BLESSING of (RECYCLED) BELLS at ORTHODOX CHURCH

WHAT'S BEHIND THE DOORS?

Langley, B.C.-- What does the modern commitment to recycling have to do with the ancient faith of the Orthodox Christian Church ? Bells!

Sunday, April 6 at 10:00 A.M. , the Orthodox Church of St. Herman of Alaska in Langley invites the press and public to attend the blessing of their six newly-created bells—which began life as oxygen cylinders. Air Liquide donated the empty cylinders of high quality steel, which produces a beautiful sound. Deacon Kurt Jordan and musician Dan Steenburgh and their helpers cut the bottoms, ground the cylinders to the proper size to produce the proper tone for each bell, sand-blasted them clean and painted them. Now there are six less cylinders as potential land-fill and six more instruments to beautify the world with music and proclaim the glory of God.

In the rite of blessing, each bell is sprinkled with Holy Water, anointed with Holy Chrism (blessed oil) and named. In this case, the bells are each named for different saints of Alaska who brought the Orthodox Faith to North America—one of whom is St. Herman himself, the patron of the parish.

The bells will be rung before each Sunday Liturgy to summon the faithful to worship, and on Pascha, to announce the Resurrection of Christ. (Orthodox Pascha—or Easter—is on Sunday April 27 this year.)

The Church is on the corner of 72 Avenue and 198B Street. The bells and their enclosure adjoin the church and will be sounded every Sunday at 10.00 am.

PHOTOS added Sunday Mar. 30: Dan testing sound, Deacon Kurt & Dan discussing bells.

snowy wedding

snowy wedding, originally uploaded by pasivirta.

here is one of the pictures from our wedding, click the pic for more. I miss my mainlanders, but it was nice to see you at said wedding. party pics will be up soon.

love,

team Pasivirta

Someone asked for a photo of Nicholas ...

Here he is, being churched by Fr. Justin at St. John's this morning:

another chattaway bites the dust!

I can never decide whether to go with the flash photo or the non-flash photo ... one's sharper, the other brighter ...

Anyway, some of you might remember my sister Michelle, who has visited St. Herman's on several occasions (including Pascha 2003, one of the very first Orthodox services I ever attended; gosh, has it been five years already!?). For the last little while she has been attending Holy Nativity Antiochian in Fort Langley, and this past Sunday, she was received into the catechumenate there.

So we all sang her a round of "many years" -- not for the last time, I'm sure!

Meanwhile, the twins turned two a couple weeks ago, and their baby brother Nicholas (born January 14) will be ready for churching in a week or two ... and then, at some point not too far down the road, he'll be ready for baptism ...

Lots of ceremonies, big and small, coming up in the future ...

happy namesday theo!

clicky-clicky here for more photo fun!

Terrific Party!

Well I think the costume party should be a tradition. Good fun was had by all.

Proof

having a baby kick inside you does not feel normal.
it feels like the baby got hold of some bubbalicious and is blowing big bubbles and then letting them pop.
i wonder what flavour?

...another former St. Hermanite makes good....

(...admittedly we share him with St. Peter the Aleut, Calgary...;-)

Kevin Wigglesworth receives scholarship. Congrats Kevin!

Mr.&Mrs.Pasivirta -God grant you many years!

more photos here

another far from ordinary sunday

MORE PHOTOS HERE!! (CLICK THE LINK)

