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Speech delivered to the National Board of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society by Jennifer Nahas and Donna Elias

admin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:22:29 GMT

Current revision posted to OCF Resources by admin on 4/9/2013 3:22:29 PM

Speech delivered to the National Board of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society by Jennifer Nahas and Donna Elias

Philoptochos has built OCF. Philoptochos has given prayers, time, and generous resources to build and sustain the Orthodox Church's ministry to serve college students from all canonical jurisdictions in the US and Canada. Thanks to your continued and unwavering support, college students are engaged in community, liturgy, study, and service from Georgetown to Case Western, from Stanford University to the University of Central Florida.

This morning, we would like to dovetail on a recent speech at Hellenic College/Holy Cross given by Aphrodite, your National President, that inspired every one of us.

She spoke of the incredible women of Philoptochos, their determination, passion, and incredible contributions to the Orthodox community and those in need. OCF's young women in college are just as Aphrodite described the women of Philoptochos - Bold, Strong, and Decisive.

The young women of OCF are playing a bold, strong, and decisive role -

- We see it in our National Student Advisory Board where half are women!

- We see it in our Chapters of which 80 are run by women.

- We see is most profoundly in our National Programs.

Just this past March in our Real Break program,

77% of our participants were women.
Of the 77%, you may be wondering, how many were from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese - more than half!
16 of the 18 team members who made the pilgrimage to Constantinople to be in the presence of His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew - were women.

We would like to take a moment to show you what our young Orthodox women look like today. This video from our work with IOCC in New Orleans, was produced by a Greek Orthodox young woman who is a recent OCF graduate of the University of Texas.

As you can see from this video, our women are involved, engaged, and developing. This is a result of the nurturing youth programs that you support at the parish and Archdiocese level. You provide OCF with Bold, Strong, and Decisive Women who are devoted to their Faith and eager to be active in the Church and the world around it.

Philoptochos has also given us models to emulate. A big shout out goes to the Southeast Philoptochos Chapters for being the first to pilot the gathering of the contact information of incoming college freshmen to ensure they are reached before and during their first few days of college life. Thanks to you, we now have a North American Initiative we call "The First 40 Days." Just this week, all Orthodox parishes are receiving a letter asking them to forward us the contact information for their graduating high school students. In the letter, we say explicitly: "Work with your women's organization to do this!" Ladies, follow up with your parish Priest and help us collect this information!

As you well know, this is just the first, necessary step for reaching our students. Once we know who they are, we need to embrace them. That is where we need your help now. Who is better equip and more passionate than the Ladies of Philoptochos to lovingly engage our isolated college students in their chapters?

Every Orthodox student going off to college needs to know who the local OCF spiritual advisor and student leader are at their school. We are responsible for making this introduction. However, after we do so, we encourage you to invite the OCF chapter to your Church for a coffee hour, luncheon, or small celebration.

But this could be just the start! The local Philoptochos chapter could -

- Assemble a welcome to college care package to be delivered to the dorm room of every Orthodox student on campus. Let them know we care! Also, provide students with an emergency contact card - if they are in trouble, turn to the Church, and we will be there for them.

- Surprise goody bags throughout the year, and during stress provoking times, like exams.

- An invitation to a Church potluck supper - remember, nothing is better at keeping our students connected than a home cooked meal!

- Be the home away from home during our most sacred Church holidays so that no college student is left out of a Christmas or Pascha celebration.

- Get them to Church. Tell the OCF student leader that every Sunday a parishioner will be available to pick students up for Liturgy.

- And welcome them. Perhaps your Church has a college registry. Make sure the cards are available. Encourage the congregation to introduce themselves. We know it's hard for some students to commit to teaching Sunday School, but have them serve as substitutes or guest lecturers, particularly for the older grades. Many of our OCFers are incredible role models!

Sisters, Philoptochos has helped us to reach our goal of being in contact with our young people before college, and walking with them during their time at school. OCF wants to give back to you and help fulfill one of your goals - to connect young Greek Orthodox women to your chapters.

We offer to you our commitment to prepare and connect our graduating young women back to parishes to serve and lead, back to Philoptochos Chapters - as members who selflessly give of their time and talents to further your mission. We want all of our women to graduate, return to parish life and enter the women's ministries that are waiting for them.

