Strange Dream...!

I didn't quite dream about unicorns but it was strange enough....

First of all, I went to Vespers last Saturday night and I will blog about it tomorrow but I have had a tough week at work so I have been very tired....

My wife has been wanting to learn a new language for a while now. We even started learning German with the Roseta Stone program but that sort of petered out.... (It was hard with my work schedule to take time to "study.")

So last night I dreamed that my wife asked me to learn a language with her again.

I said, "Sure, honey, how about Church Slavonic?"

I woke up before I could hear my wife's reaction. I guess by waking up I prevented my strange dream into turning into a nightmare . :)

Dreaming about Church Slavonic? I guess it's time to convert.

(Photo by Valentina Kendel, used under the creative commons license.

check out this photographer's work at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/valentinakendal/

New book worth reading!

Hello, loyal readers! Fr Andrew Stephen Damick has written a book called Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy and I highly recommend it! But, wait, you haven't read it yet! How can you recommend it? Well, Fr Andrew did a series on Ancient Faith Radio with the same title and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In it, he explained different groups and sects and explains what they believe and how it relates to Orthodox teaching. An excellent and fascinating handling of the subject. So this book is well worth reading. Not only will it strengthen your faith but it will make you knowledgeable of other belief systems allowing you to always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; as St. Peter advises in his First epistle.

So go here and get it! http://wp.me/prN4b-iY

(Disclosure: Yes I posted this so I could be in the running for a free autographed copy of the book but everything I said is true...BUY THE BOOK. I am, unless, of course, if I win it)

Sitting in the wrong place in Visit #32?

Listen to the audioboo first, before you read, if you like...! or click on link if the player doesn't work..

.http://audioboo.fm/boos/408871-checking-in-again

So I go to Vespers after a long absence and I arrive a few minutes early. I venerate the Icons and, when done, I decide to sit close to the front. There is a few minutes before we start and others are making their "rounds" with icons, including Presbytera Mary- that's Father Gary's wife - and after she finishes venerating the final Icon, she sits down next to me as if to talk - which she does.

"You know," she says, "This row is reserved for Priests, Priest's wives or deacons."

"Really," I say embarrassed, "I guess I better move then" Great! Orthodoxy has 2000 years of traditions - I am NEVER going to learn them all!

As I grab my hat and am about to leave, she touches my arm and say, "I'm just kidding."

Presbytera Mary leaves to join the choir and my ears redden in embarrassment. I am not embarrassed because I am sitting in the wrong place; I am embarrassed because I am so gullible! I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as doors opened and Father Gary began Vespers. Ah, such a jokester, she is! Orthodox might take worship very seriously, but they certainly are not stoic.

Sitting in the front before Vespers started, I got a chance to observe people as they made their venerations. (Maybe I am not supposed to do that but I guess it's the blogger in me that likes to make observations). One lady was very nicely dressed. It was a very stylish dress which was still modest. That made me think about how people dress for Vespers. I guess I can talk about that best by comparing to some things that are the worst.

I have been to "informal" worship services where not only did people look like they just came from a day at the park, they brought their coffee with them into what the protestant's would call the "sanctuary" (I am not sure what Orthodox call the place where the people sit.) Yes, very informal! Now, I know that God looks at the heart but some protestants have forgotten they are seeking an audience with a King. We would want to dress up to visit the President, why not look your best to visit with the Ruler of the Universe?

What I like about what I have seen so far in Orthodoxy is how people dress up is not cult like in conformity. I visited a friend's church (He's from work) and he is a preacher in that denomination. Very formal. Everyone was dressed in suits and the ladies had long dresses. But it seemed to me that everyone looked the same. The suits were all black and the shirts were all white. It was almost like being a Mormon Convention. Now I am not saying that my friend is involved in a cult (although in the Orthodox sense, isn't anything outside Orthodoxy some variation of a cult? I don't know. Dear reader, set me straight on this one) but it seems that there was no room for individual expression. In Orthodoxy, I saw people dressing up in styles that reflected their personality. God has made us all different so why not express ourselves differently!. Ah, the diversity in the unity of the Body of Christ! How, Glorious!

(I won't mention my friend's church's name but if you want to know, email me and I'll tell you more).

I still have to contact Fr Gary to make an appointment. I had to rush out right after Vespers because I promised my son we would watch the Original BATMAN movie with Michael Keaton and Jack Nickolsen. And I get sleepy late at night so I rushed home.