Message from Fr. Lawrence January 27

Dearly beloved in Christ:
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Forgive my absence again today; I underwent another eye surgery on Friday, and the surgeon forbade me to return to work for a week. (The surgery was to remove the silicon gel from my eye.)
Today (January 27) is the feast of the translation of the relics of St. John Chrysostom. We are blessed to have some of his relics in our parish, which we bring out in procession every Pascha during the singing of his tropar at Paschal Matins. I wanted to speak to you about the words he uttered as he lay dying. You can read them for yourself, for they are written on the ‘west’ wall of the church, under his icon. As you see, he said, “Glory to God for all things!”
St. John’s success had attracted envy in very high and powerful circles, and these powerful men set about to destroy him. He had been lied about, persecuted by bishops, condemned unjustly by church courts, and driven into exile far from his beloved Constantinopolitan flock by the Empress. He appealed to other leaders and bishops in the Church worldwide for justice, but to no avail. When he continued to exert a wide influence even from exile through his letters, he was driven even further out into more remote exile, and forced to travel in winter through terrible lands despite his advanced age and his frail health. Worn out, battered, sick and exhausted, he died far his native lands, disgraced and defeated. And his last words were, “Glory to God for all things!”
I deliberately chose St. John’s icon and his last words for our west wall, because I wanted his last words to be the last thing we see every time we leave the Church and go out into the world. For the world will batter us. It will treat us harshly and unjustly. It will knock us about and bruise us. And when we see evil apparently unjudged and triumphant, it is easy to become discouraged. But St. John Chrysostom and his life urge us to courage. For Christ will turn all that we endure for truth into glory for us. St. John knew well the words of St. Paul, who wrote that nothing—neither death nor life, nor anything else in all creation— will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. No suffering can separate us from Him, and so in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. Whatever the world has in store for us when we leave the Church, we can rely on God’s conquering love and be certain of our final victory. May St. John’s final words, written under his icon, be written over our life: “Glory to God for all things!”

God bless you all.
All my love in the Lord,
Papa Lawrence

update

Fr. Lawrence has had a successful eye surgery. He will be resting and recovering for a few days. It's been interesting around here, as the floor installation that was begun on the 14th ran into a few snags, and so that has been going on around us today of all days! We are now trapped upstairs subsisting on coffee and donuts....once the installers leave, it'll be off to pick up Chinese food for dinner!

thank you all for your prayers. I'll see you at church, if I don't come down with the cold that is threatening me...;-)

Surgery for Fr. Lawrence again

Fr. Lawrence's next eye surgery is scheduled for this Friday, so we would appreciate your prayers. This is to remove the silicon gel; the doctor also is considering doing some laser work on his other eye at the same time. He will therefore be recovering for a bit. Dn. Kurt & Fr. John Bingham have got the weekend services covered, and next Wednesday, a week today, Rdr. Greg W will lead reader vespers. God willing, Fr. Lawrence wil be back at services beginning with Sat. Feb 2, 9 a. m. liturgy for Feast of the Meeting.

Not to be morbid, but.....

Yesterday I caught a brief news piece on TV about the practice of Natural Burial.

"Natural burial" really is mostly what we Orthodox have always preferred to do, excepting that we do have a churchyard with headstones rather than trees (and in fact, here in the Lower Mainland, I think we mostly have to make do with general cemeteries rather than a parish churchyard attached to the church.) In some countries, there were/are wooden crosses rather than stones; and often, after decomposition, bones are dug up and removed to an ossuary so the grave can be reused. This is how some saints have been discovered to be incorrupt after death.

That seems bizarre to us in our death-denying, mechanistic culture. We need to remember that for most of history, this was just normal.

What left me aghast was the numbers cited on the TV report: apparently some NINETY PER CENT of British Columbian deceased are dispatched by means of cremation, a practice that is abhorred by the Orthodox church and only reluctantly permitted in jurisdictions where it is compulsory, such as Japan, or in case of an epidemic or disaster.

These articles on the Natural Burial site explode the concept that cremation is good for the environment, and describe how conventional burial is also bad. A summary of how cremation is actually done is found here.

Here is an article by the late Fr. Victor Sokolov (formerly of Holy Resurrection Vancouver) about Orthodox funeral practice.

Lots to think about. Is there in our future here the possibility of the Orthodox getting together to get our own burial ground somewhere not too far out of town, where we can do an Orthodox version of "natural burial"? Unless I am mistaken, as of now, most local authorities here in BC require either the conventional embalming or cremation. At the least, perhaps some of us should be thinking of getting together and buying a bunch of plots in some Fraser Valley Cemetery so that we can have an 'Orthodox area' where we can bless the graves together, even if we must still have conventional burial. I think the Greeks do have a "Greek section" in one or two of the Vancouver area cemeteries.

Any thoughts, anyone? We are such a young parish, we have done only a handful of funerals, most of those for non-members, over the 20 plus years we have been here. But unless the Lord comes, we will all face death one day. I think now is the time to start considering these very practical possibilities. Ideas?

caption contest!!

R: Give me that creme. You must relinquish it.

Fr. D.K.: No, I will take the creme and consume it now, while I can. LENT is coming so soon.

