Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Originally posted on July 7, 2015 but still relevant today! The Challenge of Orthodox Christian Outreach The Challenge of Outreach, written in 1997, by Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Ph.D., foreshadowed the recent PEW Report on Christianity in America. The study was prepared at the request of Archbishop Spyridon. Too bad it got lost in the shuffle. We have posted it for your consideration and interest. CLICK HERE to read this excellent report. George Matsoukas
Source: St. Catherine’s Vision We are delighted and grateful to God that we are blessed again to be able to offer another teleconferencing, educational diakonima in the service of cultivating Pan-Orthodox koinonia, especially during these protracted, challenging times of social distancing. The time for registration is brief —and — enrollment will be limited! With great joy, we will be donating 100% of tuition monies received before Pascha 2021 to a charity that combats food insecurity, homelessness, domestic violence, and human trafficking. For this cycle, we have chosen F.O.C.U.S. of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, as our first tuition-donation recipient. Divine Compassion…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Musing of the Executive Director: Developing Local, Sustainable, Pan-Orthodox Community Programs Send us a paragraph, who? what? when? where? why?, about the Pan-Orthodox Community Outreach Programs in your local area, so that we can post them on the OCL website. They are examples of best practices that could give others ideas and be duplicated in other communities. View the 7-minute video About Pan-Orthodoxy in Cleveland. The theme of OCL’s 32nd Annual Meeting, this weekend, November 2 in Houston, is: Thinking Globally…Acting Locally…Consider your Parish the Universe. OCL serves as a “catalyst” in motivating the faithful of our…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA The first ever, national study on evangelization and outreach in Orthodox parishes in the United States has been released by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA. Download the report in various formats: Executive Summary (pdf) Full Report (pdf) The report “Go and Make Disciples: Evangelization and Outreach in US Orthodox Parishes” explores the practices and strategies developed by some Orthodox parishes that can be viewed as “exemplary” in their missionary and outreach efforts. Examples of what the readers will find in the report include: The “secrets” of being…
Source: St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church, Boca Raton FL “Ministry” is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning “to serve”. Our Pastors spend their lives in ministry but are not the only ones called into the Lord’s service. We as the Laity also have a responsibility to obey the Lord’s commands and follow His examples to bring others to Him. Our priests, Fr. Mark and Fr. Steven, appealed to parishioners to join them in a formalized Outreach Ministry Committee to explore ways to increase the witness of our Faith. A small group of us took up the challenge. We held our…