Anastasios Hudson

Tag: Mission Strategy

Can Americans Really Be at Home in the Orthodox Church?
From the time I first became aware of Eastern Christianity via the Byzantine Catholic Church, and especially after the culmination of my search for the Truth led me and my wife to be baptized in the Orthodox Church, I have had a desire to spread the ancient Christian faith and to share everything I have learned with others. Orthodox Christianity provides the cure to the problems of mankind, and yet it is not well known in the West, something which I lament and which I am working to overcome in my own small way (but let the credit go to God, Who called and equipped me, and to my bishop Metropolitan Pavlos, in whose name I act).

Driving around North Carolina and Virginia, I would scope out places where Churches could be planted, monasteries built, and the Gospel preached. It was all very exciting to me, and over the years my fervor increased, until the time in 2006 when we put theory into practice and founded St. Mark the Evangelist Orthodox Mission Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Soon, we were dialoging with others interested in missions, and eventually after my ordination to the priesthood, we founded Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church in Greenville, NC.

Throughout all of this process, I found that the Orthodox Church naturally appeals to people. Almost everyone I have ever spoken with has been positive about Orthodoxy, except for a few principled Calvinists, traditionalist Roman Catholics, and Baptists. Conservative Christians appreciate our unchanging moral witness, while even liberal Christians find icons and our deep spiritual tradition to be a thing of beauty. Most of the people I have interacted with, though, have not converted. Is Orthodoxy perhaps just too foreign for Americans?

I have often heard this claim, and various supporting examples. Yet what’s interesting is that I have almost never heard it from non-Orthodox! Most often, it is self-identified Orthodox Christians who seem to be the ones that make this claim, usually in the context of arguing for various changes to Orthodox practices in order to make it more “accessible.”

One of the most common claims I hear made is that Byzantine chant is too exotic for Americans. The nasal, inflected nature of the music will just distract Americans. Yet my response is: which Americans? Blues and modern R&B feature many of the same types of vocal inflections and embellishments that are present in Byzantine chant, and the same musical scales which permeate it are ubiquitous in modern rock and rap music; for instance, see Dick Dale & The Del Tones’ “Misirlou” from 1963 , or the popular sampling of Arabic and Indian music in rap and hip-hop songs by artists such as Jay-Z, Timbaland, and Truth Hurts. I know that from the first moment that I heard Byzantine chant, I was enthralled. Certainly, there are some who even after they become Orthodox find it to be grating on the ears, but I know of no one who did not convert to Orthodoxy because of the music.

Another popular myth is that Americans don’t know what a cassock is, are prone to thinking a priest in a cassock is actually a Muslim, and that as long as we wear long, black robes, we will never get anywhere. This claim is not only untrue, but it is also completely backwards. In my experience as an Orthodox priest in North Carolina, I am constantly approached by people who know I am a Christian priest, need prayers, or who want to talk about the faith. See my article “Why I Wear My Cassock to Wal-Mart” for more details. I have even had people come up and squeeze my hand or touch my pectoral cross and say “seeing you makes me feel comforted.” Imitating Western forms of clerical dress is not conducive to spreading the Orthodox faith and is a missed opportunity.

Occasionally, I hear the claim that our liturgy is too different than a Western Church service. One monastery I attended once is even involved with a project to change the Orthodox liturgical tradition to “make more sense” in our day and age. I remarked to them that plenty of converts were attracted to the received Orthodox liturgical tradition, while this monastery’s idiosyncratic attempt at redefining the liturgy was not spreading organically to other institutions, so this should be a sign. Here is one place where I have heard non-Orthodox make a criticism though, but these have all been High Church Anglicans who are used to the Book of Common Prayer. I can certainly sympathize with them, although a discussion of so-called “Western Rite Orthodoxy” is beyond the purview of this article. I would simply remark that High Church Anglicanism itself seems foreign to many Americans, and we have had plenty of native North Carolinians come to our liturgies and Church functions, who have been struck by the beauty of the liturgy immediately. We even have had people in their 70’s come to the Church regularly, even though they had spent their entire life in Protestantism. The liturgy is not a barrier.

