Life Along the Orthodox Way
The Fathers affirmed, after careful and lengthy deliberation, that the bishops of the Archdiocese of North America are auxiliary bishops, raised up by God and dependent upon the metropolitan who has complete authority over the entire archdiocese. This is on the basis of the study prepared by His Eminence Basil (Mansour) about the position of the bishop historically in the Orthodox Church.
We need to wait and see if this is the final version. Until then we pray.
I like to watch “How Clean is Your House?” on BBC America. Go figure.
and the sound system was on its way to storage. The room that had been full of chairs and men was lining up with cots, a sheet on the bottom and a donated blanket on top, no pillow. Everyone knew the drill.
Some of the guys were already in their cot, covers over their head as the tasks continued. People talking. A few being prayed over. Others wandering the hall or stepping out in the humid night for one last cigarette before the lights went out. It was the rhythm of things, a meal, a service with music, and a bed of sorts, the Mission’s way of keeping the Hours.
On the streets outside people were driving by, unaware of the thousands of stories and hundreds of ghosts just inside the Mission walls. In hungry times such places are refuges of charity but also stark reminders of what could be a pink slip, or a the sideways tip of an addiction away. They send checks and hope that those inside stay them and not us.
Walking to the car with gear in hand and the air conditioning giving way to the August night one of those stories, one of those ghosts, one of God’s beloved, walked by. “Bro, you sure play that bass good…” he said. I hope I did.
I hope it mattered.
has been a fixture in St. Paul for decades. Evangelical in its orientation it has provided a haven, a home, and a refuge for all who are homeless, addicted, and battered and find their way to its doors. It has never, to my knowledge, been a source of scandal.
I’ll be there tonight with a band of Pentecostals to assist in a group event by playing music. Do I agree with every point of their theology. No. Could I accept every part of the Mission’s statement of faith. Again, no. Yet I’ve resolved to walk through any decent door that comes open to me and help any group of believers who are ministering to the poor and downtrodden based, if on nothing else, on the shared desire to fulfill the call of Matthew 25.
I’m Orthodox down to my toes and if anyone asks I’ll tell them why. Yet the truth is that the only way to be “out there” is to be out there beyond the parish walls and trying to find any good way to reach out and do what needs to be done. If my fellow travelers are not exactly like me I’ll take whatever help I can get and share whatever I can with them. We won’t be able to share the Eucharist together, that will have to wait, but for the person in prison or stuck without a home that is remarkably low on the priority list. Let’s stop the bleeding or the hunger first and then we can get on to the details.
to His Grace, Bishop Mark, of the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest, for all the pastoral care given to my wife and I in our transition to a sabbatical. It is good to know that one’s needs are taken seriously by a Bishop and that he will work, when needed, on your behalf. Most people know him only by the information presented in the give and take of the recent struggles in our Archdiocese but in dozens of quiet and unpublicized ways he has been a blessing to the Priests and Parishes of this Diocese. Thank you.
on clergy burnout from the NY Times.
if Christian people really wish to change the world the first step is to surrender themselves and all that they are to Christ. One of the dangers in Orthodoxy is that we often think of this in terms of being a cleric or monastic and largely this is simply not true. There is a need for clerics and monastics but there is even a greater need for Orthodox people in every walk of life to simply say “I am here and by God’s grace I will live out my holiness in whatever place and occupation I am found.”
Imagine a world in which Orthodox business owners committed not only themselves but their companies to theosis. Imagine a world where Orthodox Christians both great and humble live every day and practice the Faith not just in their interior but their exterior lives. What would an authentic Orthodox Christian grocery store look like? A restaurant? A trading firm? A car dealership? A household? When Orthodox start asking questions like this with the intention of action the world will change.
from the Holy Synod in Antioch. The joy in belonging to a global community of churches like the Antiochian Orthodox Church is sharing a bond of kinship and continuity that transcends even nationality. The struggle is that decisions, even ones that can directly affect your life, can be made in far away places and by people who may not have even visited your hemisphere.The potential for game playing and mischief is always there.
What to do? People and their ideas come and go but the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church remains and the great Tradition of the Church, which to some can seem like an anchor, is also a powerful rudder holding us on course even if sometimes we ourselves steer hard one way or another and claim the hand of God. This is why we pray for our Bishops and pray for ourselves as well, that we may all ever be open to the authentic presence of the Holy Spirit and be ready, if needed, to stand on the ramparts in prayer ready to defend the Faith.
are ticking away and its been a great ride. Every decade after my teens has just gotten better and better and although I miss the hair and waistline of my high school years I’m much happier here. Youth, as my father would say, is wasted on the young.
When the clocks moves past midnight tonight I’ll be on the grand journey of the 50’s and if the 40’s are any indication it should be a great run as well. The next few months will be a sabbatical and I hope to relax, learn, and become better at what I’m called to do in the Church as I develop what I do on stage.
I want to write more, travel more, get that doctorate. It’s good to be a grown up but I still want the kid inside to have a place to play. I feel more human now then I ever have and the moments are more precious and therefore more alive. Whatever old is I don’t feel it and the shallowness of youth has, for the most part, passed away.
Yes, I realize there are more years behind than ahead. I see that everyday in the flecks of gray in my hair and the lines emerging on my face. Yet I plan on staying alive for however much time lies ahead and slide into home head first and safe when its all done.
Regrets? Sure. There are people from the late teens and early twenties that I wish I could apologize to for being so needy, so weird, and so hungry for a human touch that I went through their lives like a loose chainsaw. Until that time comes I often pray for them, asking God in His mercy to bless them beyond whatever damage I have done.
Joys? Absolutely! I won the marriage lottery and I’ve been blessed with family, friends, and so many good things over the years. I’m rich in everything except money but occasionally I still buy a lottery ticket just in case. My life and my career have been spent in caring for others and it gets tiring sometimes but never gets old. If today was my day to leave I’d be sad for things yet to do, the horizons left to explore, but I’m certainly not ashamed of living a life trying in some small way to make people’s lives better.
So tick away clock, you’d do it even if I asked you to stop, and speed me on my way. I’ll try to make each second count and finish the race well. When my time comes I want death to catch me, wide awake, fully alive, and ready as I can be to stand before my Maker. But until then…
that whatever consenting adults do in their private lives is okay?It’s a jungle out there folks so be careful.
