rather unevenly practiced in America. Some of our parish have well developed religious education programs for children and adults, while other do nothing at all. The majority of our parish however limit religious education to catechetical classes for children. Unfortunately even these are often only poorly attended.
This is not to say that he situation in the States is bleak, it isn't. But as Archpriest Andrew Phillips mentioned in his own essay (On Orthodox Pastoral Work in the Western World and its Differences with Contemporary Russia), the Church in America is small and poor. This is especially the case when we compare ourselves to the Roman Catholic Church or the various Protestant denominations. Many of our priests need secular employment to feed their families and so the life of the parish is largely limited to Saturday and Sunday (and sometimes only Sunday). Unfortunately because of this not only the pastoral life but also the missionary work of the Church suffers.
According to a recent survey, only about one third (34%) of Orthodox Christians in America attend church at least weekly. Sadly this is less than the national average of all religions (39%) and dramatically less than for Evangelical Christians (58%), members of historic black churches (59%), Catholics (42%), Jehovah Witnesses (82%) and Mormons (75%). At least in terms of weekly church attendance Orthodox Christians look more like mainline Protestants (also 34%). The only people less active on a weekly basis in their religious tradition are Jews (16%), Buddhist (17%), Hindus (24%), and the religious unaffiliated (5%).
Compare this to the fact that, according to the same survey that vast majority of Orthodox Christians say that religion (and here I am assuming this means the Orthodox faith) is very important (56%) or somewhat important (31%) in their lives. There first thing that should be apparent is the huge gap between the percentage of Orthodox Christians who say that their faith is important to them (87%) and the number of Orthodox Christians who attend Liturgy on at least a weekly basis (34%). Whatever else their faith might mean to them, it does not necessarily mean the regular participation in the liturgical life of the Church.
"Well what about converts?" you might ask, "Certainly, their dedicated, right?" Well, not really, or at least not as much as we might imagine.
For example, a slight majority of those who join the Orthodox Church as adults will leave. Calling these men and women "converts" seems to me to be a bit of a misnomer since those who join as adults are almost twice as likely to leave the Church as those baptized as infants- 54% of all adult "converts" members vs. 35% of all adult "cradle" members. For every 10 converts who leave, 6 cradle adults also leave, or if you prefer, for every one Greek or Russian Orthodox baptized as an infant who will leave the Church, 1.6 adult converts will also leave. Converts leave at a 60% greater number than cradle Orthodox adults.
Fr Daniel's ministry offers us in American a solution. What is needed is clear, solid catechesis and effective spiritual formation for all, laity and clergy alike are essential. Catechesis, in sermons and religious education classes for children and adults, tells us what we believe. Spiritual formation tells us, or better yet, helps us, answer personally questions such as "Who am I in Christ?" and "What is Christ asking of me?" Spiritual formation is concerned with answer questions of personal identity and vocation. In other words, formation is about discipleship, about a personal, life-long commitment to Christ. While the tradition of the Orthodox Church is almost unbelievably rich, it seems to me that we seriously neglect the formation of our laity (and as a result, our clergy).
"But, Father," you might ask, does this evangelism doesn't matter? Shouldn’t we simply work to fill the Church with new, committed, Orthodox Christians?"
Given the ease with which Americans change religious affiliations making new members is not a challenge. The real challenge is retention; of actually keeping the members that we have by helping them become disciples of Christ. To borrow from St Ignatius of Antioch, it is not enough to be called a Christian, one must actually be a Christian. When many Orthodox Christians are Christian in name only, the Church’s witness to the Gospel is undermined. Whether we are looking at the experience of "cradle" or "convert," this commitment is absent for many American Orthodox Christians. A credible witness is possible; we have the promise of Christ of this. But it requires from all of us a personal commitment to Christ. Again as Fr Daniel demonstrates, this means regular participation in the sacramental life of the Church (especially Holy Communion and Confession) and a willing eagerness of each of us to conform the whole of our life to Christ and the Gospel.