Other examples could be given, but I would like to close by mentioning that on a sunny Spring day in 2001, I looked out my office window in Downtown Raleigh and saw a line of Hare Krishna devotees going down the street, beating drums, and chanting to their pagan deity. Most of these devotees were White Americans. Research turned up their monastery in Hillsborough, and I see that there are hundreds of people who have converted to this religion in our area. Islam is a growing religion, too, as is Buddhism. All of these religions demand that converts adopt their lifestyle to the new religion, and not the other way around, and yet all of them are successful in a worldly, numerical sense.

Some may argue that if we adopted some of the changes mentioned above, more would convert to Orthodoxy. Yet in my missionary experience, I have not met anyone who did not convert to Orthodoxy because of cassocks, Byzantine Chant, or the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. I have, however, encountered people who did not convert to Orthodoxy because they do not accept certain Orthodox doctrines, or because they did not want to make the changes necessary to live an Orthodox life.

Let us focus our missionary work on preaching Christ Crucified, the Church which He established, repentance and regeneration through baptism, reconciliation and forgiveness of sins leading to restoration and union with God. Let us follow the Tradition of the Church, not seeking to deliberately alter it, and thus free ourselves to focus on these things. Americans that are seeking the truth will find the Orthodox faith, despite any unfamiliar externals. I feel blessed to be working with many such individuals in my parishes.
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March 12, 2012
Developing Future Church Leaders
Father Anastasios and Andrew at His Baptism

In January, my godson Andrew moved to Raleigh to help us in our missionary efforts here in North Carolina. We met about eight years ago online, when he was still in high school and had just developed an interest in the Orthodox Christian faith. Eventually, he embraced the faith, and when he was baptized in January 2008, I served as his godfather.

The work that began here with lay-led services in November 2006 has certainly blossomed, but there is much to do; a lifetime of work, in fact. Orthodox Christianity is not well-known in the United States, and our traditionalist stance towards the questions of Ecumenism and the Church calendar places us even more in the minority. As such, Andrew did not have a parish to attend where he lived out West, and so coming to North Carolina to work with me was the best option for him to have a regular Church life. He also shares with me a great desire to see Orthodoxy spread here.

We thank God for sending him to us, because he is a hard worker and is quickly learning the many facets of serving in a small mission community. This has raised the question in my mind of streamlining and replicating the experience, because I’ve never been a “one trick pony” so to speak. My goal is to establish Churches which plant other Churches, and to do so aggressively. Rather than just starting one parish, I hope that a network of parishes will be established in this region over the coming years, and in fact, we are currently witnessing people across the state come forward and pray for and plan for missions in their own cities and towns.

How then can we best replicate this on a larger scale? It is important to learn from the work others are doing. Recently, I found the Raleigh Fellows program, and it intrigued me. I hope that this Anglican program can be adopted into an Orthodox context. I am currently in discussions with one of the Fellows to learn from the program.

The idea is still new in my head, but basically young men (eventually women as well) would come to the area to learn from me and the other leaders of our missions in North Carolina how we have accomplished what we have accomplished, and more importantly, develop their spiritual lives and hone their vision of the Church’s evangelistic work so they can apply it autonomously in their own contexts.

Perhaps in five-seven years we will have five or six young men living in the area and learning how to plant Orthodox missions, to be sent out upon the completion of their work to spread the Gospel and then found similar programs and initiatives in their area. Some would stay in North Carolina to help us, while others would serve in disparate places where there is a need for Orthodoxy to be established.

If you are interested in becoming an intern/fellow in such a program, please let me know, so that you can provide input as we lay out the vision for such a program. Others are invited to pray for us, or to support us financially in our efforts. Contact me for more details, and God bless you all.
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February 26, 2012
A Nice Column of Churches!
View Larger Map

I am always looking at statistics and maps as I plan out and pray about our mission strategy. Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Goldsboro, North Carolina are about the same distance apart, and we’ve recently had some interest from Mt. Olive, so I thought to add that to the map as well. The four towns form almost a straight line down the Western border of Eastern North Carolina. Let’s pray that by 2020 there will be Orthodox Churches in each place!
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December 20, 2011
Orthodox Church in Pittsboro, NC
The Historic Courthouse in Downtown Pittsboro

Last year, my family and I visited Pittsboro, North Carolina. We went shopping in their downtown area, and also drove around the area where Jordan Lake is (not being terribly outdoorsy people, though, we did not go on the Lake). I know two families that live in the area surrounding Pittsboro, and after my visit, I can see why.

