…Last year at this time we still had lots of snow…it was Christmas in April…and Pascha Sunday was a snow storm…don’t forget to pray on Holidays instead of just food and fellowship…
It is with Great Sadness
It is with great sadness that we report the repose of our good friend, and recipient of Share the Faith Ministries, Father Andrew Short. Fr. Andrew was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 2021 fulfilling the call to pastor St. Anna Mission in Columbia, TN. Fr. Andrew served his mission selflessly and worked long hours to sustain both his own family and that of the mission’s. Because of this, he called upon Share the Faith Ministries to help supplement his work. We at Share the Faith were very grateful to be able to support Fr. Andrew with a thousand dollar a month stipend to ease his burden and help spread the Gospel in Tennessee. In speaking with Fr. Andrew, even in his illness, he remained steadfast in his faith and a bastion in the teachings of Christ. He will be greatly missed. Memory eternal! Fr. Dn. Christopher Purdef
Testimony from St Ignatius Mission
Raised in a simple, blue-collar family on the southeast side of Chicago, Lorraine’s family
dynamics modelled an evangelical faith, strong work ethics, commitment, and community
service.
After high school, she completed a trade education in Computer Processing which led her to the
fast-paced financial world of the Chicago Board of Trade. In 1982, Lorraine would pack up all
she learned about commodity trading and married Gene, a farmer in South Dakota. After
farming and raising livestock for four years, they sold the farm, moved into town, and
established multiple agricultural businesses. Recognizing a need for the farmers and ranchers
of South Dakota, Lorraine and Gene opened a commodity brokerage firm, crop insurance
agency, and insurance consulting practice. They built their companies on quality service and
were recognized at both state and national levels. Managing the wonderful team of
professionals lasted nearly 32 years.
While raising their family in Mitchell, SD they were active community and church members.
They supported a variety of causes to include church plants and board memberships.
As a Mesa, AZ winter visitor, Lorraine was introduced to Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox
Church in 2017 and was illumined in 2019. She uses her administrative skills as a frequent
volunteer and for the last several years has been given the blessing of Archpriest James Coles
of Saint Ignatius to coordinate the many moving parts for a program on the church property to
house and feed unsheltered families through the Family Promise organization. Through these
experiences, she has been a witness to the struggles and accomplishments of this new society.
Lorraine is a loving mother of three children and the crown of age has gifted her five beautiful
grandchildren. Her loving husband of thirty-six years passed in 2018 with their family at his side.
She considers herself blessed to be able to watch her family grow and give back to their
churches, communities, and nation.
Her hobbies include gardening, wood carving, camping, hiking, reading, remodeling, and
projects of any kind.
Below is a word from our SMM Coordinator:
The human heart is in the most need especially of the healing touch of Jesus. Many don’t have in person contact with the fullness of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the form of a local Orthodox Church Parish with a full time Priest or even a Deacon for a reader service. Many Priests and Deacons work unrealistic bi-vocational hours to share the love of Jesus. We can bring relief. To learn more and possibly donate or to apply for relief as a Clergy, go to www.ocmamerica.us … or click the button below to donate…
Fr Jesse of St. Jacob of Alaska Orthodox Mission
St. Jacob of Alaska started with a Moleben served on the Feast Day of St. Jacob Netsvetov, July 26/August 8, 2021, in venue space at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. Archpriest Gregory Joyce of St. Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor served as the first rector and appointed Deacon Jesse Rimshas of Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam in Houghton, Michigan as the Mission Coordinator.
St. Jacob’s mission has always been labor of love for its founding members. Fr. Jesse and his family drove two hours from his home in L’Anse with icons, music stands, and other church supplies, and the community set up and tore down the Mission in a conference room on weekends. Vespers and Divine Liturgy were served about every six weeks by a visiting priest from Traverse City or Houghton, and other weekends the community would hold Reader’s Vespers and Typikas. They held lunch at a local coffee shop that allowed them to plug in Crock Pots and dine at a room upstairs as long they ordered a carafe of coffee.
In March of 2022 the mission leased 5,000 square feet of space on the main level of an old middle school in Ishpeming, Michigan, about 20 minutes from Northern Michigan University in Marquette. The community has made this space their own. Fr. Jesse and his fifteen-year-son Anthony designed and built a portable wooden iconostasis.
On July 12/June 29, 2022, Archbishop Peter ordained Deacon Jesse to the Holy Priesthood and tonsured parishioner George Hunt, who is currently the mission’s sole seminarian, a reader. Fr. Jesse was appointed Rector on the community’s second anniversary, August 8/July 26, 2023. St. Jacob’s currently serves as Marquette County’s only full-time Orthodox Church, and parishioners drive as far as ninety miles for Divine Liturgies. The community is very active and has a full schedule of services.
Fr. Jesse’s goal is to facilitate growth in the community not only in numbers, but also in dedication and ability. Through the Grace of God, St. Jacob anticipates receiving three more converts to the Orthodox Faith this Lazarus Saturday, bringing the total to nine since July, 2022. The mission has its own budding iconographer whom Fr. Jesse plans to help attend formal training this summer. Parishioners read liturgically, sing in the choir, serve in the Altar, and serve in other ways. And Lord willing, the community’s seminarian, Reader George, will complete his education and be ordained to the Holy Deaconate this summer.