At a missions and evangelism conference in 2009, the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah said that "becoming Orthodox is not something that you can do just after 6 months of catechesis and a little bit of chrism on your forehead. It's a life-long process, because it's being transformed into Christ." He continued by reminding his listeners that "coming into the Orthodox Church is not about joining a new organization; it's not joining 'the right church'; it's not 'joining the historical church or the apostolic church'; or it's not 'joining the right church instead the wrong church that I was in.'" Rather, and I think Fr Daniel would agree with this, becoming Orthodox is about entering ever "deeper into the mystery of Christ." If we are not interested in becoming more like Christ we simply remain trapped "in our passions" and so "we might as well have not converted anyway, because we still haven't left the world behind."
Looking back at what I've written, I realize that much of it seems negative. My intent was not to criticize the Church in America but to reflect soberly on the challenges that we face and even the areas in which we have failed. Thinking about the life and death of Priest Daniel Sysoev this seems to me to be appropriate. The lesson I draw from Fr Daniel is that while the challenges are many, God's grace abounds and it is only necessary for us, for me, to respond obediently to His will.
A psychologist by profession, Fr Gregory Jensen received his doctorate at Duquesne University’s Institute of Formative Spirituality in 1995, and was ordained to priesthood in 1996. Together with his wife Mary he served for 7 years as missionary in rural northern California where he also taught psychology and served as a consultant and trainer for area social service agencies. From 2003-2007, he was the Orthodox chaplain for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. He currently lives in Madison, WI where he is the Orthodox chaplain at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Report finds strong growth in US Orthodox churches
Ecumenical News International News Highlights - 13 October 2010
Report finds strong growth in US Orthodox churches
Washington DC (ENI/RNS). America's Eastern Orthodox parishes have grown 16 percent in the past decade, in part because of a settled immigrant community, according to new research. Alexei Krindatch, research consultant for the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, said the 16 percent growth in the number of Orthodox parishes is "a fairly high ratio for religious groups in the United States", Religion News Service reports. [337 words. ENI-10-0691]
ENI Online - http://www.eni.ch/
Report finds strong growth in US Orthodox churches
Washington DC (ENI/RNS). America's Eastern Orthodox parishes have grown 16 percent in the past decade, in part because of a settled immigrant community, according to new research. Alexei Krindatch, research consultant for the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, said the 16 percent growth in the number of Orthodox parishes is "a fairly high ratio for religious groups in the United States", Religion News Service reports. [337 words. ENI-10-0691]
ENI Online - http://www.eni.ch/
Bishop Kallistos Ware: Evangelizing the Unchurched
EXCERPTS FROM:
Q & A: Bishop Kallistos Ware on the Fullness and the Center
Interview by David Neff posted 7/06/2011 10:18AM
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=92826
Neff: In open countries where Orthodoxy has never been an established religion, how does Orthodoxy reach out to unchurched people?
Ware: In Britain, we have until very recently been concerned simply to be able to minister to our own people, to the children of Orthodox immigrants, who have lost a living link with their own church. Building our parishes from nothing—no church building, no accommodation for the priest—is not easy, and many of our priests in Britain still have to earn their living with secular work, because the community wouldn't be able to support them full-time. We need to have a much more effective home mission before we reach out to others.
We Orthodox would certainly be against proselytism, by which I mean negative propaganda aimed at practicing members of other churches, criticizing what they already believe. That is not the way of Christ. But evangelism is something different.
We Orthodox are still certainly too inward looking; we should realize that we have a message that many people will listen to gladly. I see our mission not primarily to practicing members of other churches, but to the unchurched who are very numerous in Britain, less so in the United States.
To me, the most important missionary witness that we have is the Divine Liturgy, the Eucharistic worship of the Orthodox Church. This is the life-giving source from which everything else proceeds. And therefore, to those who show an interest in Orthodoxy, I say, "Come and see. Come to the liturgy." The first thing is that they should have an experience of Orthodoxy—or for that matter, of Christianity—as a worshiping community. We start from prayer, not from an abstract ideology, not from moral rules, but from a living link with Christ expressed through prayer.
