A Reason to Give Thanks of my 116th Visit

my new job

I was tired last Saturday but not dead tired like I was the week before so I made the effort to attend Vespers and I am glad I did. It is always good to Worship! I especially wanted to make sure I went to Vespers this Saturday in order to give thanks for God because, after ten months of unemployment, I got a job! Yes, a job! Now, vacations are fun but ten months is long enough. I got hired by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as a Transportation Security Officer. It is a federal job that starts out part-time but I am hopeful that I can go full time soon. At least I got my foot in the door, as they say.

So my heart was full of gratitude, as we chanted the Psalms.  I was sad that I missed the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross. We began this Vespers by venerating the Cross before Fr. Gary switched out the Cross for a different Icon. But, I was exhausted last Friday due to some running around I have been doing.

So, thank God, for my new job! I will let you all know how I am doing.

A Horse Galloping through the Nave on my 115th Visit....Sort of.

photo by Alexander Kavun, used under the creative commons license.
check out more photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex-rk/with/9287954322/

I do find that arriving early is the best way for me to "fully enter into" Worship during Vespers. It allows me to pray first and mentally block out distractions. It also allows times for memorable conversations about horses.  Let me explain:  I had noticed the bread and wine on the table in the center of the Nave and that is the tell-tale sign that Litya will be served that night. I asked Tammi, Which Feast are we celebrating? since Litya is only served on the eve of major Feasts.  Turns out it's the Feast of the THE NATIVITY OF OUR MOST HOLY LADY, THEOTOKOS AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY.   Tammi went on to explain how in front of the bread and wine is where Fr. Gary will place the Icon of the Feast during the Litya service.  She then pointed to the iconostasis where on the very top are the 12 Icons for each of the Major Feasts of the Church Year. She pointed the one on the far left. That is where the Icon for today usually is but Fr. Gary took it down so we could venerate it later on the table in the middle of the Nave. So to "fill in the hole" Tammi and her husband Reader John donated an Icon of St. Demetrius in honor of John's brother, Demetrius who passed some time ago. So as the Church year progresses and a different Icon is taken down from the iconostasis  and the Icon of St. Demetrius fills in the hole and  rides across the iconostasis till the last Feast of the Year. Tammi said this last part with a chuckle and I glanced up to see St. Demetrius oh his horse. I smiled as I thought that for the past three years I've been here, I hadn't noticed that he was up there filling in a hole. I guess we all have our job to do.

The Nave of my parish....notice the 12 Icons on the top of the iconostasis. Although it is hard to make out, you can see St. Demetrius on his horse on the far left.

Tami went on to say that there were 12 Icons on the other side of the iconostasis of lesser feasts. She said she'd never see them (I guess because she's woman) but said maybe someday I could. I don't think so. One thing I like about having the Holy of Holies is it reminds me of God's holiness and only those who have a need to go in the Altar area should.  

What the Icon look like up close

After Vespers Fr. Gary said that even though it is unusual to have General Confession on a feast day, he said, since it was already on the calendar, he would. I was glad for it.  After the conversation I had with Fr. Gary where he suggested that, since he can't hear my confession (until I am Orthodox, that is) I should confess my sins during Evening Prayers at home. I hadn't thought that the monthly General Confession would be a good time to confess as well. So I did. Hey, it's the next best thing to "one on one" confession.

So, September marks the new Church year.  I listened to a podcast on the way to Vespers from Fr. Ambrose called Holy Apostles Weekly Homilies. You can hear it here. In it, Fr. Ambrose mentions how it is customary to make New Years Resolutions on December 31st. Well, we should do that for the New Church Year so I think I shall resolve, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the prayers of all the Saints, to attend as many services as possible, to be faithful in morning AND evening prayers and to start fasting with the Church.  I know I mentioned that I would start fasting back when I got the great "priestly advice" at the end of August but I hadn't started yet. It's a lot harder to implement when you live with non-fasters, especially if those non-fasters are doing the cooking.

During the General Confession there was a small Snafu that was quickly resolved.  Fr. Gary said the first sentence, beginning the Confession Service and waited for the Reader's response. Well, for five long seconds, we heard nothing. Then, the reader said something (he moved himself to the choir loft) but it was clear that he didn't have the book in front of him so he stumbled. Well, Reader Daira stepped up and said that part and things went very smoothly.  The Reader in the choir loft, by this time, had found his place on the page and resumed his reading at the proper time.  I mention all of this because, to me, it was a great example of how Worship is everything and we all work together to make sure that it is beautiful and God-pleasing. 