Whenever I go to a new place, I pray for the people there that they will come to know Christ and the Church which He established: the Orthodox Christian Church. It is hard to imagine that residents of small towns like Pittsboro would have many opportunities to encounter Orthodox Christians, especially clergy. In my article “If Orthodoxy Is True, Why Have I Never Heard of It?” I give some reasons for why Orthodox Christianity is not well-known in the United States. However, it’s also true that Christ will ask each of us individually how we have worked to fulfill the Great Commission, and we will not be able to rely on any excuses.

A native of Pittsboro would have to travel 50 minutes in order to attend liturgy at St. Mark the Evangelist Orthodox Mission Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is currently a small group of faithful traditional Orthodox Christians meeting at my home chapel while we grow large enough to afford a building. Even the closest New Calendar Greek parish—St. Barbara’s in Durham—is 22 miles from downtown Pittsboro. It is highly unlikely that Orthodoxy will reach large numbers of people in Pittsboro and greater Chatham County until an Orthodox mission parish is established in Pittsboro.

Yet we also know that the Internet has been a great tool for linking people to other people, places, and institutions which would have been inaccessible a generation ago. Perhaps someone in Pittsboro is currently looking into the Orthodox Church after having read about it online. Perhaps this post may reach him or her at the time when he or she is thinking of moving from curiosity to commitment. Yes, it is quite possible that some day, you will be the one bringing Orthodoxy to Pittsboro! Send me an email or give me a call (919-827-4945) today if you are Orthodox or are looking into Orthodoxy and wish to bring the True Faith of Christ to your community. We at St. Mark’s will do everything in our power to help you!
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December 17, 2011
Wake Forest Needs an Orthodox Church
Wake Forest, North Carolina is a fast-growing suburb of Raleigh, the state capital. The population in 2009 was estimated to be 27,915, up from 12,588 at the 2000 census. Wake Forest has a family-friendly atmosphere, a reputation as a safe place to live, and offers many opportunities for recreation and shopping, with a mixture of national and regional chains and local small businesses. Wake Forest is also home to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which I blogged about visiting a few months ago.

What Wake Forest does not have, however, is an Orthodox Church.

As readers of the blog know, I am the pastor of Saint Mark the Evangelist Orthodox Mission Church, which is currently a small chapel community meeting in North Raleigh. We are traditional Orthodox who observe the Patristic Old Calendar and do not participate in ecumenical activities. There are also three parishes which belong to the New Calendar Church here in Raleigh. The following map shows the location of Saint Mark Orthodox Mission Church in relation to the locations of these three New Calendar parishes:

View Raleigh Parishes in a larger map

I am interested in the process of establishing missions and parishes in general, so while St. Mark’s does not have relations with the three New Calendar parishes over the aforementioned issues, it is nonetheless interesting to see how they have organized themselves. The second map shows the three New Calendar parishes, with a ten-mile radius highlighted around each one:

View Raleigh Parishes – With NC Radius in a larger map

It is interesting to note that those living in the suburb of Cary, North Carolina, are at the intersection of the three parishes, and thus have the most coverage. Yet Wake Forest does not fall within the ten-mile radius of any of these parishes. From Downtown Wake Forest, the distance to these parishes is as follows:

Holy Trinity: 18.7 miles (28 minutes’ drive)
All Saints: 25 miles (36 minutes’ drive)
Holy Transfiguration: 25.4 miles (34 minutes’ drive)
(By comparison, St. Mark’s is 10.2 miles from Downtown Wake Forest [17 minutes’ drive]).

For many Orthodox, the prospect of a 30 minute drive is not too much in order to attend Church, but we also must recall that there are no other Orthodox Churches located up Capital Boulevard (Route 1) really until the Richmond area; thus, someone living in Henderson, North Carolina would have to travel 45 miles (54 minutes), whereas if there were a parish in Wake Forest, his commute would be shortened to 28 miles (33 minutes).

The Antiochian and OCA parishes are of a decent size, but not in a position to plant a daughter mission, while the Greek parish could plant a mission in Wake Forest or some other area of North Raleigh which would alleviate some of the pressure. However, they recently decided to expand their parish, a move which will cost several millions of dollars. They have their reasons for doing this, pooling resources being an effective way to manage their fellowship and charitable programs being one, also a desire not to split up a well-coalesced parish family into two, etc., but my concern and interest here is with missions and church planting, so further analysis and commentary is unnecessary.

