Fire

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Yesterday started out like any other day would have and things were right on schedule as I had planned them. Fr. Greg and I met for breakfast and a podcast session and then I set about to take care of office work. About 5pm the fire radio went off about a house fire not far from the church. I have blogged before about being a fire chaplain and this is part of the job. The radio is on 24/7 and you actually get used to it. So I went to the front door of my house and yep there is was two streets away, and big house fire.

This is what I saw when I arrived. This photo comes courtesy of the Telegram and Gazette newspaper in Worcester.

Now the point of telling this story is simply this. Fire fighters risk their lives everyday. Human beings had to go in that house and put that fire out. These brave men and women do things that normal, and I use that term in a good way, people would not do. As people are running out, they are running in not knowing if they will come back out or not. They have to trust their training and trust each other. Fire fighters in this area have taken a hit in the last few weeks with the stories coming out of Boston and some other places about drugs and alcohol on the job. It is very easy for us to look at fire fighters and think all they do is sit around the fire house and sleep. Well look at that picture again and think about it. That is a three family house. If you look close on the porch of the second floor you see people, those are the men and women we think just sit around and do nothing. They train for this stuff everyday. Just like the police officer who rides around in his/her car during a shift, these are highly trained, and under paid, professionals.

Now I like sports. I like to watch sports. But when I see what these people get paid it makes me sick to think of them versus they guys in that picture. In this area fire fighters start at around $35,000 a year. Okay not a bad salary, but in my department we only have six full time the rest like me are call fire fighters who make maybe $2,500 a year doing this. They do hold jobs or go to school but you get the idea. One of the departments that responded yesterday is a volunteer department. That’s right, they run into that building for FREE!

Don’t get me wrong I think people should be able to make as much money as they can but, when we pay a pitcher $40 million a year and fire fighter $35,000 a year something is wrong. We pay all of our public servants, police, fire, teachers, emts’s, snow plow drivers, etc. way to little and we need to look at how we structure our budgets. No one wants to pay more tax but come on people!

Next time you drive by your local fire house remember that photo and say a prayer for the men and women who happen to be on shift that day. Remember their families who pray every time the bell rings until they hear from their loved ones that they are okay. Next time your making cookies or something make an extra batch and take it by the fire house they love it and will even let you sit in one of the fire trucks, by the way that is cool! Thank the men and women of the fire service for all that they do and for risking their loves to save your 42″ flat screen LCD TV that they can’t afford themselves.

Okay, rant over.

Quick Note

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Just a quick note as I ready myself for a Fire Chaplain meeting today. This is our quarterly meeting and training session and today’s topic will be very serious and somber. Line of Duty Death notification. This is training that I hope I will never have to use. So I am off in a half hour with another chaplain from the area for this meeting that will last most of the day.

Tomorrow the plan is to podcast with Fr. Greg and to try and get on some schedule again. We have been trying to keep to a set schedule but it becomes harder as each of us get busier with our respective parish duties and other such things.

Yesterday I was at the local radio station recording promos for the new radio ministry I mentioned in the previous post. Very weird recording in front of another person. Podcasting is one thing but doing radio spots is very different. But it is done. I still need to get the press release done and I will post that when it is released.

General Assembly Follow-up

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Well the events of the day went very well. We were able to make some plans for the next year and I hope and pray that we acted in the way that God is calling us to act. It is always difficult to make plans when one is not sure of what the future holds. So much of what we do as church depends on many factors that are out of our control. We have an older parish here and most are on a fixed income so it is difficult to plan finances. After the assembly we had a discussion at coffee hour about raising funds. It always turns to the easy things like raffles and other forms of gambling. We have several of those events here each year and I am not keen to add more. So what is the answer? We have begun a discussion about Stewardship. You will be hearing more about that this year as we move in that direction.

So I announced a new ministry yesterday. We have become an affiliate of Come Receive the Light National Radio Program. We will be syndicating the national weekly talk show on our local AM radio station. The show will air from 8:30-9:00 on Sunday morning and will end with an invitation from me to come to church. This is a very large undertaking for us from a financial position but we have made the commitment to reach out. The cost for this new ministry represents about 5% of our total budget for the year but we have to do it. We will be the only religious programing of any kind on the station. This could be good. So that is the news from the Village.

General Assembly

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Today my parish has it’s Annual General Assembly. For those of you not familiar with how an Orthodox Parish works, the General Assembly is the governing body of the local church. At the level of the Archdiocese we have what is called the Congress made up of two lay delegates and the clergy of each parish. At the local level the General Assembly is the body that would decide, as an example, if we are to buy and sell property. The main focus of today’s meeting is the budget for the coming year. I will also give an address on the future of the parish and I will be introducing some new initiatives for the parish for the coming year. I have spent considerable time working on the document that I will ready after Divine Liturgy today and many sleepless hours thinking about the assembly. Last years did not go so well.

