OCMC announces three 2004 Mission Teams for Alaska

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL—This summer, three Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) Mission Teams will be serving in very different ways in America’s Holy Land, Alaska. More than two hundred years ago, the first Orthodox missionaries landed in the New World, on the shores of Alaska. Twenty-six people will have the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to this historic land and serve the Church in an important way by participating on an OCMC Mission Team to Alaska this year.

One of the Mission Teams will venture to Spruce Island to join local monastics in much-needed restoration work on a historic chapel. Spruce Island is where St. Herman of Alaska chose to live for more than forty years and where many miracles happened. Imagine working to restore a church on the island where one of our greatest North American saints lived and dedicated his life to God and his people. The uniqueness of this experience of working side-by-side with local monastics and living in rustic cabins on this remarkable island will only be enhanced by the fact that the materials needed for this project will be transported by llamas. Ten people are invited to live this experience from June 15 to July 1, 2004.

Another Mission Team will be traveling to one of the most remote and isolated parts of Alaska, the Pribolof Islands, to host youth camps and offer catechism. This team is primarily a teaching team and needs ten people with a depth of knowledge about the Orthodox faith and an ability to share it. This Mission trip will also take place from June 15 to July 1, 2004.

The third Mission Team is a unique one-week dental care Team to Bethel on the Kuskokwim River. This team of six will provide oral health care from June 21 to June 27, 2004. Dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants are needed and encouraged to apply.

To find out about all of OCMC’s Mission Teams for 2004, go to www.ocmc.org, where you will also find downloadable applications. Space is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come basis. For more information contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call the Mission Center at 1-877-GO-FORTH (463-6784).