In our Greenville, North Carolina mission, we are the closer of two missions to the city proper, and have more of an outreach and public visibility, and so we have grown by having people new to town come to the parish, even if they were not previously traditional Old Calendar Orthodox, or even Orthodox at all, but in Raleigh, with the existence of three established New Calendar parishes, mission strategy has to be different. Here, there is more of a need to highlight the distinctive nature of our traditionalist witness in order to convince new people to attend.

However, there is still a great opportunity to appeal to people in a geographic sense, as Wake Forest is not well covered by existing parishes, and there are people who cannot travel even 15 miles on a regular basis. Also, if we seek to have Orthodoxy grow, being able to invite family members and friends and neighbors is essential, and many are reluctant to travel so far for a visit. Finally, the proximity to the Baptist seminary is a good reason to have an Orthodox presence, as more and more Protestants discover Orthodoxy, which is the same Church established by Jesus Christ Himself and which has preserved all of the Apostolic doctrines without alteration, unlike the Western Churches.

For these reasons, Wake Forest needs an Orthodox Church. Saint Mark the Evangelist Orthodox Mission is currently meeting in my chapel in North Raleigh, but we are open to meeting wherever there is availability. Our Orthodox Church in Greenville, NC was founded when one family stepped forward and donated the land needed to have a Church building. Perhaps you are a pioneering Orthodox Christian living in Wake Forest who would like to donate land to establish a Church. Perhaps you are the pastor or a board member of a non-Orthodox Church which has been looking to relocate, and you would like to donate your current building to our mission efforts. Or perhaps you are just someone finding out about the Orthodox Church, and you want to talk about it with me. Whatever the case, send me an email or give me a call, and let’s see what the Lord has in store for His Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina!
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December 7, 2011
Mission Is for All Christians
Today, I saw an interesting Tweet (Twitter message) shared by a friend:

The great commission wasn’t given to a missions organization, it was given to the Church.

This is a great quote, and one which I wanted to share with my readers, most of whom are Orthodox Christians. Our context may be different than the Protestant world in which this quote was uttered, but it nevertheless provides a platform to discuss a critical topic.

Mission organizations in modern times and in the Protestant context are generally para-Church organizations that seek to coordinate the efforts of training and supporting foreign missionaries. From what I can tell, these are usually distinct from Church planting or evangelistic organizations, which seek to reach the lost in one’s own nation.

This type of organization is mostly indigenous to Protestantism, while Orthodox missions are generally under the guidance of the hierarchy of the Church. Commissions were made at various times to various peoples, but there was not, until recently, any effort to create a permanent missions department or structure.

In the last century, however, the New Calendar Greek Church created the “Orthodox Christian Mission Center” to support foreign missions in various parts of the world, such as its sister Church in Albania, which was emerging from communism, and local missions departments have been created in various jurisdictions to facilitate the establishment of new Orthodox parishes domestically. In one sense, greater organization and cohesion is a benefit to missions, but there is a potential drawback, which the above quote illustrates.

In the Protestant world, missionaries have mostly “gone professional.” A person or family feels a call to serve, researches a way to accomplish his goal, and selects the missions organization that is the best fit for them. They are trained, serve abroad, and occasionally return for support trips. Some do this as their career, while others serve a pre-set term and then return to their country of origin to assume a “regular” life. Church planting is likewise professionalized in many cases.

This is not always the case; there are certainly some bi-vocational ministers and Church planters out there, along with missionaries who are working secular jobs in their host countries. I do not want to give the impression that I think it is a problem to have a professional, trained, full-time missions team or evangelism team, per se. However, there are some potential pitfalls as this model of mission has become dominate.

One problem is that these mission organizations often act more like businesses than as a faithful group of believers united and acting together locally, knowing each other intimately, as a family. Another problem is that they make it easy for others to see missions and evangelization as someone else’s job. Because a Church member cooks for Church functions, or cleans the Church, or serves as the secretary, perhaps he or she feels that this is his or her role, while it is someone else’s role to share the Gospel and invite new people to the parish, or go abroad to serve. Sometimes, it is assumed that it is the pastor’s primary job to bring in new members, and Church boards will often have serious “sit downs” with pastors who are not getting the numbers up in a way that hits growth targets.