In any event this is a big day in the life of our parish and I hope it proceeds without incident. Our Archdiocese instituted some new rules two years ago and this will be the first year that we really put them into practice. The major change is that I will lead the General Assembly.

We have a parish council elected by the General Assembly and they serve for two years. We presently have 12 on the council plus me. The council meets and elects a president etc. for the coming two years. In the past the General Assembly has done this. Well theologically speaking this is not correct. The president of the parish is the one who presides, namely at liturgical functions, that being the bishop. In his place there is a priest, me, who presides in his place making me, I guess, the president. I represent the parish before God. The council elects the president from it’s number because the president represents the council. I guess I would have to equate it with the US government. Consider this. We the people elect the president of the United States. Okay before you fill the comment box with the electoral college elects the president, I know this just work with me here okay? The president represents all of the people. The House of Representatives is made up of 435 people elected by their localities. From their number they elect the Speaker of the House, who by the way becomes third in line to the presidency. The same happens in the Senate with the President Pro Tem… Okay civics lesson has ended. So I guess it is the same idea, but with some theology thrown in for good measure.

Please pray for us as we enter this time of discussion about God’s Church. As the economy changes and the congregation gets older money becomes more and more an issue. Although part of the job of being a priest is running the parish, it is not the part that I like. First off we are not really prepared for this in seminary. However, I do have a business degree so I am a bit more prepared than some of my brother priests. So say a little prayer for us today that we seek and do God’s will. I will blog after the announcements of what the new initiatives will be I think they are great!

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Nairobi – Upon his return to Kenya from Egypt, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Kenya was greeted by scenes of widespread destruction and great suffering. His homecoming tour took him to some of the places hardest hit by the violence that flared over contested presidential elections.

In Nakuru, the Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin has been completely destroyed. Many people, still afraid to travel, are staying in their homes. The thousands who have lost their homes are staying anywhere they can, including churches and parks.

The transportation system has largely stopped. As a result, many people are without food and medicine. The Red Cross is responding but the need is still great. The “Kenya Crisis Collection” that is being taken by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) is now being expanded to help His Eminence offer these basic provisions as he reaches out to the people of Kenya regardless of their tribal or religious affiliation on behalf of the Orthodox Church.

So far, ten-thousand dollars from this collection has been sent to buy food and medicine for the needy and suffering in Kenya, but much more is needed. According to His Eminence, it will take the country years to rebuild.

All donations for this special collection should be made payable to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center with “Kenya Crisis Collection” clearly marked in the check’s memo line. Gifts may be submitted to:

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center
Re: Kenya Crisis Collection
P.O. Box 4319
St. Augustine, FL 32085-4319

OCMC is a non-profit organization that has been commissioned by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) to proclaim the fullness of the Christian Faith by establishing and nurturing vibrant, Eucharistic communities, which evangelize those around them and minister to the poor.

13 January ~ St. Kentigern

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Bishop, founder of the See of Glasgow, b. about 518; d. at Glasgow, 13 January, 603. His mother Thenaw was daughter of a British prince, Lothus (from whom the province of Lothian was called); his father’s name is unknown. According to Jocelyn’s life of Kentigern, the saint was born at Culross in Fife, and brought up until manhood by St. Serf (or Servanus) at his monastery there; but Skene shows that this connection between the two saints involves an anachronism, as St. Serf really belongs to the following century. At the age of twenty-five we find Kentigern (the name means “head chief”, but he was popularly known as Mungo — in Cymric, Mwyn–gu, or “dear one”), beginning his missionary labours at Cathures, on the Clyde, the site of modern Glasgow. The Christian King of Strathclyde, Roderick Hael, welcomed the saint, and procured his consecration as bishop, which took place about 540. For some thirteen years he laboured in the district, living a most austere life in a cell at the confluence of the Clyde and the Molendinar, and making many converts by his holy example and his preaching. A large community grew up around him, became known as “Clasgu” (meaning the “dear family”) and ultimately grew into the town and city of Glasgow.