Keep me in your prayers, dear readers and may this new Church year bring you closer to Christ and His Kingdom

Prayers for Egypt on my 114th Visit

Nothing says Egypt like pyramids!
photo by Flickr user, Bob the Magic Dragon
 used under the creative commons license.
check out more work at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobthemagicdragon/

I arrived early which I am finding is a good way to ready myself to participate in Worship. I sat/stood near the Icon of St. John of San Francisco, whose intercessions I have been asking for lately. In the petitions, Fr. Gary threw in one that I hadn't heard before, he prayed:

Again we pray for those who are being persecuted for their faith, especially the Christian faithful of Egypt and across the Middle East, that the Lord God will send down upon them every spiritual weapon to endure their tribulations; and that He will grant that Peace which passes all understanding upon the region, and throughout the whole world, as a foretaste of His heavenly Kingdom.

I was glad we prayed for our Egyptian brothers and sisters, given all that is going on there now and I remembered my daughter's friend from Egypt who recently put out a plea on facebook for all us to pray.  In his homily, Fr. Gary mentioned how the Holy Synod of Bishops of the OCA called upon us to pray and he reminded us that we not only pray for Christians and people of good will but also for our enemies. "There is only one thing we need to kill ~ our passions," is the line from Fr. Gary's homily that really sticks out in my mind. Given all the talk of war, persecution (along with the temptation for revenge) that statement was a timely affirmation of what it is we need to do in lives to become more like Christ. May all see the Peace of Christ within us.

There was a "guest choir" at Vespers last night. Instead of standing in the back of the Nave, they were in the choir loft above, as is the custom for Sunday mornings. They were very good but I had to fight the idea that I was in a concert instead of lending my own voice in praise. I felt like I was "ruining" the singing by joining in.
I have heard tale that in many nations there is no congregational singing at all. Is that true? If so, I think that is a tragedy. That reminds me of my Roman Catholic days as a boy where the words of the hymn would be in the missalette and yet not one voice could be heard except that of the choir.  I think that is why I was drawn to a Pentecostal church as a teen. Say what you want about the Pentecostals but you cannot deny they are enthusiastic participants in the service. So, let me know in the comments below, do people join in with the choir at your parish?

Speaking of beautiful choirs, Fr. Stephen Freeman shared this video on his Facebook page. Good stuff:

Thanks for reading!

A Great Homily and Great Priestly Advice

Getting advice is always a good thing
photo by Paul W. Locke, used under the creative commons license
check out more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul-w-locke/

I came early to Vespers on Saturday and sat (stood) in a place I normally don't, right next to the Icon of St. John Maxamovich., Bishop of San Francisco. He is one of my Fav's and I ask for his intercessions a lot. This being my 113th visit to an Orthodox parish, I of course, entered into worship, enjoying the Psalms and was pleasantly distracted by the family in front of me.  They had two children, a boy and a girl and the little girl was a bit frigidity, wanting to get picked up by her father, ect. I loved how the parents, while showing them proper attention, kept directing them to worship, in a loving yet firm way.  That is the way family worship should be and it was a blessing to watch. After Vespers, this family received special prayers from all of us for traveling mercies.  It seems they were going on vacation the next day.

I loved Fr. Gary's homily. He talked about how we need the Divine Services and should go as much as possible. He also said no matter how many times we fall, we should always come back. Fr. Gary even went so far to say that tonight, some of us will succumb to the passions but that we should always come back.  How true that is! No matter how many times we fall, we must come back!

I had sent Fr. Gary an email (Facebook IM, really) asking if he would hear my confession. What prompted this request is some activity/advice I got from an Orthodox group on Facebook.  I had posted my dilemma of wanting to convert and, yet having a spouse who wasn't that interested. Some good advice I got was this:

“Attend (Liturgy) as often as is reasonably possible, pray, fast, give alms. Live out the Orthodox faith. You don't have to be Chrismated to do that, and it will teach you more about the faith than all the books in the world. If you can make mid-week Liturgies, go. The Liturgy will teach you all you need to know.”

So I figured if I confessed my sins to God in front of His priest, that even though it would not be a sacrament because I am not Orthodox, I would be doing the best I can given my protestant status.  I explained all of this to Fr. Gary, how I figured if I (finally) got serious and strove to "live the life," I'll be closer to Christ and, perhaps that would lead to conversion.  In any event, being closer to Christ is bound to make me a better husband, don't you think?

Fr. Gary said he would hear my confession, if it was something pressing or major but it sounded to him that confessing my sins during my personal evening prayer (which seem to be the focus of evening prayers) is the way I should go. God would hear me and forgive me but unless I had some heavy burden on my heart, which he would be happy to listen to, he believed it would be better not "hear my confession."  Basically, in order to be Orthodox, I have to be Orthodox.