In an Orthodox Christian context, it is the priest who is often assumed to be in charge of bringing new people in. Of course, it is also the priest’s job to teach, to minister to the sick, to serve the liturgies, conduct correspondence, and represent the parish at important ecclesiastical and civic functions. Laypeople often imagine their only role is to support the Church financially and do things around the Church that need to be done such as cleaning, cooking, and managing the finances.

In reality, the priest’s primary responsibility is to equip the people, to teach them and guide them, so that they grow in Christ and go out and live as Christians, sharing the Gospel in both word and deed. Yes, a priest has a natural advantage in inviting others to Church since he is often recognized in public due to his specific priestly garb, but people expect a priest to invite them to Church. People don’t always expect their family members, friends, or neighbors to invite them, and often they will come, if just asked.

People also tend to expect that a priest will explain the Christian faith in some official manner, and it is almost as if they can tune it out because they already know what he is going to say. For instance, if a layperson begins discussing the latest spiritual fad to appear on talk shows, and a priest criticizes it, even constructively, some people assume he’s biased or it’s his job to say things like that. When a concerned and educated lay member of the Church engages someone with such ideas, though, often one’s guard is let down, and hearts can be changed.

Instead of acting as if it were someone else—be it a department, an organization, or a clergyman—who is responsible for doing the work of sharing our holy faith, let us grow in Christ ourselves, becoming spiritually mature. St. Peter instructs us thusly: “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

We may not be the most articulate, knowledgeable, or experienced at this, and in fact we might find the prospect frightening at first. However, if we are open to Christ’s will, are enthusiastic, and we develop a genuine love for those around us and concern for their salvation, we will be given many opportunities to minister to and witness to them, in ways that we will be able to do so successfully. If we all share in the work, we will find many more people added to the rational flock of the Great Shepherd, and will have multipled the talent that was given to us (c.f. Matthew 25:14-30).

Let’s get started today!
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September 24, 2011
Orthodox Church, Goldsboro, NC
Chances are, you’re finding this page because you searched for Orthodox Churches in or near Goldsboro, North Carolina. I’ve created this blog post with you in mind!

Goldsboro, NC

The closest Orthodox Church to Goldsboro, NC is currently the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Orthodox Church in Greenville, NC, which is about 50 miles from the center of Goldsboro, according to Google Maps. That’s roughly an hour drive, which in terms of Orthodox parishes in the South, is not too bad. However, those who have difficulty traveling, or those who are just looking into Orthodox Christianity, might be put off by the necessity of driving an hour each way just to attend services. The many courageous military families in the area might find it especially difficult to travel an hour each way each week for worship and fellowship.

We also notice with some frequency that people perform internet searches for Orthodox Churches in Goldsboro. The interest seems to be there, yet who will step up to lay the foundation for a parish in Goldsboro?

Perhaps you!

Yes, take a step back and consider that perhaps you’ve found this blog post because the Lord wishes for you to be the person to help establish the first Orthodox Christian parish in Goldsboro, NC! Whether you are a life-long Orthodox, a recent convert, or someone just looking into Orthodoxy, contact Fr. Anastasios Hudson at gocraleigh@gmail.com today to talk about how you might be a trailblazer in the work of bringing Orthodoxy to Wayne County. What better way to love your neighbors than to help bring the Church of Christ to them!

We are praying for Orthodoxy to take root in Goldsboro, and we need your help to do it. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to accomplish this goal!
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July 20, 2011
Saint Cosmas the Aetolian: A Patron of Domestic Missionary Work
Saint Cosmas the Aetolian (1714-1779)

When we hear the word “missionary,” we often think of one being sent to preach in a far-away land. Certainly, Christianity has a rich history of such people being sent away from the comforts of their homeland in order to work for the salvation of others. However, there is an equally great need, especially in today’s modern Western world, to conduct such efforts at home. There are a great number of people whom we might describe as “post-Christian,” who have been raised in a “Christianesque” culture. Such people have a familiarity with the Christian faith, often attended Church when they were younger, and either reject the Gospel outright, or give lip service to Christian faith while not actually living it day-to-day.