We are so excited and awed about your recent building purchase. As you prepare it to stand as testament to being the largest Christian Women's Philanthropic organization in our country, we look forward to seeing it become of hub for enrichment opportunities for our young Orthodox women. We would be honored to work with you to put in place innovative programming, from the lessons and expertise of the best thinkers in our Churches, to provide exemplary training opportunities. We would like for our college students to be part of that vision to ensure that they take those learned-skills and use them in OCF and then in other ministries, such as Philoptochos, upon graduation.

OCF is incredibly blessed to have your annual $25,000 contribution. These funds go directly to support the general operations of OCF, as outlined by you, and we are incredibly grateful for this.

Should you be interested in investing now to develop your training program of the futures, housed in your beautiful building in Manhattan, please know that last year, OCF piloted a 4-day leadership training for our college student leaders. It was hugely successful and provided both our young men and women with the necessary tools to be develop their own chapters and support others. We want to go deeper this year by including some of the best Orthodox professors, many of them women, in the field of management and leadership. We can be confident that we are combining our unique Orthodox principles with best practices in business, management, and leadership to instill skills, knowledge and the passion to develop our leaders of the future.

Invest now, and reap the benefits later. If Philoptochos would like to make an investment, we can put in place a state-of-the-art training program for our college students this summer. Additionally, we would use your commitment as a match opportunity for other Orthodox organizations to join in on the efforts of not only train our next generation of stewards, but expand this programs to our spiritual advisors. We have over 200 parish Priests who minister to our students and they are in need of training and support. Our ultimate goal, as you can see, is to professionalize the field of campus ministry by training both our students and developing a true chaplaincy program for our priests.

Our students ARE Bold, Strong, and Decisive - and with the proper training, they will ensure that not only Philoptochos, but the Orthodox Church at large has strong, dedicated, and faithful servants.

Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos, who fell asleep in the Lord in 1994, was a monk who is famous for his spiritual teachings. One particular teaching, we feel is quite fitting defining the work of Philoptochos and your contributions to OCF.

Elder Paisios says,

"I know from experience that in this life people are divided in two categories. A third category does not exist; people either belong to one or the other. The first one resembles the fly. The main characteristic of the fly is that it is attracted by dirt. For example, when a fly is found in a garden full of flowers with beautiful fragrances, it will ignore them and will go sit on top of some dirt found on the ground. It will start messing around with it and feel comfortable with the bad smell. If the fly could talk, and you asked it show you a rose in the garden, it would answer: "I don't even know what a rose looks like. I only know where to find garbage, toilets, and dirt." There are some people who resemble the fly. People belonging to this category have learned to think negatively, and always look for the bad things in life, ignoring and refusing the presence of good.

The other category is like the bee whose main characteristic is to always look for something sweet and nice to sit on. When a bee is found in a room full of dirt and there is a small piece of sweet in a corner, it will ignore the dirt and will go to sit on top of the sweet. Now, if we ask the bee to show us where the garbage is, it will answer: "I don't know. I can only tell you where to find flowers, sweets, honey and sugar; it only knows the good things in life and is ignorant of all evil."

Thank you for being our bees, thank you for your ongoing support, thank you for keeping our college students connected to the Christ and His Church.

Please accept this small chocolate bee, and a magnet reminding all of us that women leaders of the Orthodox Church are BOLD, STRONG, and DECISIVE.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak with you today.

April 6, 2013 - Boston, MA

Speech delivered to the National Board of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society by Jennifer Nahas and Donna Elias

admin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:21:49 GMT

Revision 1 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 4/9/2013 3:21:49 PM

This morning, we would like to dovetail on a recent speech at Hellenic College/Holy Cross given by Aphrodite, your National President, that inspired every one of us.

The young women of OCF are playing a bold, strong, and decisive role -

- We see it in our National Student Advisory Board where half are women!

- We see it in our Chapters of which 80 are run by women.

- We see is most profoundly in our National Programs.

Just this past March in our Real Break program,

77% of our participants were women.
Of the 77%, you may be wondering, how many were from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese - more than half!
16 of the 18 team members who made the pilgrimage to Constantinople to be in the presence of His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew - were women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpF9YfPvpZ4

But this could be just the start! The local Philoptochos chapter could -

- Surprise goody bags throughout the year, and during stress provoking times, like exams.

