THE ORTHODOX OASIS Vol. XXXI, Issue IV, April 2020 Rev. Fr. Andrew J. Barakos, Presiding Priest | [email protected] V. Rev. Fr. Virgil Suciu Rev. Fr. Jacob Saylor | [email protected] Mary Boss | off [email protected] Tanya Garrison, Accounting | [email protected] 8202 E. Cactus Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Off ice: (480)991-3009 | Info Line: (480)391-8182 “4” www.assumptionaz.org Off ice Hours | Monday-Thursday 9 AM to 4 PM & Fridays 9 AM - 12 PM LETTER FROM FATHER CHRIST IS LIFE On the second Sunday of Lent, I was very uneasy as we cordoned off sections of the church to allow us to spread-out. Everything was wiped down and we began to pray. For the first time in our history we conducted two simultaneous liturgies which allowed for us to spread-out even more. During that liturgy as I was lifting up the gifts I received a word. Now, in my thirty years of celebrating liturgies I have never received a word before, and I am not sure even what that is, but this is what I heard. “You, have no choice in lifting up these gifts because it is not you who lift them up, it is Me.” I cannot say if those were the exact words but that was the gist of it. As I continued and prayed the Lifting-Up of our Off ering, I became emotional about every word and experienced the prayer as if they were not my words but His. Following the liturgy, I shared with the faithful how courageous they were in fulfilling our calling by not failing to make possible, Christ’s prayer for the world. We have no choice in the matter because the prayer of Christ for the world never ends is only made possible through us, His Body, on earth, till the end of time. Perhaps you recall me saying to the children at the beginning of Lent to cover up their televisions, stop social media and focus on our relationship with Christ. The first week was fine, I think for most but the second week was inundated with a pandemic alarm and a media frenzy. In just a few days a national emergency was called and the country shut down all the public spectacles, including Disneyland and fear spread. Next, came the surprise of many grocery shoppers finding aisles empty first of toilet paper and then the food shelves started to become vacant. The pandemic has essentially enacted in many ways a world-wide fast. From a faith perspective what are we to make of all this; why is God allowing all this to happen? First, we could say that to label a pandemic as an Act of God is blasphemy. God is not the source of illness. The church has always taught that illnesses come from us. The act of turning away from God, Who is Life, has concrete physiological and biological consequences. This is what we call the Fall of mankind, the sin which makes us exiles in this world, subject to illness, sin and death. The actual Acts of God are found in what follows a pandemic and how His people react to it. We either mobilize and witness to His kingdom in the midst of a crisis or we retreat to bunkers along with the doomsayers. It is only God Who in His wisdom can turn something that is essentially evil into good and it is us, His chosen people that are called to make that happen in the world. Here is a quote from St. Cyprian writing during a great pandemic of the 3rd C., he sees the pandemic as an opportunity for Christians to define themselves in opposition to the non-believing world. The parenthetical questions are my remarks. “How, suitable, how necessary it is that this plague and pestilence, which seems horrible and deadly, searches out the justice of each and every one and, examine the minds of the human race (Am I hording food, caught up in frenzy buying, or just taking what I need?); whether the well care for the sick (Will we check in on elderly we know and off er any assistance they may need?), whether relatives dutifully love their kinsmen as they should (Are we educating family members and youth to take necessary precautions and about the role of faith and prayer during a crisis?), whether masters show compassion for their ailing slaves (How are business owners and CEOs who may be forced to lay off employees or even worse close their businesses caring for their employees?), whether physicians do not desert the aff licted (Physicians of bodies and physicians souls, Bishops and Priests do they cease to off er their vocation?)….The plague has especially accomplished this for Christians and servants of God, that we have begun gladly, to seek martyrdom while we are learning not to fear death…Our brethren who have been freed from the world by the summons of the Lord should not be mourned, since we know that they are not lost but sent before; that in departing they lead the way, they are among the living…” 2 THE ORTHODOX OASIS WWW.ASSUMPTIONAZ.ORG When you compare his description of the pandemic and consider the level of medical assistance available at that time, the situation is vastly more devastating than our current crises. Human behavior however, doesn’t change and the call upon us to find faith through prayer and respond accordingly is absolutely that which shall define us to the next generation. This is a time for us to shine in the midst of confusion, anxiety, with the love, peace and joy of Christ! Let us hear the words of St. John Chrysostom: “There is only one thing in life which is truly terrible, only one real trial, and that is sin. All other things – whether it be war, disease, hatred, slander, abuse, exile, - endure for but a season, they are fleeting, perishable, and cannot injure or even touch the sou. So, do not be anxious, but call out to Jesus Christ, merely bow your head to Him, and all these troubles will pass.” Prayerfully, + Fr. Andrew PHOTO: Costco, Scottsdale 3/16/20 PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Greetings everyone, I hope this note finds you all well and in good spirits as we enter our Lenten journey together. I had the great fortune to attend Clergy-Laity on February 24th and 25th in Dunlap California at St. Nicholas Ranch. For those who may not know, St. Nicholas Ranch is a truly beautiful place and I would urge anyone to attend as it offers a place to be introspective, prayerful and educated all at the same time so if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask me about it next time when we see each other. Assumption was also represented by Father Andrew and Andrea McNamara and we all had an amazing time, learned a lot about where our monies are going to the Archdiocese and how they were being used. And I’m very pleased to share that the Metropolis of San Francisco has implemented a Family Wellness Ministry program called Face to Face-Heart to Heart. ASSUMPTION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH, SCOTTSDALE, AZ APR 2020 3 Loving is the basis for the Family Wellness Ministry of the Metropolis of San Francisco. Assumption is in the process of forming a Family Wellness ministry with the guidance of Fr. Timothy. In this effort, Assumption will be hosting a Marriage Retreat on Saturday, April 4, with Fr. Timothy, called “Created for Connection” from 10 AM till 3 PM. In addition to Family Wellness Ministry, we also learned about the challenges faced by clergy families and how these challenges impact local parishes. For example, the Archdiocese has received a grant of several million dollars from the Lilly Endowment to better understand the impact of ministry upon priests. For example, financial burdens like student loans, carried by priests can be significant barriers to effective and fruitful ministry. Personal financial literacy contributes to healthier and stronger pastoral leadership. Clergy with manageable financial burdens can better make invaluable contributions to the health and vitality of ministry in the parishes they serve. Flourishing local congregations with capable financial and managerial leadership from laity can better fund ministries that share and participate in the generosity of God for all creation. At Assumption, our clergy are compensated according to the Archdiocese remuneration scale thanks to your stewardship! You have faithfully responded every time there has been a financial need, most notable is that our mortgage balance is presently, $256,960! So what can we all do together? We can continue to give our time, our talents, and our treasures to help mitigate the financial challenges that our parish faces. So what that means, in essence, is that we can become actively involved at Assumption to help with personal financial literacy in our Parish as a talent. It also means that we can help with leadership and perhaps in the Parish Council or one of the many other ministries if that is one of our talents. Lastly, we can give freely and cheerfully by tithing our treasures to help fund our ministries at Assumption. HELP US REACH OUR STEWARDSHIP GOAL OF $661,448 Thank you to everyone who has submitted a Stewardship Commitment Card for 2020. We have commitments of $546,867 from 210 families which is 83% of our goal! Stewardship commitments can be done online at http://assumptionaz.org/ stewardship. There are an additional 100 families making “stewardship” contributions without submitting a Stewardship Form.