Also, as Orthodox Christians, we believe that our Church is a unique Church, the original Church, in fact, and which has something to offer Americans. As the culture at large goes more and more toward relativism, and some Churches respond by watering down the Christian message in a misguided effort to reach such people, Orthodoxy presents a corrective, a living witness of the faith that never changes, and which has the power to save people in all generations and all walks of life. Orthodox Christianity is not just an ideology, but is something that can be known by experience. We have Holy Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the writings of Fathers to confirm our faith, but it is imperative that each and every Orthodox Christian live as a missionary in his own community, sharing the Gospel with relatives, friends, and neighbors. This involves both sharing the faith and living the faith ourselves to the utmost extent possible, so that we radiate Christ and prove that His grace is effective.

When looking for Orthodox precedents for foreign missions, we are quick to think of the Apostles to the Slavs, Saints Cyril and Methodios, who in the 9^th century brought Christianity to the pagan Slavs living in the area now known as the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, we may have a harder time calling to mind a saint who was engaged in domestic missionary work, or more specifically, the re-evangelization and strengthening of one’s own people, especially in modern times. Yet there were several remarkable individuals who contributed to the modern spiritual reawakening of the Orthodox faith in Greece after centuries of degradation under Ottoman rule, and the most beloved of these has to be Saint Cosmas the Aetolian.

Saint Cosmas (1714-1779) lived at a time when Orthodoxy was on the decline in what is now Greece and Albania. After the Turkish conquest of the area in the 15^th century, various pressures led to conversions to Islam, and restrictions on the practice of the Orthodox faith among those who remained Christian. Education suffered, and in many areas, people ceased to have a connection to the Greek language, which had a detrimental effect on understanding the faith. By the time of Saint Cosmas, there were countless adults in the northern regions of Greece who were unbaptized and completely uncatechized.

Saint Cosmas the Aetolian Preaching

Our saint originally sent out to become a monk on Mount Athos, and accomplished his goal, living in peace for nineteen years. Eventually, his concern for his fellow Greeks led him to request a blessing to go back into the world to help educate and enlighten them. The Patriarch of the time in fact gave him a blessing to preach everywhere he wished, and to accomplish his work as best he saw fit. He would go from village to village, and set up a Cross in the square. Various Christians would come to hear his teachings, which he presented in simple language so that most could readily understand him. Saint Cosmas established over 100 schools in his years of struggle. His work provoked jealousy among the rulers, and he was put to death on August 24, 1779. His earthly body was silenced, but his work outlived him, and not only helped thousands of Christians to improve their faith and avoid apostasy, but helped bring the Greek nation into the modern era.

Saint Cosmas burned with a love for his fellow Greeks in the 18^th century, that they might know Christ and be saved. In a like manner, we burn with love for our fellow Americans, and specifically North Carolinians, that they might experience the blessed life and joy that accompanies repentance, surrender to Jesus Christ, and baptism into His Church. We travel from place to place, building up missions and teaching the people how to properly give glory to God (Orthodoxy is a Greek word meaning “right glory,” or the proper way to worship God). We are provoked by the degraded spiritual state of modern man, a state where questions which were considered solved centuries ago by revelation and experience are now openly questioned again, as man has lost touch with the sources of the Christian faith, the anchor of Western civilization, resulting in many today walking along lost, engaging in do-it-yourself spirituality and bouncing from ideology to ideology. The setbacks and struggles in our work do not cause us to quit, but instead strengthen our resolve.

A Methodist Circuit Rider

This work is, in fact, not something new to American culture. Shortly after the time that Saint Cosmas struggled to enlighten the Greek nation, Methodist circuit riders began working to re-evangelize and minister to Americans, especially those in rural areas. By combining the spiritual teachings, examples, and disciplines of our Father Cosmas with the methods of these early American evangelistic pioneers, and adding in the aid of modern technologies such as the Internet, we hope to follow God’s call and spread our faith through our own homeland, the beautiful state of North Carolina (and may others reading this be inspired to work in their own communities). As we labor, may we be guided and protected through the prayers and intercessions of Saint Cosmas the Aetolian!