T: Hey, Guys. What do you have going on over there? Can I have some?

(click here for the rest)

the churching of baby Anna and other sunday stuff

another cute baby:

same cute baby, this time with cute aunty...

a visitor from across the pond looking contemplative and lovely:

and of course, you can find the rest of the photos on my flickr account.

Blessing Trout Lake

Pictures of St. John's Theophany Great Blessing of the Waters at Trout Lake can be seen here (and below):

Fraser River blessing on archdiocese.ca site!

Theophany blessing of Fraser River is now up on the Archdiocesan website!

It's a pdf, so I believe you'll need acrobat to read the article.

Feast of the Meeting February 2nd

Just a bit of advance notice-- although it wasn't officially announced, some of you may have heard that this was to be a vesperal liturgy on the eve of the Feast. However, it's also the eve of Dave & Laurenn's wedding (see post below!) and it turns out all our choir directors are singing at the wedding and will therefore have to be at the wedding rehearsal on the eve.

Therefore the new schedule for Feast of the Meeting will be :

Saturday February 2nd 9 AM-- Divine Liturgy

no matins before. Father & probably many other people will shortly thereafter have to head for the wedding venue, so I think perhaps there will not be much of an official meal-- we will have to sort it out on that day.

Wedding!

Hi,

This is David,


Laurenn and I are getting married. (WOOHOO!)


since you are a part of our church family, you are all invited to the ceremony, which will be at

7838 Canada Way, at Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church, at 12:30 pm on Feb 2nd.

a short standing reception will follow.


I miss you all,

Theophany 2008

see the rest of the photos here.

Last year's Theophany photos--blessing of the Fraser River

Photos are here and here

If you missed it last year-- it's really cool, don't miss it this time!

I think somebody suggested last time we ought to have hot chocolate at the park afterward-- anybody have an idea how to manage that for a large crowd in a park?

Christmas goodbye, Theophany hello!

Don't forget today is the last day of the fast-free period. Tomorrow, the eve of Theophany, although it is a Saturday, is also a FAST DAY.

Bring your bottles for holy water to vespers tomorrow night.

The FEAST of Theophany is this Sunday, so do please bring festal food. We will have lunch and, weather permitting (so far it looks promising!) we will then quickly head out to Derby Reach provincial park (see map here) to bless the waters of the Fraser River.

Gosh. Should we have thought sooner about getting the media there for a photo op? and/or does anyone have any photos of last year's blessing to post here? I think we could at least try to take some & write it up for the Archdiocesan web site this year.

In any case, we will meet at the parking lot by Edgewater Bar, off Allard Crescent.

Orthodox Readings - January

In the temporary absence of our annual calendar, please find attached a link below for January's Scripture Readings:

http://www.goarch.org/en/resources/dailyreadings/

Happy Reading!

Challenge accepted

For your amusement....

Don't Forget...

New Years Open House in Aldergrove.
When: December 31 8:00pm to January 1 10:00am
Where: 26592 30A Ave, Aldergrove
What to Bring: BYOB + a snack and a sleeping bag if you want to stay overnight

If you haven't already let Graham or myself know that you're coming, please RSVP to (604) 537-6825 (of course we won't turn you away if you don't!).

even unto the depths of Althergrave

hmmmm
What's the word on New Years in Aldergrave?
Is it still on?
Are people actually going to be there?
Would it be worthwhile for me to swing by?
Just a thought.
Jesse.

God grant you many years!

(and Peter and Meike!)

click HERE for the rest of the photos!

Women's Quiet Day

 

Blessed Event

Thank you so much Theresia for hosting the Advent Women's Quiet Day!

What a blessed opportunity it was to not only ingest some delectable treats (Theresia you spoil us so!!!) and to sing the Akathist to our Blessed Lady Theotokos, but also to participate in some engaging discussions and thus gain a greater appreciation for the other women of our community.

I'm sure Victoria will be posting pictures of the event in due time, but I just wanted to note what a wonderfully enriching day this has been and how glad I am to have made it out there, to the Lerche-haven!

A special thanks as well to all who participated in their own little ways!

lovingly,
meike

count the catechumens

St. Herman's 3rd Annual Women's Advent Quiet Day

All women welcome!

To get away from the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas preparations...