Since I hadn't murdered anyone since breakfast and avoided bank heists, I figured my ordinary run of the mill sins would have to be handled in evening prayers. I was touched by Fr. Gary's pastoral demeanor while talking to me. He kept emphasizing that if something was "heavy upon my heart" that he would listen to me. I did ask him if he thought it would be a good idea for me to fast with the Church. He said all Christians are called to fast so he would not discourage fasting.  Okay, I better buy some more beans.

So keep me in your prayers as I strive to live close to Christ, using all the tools in the Church that I am able, given I am not yet a member.

My Son attends Vespers with me....sort of!

Saturday was busy. My niece and nephew drove down to visit their grandparents (My in-laws) and before my 112th visit to Vespers, I stopped by to say hello (and eat a delicious dinner!) My wife stopped by the house before going to work (she's a transporter at the hospital) and my son Daniel came with her.  So since Karen couldn't drive Daniel home, he had to come with me to Vespers. He said he was okay with that!

Dan the Man

So in the car I give him the "what to expect pep talk," telling him he is not expected to do anything like kiss Icons or do prostrations or cross himself~ basically, people are there to worship the Trinity and aren't taking time to look around to see what other people are doing. I warned him about the incense, about how people will light candles during the intercessions. I did all this in under two minutes....and it turned out to be a wasted talk! You'll see why.

We stop by the Narthex to grab a service book and take our place among the faithful.  Wait! There is no Fr. Gary! There is no one up front at all, leading us in prayers. Instead, the choir are singing hymns and the book we are following is somewhat useless since we are skipping all the intercessions that are usually led by a priest (or deacon) Apparently, Fr. Gary was still on vacation and couldn't get anyone to "fill in" so we were experiencing is a Reader's service.  

I was bummed because I wanted Daniel to smell the incense and to see all the beauty that is a Vespers service. But, perhaps, he will come again.  Later my wife asked how Daniel liked the service. I explained, "Well, with Fr. Gary being gone, it was almost as plain  as a Baptist service." She said, "yeah, right." One thing that is nice about  a reader's service is that the prayers aren't "read" but rather "sung" just like everything else in Orthodoxy so it really was still very beautiful.  The whole service lasted only a half-hour and we had arrived ten minutes late as it was so Daniel had a twenty minute introduction to Orthodoxy. Maybe, going to a reader's service is less shocking than a full blown Vespers service. It certainly is more "visitor friendly" than a Divine Liturgy.  

So my question is, was that Reader's service still Vespers or is it called something else?

As an aside, when I went to visit my niece, I showed her a youtube video of 8mm film that I converted to digital format. It is her as a baby, with her now deceased mother and me as a young man with my wife!

Take a look if you like:

Blessings of the Fruit on my 111th Visit!

No, not these guys....
photo by Peter Eimon, used under the creative commons license
check out more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmeimon/

Last night at Vespers (my 111th visit) was a very solemn occasion. We were celebrating  the Transfiguration of the Lord. At first, There was no Icon on the table in the middle of the Nave, just a white cloth. For some reason, I had thought the Icon was underneath the white cloth and that at a specific time, Fr. Gary would unveil it to reveal the Icon. Turns out that Fr Gary walked through the Royal doors to retrieve the Icon from the Altar and then place it on the white sheet. One of my favorite parts is when the choir will sing the same hymn three times while Fr. Gary walks around the Icon and the bread and wine (for the Litya) and incense it all. Very moving.

Fr Gary quoted Jesus Christ Superstar in his homily. Quoting Judas, he asked, 

Now why'd you choose such a backward time

And such a strange land?

If you'd come today

You could have reached the whole nation

Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication

Fr Gary went on to say that they ways of God are a mystery to us and only He knows why He came when He came. He also said, "Why did He only take Peter, James and John to Mt. Tabor? Why not take the pharisees as well. They surely would have believed had the seen Jesus standing next to Moses." I thought that was a good point and one I have never thought of before. But, as Fr Gary said before, the ways of God are a mystery and we should trust Him.  And I do.

I had to rush out of there to pick up my son from work so I didn't get a chance to ask the question, "Why is the fruit blessed during the feast of the Transfiguration?" Can someone answer that for me? It was cool to see people come early to the service and place nice baskets of fruit on the table. Fr. Gary blessed it with Holy water near the end of the service.  Maybe next year, I'll bring my own basket.

Thanks for reading. 

A Cartoon worth reading!

By Sara Vivanco

My daughter is a fantastic cartoonist. Here is here latest work which talks about the dangers misreading your bible. I think there is something we can all learn here, right?