vnieuwsma's blog

By Janice Bidwell

Raised in the Orthodox Church I’ve never viewed Orthodoxy from the outside, but I’m certain the view is different. My perspective reflects a lifetime spent within a Church known for Tradition.

This Spring Break, over one hundred college students have the opportunity to make a real change for those less fortunate through Orthodox Christian Fellowship's Real Break program.

Real Break is an alternative spring break service-learning program designed to provide college students with life-transforming experiences that strengthen their faith and broaden their Christian world-view. OCF offers several trips to locations all around the globe where students have the opportunity to serve and minister to the poor with compassion and humility.

Students can sign up for Real Break at: www.ocf.net/realbreak.

A premier online source of beautiful music, Liturgica.com, has just released several new chant titles in time for Christmas giving.

1. Christmas Hymns (Hymnes de Noel). Through a special arrangement with the French label Jade, they are now offering this classic title by The Greek Byzantine Choir, directed by Lycourgos Angelopoulos. It is a wonderful collection of the hymnology from Matins and the Divine Liturgy for Nativity. 

2. Lights of Byzantine Chant (Lumieres du Chant Byzantin) by Divna and The Melodi Choir is another release on the French Jade label. This outstanding CD is a wide ranging collection of Eastern chant forms, from the Great Doxology to Agni Partheni - sung in her crystal clear voice. 

To order, click here: www.liturgica.com

Since 1987 over 1,000 people have offered a living witness to the Orthodox Christian faith through their participation in an Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) Mission Team. These Team members have taught catechism, built churches, schools, and hospitals, offered healthcare, worked with youth, and provided outreach in 27 countries around the world.

There have been exceptions, but for reasons that include liability, the risks and rigor inherent in serving abroad, and the specialized nature of mission work, Team members have traditionally been at least 18 years old. Over the years, OCMC has heard from many sources including past Team members, missionaries, board members, staff, and supporters about the importance of enabling youth participation on OCMC Mission Teams.

With board approval, OCMC has opened up four of its 2010 Mission Teams to youth participation with the condition that Team members would not be under 13 years of age and that they would be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

“The motivation behind this decision was to expose youth to the work of making disciples while giving eligible families the ability to experience service for the Church in a cross cultural setting,” offers OCMC Mission Teams Director Andrew Lekos.

The Teams in 2010 that are open to youth and families have been carefully chosen to allow youth to develop relationships with their Orthodox peers and learn about new cultures. “It is hoped that language barriers melt and horizons are broadened as families put their faith into action and share their Orthodox faith,” adds Mr. Lekos.

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2004, John and Tonya Maddex quietly began a revolution on the back porch of their Chicago-area home. Ancient Faith Radio, an internet-based streaming radio station, began broadcasting Eastern Orthodox Christian liturgical music and readings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It soon became an outreach of their Antiochian Chicago parish, All Saints Orthodox Church, and later a department of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese.

Today, five years later, the station provides two streaming radio stations, about 50 podcasts, and audio recordings from conferences all across the country. Ancient Faith Radio has become an important resource for Orthodox Christians and many people interested in Christianity worldwide. What began as a few hundred listeners has grown substantially, with visitors to the website from 127 countries and an average of 250,000 downloads of podcasts each month.

John Maddex now serves full-time as the President and CEO of the parent company, Conciliar Media Ministries, overseeing operations of both Ancient Faith Radio and Conciliar Press, an Orthodox Christian publishing house. Currently, AFR is in the midst of their annual appeal. Supportive listeners have offered matching funds, so that end of the year gifts will be doubled, in order to increase the internet radio ministry's reach. Donate funds at: www.ancientfaith.com.

When asked what the future holds for Conciliar Media, Maddex said, “As technology develops and more and more people consume digital media in the form of internet radio and e-books, Conciliar Media and Ancient Faith Radio are positioned to provide high-quality audio and reading materials for Orthodox as well as other liturgically minded Christians worldwide.”