A quiet day at Theresia L's beautiful mountain home. Soon after we gather, we will pray an Akathist to the Theotokos, then share a Lenten buffet. Bring some food to share!

Then we can read, chat, do crafts, walk and generally hang out in peace & quiet (time for dad to take the kids Christmas shopping for Mom's present!)

Saturday, December 15, 2007

11:00am - 5:00pm

Theresia L.'s house in Chilliwack

we have about half a dozen 'yeses' and half a dozen 'maybes' on the Facebook page so far. If you aren't on there, chime in on the comments here and let us know if you are coming. Let us know if you are looking to carpool as well. oh, and pray for good weather....;-)

St. John's on OCA Front Page!

hey, look who's on the OCA front page today!

All that white stuff sure does look stereotypically Canadian, but any publicity is good publicity, eh? eh? ;-)

matins

The morning service of the Church is called Matins. It opens with the reading of six morning psalms and the intoning of the Great Litany. After this, verses of Psalm 118 are sung:

God is the Lord and has revealed himself unto us.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Let me just say how beautiful the Matins service was. If you missed it because of the snow take heart and know that we will be serving it again next Sunday. The music was beautiful. Inspiring and meditative.

Thanks to Gregory and his music. Thanks to the choir and their voices.

Turkey anyone?

For anyone interested, I will be hosting a Christmas open house after liturgy on Christmas day. You are welcome to show up anytime and help me eat the delicious golden turkey roast, with creamy mashed potatoes and gravy, succulent stuffing, and fresh hot apple pie.
If you know any "displaced people" who won't be celebrating with family, please let them know about this (of course, you're welcome to stop by even if you will be celebrating with family!). Give me a call at 604-537-6825 if you think you might be dropping by (although I won't refuse you at the door if you just show up).

Hope you can make it!
Dan

we interupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important announcement:

due to lives that have become frustratingly, maddeningly, blessedly busy, we the jordan's, are sad to announce there will be no new years extravaganza this year at the jordan house.
this decision leaves us a little sad, and a little relieved all at the same time.
for those that were planning to attend... forgive us.
for those that weren't... carry on.
love, the jordans

another sunday with the family

the rest of the pics...HERE!

WELCOME ANNA SERAPHIMA!!

...congratulations and Many Years to Cosmin & Monica on the birth of their new little girl Anna Seraphima! Best wishes to her big sisters Sophia and Christina as well.

Quick Correction... if i may...

Forgive my editorial note, but according to the Newsletter, Matins services will begin on Sunday, December 4th at 9:30 however... Sunday is December 2nd (at least, in 2007 it is)...

If I may clarify for my own sanity -- Matins will only be sung on Sunday mornings, correct, beginning this coming Sunday, December 2nd?

Thank you : )

Fr. Lawrence's message and Nov. 11 Bulletin

Dearly Beloved:

Forgive me for not being with you today. Much to my horror, my retina (aka 'Old Reliable') came detached on Thursday, necessitating yet another surgery, my third, on Friday. The surgeon forbids me to serve this Sunday, but said I should be able to return to work (slowly) on the 18th. Please pray that this is so, and also that my retina stays attached. Otherwise I may have to be known as "Fr. Lawrence the one-eyed", which sounds a bit too much like a cyclops and may scare the children.
I have not much wisdom to share with you--just my still unalterable conviction that God never gives us more to carry than He knows we can bear. Our secular culture does its best to build into us the expectation that everything will always go smoothly--that retinas never detach, that we will never become sick, or that we will be easily and permanently healed when we do; that we will always have secure and well-paying jobs, that our marriages will be effortless, that nothing bad will ever happen to our children, that Oil of Olay and hair implants will keep women and men looking youthful until they die, unwrinkled and unbalding, at the age of 107.
It is, of course, a lie. All men until lately knew that in this age we are passing through a vale of tears; that health is precarious at best and soon gone, that life is uncertain and that earthly joys bloom like wildflowers and then vanish away. The wise did not entrust their souls and their happiness to anything in this age. The wise who were Christians entrusted their souls and their happiness to Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. That is where our real security lies, and where our real and lasting joy awaits us. As St. Peter says, we will then "obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us, who are protected by the power of God through faith, for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pt.
1:4-5). We are called to enjoy the blessings God gives us in this age, but to recognize them as the passing joys that they are, and as pledges of the eternal and unshakable joys to come. God has given us, even in this age, many good gifts: sight, good weather, music, chocolate, friendship, the laughter and noise of children, wine that gladdens the heart of man, the faces of those who love us. We accept these gifts into our open hands with thanksgiving. But we await with trembling hearts an even greater gift: the eternal weight of glory that Christ will bestow on the Last Day. That is our real treasure, and where our hearts should be even now.
Meanwhile, God never gives us more to carry than He knows we can bear. We are, it would seem, stronger than we sometimes think--especially if our burden makes us look to Him for the strength we need. When He loads us up, our knees (or at least my knees), sometimes buckle a bit. I wasn't quite expecting that much weight. But after a bit of buckling and moaning, we are required to get under the load and get on with our journey. It is a journey we should make with light hearts, for it is leading us straight into the arms of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
all my love in the Lord,