St. Jacob’s is a warm and growing community with many needs, including liturgical supplies, money for liturgical and musical training conferences, and vestments. But the community’s greatest need is a permanent home. It’s difficult to attract attention on the
main level of a former middle school. But old Protestant churches often come up for sale in Marquette County, and it’s only a matter of time before a suitable building is found. With this long-term goal in mind, the community has started saving toward a
permanent building, with the prayer that God might “establish . . . this holy house, even unto the consummation of the age” (Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great).
Great Lent and Fasting in the Age of “the Screen”
“Enlighten me through prayers and fasting” [Forgiveness Vespers].
“In the modern world, nearly every direction one turns, surrounding people appear preoccupied by their own little worlds of music, video games, social networking, or the internet. They appear oblivious to anyone or anything, save the technologies that hold their undivided attention. Nearly gone are the days where families would gather together to read, create, play, or converse with each other. The turn of the century bears witness to a rapid-paced world which observes a degeneration in communication and relationships among individuals. Though many remain unaware, this shift brings with it startling changes, affecting present and future generations alike.”
Well-stated and to the point! And something to think about in a season of restraint and re-prioritizing. Emily mentions reading, playing, creating and conversing. Are our families and friendships suffering deficiencies in those time-honored activities that are based on mental agility, socializing skills and the deepening of loving relationships? Is it dinner and then off to the screen? Have we mastered the “art of distraction?”
If so, can we possibly be surprised if we find it difficult to pray effectively—that is, with some concentration and focus? There is a possible alternative approach: Superfluous time spent before the screen can now be redirected and spent renewing those activities that are either intellectually stimulating (a good book or creative project) or conducive to personal interaction (game playing); or, on a deeper level, “face-to-face” communion (conversing)? Emily writes further:
“Because people do not communicate in person, words and meanings can get misconstrued all too easily. One cannot observe facial expressions or hear tones of voice through the internet, both of which allow the listener to garner a well-rounded impression of what the speaker intends to express…. Nothing compares to quality time given to a person, where one really listens and focuses on getting to know his friends. Human beings are so complex that one cannot get to know anyone very deeply in a diminutive span of time.”
Can you imagine a Facebook entry that states, “In observing Great Lent, this site will be inactive until April 16, the day I celebrate the Resurrection of Christ?!”
What about the screen of the smart phone? This is a wonderful tool for communication that has even been “life-saving,” as we all know of some such stories. You may have to be a modern-day Luddite to argue against the positive use of the cell/smart phone. The important call, the encouraging call, the “where-in-the-world is my child?” call, even the “emergency” call are not what needs to occupy us at the moment.
But here also other questions arise: Beyond all of that, has the smart phone become an extension of our very being? Does it seem to be permanently glued to our ears and/or attached to our hands? Are we lost without it? Do we call and chat in order to… call and chat? (What happened to the spiritual gift of silence?) After all, just a few years ago, we did live without cell or smart phones.
There are styles, colors, sizes, and an endless array of features that turn the smart phone into either a status symbol or a toy—primarily for adults, of course. (Though, at what age now are children equipped with their own phones?). Texting and twittering are producing a certain type of “illiteracy” that is making a wince-creating wreck of the English language, as in “I luv U.” Grammar, spelling, and compound sentences are treated as intrusive. The menus are astonishing for their complexity. The internet is now on your smart phone! And it is also a ready-made camera: Quick! There’s little Johnny running in the years…. How adorable!
Is it possible or even meaningful to show any restraint when living in an age of the screen? If not, then we may be facing the following downward trajectory that can quickly spiral out of control: Attractions become attachments; attachments become obsessions; and obsessions become addictions. Or, as the holy Fathers teach, we become the playthings of our “passions.” We are no longer in control, but under control of our impulses.
As asceticism is not puritanism, so restraint is not repression. All of our ascetical lenten efforts are ultimately directed to our freedom and liberation—to some degree at least—from the myriad dependencies that occupy our bodies and souls. To fast from meat but then to sit in front of the computer for hours surfing, shopping, game-playing, facebooking and blogging somehow points to a disconnect with the overall goal of Great Lent as a “school of repentance” or “journey toward Pascha.”
Professionally and vocationally, we may be living in the age of the screen. I know that I am. I enjoy and try and make something positive of a “cyberspace ministry,” in fact. The irony of writing this meditation on the computer and then launching it out into cyberspace so you will have one more thing to read is not lost on me.
But the challenge remains to retain a degree of freedom from the technological web that can bind us so tightly. Redirecting a lot of our energy—and time!—to prayer, almsgiving and fasting, the reading of the Scriptures and the lenten liturgical services of the Church can create in us the joy of liberation from those very bonds.
Challenges and choices abound! And this is a crucial aspect of our human capacity to think and create, setting us apart from the rest of the animal world.
About the Author: Father Steven Kostoff is rector of Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also a member of the adjunct faculty of the theology department at Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he has taught various courses on Orthodox theology.
Below is a word from our Social Media Coordinator:
The human heart is in the most need especially of the healing touch of Jesus. Many don’t have in person contact with the fullness of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the form of a local Orthodox Church Parish with a full time Priest or even a Deacon for a reader service. Many Priests and Deacons work unrealistic bi-vocational hours to share the love of Jesus. We can bring relief. To learn more and possibly donate or to apply for relief as a Clergy, go to www.ocmamerica.us … or simply click the link below to donate…