In time for Christmas gift giving, SVS Press has released Jane Meyer’s The Woman and the Wheat, the second book in a set that also includes The Man and the Vine. The books tell the story of the making of Eucharistic bread and wine, and are complimented by the artistic skills of illustrator Ned Gannon. To order, click here.

In an interview, author Meyer explained, “the book highlights that time in church when something temporal becomes something eternal.”  Read interview here:

Music is a divine act and science concerned with tones, which aids us in expressing the sentiments of the heart by means of voice and instruments. —S.J. Savas

So he who sings well puts his soul in tune, correcting by degrees its faulty rhythm, so that at last, being truly natural and integrated, it has fear of nothing, but in peaceful freedom from all vain imaginings may apply itself with greater longing to the good things to come. For a soul rightly ordered by chanting the sacred word forgets its own afflictions and contemplates with joy the things of Christ alone. —St. Athanasius, The Letter of St. Athanasius to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of Psalms.

A Message From Christopher Holwey

Chairman, Department of Sacred Music

Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray all is well.

This is simply a quick reminder to you that this coming Sunday, December 6th, is the Sunday that we honor our chanters and choir members throughout our Archdiocese. It is known as Choir & Chanter Appreciation Sunday.

So therefore, I would like to ask that you do something in recognition of the choir members and chanters in your parish. It might be a special acknowledgement of thanks after Liturgy, or a coffee hour planned in their honor, or whatever else you might creatively think to do for them. As you know, we not only need our priests for each and every service that is done in the Church, but we also need someone, or a group of people--our dedicated chanters and choir members--there to chant and sing the responses and special hymns for whichever service is being offered. They are a vital part of every service that is prayed. As Metropolitan ANTONY, of thrice-blessed memory, once said, “A church without a choir is like a body without a soul.”

On Friday, November 20, 2009, His Grace Bishop Basil sent an invitation to his flock, inviting them to sign a statement affirming the historic Christian teaching on life, marriage, and religious freedom. He wrote:

"Dear to Christ:

We invite you to join with other Christians across the nation who support the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty by endorsing the Manhattan Declaration.

Chaplain's Corner

by Fr. George Morelli

During the season celebrating the Birth of Christ, also called Christmas, a line from the scriptures is frequently quoted. It is actually from the Gospel of St. Luke (2:14): “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace ....” Some may notice I truncated the scriptural verse and some may have filled in the rest of the verse based on their memory of how they have heard or read the verse in the past.

The Classical Learning Resource Center is offering 4 new classes for Spring Semester (January 11th – May 14th 2010). In addition to new Latin 1 and Greek 1 classes the CLRC will offer two new high school level courses for the Spring Semester: “Critical Thinking”, and “God and the Philosophers”. Noted Christian author Matthew Gallatin (Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells) will be the instructor for both classes. These will complement current CLRC courses for Middle School and High School students in Latin and Greek, as well as Greek Mythology and Homer. Students with some previous background in Latin or Greek may be eligible to join ongoing CLRC classes in these subjects. New sections of Homer and Greek Mythology are also being offered. Registration for the Spring Semester (January 11- May 14) opened on November 5. Class sizes are limited for the purpose of quality instruction so early enrollment is encouraged.

The Classical Learning Resource Center, founded by Subdeacon John and Anne Van Fossen and Reader Matthew Gallatin is an online Resource Center for teachers and homeschoolers, dedicated to Christian education through Classical Learning. A classical education not only prepares students for the practical responsibilities of life, but also opens the door to a deeper understanding of humanity and faith.

To learn more about the school and/or to register for classes, visit the CLRC online at http://www.facebook.com/l/53825;www.clrchomeschool.com.

FOCUS North America has announced the launch of a new website and video for its youth-based domestic outreach program “Youth Equipped to Serve” (YES). The website can be found at http://www.yesnorthamerica.org/  The video can be found at www.yesnorthamerica.org/yesvideo.

"We are so excited for you to get to know the YES Program through our new website and YES video! Read testimonies from students, view videos that they made and hear firsthand how God is working in the lives of the youth that become His hands and feet in service to the poor," said Katrina Bitar, FOCUS North America YES Program Director.