A Hymn to Saint Cosmas

By teaching the Divine Faith, thou hast richly adorned the Church and become a zealous emulator of the Apostles; for having been lifted up by the wings of divine love, that hast spread far and wide the message of the Gospel. O glorious Cosmas, entreat God that He grant us His great mercy.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmas_of_Aetolia

http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Cosmas_of_Aetolia

Cavarnos, Constantine. St. Cosmas Aitolos : great missionary, awakener, illuminator, and holy martyr of Greece. 3^rd edition. Belmont, MA: Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 1985. (available for purchase here: http://ibmgs.org/lives.html)
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June 30, 2011
Mission Burnout
When we read the book of Acts, it is easy to become enthusiastic for missions. The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost led to the Apostles going out and converting 3000 people in one day (Acts 2:41). The saying, “with God, all things are possible!” comes to mind, and we set out to convert our friends, family, neighbors, and fellow citizens to the faith we have encountered.

Reality sets in though, and we discover that it is quite difficult to start a new Church, even more difficult to get sizeable numbers to come, and yet harder still to retain them. All the while, though, the day-to-day tasks remain: making phone calls, cleaning the Church building, doing fundraisers and charitable events. We can become frustrated, and we begin to ask ourselves: “if this is the true faith, if Christ really matters, then why are more people not coming?” Two common causes of disappointment, which if unchecked can lead to burnout, are false expectations, and a small group bearing the brunt of the work.

False Expectations

Part of the problem has to do with our own expectations. In our culture, we are driven to quantify everything, chart and plot out all details, and measure the progression, seeking out feedback. Those who have had success in the business world often feel like a fish out of water when faced with the prospect of investing so much time, effort, and money into something that does not immediately return the expected results. This is a make-or-break moment for the mission and its founders; will they forge ahead, or will they throw in the towel?

It would be easy at this point to say to oneself, “it must not be God’s will.” Yet one would hope that God was consulted before the endeavor began, and that His blessing was discerned, through prayer, the reading of Scripture, etc. While those of us who are not in an advanced spiritual state cannot always directly discern the will of God in the same way that many of the righteous in the Bible could, God does not abandon those of us who have put our faith in Him, yet are still struggling with overcoming sin. No, He can and does make His will known, in ways that we can perceive. So, having ruled out that the mission was started against the will of God (and let us be honest with this question, if the evidence merits such consideration), we must overcome our disappointment, and find a way forward.

Results are not measured in terms of numbers, but rather in terms of the spiritual growth of those who have come. When we hear comments such as, “coming to this Church has been a blessing in my life,” “I feel different when I am here,” and “I have learned so much in my time here,” we know that God is with us, working through us to change the lives of others. Lack of large growth is not an indication of failure, because people have free will, and often they are not seeking the truth. Those Churches which have extreme growth are often achieving these types of “results” because of a watered down Gospel, and they also often have a person leaving for every person that joins. At the same time, we must never become satisfied with the status quo, either. We must diligently seek to reach more people with the message of the Gospel and the Church of Christ.

We can ask ourselves, what type of people are coming as a result of our evangelistic efforts? Truth seekers, or those seeking to be entertained or to find affirmation that they are “basically good people”? This is how we should measure ourselves. The saying mentioned above, “with God all things are possible” comes from Matthew 19:26. How many of us forget, however, that the preceding phrase is: “with man this is impossible, but…”? We must place our trust fully in God, and not ourselves, if we are to see our mission work succeed. This is a true act of faith, and one which is difficult to do, even for the priest. If we have been lacking in faith, let us repent today, at this moment, and offer God our doubts and fears, and an admission of our own weakness, because by giving it to Him, we can find healing and a way forward.

A Few Bearing the Brunt

It is almost universally true that in any group, some people are more dedicated than others. Unfortunately, in the Church, this is no different much of the time. The Church may be the Body of Christ, but it has a human and a divine aspect to it, and the human aspect can often be disappointing.

When a mission parish is formed, the priest usually travels in from another place, at least at first, and there is a local core family or two who do most of the organizing. In some instances, several families come together and form a mission, or several families come soon after the foundation of the community to add their support to the core families, but this is not always the case. In situations where one or two families bear the brunt of the work for an extended period of time, disappointment arises, and burnout can occur. There are so many little things that have to be managed: cleaning, paying the electric bill, mowing the lawn, fixing a tile on the roof, contacting the local news agency about an event, baking bread for the liturgy, etc. The priest also can become burnt out, a truth that many would not like to admit, and one which can cause guilt on his part, as he feels he is letting down his flock. Family stress can also became an issue, if the priest does not say “no” when he is overtaxed, and the parishioners should be understanding when the priest has to say “no.”

