A blast from the past

Boy, what you find in old computer files.....perhaps some of you remember the events recounted in this piece that appeared in The Canadian Orthodox Messenger, must have been in 1995.....! -- Mat. D.


Flood of Catechumens

by
Donna Farley

Since being received under Bishop Seraphim's omophor nine years ago, St. Herman's church in Langley has seen a slow but steady stream of converts enter the church. However, in recent months the stream has turned to a sudden flood, until the number of catechumens currently totals twenty-nine and a half. Most of these will be received by baptism this Pascha-- which will probably create a literal flood in the church hall, where they will be immersed in the horse trough we use for a font!
Several whole families help to make up the number, including the extended family of a former Mennonite minister who moved here from Vancouver Island in order to embrace Orthodoxy. And the "half"? One of the newer catechumens is "with child"; the entire family will be received in the fall after their newest member is born.
There is a fair bit of shuffling each Sunday, as the catechumens, making up about a third of the congregation, come forward to be prayed over at the litany of the catechumens. Meanwhile, we now need a roster to accommodate readers, altar servers and choir members.
As always, we need to be vigilant and pray. Though we rejoice in growth, we can sometimes see the parable of the sower being played out around us. Still, the possibility of a building of our own is now on the horizon, while several of our members are considering a vocation to the diaconate or priesthood, and, God willing, may one day found other missions in our Archdiocese.

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