Neff: To draw in the unchurched, evangelical churches often strip away things that might be mysterious or strange. But when you invite someone into an Orthodox liturgy, you hit them full-on with strange symbolism and unfamiliar words.
Ware: Yes, and let them understand what God gives them to understand. Throw them in at the deep end of the swimming pool and see what happens. That is very much our Orthodox approach. I would not want to offer a watered-down version of Orthodoxy.
The basic rules of Christianity, our relation to Christ, are very simple. Because they are simple they are also often difficult to understand.
On the other hand, we should not be content with a bare minimum. We should offer people the fullness of the faith in all its diversity and depth. I would wish people, when they come to the Orthodox liturgy, not to think that they understand everything the first time. I hope, rather, that they have an experience of mystery, a sense of awe and wonder. If we lose that from our worship, we have lost something very precious.
There's a bad expression of mystery, which is just mystification. But there's a good sense of mystery—to realize that in our worship we are in contact with the transcendent, with that which far surpasses our reasoning brains. I hope that this sense of living mystery, which is entirely bound up with a personal experience of Christ, is conveyed through our worship.
Neff: We've talked about evangelizing the unchurched. That's one area where Orthodoxy hasn't done a whole lot. Why is that?
Ware: You are not entirely fair to the Orthodox. From the ninth century on, the Orthodox undertook an immense missionary outreach to Slavic peoples—Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia. In that period they were every bit as dynamic in their missionary outreach as the Western church.
You have to take into account the effect of being under Muslim rule, when any form of missionary outreach was forbidden. Christians survived under Islam as self-contained communities, but to attempt to convert a Muslim to the Christian faith would have led immediately to a death sentence. So, naturally, under Islam the Orthodox could not undertake notable missionary work. In the 19th century, there were Russian missions in China, Japan, Korea, and among the Muslim tribes within the Russian Empire. Then came Communism, and it made outward missionary work more or less impossible.
We Orthodox ought to be doing much more than we are doing in this field, but you have to allow for the historical circumstances. The West in the last five centuries has been dominant, rich, influential, colonial, imperial, expansionist. That made missionary work much easier. The East had none of these privileges except for a limited extent in Russia.
Neff: Jaroslav Pelikan, an important historical theologian who became Orthodox late in life, once told me, "You evangelicals talk too much about Jesus and don't spend enough time thinking about the Holy Trinity." Can one talk too much about Jesus?
Ware: I would not want to contrast faith in Jesus with faith in the Holy Trinity. My faith in Jesus is precisely that I believe him to be not only truly human, but also to be the eternal Son of God. I cannot think of a faith in Jesus that does not also involve faith in God the Father.
How is Jesus present to us personally at this moment? How is it that he is not merely a figure from the distant past, but that he also lives in my own life? That is through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I cannot understand a faith in Jesus Christ that would not also involve faith in the Holy Spirit.
I don't think we can have too much faith in Jesus. But faith in Jesus, if it is to be truly such, is necessarily Trinitarian. If you look at the lives of the Orthodox saints, you will find a very vivid faith in Jesus. Their affirmation of the Trinity did not in any way diminish their sense of Jesus as their personal Savior.
Q & A: Bishop Kallistos Ware on the Fullness and the Center
Interview by David Neff posted 7/06/2011 10:18AM
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=92826
Neff: In open countries where Orthodoxy has never been an established religion, how does Orthodoxy reach out to unchurched people?
Ware: In Britain, we have until very recently been concerned simply to be able to minister to our own people, to the children of Orthodox immigrants, who have lost a living link with their own church. Building our parishes from nothing—no church building, no accommodation for the priest—is not easy, and many of our priests in Britain still have to earn their living with secular work, because the community wouldn't be able to support them full-time. We need to have a much more effective home mission before we reach out to others.