- An invitation to a Church potluck supper - remember, nothing is better at keeping our students connected than a home cooked meal!

- Be the home away from home during our most sacred Church holidays so that no college student is left out of a Christmas or Pascha celebration.

- Get them to Church. Tell the OCF student leader that every Sunday a parishioner will be available to pick students up for Liturgy.

OCF is incredibly blessed to have your annual $25,000 contribution. These funds go directly to support the general operations of OCF, as outlined by you, and we are incredibly grateful for this.

Our students ARE Bold, Strong, and Decisive - and with the proper training, they will ensure that not only Philoptochos, but the Orthodox Church at large has strong, dedicated, and faithful servants.

Elder Paisios says,

Thank you for being our bees, thank you for your ongoing support, thank you for keeping our college students connected to the Christ and His Church.

Please accept this small chocolate bee, and a magnet reminding all of us that women leaders of the Orthodox Church are BOLD, STRONG, and DECISIVE.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak with you today.

Lectures/Talks By OCF Staff

admin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:19:59 GMT

Current revision posted to OCF Resources by admin on 4/9/2013 3:19:59 PM

The North American Office Staff as part of their campaign to get the word out about the good works of OCF spends a good amount of time each year "on the road" speaking to leaders of Diocesan and Inter-Orthodox organizations who have a common interest in campus ministry.

Here you will find texts of talks/ addresses and presentations made by our Executive Director and North American Office Staff

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

admin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:48:05 GMT

Current revision posted to OCF Resources by admin on 2/4/2013 7:48:05 AM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

You might be thinking, “I get what you’re saying, but the parish I attend with my OCF when I’m at school is not my ‘home parish’—it’s not the place where I grew up, where everybody knows me, and where I feel comfortable to do these sorts of things. And besides, what could I possibly offer a parish as a college student?” Well, to you I say, it’s great that you have a parish at home that you love dearly and feel at ease attending; this is a blessing the Lord has given you for many years. And now, I believe, He has given you a new challenge, a new blessing (though it may seem hidden at first). It’s the blessing of discomfort. That’s right, you heard me. Discomfort. Remember Abraham? God called Him out of his home, away from the comfort of everything familiar to him in order to sanctify him and bless him. Abraham couldn’t see the blessings right away and even doubted that they might come at all (think, Hagar and Ishmael), but when he put his trust in God, and allowed himself to serve God in his discomfort, in a land far from his home, God made him the father of us all! You, too, are being called into discomfort to serve the Lord in a foreign place and trust that blessings will flow from your faithfulness to God’s plan.

And what you can offer a parish as a college student? Well, first, start in prayer offering yourself to Christ, and He will show you the way. Secondly, be bold! Don’t be timid in your attempts to get involved. Many parishes have well-established ways of doing things and these are to be respected, but that doesn’t mean new ideas shouldn’t be brought forward. I love when Paul tells a young Timothy, “Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Tm 4:12). You are called to be an example to those around you, even those who are older—this means living out the commandments in real ways every day and serving in your parish with joy and love. Third, be creative and be persistent! You know your talents. If you’re good with computers, offer to help with the parish website. If you’re good with kids, host a mother’s day out event. If you’re a good cook, start a community meal for the parish or for the poor in the area. There are a million and one things that every parish could be doing to better live out the call to love God with all our hearts, souls, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. But, like my little mission parish, if we don’t all pitch in, then things just don’t happen. Finally, never discredit even the smallest offering. Maybe you can’t offer tons of hours to baking cookies for bake sales and teaching first grade Sunday School right now, but you can put in five dollars every week when the tray is passed or you can chat with an older parishioner who comes to church alone on Sundays or you can just help throw out the trash people leave behind after coffee hour. Every little bit counts and is seen by God. Think about the widow’s mite—the tiny offering she gave while others around her gave huge amounts of money. The difference was that she gave everything she had with the penny. As long as your offering is an offering from the heart, that is enough. The goal is to express our love for God through our actions not to overwork ourselves or build up some kind of resume of church activities in which we are involved.

All this is just to say, go do something! No, really. Call your parish priest and ask him how you can get involved or ask what the parish needs or offer up the talent you think could benefit the parish. Gather up your OCF chapter and do something together—you’ll have more hands to serve if you serve together. This semester, make some commitment—great or small—to give back to the parish that has been caring for you while you are at school. This semester, go to church not only to be fed, but to feed your brothers and sisters, as well.