Feedback from student participants has been enthusiastic.

“The website is fantastic and lively. The new YES video does an excellent job showing the many encounters that happen on a YES trip.” - Peyton Powers

“The website is awesome! The bright colors are great and show how fun these trips are. The video perfectly captured our trip!” - Grace Farha

FOCUS North America believes that engaging all of the faithful, especially our youth, in the Gospel work of serving the poor in our own communities is essential in keeping the youth faithful to Christ and active in the Church for a lifetime. The YES Program has dramatically influenced the spiritual lives of its hundreds of participants. For more information on the YES program or to schedule a trip, visit: www.FOCUSNorthAmerica.org/YES.

FOCUS North America and its programs are committed to serve those in need, support Orthodox Christian social action ministries and supply parishes and others with the education, resources and training to initiate social action ministries in their own communities. In all of this, FOCUS North America continues its work in Restoring Living Icons.

St. Vladimir's Seminary’s Board of Trustees, under the leadership His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and Board Chairman, met on the seminary campus November 5–7, 2009 for their 61st annual meeting. A highlight of the trustees’ decisions included appointments and elections to the board in accordance with the Seminary’s vision for cooperative effort and exchange among Orthodox Christian jurisdictions and churches globally. The board concluded its meeting looking optimistically toward the future.

Metropolitan Philip re-appointed as trustee

Exemplifying the pan-Orthodox vision of its founders, the seminary Board of Trustees is comprised of episcopal appointments and elected trustees from the wide spectrum of students who historically have graced the classrooms at St. Vladimir's Seminary. His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah has re-appointed to the seminary's Board of Trustees His Eminence Metropolitan Philip, primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, whose presence on the board since 1967 continues fifty-one years of tradition of having the metropolitan archbishop of the Antiochian Archdiocese counted among the seminary's trustees, beginning with the appointment of His Eminence Metropolitan Antony (Bashir) in 1958. The longest serving trustee of the seminary, His Eminence was re-elected by the Board of Trustees to the office of Vice Chairman of the Board, an office His Eminence has held since 1981, and an expression of his commitment to the vision of pan-Orthodox unity for North America and the role of St. Vladimir's Seminary in fostering cooperation among Orthodox Churches in North America and beyond.

Archbishop Hilarion and Thomas Zedlovich join board

Mother Alexandra and Cindy Nimey"We are all very excited about our new North American Board project—contributing to the building of St. Thekla Convent—and the arrival of Mother Alexandra to the Antiochian Village," NAB President Cindy Nimey said. “Mother Alexandra is a dynamic person and we will all learn very much from her.”

Five elected officers, the immediate past president, and six appointed coordinators comprise the NAB. “We have all been elected or appointed to positions to be leaders and provide programs and information about our projects to the seven Dioceses of our Archdiocese,” Cindy wrote in a encouraging letter to the board and to officers and coordinators of the Dioceses.

“We had a wonderful meeting this summer (at Archdiocese convention in Palm Desert, CA); thanks to the hard work and love from all the Antiochian Women chapters we were able to give Metropolitan PHILIP a check in the amount of $112,800.00 for the support of the Al K'afaat Foundation in Lebanon.

The Orthodox InterSeminary Movement will meet on the campus of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology this weekend, November 6 and 7. Seminarians from Holy Trinity Seminary, Christ the Savior Seminary and St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York, St. Tikhon's Seminary in Pennsylvania, and a seminarian from St. Herman's in Alaska, approximately 25 in all from outside Holy Cross, will attend.

The keynote address will be given on Saturday morning at 11:30 in the Booras Room by the Very Rev. Archimandrite Joachim Cotsonis, PhD, Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Library and Learning Resource Center at Holy Cross. The talk is entitled "The History of the Image of and devotion to St. Nicholas".