Also, I had to get up early to plan Sunday's "Jr NYI All Glorious Water Balloon and Wetness Extravaganza" JR NYI is the youth group I run. Does that name sound Orthodox inspiried? I got tired of saying "water balloon fight"...:)

Visit number 31 - Pentacost

Last Saturday, I was feeling a little melancholy on my 31st visit to the Orthodox Church. You see, Father Gary sent out an email the day before stating that Deacon Ken, who has been a sort of mentor for me in Orthodoxy, will be assigned to a different Parish. So seeing him leading in the prayers, for what I assumed be the last time, put me in a bit of a funk. It was a little over a year ago that I started attending this parish and from the very beginning, Deacon Ken has been very welcoming and encouraging. So you can see why I would feel a bit down.

It was hard to concentrate as Deacon Ken was leading the prayers because I knew I would miss him. He has been very helpful as I struggle towards Orthodoxy. I suppose it is only natural that I should feel that way. After all, we are all a part of the body of Christ and are in connection with each other. To be upset that he will be in another parish is understandable. It would be the same as when families whom I know very well in my protestant church and who were a big part of my life, suddenly have to move.

It turns out, though, that my melancholy was not totally justified. In conversation with Ken afterwards, he says he still plans on being at Vespers on Saturday nights because most Carpatho-Russian parishes do not have Vespers on Saturday nights because most of the parishioners commute so he plans on still attending this parish. "I am not going anywhere," he says. Plus, his children want to stay att this present parish and will still attend here since they drive.

After talking with Ken, Fr Gary walked by and I quickly told him I would like to visit with him (at IHOP, maybe). He said, sure! He is going on vacation so I will talk to him when he gets back.

Tammy realized that it has been a year since I have been attending. "Didn't I feed you the Litya last year at Pentacost," she asked. I said, Yes. "And now you are going up yourself to receive it. That's a blessing."

Today is Saturday and this post has been about last Saturday's visit. God willing, I will attend tonight as well.

Until then, God's blessings on you!

my daughter's new website!

Hey, all; I know I usually just blog about Orthodoxy but I thought I would share a link to my daughter's blog. Sara is in her third year at the Savannah School of Art and Design.

As you can see, she is really good at what she does! She has been doodling since she was young so she decided to turn her talent into a career.

When I had the podcast called Monkey in the Middle, Sara designed the Art work.

(My podcast was about Children's Ministries from an Evangelical point of view- It might still be up in Itunes, if you are interested).

If you would like to have Sara do some work for you, contact her at her blog.

http://halfeatencandybars.blogspot.com/

Thanks for taking the time to look. As you can imagine, I am a proud parent!

the 30th visit - Great worship and Good conversations!

It is always good to step into Church, smell the incense, see the Icons and know that for the next hour I shall be focused on, as much as possible in my limited attention span, the Risen Christ and the worship due Him. I felt that way as I arrived early (for a change) for Vespers. I greeted Tammy and grabbed a service book before I entered inside. It was only after I sat down I realized that the book, although the same color as the regular Vespers service, was actually for Burials. I thought, that is an odd theme for the season of Pascha. When I returned to the nave where Tammy was still straightening things out and asked her about it, she said that there had been a funeral here earlier and these were left out by mistake. So I grabbed the correct service book and returned to my seat as I awaited Father Gary to open the doors. Tammy, in the mean time, scurried to a side door in the front, with a bunch of the burial books, apparently putting them in it's proper place.

The choir was uplifting, the prayers, although very familiar by now, were uplifting and the Vespers service progressed as usual. Hymns were sung about the healing of the blind man, entreating God to heal us of our spiritual blindness. During the homily at the end, Father Gary read a "sneak peak" from Sunday's reading from the book of Acts where a demon possessed girl followed the Apostle Paul around shouting positive things about Paul - "They are preaching the Good News," or something like that - Father Gary said about the demon possessed girl - right message, wrong source! Father Gary applied that to Harold Camping, who predicted the end of the world on May 21st (and was wrong, of course). It is true that Christ is returning but when you are outside the church, there is no telling what nonsense will come out of a person's mouth. (That's my paraphrase of a more sophisticated, nuanced homily).

Deacon Ken was anxious to speak to me about my last blog post. He had read about breakfast with Pastor Del and wanted more details. It was good to be in conversation with Ken. I especially liked when the conversation took little turns into his work as a funeral director or the very good movie by Robert Duval called The Apostle. Then the conversation would come back to my present status as a seeker. I asked his advice about "what I should do" and he encouraged me to continue as I am. I am going slowly, not wanting to "rock the boat" too much at home since my family is less than thrilled with me embracing Orthodoxy. (As a quick aside, I wonder how they are going to like it, when I set up an Icon corner on the East wall of the dinning room?)