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:17:36 GMT

Revision 8 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/23/2013 4:17:36 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

When I was an OCFer at Texas A&M University, my friends and I all attended a local mission parish. And I mean, this was a small parish—small as in we met in the back room of the priest’s house and a typical Sunday Liturgy consisted of less than 15 people, most of whom were college students. Now, there is a lot to be said about the ups and downs of a tiny parish like this, but today there’s really just one thing I want to share with you. In a parish that small, everyone lives by an unspoken rule: everyone does everything. Ok, I don’t literally mean that everyone did everything, but when you only have 30 hands to bake prosfora, host coffee hour, keep the church clean, organize Bible studies, serve the surrounding community, sing in the choir, read the Psalms, teach the children, support the parish financially, and welcome newcomers, no one has the opportunity to only come to Liturgyliturgy, have a cup of coffee and go home. It’s just not possible. If we didn’t all pitch in, well, things just didn’t happen. All 30 hands (and the hearts that led them) had to be willing to take on a little bit of the ministry God had set upon our tiny mission parish. No one could “opt out”—no one could come only to be fed without also feeding his or her brothers and sisters in some small way.

Now, I know the parish in your area is likely not a mission parish and if it is, it likely has a few more regular members than we did. But I think the principle should be still the same: everyone does everything. Or maybe we should say: together, we do everything. If each of us commits our hearts and hands to the ministry of a parish, God will gather together all of our little efforts, bless them, and multiply them just as he does with the bread and wine that become his body and blood in every Liturgyliturgy.
You might be thinking, “I get what you’re saying, but the parish I attend with my OCF when I’m at school is not my ‘home parish’—it’s not the place where I grew up, where everybody knows me, and where I feel comfortable to do these sorts of things. And besides, what could I possibly offer a parish as a college student?” Well, to you I say, it’s great that you have a parish at home that you love dearly and feel at ease attending; this is a blessing the Lord has given you for many years. And now, I believe, He has given you a new challenge, a new blessing (though it may seem hidden at first). It’s the blessing of discomfortdiscomfort. That’s right, you heard me. Discomfort. Remember Abraham? God called Him out of his home, away from the comfort of everything familiar to him in order to sanctify him and bless him. Abraham couldn’t see the blessings right away and even doubted that they might come at all (think, Hagar and Ishmael), but when he put his trust in God, and allowed himself to serve God in his discomfort, in a land far from his home, God made him the father of us all! You, too, are being called into discomfort to serve the Lord in a foreign place and trust that blessings will flow from your faithfulness to God’s plan.

And what you can offer a parish as a college student? Well, first, start in prayer offering yourself to Christ, and He will show you the way. Secondly, be bold! Don’t be timid in your attempts to get involved. Many parishes have well-established ways of doing things and these are to be respected, but that doesn’t mean new ideas shouldn’t be brought forward. I love when Paul tells a young Timothy, “Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Tm 4:12). You are called to be an example to those around you, even those who are older—this means living out the commandments in real ways every day and serving in your parish with joy and love. Third, be creative and be persistent! You know your talents. If you’re good with computers, offer to help with the parish website. If you’re good with kids, host a mother’s day out event. If you’re a good cook, start a community meal for the parish or for the poor in the area. There are a million and one things that every parish could be doing to better live out the call to love God with all our hearts, souls, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. But, like my little mission parish, if we don’t all pitch in, then things just don’t happen. Finally, never discredit even the smallest offering. Maybe you can’t offer tons of hours to baking cookies for bake sales and teaching first grade Sunday School right now, but you can put in five dollars every week when the tray is passed or you can chat with an older parishioner who comes to church alone on Sundays or you can just help throw out the trash people leave behind after coffee hour. Every little bit counts and is seen by God. Think about the widow’s mite—the tiny offering she gave while others around her gave huge amounts of money. The difference was that she gave everything she had with the penny. As long as your offering is an offering from the heart, that is enough. The goal is to express our love for God through our actions not to overwork ourselves or build up some kind of resume of church activities in which we are involved.

