Mission Monthly – May 2003

“When God told men not to head for death, they did just that. When God called men to draw near to Life, there were many who were not willing to approach.”

St. Nikolai Velimirovic

Beloved in Christ, Christ is Risen! I am filled with great joy this week, although admittedly tired in the afterglow of Lent, Holy Week and a most joyous Pascha. I express my gratitude once again to everyone who worked so hard to fulfill the liturgical, sacramental and fellowship demands of our community's Lenten and Pascha celebrations. We are blessed and I am truly thankful!

I must confess that my joy is slightly tempered by an approaching wave of uncertainty that may disrupt the near future plans of our church. We have made remarkable progress in the first six and a half years of our community's life. However, there are possible changes on the horizon that we all need to be aware of in seeing that we too are not immune to the ripples of our nation's struggling economy.

Most of us are aware that several members of our church family have been facing employment insecurity and the increasingly choking demands of their jobs. While we have benefited as a community from the tithes (yes, ten percent) of several of our members, what seems to be happening now is that our good God is giving some of these individuals a true blessing to wriggle out from under the weight of unreasonable demands on their time, as one of our men said, “building up the business of another at the expense of my spiritual and family life.” These painful job struggles are causing some distress, at least in the short term. My encouragement to these individuals and families is to see God's blessing in this time as He allows them a new beginning and an urgent opportunity to reestablish their lives with proper order.

I do not know what ultimate effect these “ripples” will have on our community's membership (we have already lost the Bennett's to a job change) or, even if these job changes remain local, how they will affect our current budget. Ultimately, I do see God's providence in all of this. The priority of the individual serving his proper place as priest of his home and steward of God's creation will always be most important. Yes, even if it means we have to put off our plans for construction or (and I claim NO nobility here) that I will have to return to the secular work force. In the end, healthier families will lead to an even healthier church community.

What it requires from each of us is a reassessment of our participation in the life of the Church, be it here at St. Ignatius Mission or in whatever Orthodox community God may lead us to. It also requires from each of us a reassessment of our relationship with God and how we view, as St. Nikolai said, “our approach to Life.” “For the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Are we here to seize what we can while tossing back to God the leftovers and crumbs of our time and resources, or are we here to serve God and to offer Him the first fruits of our stewardship? “Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee” is what we exclaim in the Divine Liturgy; with thankfulness we offer back to Him what is essentially His—our time, our possessions, our lives.

These then are the challenges: Are we striving to become stewards of God's creation or merely members of a church? Are we striving to be priests of the holy nation of God or merely laborers seeking goals of self-advancement or survival?

I am not going to disclose the various offerings of our membership, but I will say that a great portion of our community's needs, both in labor and finances, are supplied by a minority of individuals and families. While this may be typical of churches it is also out of balance and leaves us vulnerable in times of challenge such as these. In truth we have been relying on the able giving of a few to support the needs of the many. This is what God has provided and I believe we have dealt wisely and thankfully with His provisions. However, as we are preparing to embark on one of the most important decisions that our community will ever make, we find the possibility of an unprecedented challenge to all our resources. It may be that we will have to postpone construction or that I will have to go back to work. While this is certainly okay there will be consequences, especially for the men of the set-up crew who continue to work hard week after week so that the rest of us can casually come to a beautifully prepared place of worship; or for myself and my ability to serve my primary role as priest of this community; and for everyone who, at some point or another, has need of the priest's time.

The challenge then is for each of us to revisit our stewardship to see where we may not be doing our part, be it in offering a full 10% tithe or in the offering of our time, say by volunteering to be part of the set-up crew or committing to singing practices and most importantly committing to regular worship—not only on Sunday morning. These and other aspects of our stewardship are so important if we hope to continue working at a healthy balance in our individual relationships with God and in our mutual reliance in establishing this church. The work of God's Church is done not merely by members and laborers but by stewards and priests who primarily seek to draw near to Life. Sadly, many of our Orthodox communities in this country suffer because of mediocre membership as opposed to enthusiastic stewardship. I hope St. Ignatius Mission will never have to face this sad reality!

There are miracles happening right here in our midst, as the lives of entire families are being transformed by the opportunity for redirection and the reassessment of values and stewardship. This opportunity is being offered to each of us as we step up to the full discipline of the priesthood of believers and stewardship through tithing and the dedication of time. Yes, the Orthodox Church is rich in “spirituality” but at the heart of our faith is worship (“liturgia”—the work of the people) and the attainment of virtue by living, praying and working together in Christiancommunity. When we order our lives according to these priorities and “the willingness to approach Life,”our worldly “status” may suffer but our heavenly joy will abound, not just in the life to come but here and now! “the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:21)

I have been shouldering these thoughts for some time now. Forgive me if these challenging words are hard to hear. We are family and I speak with the love of a father. In essence I am a proud father! Still, there is and always will be more distance to travel and room for growth. It is with Resurrectional joy that I reflect on what we are called to become and it is my fervent prayer that we alldare to fulfill these most challenging words of our Lord in our love for His Holy Church, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.” (Matthew 5:14)