02-16-2000

Draga Mihai Oara

Ma grabesc sa public acest mesaj pe care l-am primit in posta mea zilnica. Este inca o dovada ca "se poate" si ca se intimpla mai multe lucruri bune decit stim noi. Sper ca ce urmeaza este o veste buna pentru toti crestinii care citesc acest mesaj:

C U R R E N T    F E A T U R E    S T O R Y
                         by the Editors of ReligionToday

March 16, 2000


Ministry stirs Orthodox Christians to action

It's not unorthodox to do missionary work, says Andrew Lekos of
the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (see link #1 below).

....The St. Augustine, Fla.-based ministry encourages Eastern
Orthodox Christians in the United States to support mission work
overseas - or to become missionaries themselves.

....Lekos and other members of the center's eight-person staff
travel to parishes throughout the United States and Canada making
congregants aware of the needs of others around the world.

...."We are educating our faithful about missions," Lekos said.
Orthodox churches have been consumed with their own needs in
years past, he said, and sometimes are not extremely interested
in missions, "but we are beginning to return to the basics." The
ministry sends out a semiannual newsletter and holds seminars
about the need for world missions.

....The Orthodox Christian Mission Center, founded in 1985 by the
Greek Orthodox Church in America, is under the jurisdiction of
the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas. It represents about 1,400 congregations and 3 million
members in the United States and Canada, and Lekos is its project
coordinator.

....The OCMC helps Orthodox Christians in more than 25 countries
by mobilizing Orthodox believers in the United States and Canada.
It gives financial support to clinics, schools, and orphanages,
provides salaries for indigenous clergy, and supports long-term
missionaries and short-term mission teams, Lekos said.

...."Our goal is to preach the Gospel. We are following the Great
Commission and we offer our labor, our financial support, and our
teaching abilities" to Orthodox congregations worldwide, he said.
"We are now looking to the 10/40 Window, where Christ has not
been preached. It's a great vision and we want to go there,"
Lekos said.

....About 200 Orthodox priests in Africa and Asia receive monthly
support through the center. The Orthodox Church is growing so
fast in many developing nations that one priest may be
responsible for several parishes and may have to travel many
miles, the ministry said. A monthly donation of $50 a month
allows a priest to devote himself to ministry full-time and not
have to work at a secular job.

....OCMC funds also fight poverty, hunger, and disease around the
world with donations from canisters placed by volunteers at cash
registers in businesses and restaurants. The funds support
medical ministries, agricultural projects, school construction,
new water wells, and the purchase of food and clothing. More than
$700,000 has been sent to almost 20 countries since 1988.

....More than 500 U.S. Orthodox Christians have made short-term
missions trips through the center since 1987, Lekos said. Teams
of 12-20 people spend 3-5 weeks working in Orthodox orphanages,
hospitals, schools, and churches in Asia, Africa, and South
America. They teach catechism classes, help build facilities,
provide medical services, and minister to young people.

....Orthodox missionaries "have a servant mentality," Lekos said.
Teams are invited by the local bishop and follow his guidance on
ministry activities "because he knows best what the needs are,"
he said. "We may want to build a school, but he could say they
need a clinic first. We would be subservient."

....An Orthodox community was started in Chavogere, western Kenya,
through the work of an OCMC team. Team members built a clinic
there in 1988 that was staffed by Orthodox missionaries. Patients
traveled for miles to receive treatment and the area began to
develop, getting electricity, running water, and a bus stop,
Lekos said. Many people became Christians through the witness of
the workers and now there is an Orthodox church there, he said.

...."That's often how our work takes form. It starts as community
development work and through that more people come in and a
[faith] community is formed."

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RELATED LINKS:
1: http://ocmc.org