There are several ways that this can be avoided, or addressed and overcome if it has already occurred. The first is that good communication between the priest and the core families must exist. The parishioners should make the priest aware of fatigue. The priest should likewise apprise the parishioners if he is feeling overwhelmed. They must support one another, and set realistic expectations, and bear one another’s burdens. They must be patient with each other, especially when either party does not meet the expectations of the other. We have to remember that we are essentially operating as an extended family in small mission situations, and it is expected that there will be some differences of opinion, disagreements, and even hurt feelings from time to time. We will not always live up to our calling in Christ. Communicating this honestly on the one hand, and being willing to listen and address the concerns on the part of the other party, is essential. Patience with the shortcomings of others—shortcomings which may never change—is also required.

The priest should make sure to ask others to pitch in, even if they are new to the community. Things like cleaning schedules, “work parties,” and other situations need to be scheduled in order to take some of the work off of the core families. Those who are new to a mission need to understand that it is a team effort, and work does not magically get completed without their support; they should not wait to be asked how they can help, but should rather ask how they can pitch in. If everyone helps just a little, then no one will need to feel overburdened. In our specific case, we have also benefited from friends of the mission, who have come to help us during our charitable programs. Members of the mission should never shy away from asking others for help, because many people are eager to help out a good cause, even if they are not members of the Church—and such contacts could lead to them becoming so in the future.

Defining the Mission

Our mission work is conducted for the purpose of bringing people to salvation in Jesus Christ. We must set Him as our goal, our hope, our strength, and use our personal spiritual growth in Him as a measure of progress. We must work against false expectations, impatience, and disappointment, which will be frequent in our work. We must not be afraid to be open with one another about our concerns, and listen to others when they express theirs. We cannot be too proud to ask for help, and those of us who are new should seek to pitch in, even if we have not been asked. Together, we can provide a warm and welcoming community for others to make their home. By ourselves, the task is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!
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June 14, 2011
Phone Calls That Never Lead to Visits
I’m at my secular job, focused on some computer-related task, and the phone rings.

“Father Anastasios?” asks the caller, somewhat unsure how to pronounce my name.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I have some questions about the Orthodox Church.”

This is how many conversations have begun in the past few years since I became a priest. I quickly move to a conference room, and then engage the caller, answering all his or her varied questions. They seem positive, and promise to come for services the next Sunday.

They don’t show up. And they never call again.

Unfortunately, many of the people who call us and ask about the Church show a momentary interest, but then fade away. I am reminded of the Parable of the Sower:

And it came to pass, as he sowed…some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away (Mark 4:4-6).

Am I criticizing those who call and ask for information about the Church? Of course not! I love to talk to people, and answer questions about the Orthodox Church. I wouldn’t want someone who is genuinely interested in contacting me to hesitate to call. However, there is a difference between asking questions without making a commitment, and enthusiastically promising to visit and not showing up and not following up. Things come up; I know this, but why no follow-up phone call or email to let us know?

You see, I’m a caring person—it’s part of the reason I became a priest. I want to help people find the Truth, to find salvation in Jesus Christ, and the Church which He established. When people contact me and state an intention to come to the Church, I get excited and look forward with anticipation. When there is follow-through, I am pleased. When there is no visit, I feel disappointed. I pray for the people who contact me, and am genuinely concerned.

Such communications have taken a lot of my time and emotional energy; and my missions are growing, which means I am spending more time with those who have already joined the parish. Both of these are reasons why I have had to limit how much time I can spend speaking to new people on the telephone. Presently, I encourage people to visit the Church first, and I will answer their questions after the liturgy. Orthodox Christianity is best experienced; it is hard to understand it without visiting a liturgy and seeing it for oneself. Many questions can be answered just by participating in the Divine Liturgy.

No one who has questions about Orthodoxy should hesitate to contact us, for sure, and we look forward for your call, as you realize that Orthodox Christianity is the True Faith, and you seek to join us in the Church. It is a real blessing to us that there are many people who have called and emailed and have come to the Church, and are now members! You will not be the first to find Orthodoxy in this way, nor the last. So get your questions together, come to liturgy, and let’s talk!
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May 18, 2011