We Orthodox would certainly be against proselytism, by which I mean negative propaganda aimed at practicing members of other churches, criticizing what they already believe. That is not the way of Christ. But evangelism is something different.
We Orthodox are still certainly too inward looking; we should realize that we have a message that many people will listen to gladly. I see our mission not primarily to practicing members of other churches, but to the unchurched who are very numerous in Britain, less so in the United States.
To me, the most important missionary witness that we have is the Divine Liturgy, the Eucharistic worship of the Orthodox Church. This is the life-giving source from which everything else proceeds. And therefore, to those who show an interest in Orthodoxy, I say, "Come and see. Come to the liturgy." The first thing is that they should have an experience of Orthodoxy—or for that matter, of Christianity—as a worshiping community. We start from prayer, not from an abstract ideology, not from moral rules, but from a living link with Christ expressed through prayer.
Neff: To draw in the unchurched, evangelical churches often strip away things that might be mysterious or strange. But when you invite someone into an Orthodox liturgy, you hit them full-on with strange symbolism and unfamiliar words.
Ware: Yes, and let them understand what God gives them to understand. Throw them in at the deep end of the swimming pool and see what happens. That is very much our Orthodox approach. I would not want to offer a watered-down version of Orthodoxy.
The basic rules of Christianity, our relation to Christ, are very simple. Because they are simple they are also often difficult to understand.
On the other hand, we should not be content with a bare minimum. We should offer people the fullness of the faith in all its diversity and depth. I would wish people, when they come to the Orthodox liturgy, not to think that they understand everything the first time. I hope, rather, that they have an experience of mystery, a sense of awe and wonder. If we lose that from our worship, we have lost something very precious.
There's a bad expression of mystery, which is just mystification. But there's a good sense of mystery—to realize that in our worship we are in contact with the transcendent, with that which far surpasses our reasoning brains. I hope that this sense of living mystery, which is entirely bound up with a personal experience of Christ, is conveyed through our worship.
Neff: We've talked about evangelizing the unchurched. That's one area where Orthodoxy hasn't done a whole lot. Why is that?
Ware: You are not entirely fair to the Orthodox. From the ninth century on, the Orthodox undertook an immense missionary outreach to Slavic peoples—Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia. In that period they were every bit as dynamic in their missionary outreach as the Western church.
You have to take into account the effect of being under Muslim rule, when any form of missionary outreach was forbidden. Christians survived under Islam as self-contained communities, but to attempt to convert a Muslim to the Christian faith would have led immediately to a death sentence. So, naturally, under Islam the Orthodox could not undertake notable missionary work. In the 19th century, there were Russian missions in China, Japan, Korea, and among the Muslim tribes within the Russian Empire. Then came Communism, and it made outward missionary work more or less impossible.
We Orthodox ought to be doing much more than we are doing in this field, but you have to allow for the historical circumstances. The West in the last five centuries has been dominant, rich, influential, colonial, imperial, expansionist. That made missionary work much easier. The East had none of these privileges except for a limited extent in Russia.
Neff: Jaroslav Pelikan, an important historical theologian who became Orthodox late in life, once told me, "You evangelicals talk too much about Jesus and don't spend enough time thinking about the Holy Trinity." Can one talk too much about Jesus?
Ware: I would not want to contrast faith in Jesus with faith in the Holy Trinity. My faith in Jesus is precisely that I believe him to be not only truly human, but also to be the eternal Son of God. I cannot think of a faith in Jesus that does not also involve faith in God the Father.
How is Jesus present to us personally at this moment? How is it that he is not merely a figure from the distant past, but that he also lives in my own life? That is through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I cannot understand a faith in Jesus Christ that would not also involve faith in the Holy Spirit.
I don't think we can have too much faith in Jesus. But faith in Jesus, if it is to be truly such, is necessarily Trinitarian. If you look at the lives of the Orthodox saints, you will find a very vivid faith in Jesus. Their affirmation of the Trinity did not in any way diminish their sense of Jesus as their personal Savior.
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