Oklahoma Tornado Update: AFR Audio, Reports from Parishes
Photo c/o www.heavy.comListen to His Grace and Fr. John Salem, priest at St. Elijah Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City, as they report on the Oklahoma tornado on Ancient Faith Radio
His Grace Bishop Basil, Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, writes:
Dear to Christ, Fathers and Brothers:
Christ is risen. I have heard from Fathers John and Jeremy of St. Elijah in Oklahoma City and they are still waiting to hear from one woman with whom they have not been able to make contact. Father James reports that all at St. Benedict in Wichita Falls, Texas are safe, as are those from St. Antony in Tulsa, Oklahoma (including the Skiatook area) according to Fr. George. The people at Holy Ascension in Norman, Oklahoma and St. James in Stillwater, Oklahoma, are safe as well.
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) writes,
IOCC has been in contact with the Orthodox community in the Oklahoma City area as well as its ecumenical partners and is assessing the emerging needs for an appropriate response.
You can help the victims of disasters in the United States, like Superstorm Sandy, by making a financial gift to the United States Emergency Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief as well as long-term support through the provision of emergency aid, recovery assistance and other support to help those in need. To make a gift, please visit our website, call toll free at 1-877-803-IOCC (4622), or mail a check or money order payable to IOCC, P.O. Box 17398, Baltimore, Md. 21297-0429.
2013 Wichita PLC: Register and Make Your Reservations NOW!
With our 2013 DOWAMA Parish Life Conference quickly approaching (Wednesday to Saturday, June 5-8, 2013), please be sure to register very soon as well as making your hotel reservations. Both of these items can be accomplished at www.plckc2013.com ">the PLC website. This year we will have our large “family reunion” in the historic downtown of Kansas City, Missouri. We look forward to having you with us for this year’s conference, which is being hosted by the parish of St. Basil the Great Orthodox Church in Kansas City, KS. Amir Askander will be our Hafli musician, Mother Nektaria of St. Paul's Skete in Grand Junction, TN will be our keynote speaker, and you will be our special guests!"
Upcoming DOWAMA Anniversaries
His Grace Bishop Basil writes:
MANY YEARS! Fr. Seraphim and Kh. Maria (Masha) Gisetti and the congregation of St. John Chrysostom Church in Golden, Colorado will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Father's priestly ordination on May 19th, 2013
Fr. David Barr and Kh. Luanne Barr and the congregation of St. Elias Church in Austin, Texas will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Father's priestly ordination on June 28th, 2013.
2013 Paschal Greetings from Bishop Basil
His Grace Bishop Basil writes:
PASCHA 2013
Beloved and Christ-loving Clergy, Monastics and Laity of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America:
I embrace and greet you with a holy kiss in the Name of the Resurrected Theanthropos Jesus Christ, and, together with you and Orthodox Christians throughout the world, I joyfully proclaim that Christ is risen! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! ! ألمسيح قام Хрңстос Воскресе! Hristos a înviat! Cristo ha resucitado!
On this radiant Feast of feasts I share with you, my dearly beloved spiritual children, the following soul-profiting words excerpted from a Paschal homily of our father among the saints Gregory the Theologian (330-390):
This is the Day of Resurrection! Let us all be united in heart, and let us give glory to God on this solemn festival. Let us address as brothers even those who hate us, as also those who love us, and have helped us, and have suffered anything on our behalf. Let us forgive all things in the Resurrection ... Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; today I am glorified with Him. Yesterday I died with Him; today I am given life with Him. Yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise again with Him. Today let us offer unto Him, Who has suffered and Who has risen for us, ourselves, which to God is the most precious and becoming of gifts.
Wishing you and your families a glorious Paschal season perfumed with the sweet fragrance of good works and holiness, looking forward to being with you all at our Diocesan Family Reunion in Kansas City this June 5th - 8th, and assuring you of my continued love, prayers and blessings, I remain
Your Father in the Risen Christ,
+Bishop Basil
Antiochian College Student Reflects on Real Break Trip
Real Break students with Patriarch BartholomewOCF Real Break 2013 – Trip to Constantinople
by Alexa Janda, St George Orthodox Church in Houston, TX
My decision to serve with the OCF Real Break mission trip to Constantinople was one of the best decisions of my life. Initially, my spring break plan was to spend a week in Alaska with my parents. However, my plan changed last Christmas break when I found out my two good friends Mary Catherine Huneycutt and Mary Dahdouh were going on the OCF trip. I shared the Real Break information with my parents who instantly recognized what an amazing opportunity this trip would be for me. I registered for OCF Real Break not realizing that this mission trip would be a life changing experience.