YONKERS, NY—St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary welcomed two prestigious guests from Russia to its campus this fall: the Minister for Justice of the Russian Federation and the President of The International Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations (IFUOCN). Both Russian visitors were drawn to campus because of the seminary’s global influence in theological circles, including the 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide that share its creed.

In November 2009, the seminary administration welcomed The Honorable Alexander V. Konovalov, the minister for justice, and his wife, Maria Suslina, to chapel services and gave them a campus tour. Mr. Konovalov—whose U.S. counterpart would be the Attorney General—is a devout Orthodox Christian, with a long-standing interest in the works of the former dean of St. Vladimir’s, Father Alexander Schmemann, particularly his views on the challenge of secularism. Father Schmemann, who died in 1983, had enormous religious influence on Russian society during the Soviet Era, through Radio Liberty Broadcasts and samizdat writings—including capturing the notice and admiration of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The seminary has the distinction of the being the first place Solzhenitsyn visited after his 1974 expulsion from the Soviet Union.

His Eminence Metropolitan Philip joined other American Orthodox Primates in an audience with His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Most of the Primates had also attended the Ninth Annual Orthodox Prayer Service for the United Nations Community the previous evening. Present at the audience were Archbishop Demetrios of America (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese); Metropolitan Philip (Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese); Metropolitan Christopher (Serbian Orthodox Archdiocese); Metropolitan Nicholas (Carpatho- Russian Diocese); Archbishop Nicolae (Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese); Metropolitan Jonah (Orthodox Church in America), Metropolitan Constantine (Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA); Bishop Ilia (Albanian Orthodox Diocese) and Archpriest Alexander Abramov (Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA). Archbishop Demetrios welcomed His All Holiness on behalf of the Primates.

The remarks of His All Holiness follow:

Orthodox Christians in America are anticipating an historic visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch, who will be traveling throughout the United States in late October and early November. Called "The Green Patriarch," His All Holiness Bartholomew has convened several symposia of scientists, religious and humanitarian leaders, to discuss critical worldwide environmental issues. In New Orleans, the Patriarch will draw attention to the importance of the Mississippi's ecosystem, and in New York he'll gather the SCOBA bishops, and will meet with other national leaders such as former president Bill Clinton, and His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations.

A website dedicated to the Patriarch and his visit will include photos and updates of his meetings and travels, and can be found at:

http://www.patriarchate.org/

“I am surrounded by love. It's not the kind of love you see on TV or in the movies, but love in its most true and simple form. It is the love that can only come from God ... I have already found that love in abundance everywhere I look.” - A 2009 Team member

Now is the time for you to have a Mission Teams experience! In 2010, Teams will be offered during more times of the year and for varying amounts of time (as few as 9 days and as long as 3 weeks) and there will be opportunities for families as well! Be a living witness of your Faith on a Teaching team; provide labor on a Construction team; engage the future of our Church on a Youth team; or take part in the holistic mission of the Church on a Health Care team. Develop deep relationships with others, have a cultural learning experience, and live in response to the Lord’s command to “make disciples of all nations”.

For over 20 years, Team members have proudly served through OCMC to participate in the Holy Orthodox Church’s unending mission effort to bring the saving message of salvation to the ends of the earth. Join the thousands of Orthodox Christians from North America who have been witnessing to the hope and good news of the risen Christ with the world. There will be at least 14 opportunities to participate on a Team in 2010: Alaska – Teaching and Outreach; Albania – Youth camp; Guatemala – Youth camp; India – Teaching; Kenya – Teaching; Korea – Youth camp (ESL); Madagascar – Teaching; Romania – Youth camp; South Africa – Teaching; Tanzania – Construction and Teaching; Uganda – Health Care and Zimbabwe – Teaching.

 Team applications and more detailed information are available online at http://teams.ocmc.org or you can call the OCMC at 1.877.463.6787 (ext 142) for more information.

On Saturday, October 17, the Chicago area Orthodox organization SYNERGY is hosting a seminar entitled, “The Future of Orthodoxy in America.” Speakers include the Rev. Dr. Stanley Harakas, Professor Emeritus and renowned author, and the Rev. Dn. Nicholas Belcher, Dean of Students at Holy Cross Seminary.

