IN THE NEWS: Florida, Texas, California, Oregon
Jacksonville, Florida: St. Justin Martyr parish seeks pastoral assistant, choir director
Saint Justin Martyr parish is seeking the services of a pastoral assistant and choir director.
Candidates for both positions should have a healthy self-images and “can-do” attitudes. They must be flexible and resilient, possess a sense of humor and compassion, and love working with people.
The pastoral assistant’s duties include, but are not limited to, teaching Sunday School and enquirers’ and catechism classes; engaging in outreach and visitations; coordinating parish ministires [young families/young adults, men’s/ladies’, youth, etc.]; organizing and preparing meeting agendas; overseeing day-to-day office administration [web site, bulletins, cemetery, review of bills/cost coding, property maintenance/repairs, etc.]; and leading mission teams. The position of choir director requires experience in Orthodox liturgical music. The candidate would be expected to lead the singing at all Sunday, lenten, Holy Week, feastday, and Wednesday and Saturday Vespers, in addition to overseeing all necessary rehearsals.
For the right candidate, the two positions could be combined into one. Graduates of Orthodox seminaries are especially urged to apply.
For more information please contact Archpriest Theodore Pisarchuk, rector, at 904-880-7671 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Ft. Worth, TX: St. Barbara parish welcomes Archbishop Nikon
On Saturday and Sunday, August 23-24, 2014, Archpriest Basil Zebrun and the parishioners and friends of Saint Barbara Church, Ft. Worth, TX, welcomed His Eminence, Archbishop Nikon for his first pastoral visit to the parish.
The weekend began on Saturday with an informal afternoon meeting with members of the parish council, who greeted Archbishop Nikon at the church entrance, at which an oversized banner reading “A Hearty Texas Welcome to Archbishop Nikon” was displayed. Great Vespers followed, after which a Texas buffet, complete with BBQ, King Ranch casserole, and all the “fixin’s.” During dinner, Archbishop Nikon offered a brief talk on the life, ministry and pastoral sensitivity of His Eminence, the late Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas and the South. A question and answer session followed.
On Sunday morning, Archbishop Nikon was greeted at the church with the cross, bread and salt, and flowers—traditional signs of hospitality—accompanied by greetings. In his sermon during the Divine Liturgy, he focused on Matthew 18:23-35—the Unforgiving Servant—ending with a striking image from Psalm 66 of God as a silversmith, Who purifies us in the fires of life and knows when the processed has reached its desired goal when He is able to see His own image in us. Another Texas-themed reception followed the Divine Liturgy.
After the reception, Archbishop Nikon met with the parish’s children and students as they marked the beginning of the school year and answered their many questions.
“In response to one child’s question, he said that the best thing about being a bishop are the opportunities he has to visit various churches and to see the members of his flock,” said Father Basil. “We might add that one of the most enjoyable things about parish life is the opportunity we have to host such a father in Christ! Eis polla eti despota!”
New York, NY: Fordham University announces Orthodox Christian Studies minor
Fordham University recently announced the introduction of a minor in Orthodox Christian Studies. The interdisciplinary program focuses on the Church’s faith, history, and cultural significance.
Interested students may choose from elective courses across several disciplines, including art and music history, classics, history, modern languages and literature, philosophy and theology.
Interested parties may contact Orthodox Christian Studies Center faculty members George Demacopoulos [Rose Hill] at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Aristotle Papanikolaou [Lincoln Center] at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Detailed information is available here.
Santa Rosa, CA: “Fundamentals of Musicianship” theme of October 8-12 conference
Saints Peter and Paul Church [ROCOR], Santa Rosa, CA will sponsor a conference titled “Fundamentals of Musicianship for the Church Choir and Its Conductor” October 8-12, 2014.
The program will focus on increasing the skill, knowledge, artistic sensitivity and prayerful execution of Church singing as well as the role of the conductor in building fluidity of harmony, nuances, and choral blend. The faculty, which includes Archpriest Lawrence Margitich, Nicholas Custer, Andrei Roudenko, Marika Kuzma, Irina Shachneva, and Peter Jermihov, D.Mus.A., will develop the theme through lectures, workshops and rehearsals which will culminate in the celebration of hierarchical services. Presentations and discussions will be conducted in English as well as Russian.