I have been on this journey now for about three years. It started solely as an internet preoccupation and then my study of Orthodoxy turned from academic to practical when I finally got the nerve to walk into an Orthodox Church a year ago. I am at the point where I am feeling less and less comfortable at my protestant church, knowing it doesn't have the fullness of Orthodoxy, even though they are godly, holy people, and I long for more of the Church, knowing, if I may put it crudely as I did in my conversation with Deacon Ken, that the Orthodox Church has better tools for my spiritual growth then what I am experiencing at my Nazarene church. It is good to know that my protestant pastor has encouraged me to go where the Lord is leading me and it is also good to know that Father Gary is there to help me on that journey. After Vespers I went home to my computer to find that Father Gary sent me this short email, after reading my last blog post:

Dear Jim,

Christ is Risen!

I will be happy to meet with you anytime, anywhere (IHOP inclusive). Good to see you tonight.

In Christ,

Father Gary

So I guess the answer to the question I asked in my last blog post, I wonder if Father Gary likes IHOP, is yes.

This Thursday is Ascension Thursday. That is my liturgical anniversary because it was the first Orthodox service I attended a year ago. I will not be able to go to Vespers this Wednesday night because my wife and I are driving south to pick up my daughter from college. Now that will be a good thing and I am looking forward to spending time with my wife but, sadly, I will miss Vespers Wednesday. Sometime when I get back I will give Father Gary a call and set up a breakfast or something with him.

I think we have a lot to talk about.

Meeting with Pastor at IHOP, eggs and Orthodoxy!

pastor Del

I was on vacation this week so I decided I would spend the morning with my Pastor. We met at the International House of Pancakes - a fitting place to discuss Orthodoxy since it is world wide :) - and we had eggs and chatted.

First, we talked about how my life was going, generally, especially how my son Justin's move back into the house is affecting the family. And we talked about all my kids. (although they are "kids" no more - the youngest graduates High School in a couple of weeks).

Then we switched the conversation towards Orthodoxy. Back in February I met with my Pastor to talk about my Eastern Orthodox leanings and in March I blogged about that conversation (which you can read about here: Orthodoxy or Bust!: Visit number 21...coming of Age!) In February, Pastor Del gave me a phone number to a Religion professor at our Denominational College. She is an expert in church history (especially the early church) and a good friend of my Pastor.

I told Pastor Del about that conversation, on how everything she said only confirmed my belief that Orthodoxy is the original church and, consequently, that is where I should be. The professor, when asked by me, conceded that all the doctrines of the church, and by church , I mean Protestantism and Catholicism, were clearly defined by the Orthodox Church. I pressed the professor more (this I did respectfully and didn't get a chance to tell this part of the conversation to my Pastor), asking her, if she conceded that there was only one Church in the beginning and that the Orthodox church seems to be that One church, why she was a Nazarene? She told me that she thought God wanted a place for everyone and that Orthodoxy didn't "fit" everyone so God had different denominations so that everyone had a home.

While I can appreciate God's patience and humility, in allowing for that, I think it's probably better to go along with His original plan.

We spent a great deal of time talking about how Orthodoxy is all about Worshiping God and he appreciated that. One thing that Pastor Del has always strived to do is cultivate a respectful atmosphere on Sunday mornings. He is totally repulsed by much of what he sees going on in Evangelical Christianity in regards to what is called "worship. Our conversation continued, and Pastor Del, who is a great shepherd and takes his job and calling seriously, listened attentively to me, on how I thought I should "join the Orthodox Church." He said, I should pray about it more and if that is how God is leading me than go with his blessing. He said, once I became a member, I would no longer be a member of the Nazarene church, I could no longer hold office or vote in business meetings. I said, as soon as I made a commitment to become a catechumen, I would send a letter to the board, asking to be released from membership.

Pastor Del encouraged me by saying no matter where I went, he would consider himself as my pastor. That is just like him. He is a person who cares about those whom God places in his life. I am greatly blessed to have Pastor Del as a friend and a Pastor. He has helped me greatly in the past in some, er, struggles I was having...but I am writing NOT about that here!.... Pastor/parishioner privilege :)

And the truth is, if I take the plunge and become a catechumen, I cannot sever all association with my protestant parish. My wife is a member there and I would attend when I could.

I invited Pastor Del to come with me to Vespers some Saturday. He said that would be a great idea and hopes to do so later in the summer.

Now, I guess I have to talk to Father Gary...I wonder if he likes IHOP?