SYNERGY consists of lay and clergy members from Chicago-area parishes who seek to make Orthodoxy known to the broader community. Working together with its parent organization, the Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Greater Chicago, SYNERGY operates with the blessings of the Chicago hierarchs.

The conference is going to be held at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, 1220 S. 60th Court in Cicero. Prior to October 9, 2009, individuals may register for $35.00, and married couples for $50.00; afterwards, the fee is $40.00. High school and college students are discounted at $20.00. Registration includes coffee service and lunch, and attendees may register at the door.

For more information go to: chicagosynergy.org/symposium.html or call: (847) 647-8889 or (630) 230-0079.

SYOSSET, NY [OCA-Youth] -- Jonathan Bush of Saint Anne Mission, Knoxville, TN, a student at the University of Tennessee, and Andrew Boyd, a first year student at Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY and a member of Saint Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Church, Clinton, CT, were the driving force behind a revamped ministry of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship -- the OCF podcast.

Featuring music, interviews, and other recorded presentations, the OCF podcast helps keep Orthodox Christian students connected to the Church.

The first episode of the podcast discusses the transition to college life and features clips of an interview with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah and an excerpt from a sermon by the Rev. Stephen Freeman, rector of Saint Anne's.

The podcast may be downloaded here.  http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/ocf/transitions_and_new_beginnings

The revamped podcast is the product of the recent New Media in College Ministry workshop hosted in Chicago in August 2009 by the Orthodox Church in America's Department of Youth, Young Adults and Campus Ministry, which cooperates closely with OCF. [Read about the workshop here.]

The OCF podcast is a free ministry of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, the official campus ministry of the Standing conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas [SCOBA]. For more information please contact Jonathan Bush at ocfpodcaster@gmail.com or Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak at jmatusiak@oca.org.

Chaplain's Corner, October 2009

By Fr. George Morelli

Do you notice that many times when looking for the causes of unhappiness, people frequently believe it is other individuals or external events that make them distressed? The idea is carried around that if these “outside forces,” as psychologist Albert Ellis (1962) calls them, were different, all their problems would go away and they would not be so miserable. Accompanying this outlook is the idea that, because it is just these nefarious persons or events over which they have no control which produce their wretchedness, they cannot help but be upset. Instead of working at the problem they are capable of solving, or devolving meaning in what they are able to accomplish, they feel they are justified in wallowing in their misery.

Obviously there are events that are realistically hurtful. Someone in the military who is permanently injured in battle, or a civilian who suffers lasting physical debilitation in an accident certainly are two common examples. In such cases there are two options, accept, but not condone, the untoward injury-causing event move on coping with the situation and creating a meaningful life in the face of the injury, or do as many do with non-realistic events, wallow in misery.

Ft.Lauderdale, Fl.- The Orthodox Christian Network (The OCN) is pleased to announce a new service to Orthodox parishes and ministries world wide—Customized Online Radio Stations! As the over the air radio market begins to shrink and the online radio market grows, OCN has strategically positioned itself to take advantage of the growing audience accessing online radio programming while maintaining a strong land base presence as well. Since recently acquiring new online radio server software, we can now offer completely customized 24/7 online radio stations in a cost effective and efficient way allowing parishes to stay connected to their parishioners more so than ever before.

With offerings ranging from personalized radio players to managed custom radio stations, OCN's online radio stations allow parishes of all sizes to provide Orthodox Christian programming aimed to their parish. The Branded National Radio Solution creates a custom radio station on OCN and the parish website utilizing the already existing content of the Ark or Rudder channels. Self managed and OCN managed stations are completely customizable. With the self managed option, parishes and ministries can upload their own sermons, liners, announcements and pod casts to their customized radio station. With an OCN managed station, we provide weekly updates to your station and provide the recording equipment so that your sermons, commercials, announcements and other programs can be seamlessly integrated with the OCN music of your choice.

