If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will be merciful to their sins and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Many thanks to whoever was hit #10,000 on this blog. I know I’m a minor player in the blogosphere but each visit is an honor and that one, in particular, was special.

1) Please vote. We’ve been given a precious right and to not use it is a kind of negligence. A vote is one way of positively impacting the public arena with Christian values.

2) Vote, not based on emotion, the economy, party loyalty, or the passion of the moment but rather with a dispassionate understanding of the Orthodox Faith as your guide. Economies changes, emotions come and go, principles matter and endure.

3) Take responsibility for positive change after the election. If you’re pro-life that’s good because Orthodoxy is as well but when the voting is done what will you do to put “shoe leather” on that belief? Voting is good but living your principles in the real world is better.

4) Pray. Whether the candidate we vote for wins, or whether the candidate who wins is in opposition to our values, we will continue to pray for them and for all civil authorities.

5) Don’t give in to fear. On election day things will change but the world won’t end. God is still God and no politician or party can change that.

This past Saturday I was preparing for Vespers when I entered the sanctuary through the Deacon’s doors. A little girl saw me enter and close the door. About a minute later I heard her ask her father, “Is he hiding?”

Sometimes, yes.

On November 1st, St. Elias Parish calls to mind the life and work of Bishop, now Saint RAPHAEL, the first Orthodox bishop consecrated in America, who served the Russian Orthodox Church and this country by gathering the communities of Middle Eastern immigrants into parishes.

St. RAPHAEL founded St. Elias Church in 1912.

Holy St. RAPHAEL pray for us!

Our Patriarch, IGNATIUS IV, has arrived in the United States for a visit. I have had the distinct pleasure of both meeting and serving as Deacon with His Holiness and he is a remarkable man. We wish him many years, safe travels, and many good things as he travels among us.

Patriarch IGNATIUS is on the right (as you face the picture) and His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP is on the left.

So what do you think? Would ours look the same? Different? How?

California’s Orthodox Bishop’s speak in support of Proposition 8, an initiative to overturn the California Supreme Court’s imposition of same sex marriage on the state.

As members of the Church and as citizens of this great land, we cannot withdraw from the society in which we live. Our parishes and our faithful are called upon to be “salt and light,” to paraphrase Christ, and as such, they engage with their neighbors in acts of charity and love. We will continue our charitable works, and our engagement with society — including to faithfully teach the truth about Christian principles of living…

At approximately 2:00 AM this morning I received a call from the LaCrosse Police Department stating that windows had been broken at St. Elias. When I arrived at the church the police were there and had a young man, very intoxicated, in custody. At the present we have no idea behind his motivation but apparently he decided to throw objects at and into the church. Inside the church there was glass everywhere, a vodka bottle, an iron, and household garbage. Outside the church there was litter on the lawn, various objects including bottles, a pumpkin, stove parts, and other items that had been thrown at or against the church. Two large windows were broken and two smaller glass block windows suffered damage. There was also damage to the siding. We had no Orthros this morning as that time was dedicated to clean up but we patched up and served the Divine Liturgy.

Please remember the young man alleged to be the perpetrator in your prayers.

Interesting thoughts from First Things…

But now we see Christians hedging and trimming and tying themselves into intellectual and moral knots in order to support candidates, including a presidential candidate, who explicitly and adamantly support an unlimited legal license to kill the unborn. They are fearful lest they be perceived as “one-issue” voters, although the one issue is the greatest human rights question of our time. Namely, should it be permissible to kill human beings because of their location, dependency, stage of development, or burdensomeness to others? To his great credit, Stanley Hauerwas has consistently answered that question in the negative. Behind that answer are many reasons—scientific, political, theological, and moral. Behind that answer is a conviction about what kind of people the Church is called to be.