THE FIRST CALLED - January 2012
From Fr. Silviu’s Desk...
The River of Time
Dear Saint Andrew’s Stewards and Friends,
Poets and songwriters across cultures have described the passage of time like a river that flows relentlessly, unsympathetic to its surroundings, stopping for no one. Yet, at the beginning of every new calendar year, we, as Orthodox Christians, join the world in doing a wonderful and incredible thing. With faith in our Creator Who marks the seasons and times, we mark the passage of this river and divide it into two.
The Year of Our Lord, 2012, is upon us. Under His loving lordship, and with His authority, we stop for reflection, we thank God for the gift of another year and we pray:―Lord our God Who fixes times and seasons by Your own authority and in Your hands hold our life, hear us who pray to You on this auspicious day. As we enter this New Year of Your goodness, bless. . .our comings and goings; fill our lives with all that is good….Let Your heavenly gifts descend upon us,. .. guide our steps that they may fulfill Your divine commandments. . . through the intercessions of Your all-pure Mother, and of our Father among the Saints, Basil the Great, and of all the Saints. Amen.‖With God, we divide the river of time, and create a sacred moment to be with our loved ones in God‘s embrace, who teaches how to redeem the time. St. Paul exhorts in Galatians 3:13, ―let us redeem the time,‖ by offering it up with thanksgiving to God for all that He has already done for us, celebrating it with the eyes of faith, as another opportunity for repentance (a change of mind and heart) towards God and His Light, granting us renewal, following Him as He takes us into a new year filled with a new love and good works.
Just as in the beginning of time itself, God created the heavens and the earth, out of the darkness of nothingness, so does He now, at the beginning of our new year, offer us a new creation and newness of life, out of any darkness, if we believe (cf Gal 6:15 and 2 Cor 5:17). ―Therefore if any man be in Christ,he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.‖ (2 Cor. 5:17) "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.‖ (Isaiah 65:17) How do they become new? How do the sad and evil things of our past not come to mind? By taking seriously, the Word of God Who is born anew in our lives this holy season, Who speaks to us, now, with hope and promise, through Holy Scripture. ―He who was seated on the throne said, ‗I am making everything new!‘ Then he said, ‗Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true‘" (Revelation21:5).
If we take the reading of Scripture seriously, throughout all times and seasons, prayerfully implementing His words in all of our life‘s predicaments, while helping others; Holy Scripture will become to us like living water refreshing us unto eternal life: for this faithful interaction and implementation of Holy Scripture will have poured into our hearts His Holy Spirit. Also, we make things new, by forgetting the former things and not dwelling on the past (cf Isaiah 43:18). We make all things new by praying, instead, remembering the saints and their stories which inspire us, and by coming into the loving embrace of our fellow brothers and sisters in Church: ―Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.‖ (Hebrews 12:1) ‖Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.‖ (I Cor. 9:24)
In Church, we are not in competition with one another, and there is never only one prize. Instead, the exhortation of St. Paul means that we run the race of 2012, and every year, finishing first for ourselves, having no regrets. With God, our life existentially becomes as if we have run the race of life, and come first, when we appropriate His salvation and instill His life into our lives, and when we are able to forgive and forget. This takes the gift of a new year, which is why St. Paul continues: ―Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Finally, brothers and sisters in Christ, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.‖ (Phil 3:12-16, 4:8) In this way we divide the river of time with auspicious moments of real joy and contentment. We receive direct revelations of God coming into our hearts, our time touches eternity, and heaven comes down to earth, with loving people—family and friends—surrounding us in Church.
A Blessed and Redeemed 2012 in Christ!
Father Silviu Stanculescu
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffett
In the last couple of months during my column, I have presented analysis regarding the state of our community. In October, I showed that our community of fifty-five families is in the midst of change as new families come in who tend to be very active in the community and are less likely to be of Greek ethnicity than the founders of our parish. We also have a significant number of retired members. However, demographic trends in our area suggest that we will not grow significantly due to overall population trends. In other words, we have not and cannot grow merely by new Greeks moving to the area. In November, I made the case for the value of growing the community. First and foremost, we are called on by Christ himself to reach out to all, especially those in need. Furthermore, new people bring vitality and new energy to the community. Finally, growing our community will create a financial base to expand our mission—we cannot meet our financial obligations without growth.
At the General Assembly, I outlined the Parish Council’s plan for growing our community. It has four initiatives:
Initiative One: Attract Pan-orthodox and Converts
When the parish council examined which groups are most likely to be receptive to Orthodoxy, we identified four groups. The first group is comprised of new Greeks moving to the area who were active in their previous parish. The second group includes Serbians, Romanians, Lebanese, Egyptians, and other pan-Orthodox moving to the area who were active in their previous parish. Our experience shows that both of these groups find us on their own, but we need to ensure that they can find us through a strong public presence.