Detailed information and registration forms are available here.
Milwaukie, OR: Liturgical music seminar to be held October 11
The Church of the Annunciation, Milwaukie, OR, will be the site of a liturgical singing seminar, titled “That You May Hear Us,” on October 11, 2014.
The interactive, full-day seminar/workshop will focus on the actualization of music in Orthodox Christian worship so as to “enable a comprehensive and elevated liturgical experience through insightful and skilled leadership and participation.” Topics will include vocal technique, choral leadership, musical and liturgical structural analysis, and learning to distinguish between meaningful imperative and sacred music cliché.
Mark Bailey, a leading expert in the field of Orthodox liturgical music, will lead the seminar. Having earned his degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Yale School of Music/Yale Institute of Sacred Music, he served on the faculty of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, for over 15 years. He also is credited with several recordings of Orthodox sacred music, including “The Heart of Kyiv” with Pro Coro Canada. He serves as artistic director of the Yale Russian Chorus and the American Baroque Orchestra, and he frequently guest conducts ensembles including Cappella Romana, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and most recently the Portland Baroque Orchestra (with Cappella Romana).
Guest speakers include His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West and Archpriest Lawrence Margitich, Chair of the Department of Liturgical Music of the Diocese of the West.
For additional information or registration forms, please send a request to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Florida: OCN announces strategic partnership with Pemptousia.
On Wednesday, September 3, 2014, the Florida-based Orthodox Christian Network and Pemptousia entered into a strategic partnership to share and promote each other’s content.
The two religious media organizations, which produce resources for Orthodox Christians and seekers in a variety of languages and formats, will begin a process of integrating selected web content, social media channels, and Internet radio programs.
“We are excited to partner with the Orthodox Christian Network to help people throughout the world learn about the truth and beauty of the Orthodox Christian faith,” said Nikos Gouraros, President of Saint Maxim the Greek Institute and Head of Pemptousia. “As we implement our plans for a strategic partnership over the next several months, we hope to explore even greater levels of cooperation.”
“Both of our organizations are focused on serving the Church and awakening the world to God’s love in Jesus Christ,” said Father Christopher Metropulos, Executive Director of OCN. “Working together we will deliver a wider variety of programs to a larger audience, for the glory of God and the strengthening of His Church in the digital age.”
Visitors to Pemptousia and OCN’s various on-line offerings will start to notice cross-promoted content beginning very soon and then increased integration later in the year. Further details about the strategic partnership will be announced soon.
Pemptousia—published by the Saint Maxim the Greek Institute for the Research Preservation and Promotion of Spiritual and Cultural Traditions—started from the desire of certain inspired persons that people should be able to recognize themselves, to discover their true nature and mission, and to find meaning in their lives. It was their deepest desire to communicate the “abundance of their hearts” and their experience to every person in the world, whom they saw as brothers and sisters. Many people, especially in the realm of the Church, have condemned the internet as a means of all kinds of corruption and have claimed that using it creates serious spiritual problems. Pemptousia—digitally published today in English, Greek, Russian, Romanian and Georgian—reverses that view, transforming the internet into a Philokalic one which will promote the best, most noble and most sublime manifestations of the human spirit.
The Orthodox Christian Network produces a wide variety of multimedia resources for Orthodox Christians and seekers in English, Greek, and Spanish. It is an agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. Founded nearly 20 years ago as a radio ministry, it continues to produce “Come Receive the Light,” a weekly radio show, and has expanded into a variety of on-line offerings, including a weekly video newscast, a variety of podcasts, three Internet radio stations, live broadcasts of divine services and Bible studies, and a very popular social media presence, especially on Facebook. OCN strives to work in collaboration with all Orthodox organizations and churches to communicate the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ and to strengthen the Orthodox Church in the digital age.