Encyclical of SCOBA for the Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday

March 13, 2005

Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday

But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without a preacher?

And how can men preach unless they are sent?

As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? (Romans 10:14-15)

The Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas

To all the Clergy and the Laity of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this day, the Sunday before the commencement of Great and Holy Lent, we greet you in the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We offer to each of you our prayers and blessings for a beautiful season of spiritual growth and illumination through prayer, fasting, worship, and service to those in need.

As Orthodox Christians in America it has been our tradition to join together on this day of Cheesefare in observance of Mission Sunday. We do this as a united and visible affirmation of our sacred commission to preach the Gospel in all nations (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8). We have been called by our Lord to offer the good news of salvation to everyone in every place. Each day, we are sent into the world as witnesses of the grace of God and His life-transforming presence so that through our lives, others can experience genuine love and saving faith; they can see and hear Christ, and they will be given the opportunity to believe.

Each and every person in this world needs this encounter with Jesus Christ. But, as the Apostle Paul affirms in his letter to the Romans, people cannot believe unless they hear; they cannot hear unless there are preachers; and there will be no preachers unless they are sent by us as the Church to share the good news. This task of “sending” is one that we have been accomplishing through the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) in St.
Augustine, Florida.

For more than three decades the Orthodox faithful in America have contributed their time and resources to sending and supporting priests, missionaries, teachers, mission teams, and medical workers around the globe. OCMC, as the foreign mission agency of our Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, has been the focal point of this work, uniting all of us in our sacred calling to missions and evangelism. Through your prayers and contributions this work has grown substantially over the years. In 2004, the OCMC supported 269 mission priests, trained 157 future Church leaders, built 6 churches, sent 13 mission teams to 8 countries, offered medical and dental care to over 9,500 people, trained 450 to teach and do youth outreach, and distributed over $350,000 for use in mission lands. These accomplishments are just a few from among the many ongoing programs that are fulfilling our task of “sending.”

However, our calling to send preachers and missionaries of the Gospel is not finished, for there are many in our world who have neither heard nor believed. The task of sending is inherent to our identity and work as Orthodox parishes in America, and our work must continue to increase for the salvation of souls and the glory of God. This is why we ask on this day, Mission Sunday, that our parishes and our faithful affirm and increase their commitment to the work of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center.

Through your contributions you are participating in the global missionary effort of the Orthodox Church. Through your offering of assistance or time to the work of missions, you are providing someone with the opportunity to hear the good news, and you are giving a beautiful gift that will lead someone to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we enter into this holy season of Lent, we ask each of you to use prayerfully this time in strengthening your relationship with God and deepening your commitment to His divine will. We also exhort you to see each day as one in which you are sent into the world to share the good news. Through your lives, others will see and hear; they will believe, and they will join us in offering unending praise to the One who gives us life eternal.

With paternal blessings and love in Christ,