The third receptive group includes fervent pan-Orthodox (Orthodox of non-Greek origin) who have not been part of our church previously. The fourth group is comprised of existing local Protestants and Catholics who have an interest in Orthodoxy. Because of our designation as a Greek Orthodox parish, these two groups have historically been less likely to be drawn to us. This initiative looks for ways to seek them out actively and then provide them a home to worship. This mission also reflects our unique status of being on the only Orthodox Church on the Central Coast; thus we have a spiritual obligation to serve the needs of all Orthodox of all backgrounds.
We have already seen some of the implications of this initiative: we are now saying the “Our Father” and “Lord, Have Mercy” in multiple languages so that people can pray the most important prayers in the language closest to their heart. We will also create environments where all the traditional Orthodox ethnicities are celebrated. However, we are adding to our Greek heritage, not taking it away. We will continue to honor and privilege our Greek Heritage. Preservation of Greek culture will continue to be a central mission of ours; we will have Greek language classes, Greek dancing, the Evening in Greece, SLO Greek Festival, and Greek history classes. We are still a Greek parish, but one that is uniquely open to all Orthodox and all people in need. We believe this is critical to our growth.
Initiative Two: Reducing Barriers for New People
In our discussions with visitors and new people to our community, the impression that they have is that we have a close community but it is difficult to have a rich experience the first visit. We are difficult to find; people do not know where to enter; people cannot follow the liturgy; they do not know the norms of our community; and they feel awkward and as outsiders. Moreover, new people to any parish are naturally anxious and our these challenges just add to these anxieties.
This initiative has two parts: first, we are reviewing closely the first-visit experience to reduce these barriers and improve the experience. We are looking to improve our signage, designate visitor spots in the parking lot, develop a greeting committee, develop a guest welcome pack, and create an environment where everyone welcomes guests. Second, we are trying to make the liturgy more accessible through being consistent in our use of Greek so that we can produce a new liturgy book that follows and explains the liturgy exactly. For those who are used to the Green Books, there is no need to change. For visitors, however, we hope that an improved guide to the liturgy will reduce the amount of getting lost.
We posses the greatest gift to share with the world: Orthodoxy. We cannot allow the reception of this gift be hampered by logistical barriers.
Initiative Three: Strive to Create a Healthy Church that People Want to Share with Others
Studies have shown that the most determining factor in Church growth is having parishioners who want to share their community with friends and family. In general, we have not been that type of community. Very few of us have invited or sought out friends and family to become part of our community. While the reasons for this failure are numerous, we have to become a church where everyone wants to share their community with people if we are to grow.
What kind of church do people like to share? The simplest answer is a healthy church, which means one in which people are growing spiritually as individuals, the community is growing together, and the community is making a difference in the world. Thus this initiative requires that we invest in individual spiritual growth through education and providing the tools for people to grow. Next we will support our primary strength: the bond we feel as a community. In this arena, the expanded fellowship hall will be central. Finally, we have asked Philoptochos to expand our efforts in the community. We need to be a community that is making a difference in the world.
Here are the critical questions: do you have a faith worth sharing? Do you have a friend worth sharing it with? We want to become a community that you are so proud and excited about that sharing it with others becomes the most natural thing in the world.
Initiative Four: Empowering people to share their faith with potential new converts
Orthodoxy is for all, yet sometimes we tend to hide it for ourselves. However, if our community is going to grow as it must, it will be through each parishioner opening a door to new people and inviting them in. This charge does not mean that we become like evangelicals with slick marketing plans and seeker-targeting techniques but it means that we encourage our parish take advantage of opportunities given to them by God to invite people to a church that welcomes new people. Learning to do this requires education and opportunities. As a part of this initiative, the church is providing forums such as the monthly vespers service, lecture, and dinners. We also want to provide literature and advice on reaching out to people who have shown interest in Orthodoxy. Once we have a place that you want to share, we need to give you the tools and environment to facilitate your desire.
These four initiatives are being put into place to fulfill our mission: to be a Greek Orthodox community that proclaims, spreads, and supports the Holy Orthodox faith throughout the central coast of California. Right now is our opportunity to expand our vision, reach out to those in need, and strengthen our bonds of community. We hope that we will takes these steps united as a community. The priest or parish council cannot make the church grow on its own. We hope that everyone will join us in transforming our community for the glory of God.