New Church Home for a Kansas Western Rite Parish
Preparing the new temple for St. Michael, Park City, KSSaint Michael the Archangel Orthodox Christian Church, a Western Rite congregation in the Antiochian Archdiocese, hosted The Right Rev. Bishop Basil (Essey), Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, for its first Divine Liturgy in its new church temple in Park City, KS, on April 7, 2013. This service on the third Sunday in Lent was a significant milestone in the life of the parish which has experienced many challenges and successes in the nine years of its existence.
St. Michael’s began when Fr. John Flora and a group of his former Episcopal parishioners sought to become members of the Orthodox Church. Father John and 37 members were accepted as catechumens by Bishop Basil in the narthex of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Wichita on Dec. 31, 2003.
During the time St. Michael's parishioners were catechumens, they attended services in the Cathedral and later held morning prayer services in the chapel at St. George. Father John was ordained on Pascha, 2004, and St. Michael’s then celebrated Divine Liturgy in the cathedral chapel until it moved into a rented space of its own in March 2010.
Abilene, TX Parish Hosts Retreat with Dr. Paul Meyendorff
Dr. Paul MeyendorffOn March 23, 2013, Dr. Paul Meyendorff, The Fr. Alexander Schmemann professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir's Seminary, led a parish retreat on the theme of the Sacrament of Confession at St. Luke Orthodox Christian Church in Abilene, Texas. The community gathered to hear Dr. Meyendorff's first address at 4 p.m., and a community meal and Vespers followed, after which he presented the second part of the retreat at 7:15.
The parish priest Fr. Philip LeMasters is the Corporate Secretary for the Board of Trustees at St. Vladimir's, and is also professor of Religion, director of the Honors Program, and dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University in Abilene. After the retreat, he commented that "Professor Meyendorff unfolded for us the historical development of the practice of confession, and then responded to questions from parishioners during a lively discussion time. Those who attended learned a great deal and were most appreciative for the spiritual encouragement provided by his presentation, coming as it did at the beginning of Great Lent."
Register Bible Bowl Teams by May 26
CALLING ALL BIBLE BOWL TEAMS! Sunday, May 26th is the deadline to register your congregations' teen and adult teams for the 2013 DOWAMA Bible Bowl.
The 2013 DOWAMA Bible Bowl will take place on Thursday, June 6th from 7:30PM-9:30PM at our Diocesan Parish Life Conference in Kansas City, Kansas. Click here to download the registration for (Word format).
Completed registration forms must be returned to Khouriya Gigi Shadid of St. George Church in Houston, Texas (gigishadid@yahoo.com) on or before May 26th.
Works of the Order in Action: The Treehouse
Yuri and her husband baptizing their daughter with a gown from the thrift store at The Treehouse!Ten short years ago in Wichita, Kansas, a group of Orthodox Christians wanted to reach out to struggling moms who had chosen to let their babies live. In addition to praying for them, we wanted to provide tools to help moms take their lives in a positive direction. The Treehouse was born.
Today, we have celebrated 15,755 birthdays and helped change over a quarter million diapers! Our goal is to practice our Orthodox faith daily in everything we do at The Treehouse, teaching moms that they are not alone in their struggles. We want them to know that, when their world seems like a very dark place, they have somewhere to turn for hope. We provide them and their babies with positive Christian role models and basic necessities, such as diapers, formula and an inexpensive thrift store. We offer, too, educational classes to nurture our moms so that their babies can flourish.
Bishop Basil Ordains Deacon David Sebits
His Grace Bishop Basil writes:
AXIOS! HE IS WORTHY! Subdeacon Trenton David Sebits of St. George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas was ordained to the holy diaconate On Wednesday March 20, 2013 at the Cathedral during the first Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of this Great Fast. Deacon David is assigned to the Cathedral.