Source: Orthodox Christian Laity
THANK YOU, followers, of the OCL web site. You provide hope for the renewal of our Orthodox Christian Church in the USA based what you collectively thought were the top 15 stories of the hundreds posted on Orthodox News in 2019. Our year-end e-blast listed the top 15 stories that were most read. Take time and go back and review the 15 you collectively selected. The range, depth, and breadth of topics you selected, reveal that you are serious, intelligent, discriminating, discerning, spiritually alive and concerned individuals. You are interested in Orthodox Christian history, contemporary problems of various Patriarchates, leadership issues in the American Orthodox Church, the work of OCL, and spiritual renewal.
You need to not be passive participants in the life of the Church. Your time and talent are needed to advance transparency and accountability in governance, church renewal and unity. Local Clergy Associations need to include laypeople as part of those gatherings so that projects involving different jurisdictions get discussed and implemented. The diocesan and national synods should include laypersons. There are no canonical restrictions prohibiting this participation. Continue participating in the sacramental life of the church and in parish activities, volunteering as Sunday School teachers, choir members, and parish council members. Involve members of other jurisdictions to substitute for you.
We invite you to become part of a virtual unified Orthodox Christian grassroots network by means of this web site. Help us build up this community by offering your time, talent and ideas to build this community. Become participants in a local grassroots network working for unity in your parish community. Send us information, so we can be a better clearinghouse and post what pan-Orthodox ministries are taking place locally. Let us communicate what works and does not work. Descriptions of your programs will be posted as best practices. They may inspire other communities to combine resources to reach more local participants and be a vehicle for local missionary outreach. Check the web site to see what develops in creating this local community network. But you need to participate. We need your input and help.
Our web site would like to be the good news reporter of what established national groups are doing. See the link section on this web site. Many groups duplicate services and have similar missions How can they combine resources and be less fragmented and thus more effective and far-reaching? This web site would like to be the place to post and encourage working together and supporting each other’s mission, events, programs. This is an objective of this grassroots network. We need your help to make this a possibility.
How exciting and good it is for us to work together in unity and for unity. This is the year and decade to become a mature, unified Church!
George Matsoukas