All this is just to say, go do something! No, really. Call your parish priest and ask him how you can get involved or ask what the parish needs or offer up the talent you think could benefit the parish. Gather up your OCF chapter and do something together—you’ll have more hands to serve if you serve together. This semester, make some commitment—great or small—to give back to the parish that has been caring for you while you are at school. This semester, go to church not only to be fed, but to feed your brothers and sisters, as well.

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:43:06 GMT

Revision 7 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/22/2013 9:43:06 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

When I was an OCFer at Texas A&M University, my friends and I all attended a local mission parish. And I mean, this was a small parish—small as in we met in the back room of the priest’s house and a typical Sunday Liturgy consisted of less than 15 people, most of whom were college students. Now, there is a lot to be said about the ups and downs of a tiny parish like this, but today there’s really just one thing I want to share with you. In a parish that small, everyone lives by an unspoken rule: everyone does everything. Ok, I don’t literally mean that everyone did everything, but when you only have 30 hands to bake prosfora, host coffee hour, keep the church clean, organize Bible studies, serve the surrounding community, sing in the choir, read the Psalms, teach the children, support the parish financially, and welcome newcomers, no one has the opportunity to only come to liturgyLiturgy, have a cup of coffee and go home. It’s just not possible. If we didn’t all pitch in, well, things just didn’t happen. All 30 hands (and the hearts that led them) had to be willing to take on a little bit of the ministry God had set upon our tiny mission parish. No one could “opt out”—no one could come only to be fed without also feeding his or her brothers and sisters in some small way.

Now, I know the parish in your area is likely not a mission parish and if it is, it likely has a few more regular members than we did. But I think the principle should be still the same: everyone does everything. Or maybe we should say: together, we do everything. If each of us commits our hearts and hands to the ministry of a parish, God will gather together all of our little efforts, bless them, and multiply them just as he does with the bread and wine that become his body and blood in every Liturgy.

And what you can offer a parish as a college student? Well, first, start in prayer offering yourself to Christ, and He will show you the way. Secondly, be bold! Don’t be timid in your attempts to get involved. Many parishes have well-established ways of doing things and these are to be respected, but that doesn’t mean new ideas shouldn’t be brought forward. I love when Paul tells a young Timothy, “Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Tm 4:12). You are called to be an example to those around you, even those who are older—this means living out the commandments in real ways every day and serving in your parish with joy and love. Third, be creative and be persistent! You know your talents. If you’re good with computers, offer to help with the parish website. If you’re good with kids, host a mother’s day out event. If you’re a good cook, start a community meal for the parish or for the poor in the area. There are a million and one things that every parish could be doing to better live out the call to love God with all our hearts, souls, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. But, like my little mission parish, if we don’t all pitch in, then things just don’t happen. Finally, never discredit even the smallest offering. Maybe you can’t offer tons of hours to baking cookies for bake sales and teaching first grade Sunday School right now, but you can put in five dollars every week when the tray is passed or you can chat with an older parishioner who comes to church alone on Sundays or you can just help throw out the trash people leave behind after coffee hour. Every little bit counts and is seen by God. Think about the widow’s mite—the tiny offering she gave while others around her gave huge amounts of money. The difference was that she gave everything she had with the penny. As long as your offering is an offering from the heart, that is enough. The goal is to express our love for God through our actions not to overwork ourselves or build up some kind of resume of church activities in which we are involved.

All this is just to say, go do something! No, really. Call your parish priest and ask him how you can get involved or ask what the parish needs or offer up the talent you think could benefit the parish. Gather up your OCF chapter and do something together—you’ll have more hands to serve if you serve together. This semester, make some commitment—great or small—to give back to the parish that has been caring for you while you are at school. This semester, go to church not only to be fed, but to feed your brothers and sisters, as well.

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:24:43 GMT

Revision 6 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/22/2013 9:24:43 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

When I was an OCFer at Texas A&M University, my friends and I all attended a local mission parish. And I mean, this was a small parish—small as in we met in the back room of the priest’s house and a typical Sunday Liturgy consisted of less than 15 people, most of whom were college students. Now, there is a lot to be said about the ups and downs of a tiny parish like this, but today there’s really just one thing I want to share with you. In a parish that small, everyone lives by an unspoken rule: everyone does everything. Ok, I don’t literally mean that everyone did everything, but when you only have 30 hands to bake prosfora, host coffee hour, keep the church clean, organize Bible studies, serve the surrounding community, sing in the choir, read the Psalms, teach the children, support the parish financially, and welcome newcomers, no one has the opportunity to only come to liturgy, have a cup of coffee and go home. It’s just not possible. If we didn’t all pitch in, well, things just didn’t happen. All 30 hands (and the hearts that led them) had to be willing to take on a little bit of the ministry God had set upon our tiny mission parish. No one could “opt out”—no one could come only to be fed without also feeding his or her brothers and sisters in some small way.

