Ottawa site of first “Town Hall” meeting June 7
Clergy and laity in from throughout the northeastern US and eastern Canada are invited to participate in the first of the Orthodox Church in America’s “Town Hall” meetings at Annunciation Cathedral here from 3:00 until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, 2008.
“The aim of the meeting is for the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and the Pre-Conciliar Commission to hear concerns and suggestions regarding the 15th All-American Council, slated to convene in Pittsburgh, PA in November 2008, directly from clergy and laity,” said Archpriest Andrew Jarmus, OCA Director of Ministries and Communications and Preconciliar Commission member. “Feedback from this and all subsequent town hall meetings will be posted on the AAC blog.”
His Eminence, Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada and His Grace, Bishop Nikon of Boston, New England, and Albanian Archdiocese, who chairs the Preconciliar Commission, will be present at the session, which will be facilitated by Father Andrew. Archpriest John Jillions, Annunciation Cathedral dean, is also a member of the commission.
The meeting will be followed by the celebration of Vespers and a dinner.
A proposal for the meetings was approved by the Holy Synod of Bishops in April 2008. The text of the proposal reads as follows.
“Recognizing that at this time pain and strife exist within the Orthodox Church in America, it is crucial that we find the means to heal and move the Church forward. An important part of preparing for the 15th All-American Council will be to give the faithful of our Church an opportunity to express their concerns and feelings. Addressing this concern before the Church meets in Pittsburgh in November will be essential to fostering a working atmosphere at the Council. In order to provide this opportunity, the Preconciliar Commission proposes a series of “Town Hall’ meetings throughout the Church as ‘living’ study papers preceding the Council.
“It is vital that the whole Church is represented at these meetings, hierarchy together with clergy and laity. These meetings would make this possible as the faithful of the OCA share their concerns, hopes and fears for the Church in the presence of the hierarchy.
“The proposed agenda for these meetings would be very simple. Participants would be asked to offer their responses centered around three themes:
“1. What is working well in the OCA?
“2. What are your concerns and suggestions for the future of our Church?
“3. What would you want to say to the All-American Council?
“Meetings would be held on a regional basis, with nine proposed initial sites. At each meeting, a member of the Preconciliar Commission would function as facilitator, and ideally there would be more than one hierarch present. The expectation of our hierarchs at these meetings would be simply to listen to the feedback offered by participants. It would be our hope that each member of the Holy Synod would be present for at least one town hall meeting in the series.”
Annunciation Cathedral [http://www.ottawacathedral.org] is located at 15 Lebreton Street North, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1R 7H1. The cathedral office can be reached by calling 613/230-2687 or by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).