Baltimore, Md. (IOCC) – International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is responding to a string of disasters that are affecting millions of people in the Asia Pacific region and have already taken hundreds of lives.

Damaging floods and mudslides caused by Typhoon Ketsana struck the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, causing hundreds of deaths and displacing thousands of families on September 26. Meanwhile, whole villages in Samoa have been devastated by a tsunami that was triggered by a massive 8.0 earthquake on September 29. A second earthquake measuring a magnitude 7.6 on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has killed hundreds and injured thousands, and caused significant damage.

Two other typhoons appear to be moving towards the Philippines later this week and significant aftershocks are being experienced in Indonesia.

IOCC has mobilized its disaster response team and is coordinating with our Orthodox and Ecumenical partners to monitor and respond to the emerging needs.

“We pray for those who have perished, their families and those who have been affected by these disasters,” says IOCC Executive Director Constantine Triantafilou. “We are working with our partners to provide emergency relief and the long-term care that will be necessary to restore the many countries and communities that have been affected.”

You can help the victims of disasters around the world, like the Asia Pacific Disasters, by making a financial gift to the IOCC International Emergency Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief as well as long-term support through the provision of emergency aid, recovery assistance and other support to help those in need. To make a gift please visit www.iocc.org, call toll free at 1-877-803-IOCC (4622), or mail a check or money order payable to IOCC, P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, Md. 21263-0225.

September 29th, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This past weekend, a team of 20 youth participated in FOCUS North America’s YES Program (formerly known as OYO), serving our most needy neighbors in Kansas City.

They arrived from parishes in Wichita, KS, Oklahoma City, OK, and Kansas City, eager to be used by God to meet the fundamental needs of His people. They did not expect, however, that they would receive much more from the experience than they would give. After three intense days, the youth gained a new perspective on the poor and homeless: they came expecting to serve them, but, instead, found their own lives forever changed by the encounter.

“They are just like us,” one participant said. Another said, “I don’t know how anyone can come on a FOCUS North America YES trip and not be changed.”

Living out Matthew 25, the youth engaged in several social action projects throughout the weekend. They served and ate dinner with many homeless and working poor in the city, listening to their stories and enjoying fellowship with them. They distributed clothing to mothers who had no means to clothe their children. They walked around the famous outdoor Country Club Plaza in Kansas City with newly opened eyes, looking beyond the glamour to perceive and meet the needs of the homeless on the streets. But, as the youth realized, they themselves were fed and clothed by the face-to-face encounter with real living icons of Christ, with the poor of the city. As one participant said, “They really open themselves to you; they’ll sit and talk to you forever, when most people in school will never give their time to you like that.”

Summary of the Special Meeting of the Leadership Team of St. Vladimir Seminary and His Eminence Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

September 15th, 2009

Englewood, New Jersey

On Tuesday September 15th, 2009, a meeting was held in Englewood, New Jersey between the leadership team of St. Vladimir Seminary and His Eminence Metropolitan Philip, Primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. The purpose of the meeting was to review the recent events that have transpired, especially with regard to the redirection of two seminarians (one from St. Tikhon and one from St. Vladimir) to Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, MA

The meeting was attended by the following:

His Eminence Metropolitan Philip

His Grace Bishop Antoun

Very Rev. Joseph Allen

Very Rev. Paul Tarazi

Very Rev. Elias Bitar

Very Rev. Thomas Zain

Very Rev. John Behr

Very Rev. Chad Hatfield

Mrs. Anne Glynn Mackoul

Rev. George Kevorkian – Secretary

His Eminence Metropolitan Philip led the participants in opening prayers.

His Eminence welcomed everyone to the meeting and made introductions. He reviewed the history of the relationship between St. Vladimir Seminary and the Antiochian Archdiocese, with a focus on the very close and positive working relationship that has been built.

His Eminence reviewed the sequence of events surrounding the recent redirection of two students (one from St. Vladimir, and one St. Tikhon) to Holy Cross.