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:24:25 GMT

Revision 5 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/22/2013 9:24:25 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

When I was an OCFer at Texas A&M University, my friends and I all attended a local mission parish. And I mean, this was a small parish—small as in we met in the back room of the priest’s house and a typical Sunday Liturgy consisted of less than 15 people, most of whom were college students. Now, there is a lot to be said about the ups and downs of a tiny parish like this, but today there’s really just one thing I want to share with you. In a parish that small, everyone lives by an unspoken rule: everyone does everything. Ok, I don’t literally mean that everyone did everything, but when you only have 30 hands to bake prosfora, host coffee hour, keep the church clean, organize Bible studies, serve the surrounding community, sing in the choir, read the Psalms, teach the children, support the parish financially, and welcome newcomers, no one has the opportunity to only come to liturgy, have a cup of coffee and go home. It’s just not possible. If we didn’t all pitch in, well, things just didn’t happen. All 30 hands (and the hearts that led them) had to be willing to take on a little bit of the ministry God had set upon our tiny mission parish. No one could “opt out”—no one could come only to be fed without also feeding his or her brothers and sisters in some small way.

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christina Andresen

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:13:55 GMT

Revision 4 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/22/2013 9:13:55 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christine Christina Andresen

Now, I know the parish in your area is likely not a mission parish and if it is, it likely has a few more regular members than we did. But I think the principle should be still the same: everyone does everything. Or maybe we should say: together, we do everything. If each of us commits our hearts and hands to the ministry of a parish, God will gather together all of our little efforts, bless them, and multiply them just as he does with the bread and wine that become his body and blood in every liturgy.
You might be thinking, “I get what you’re saying, but the parish I attend with my OCF when I’m at school is not my ‘home parish’—it’s not the place where I grew up, where everybody knows me, and where I feel comfortable to do these sorts of things. And besides, what could I possibly offer a parish as a college student?” Well, to you I say, it’s great that you have a parish at home that you love dearly and feel at ease attending; this is a blessing the Lord has given you for many years. And now, I believe, He has given you a new challenge, a new blessing (though it may seem hidden at first). It’s the blessing of discomfort. That’s right, you heard me. Discomfort. Remember Abraham? God called Him out of his home, away from the comfort of everything familiar to him in order to sanctify him and bless him. Abraham couldn’t see the blessings right away and even doubted that they might come at all (think, Hagar and Ishmael), but when he put his trust in God, and allowed himself to serve God in his discomfort, in a land far from his home, God made him the father of us all! You, too, are being called into discomfort to serve the Lord in a foreign place and trust that blessings will flow from your faithfulness to God’s plan.

All this is just to say, go do something! No, really. Call your parish priest and ask him how you can get involved or ask what the parish needs or offer up the talent you think could benefit the parish. Gather up your OCF chapter and do something together—you’ll have more hands to serve if you serve together. This semester, make some commitment—great or small—to give back to the parish that has been caring for you while you are at school. This semester, go to church not only to be fed, but to feed your brothers and sisters, as well.

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christine Andresen

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:13:26 GMT

Revision 3 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/22/2013 9:13:26 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christine Andresen

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christine Andresen

admin — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 04:51:12 GMT

Revision 2 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/18/2013 10:51:12 PM

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christine Andresen

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

Reflections on Parish Ministry - By Christine Andresen

admin — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 04:49:58 GMT

Revision 1 posted to OCF Resources by admin on 1/18/2013 10:49:58 PM

Christina Andresen is the North American Chapter Relations Coordinator. For more ideas on how to get involved in your local parish, you can email her at christina@ocf.net.

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admin — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 03:27:56 GMT

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admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:56:42 GMT

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admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:54:02 GMT

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admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:53:35 GMT

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