About 553 a strong anti-Christian movement in Strathclyde compelled Kentigern to leave the district, and he retired to Wales, staying for a time with St. David at Menevia, and afterwards founding a large monastery at Llanelwy, now St. Asaph’s, of which he appointed the holy monk Asaph superior in succession to himself. In 573 the battle of Arthuret secured the triumph of the Christian cause in Cumbria, and Kentigern, at the earnest appeal of King Roderick, returned thither, accompanied by many of his Welsh disciples. For eight years he fixed his see at Hoddam in Dumfriesshire, evangelizing thence the districts of Galloway and Cumberland. About 581 he finally returned to Glasgow, and here, a year or two later, he was visited by St. Columba, who was at that time labouring in Strathtay. The two saints embraced, held long converse, and exchanged their pastoral staves.

Kentigern was buried on the spot where now stands the beautiful cathedral dedicated in his honour. His remains are said still to rest in the crypt. His festival is kept throughout Scotland on 13 January. The Bollandists have printed a special mass for this feast, dating from the thirteenth century.

Weekend Wrap Up

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This was a busy weekend here in the village. Saturday was spent getting things ready for the Liturgical celebrations of the weekend. Things needed to be cared for in the church and I spent sometime with one of the ladies that cleans the church. It is always nice to chat with people in an informal setting. Saturday night of course brought the Patriots game. I am suffering from a cold so I did not stay up and watch the entire game. I went to be secure in the knowledge that they would win and they did. Now it is on to the next game. Before the game we celebrated Great Vespers. When I first came here we did this service every Saturday and then we stopped when people stopped coming. Now we have decided that we need to start again and pray that people come. One more person this week so we are off to a good start. Unless there is a feast day it is a short service of about 30 minutes. Nice way to end the day and prepare for Liturgy. We end the service with an anointing of the sick and time for confession.

Sunday morning the usual services. Orthros at 9am followed by Liturgy at 10. We had a nice group for Liturgy. The count was 41! Our usual is 35 so this was good. You can listen to my homily here. Before Christmas we began streaming our Liturgies using uStream. Although not many tune in to watch during the live broadcast many watch the recorded version. Not many Orthodox Churches in the US currently stream their Liturgies and I felt that this is something that we could do without much cost to the parish. It took some fancy wiring to get the wireless signal to the church but we did it. The camera is not in the best place it could be so we are working on that. It is a work in progress. There is a link on the blog for the liturgy or you can view Sunday’s recorded Liturgy here.

After Church we have a coffee hour, another thing we began when I arrived here. This is a great time and almost everyone comes down to the hall for coffee and a little snack. It gives me a chance to talk with people and welcome new folks to the church. People hang around for about an hour or so and then go on their way. The rest of the day was spent cleaning up and resting to try and fight off this cold. I made a nice beef stew and enjoyed that before hunkering down for the night. Maybe I will post the secret recipe.

The week ahead is busy. Right now it is snowing out so I am not sure what today will bring. I am supposed to do a house blessing tonight but we left it open due to the weather. I have another blessing tomorrow afternoon, an appointment with one of my directees for spiritual direction and Friday night is movie night here at church. On top of all this the Parish will have its General Assembly on Sunday so things need to be readied for that. So not real busy but busy enough.

Going Green

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Much is being made of going green and the need to protect the environment. Orthodox theology would agree with this mandate to go green. We all need to do what we can to help conserve energy and our precious natural resources. In the village a few months back they started what is called “single stream recycling” we all got a 90 gallon recycle bin on wheels and we put all recyclables in this bin and it is picked up every two weeks. In the first month of the program we went from 32 tons to 59 tons of trash that did not go into the landfill that is big.

In todays edition of the Scotsman there are some suggesitons of what you can do to make your life a little greener:

1. Recycle household waste using facilities provided locally
2. Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth
3. Switch to using energy-saving light bulbs
4. Leave the car at home at least once a week and cycle, walk, share a car or use public transport more often
5. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones
6. Reuse carrier bags when you shop
7. Buy more seasonal and unpackaged food
8. Hang your washing up to dry rather than using a tumbler dryer
9. Organise or volunteer in an environmental project in your local community
10. Pay back the environmental impact of any flights you take and choose not to fly when there’s a suitable alternative.

These are just some suggesitons but we all can do some of them. Last month I switched all of my lamps to the energy bulbs and they are actually brighter than what I had before and they will last longer. I have also decided that I will only have the lights on in the rooms I am in, and I have turned the heat down a little and put a sweater on. There are many other things we can do if we just think about it. I also bought some bags from the grocery store to reuse when I shop, now I just need to remember to bring them with me when I go. Okay so not a perfect program but we are getting there. How many of us leave our computers on all the time? When you go to bed do you shut it off or let it run? Try turning it off at night for a month and then check your electric bill, you will see a difference. Just think going green also includes more green in your pocket.
error: Content is protected !!