Fr. Lawrence

Bulletin items Nov. 11

**IMPORTANT** This Wednesday marks the beginning of the Advent Fast. Please remember not to bring meat, dairy, or eggs to the Sunday Feast. Fish, however, is permitted during weekends.

There is a beautiful Hogwarts Gingerbread Castle made by Sandy Folster in the hall. We will be raffling it off to raise money for St. Arseny Camp. If you wish to purchase a ticket please speak to Dn. Kurt Jordan.
________________________________________________________________________________
Services this week:

Wed. Nov. 14—Vespers 7 pm

Sat. Nov. 17—Vespers 7 pm

update on Father's surgery

The surgery yesterday & checkup this morning were good. Father will be off this Sunday but is hoping to be back at services next week. This will depend on the next checkup sometime this week-- that appointment has not yet been set.

Father will not be going out of the house this week but after the weekend he will take phone calls, I think that is probably better than e-mail, as working one-eyed tends to strain his good eye and is tiresome if he does too much.

Meanwhile we have services as usual with Fr. John Bingham and Dn. Kurt. Thank you for your prayers, and see you at church!

Here we go again....

Fr. Lawrence is having a third emergency eye surgery at noon today. Three times is very Orthodox, so let's hope this is the last!

This will be a different procedure than the first two, involving a silicone oil instead of a gas bubble, and the recovery before returning to normal activities should be only a week or two. After the surgery there will be no vision in the affected eye for a few months, and then another surgery will be done to remove the oil. The doctor says the issue here is not whether Father will regain the use of this eye, but rather how good his sight will be at the end of that period.

We are blessed to have Dn. Kurt and Fr. John Bingham to hold the fort this weekend. Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Pray for Fr. Lawrence!

Pray for Fr. Lawrence - his retina is apparently coming detached again and so he is again going in for surgery at noon today. Lord, have mercy!

I didn't think it would be like this

But it is.
When I became orthodox, I saw clearly the way I didn't want to be, how I wanted to continue in the overzealous manner of first love to be conscious of every move, every thought, and every day as being a sacrament and a gift directly from God. If I managed to do something without that consciousness, it was either obviously sin, or indirectly sin because I made it about the object or moment itself, not something to look through and see God on the other side.
When I became orthodox, I knew that merely being orthodox would push me to Godliness, towards Holiness, but that it was also risky because with that thought comes the temptation to think that I no longer have to pursue holiness, that it will come to me as long as I line up every sunday morning and have not eaten meat twice during the week. I saw what orthodoxy could be if it became about less than God when I was in ontario, attending a church that knew it was dying, but still couldn't do anything about it. I have become a part of that culture club (and it has nothing to do with the wonderful parish I find myself in currently, its a long process) and its not about ethnicity, though it often is because its such an easy place to find your identity, especially if you call yourself a member of any diaspora. But, I find that I am tempted to identify myself by many different things, perhaps material like my bike, or the possibility of earning lots of money, or my abilities or lack thereof, ego and lack of self esteem. Or more easily yet, in the midst of this beautiful time of my life where I am about to be wed to the most beautiful woman alive, I put my identity in my ability to provide, to love, to be sensitive, to plan, to commit, and to follow through.
Anywhere but Christ.
heaven forbid that I find my identity in the One place that is safe and secure and eternal and real, where everything else is fleeting and/or shallow (not my wife-to-be, mind you)
And, what does that mean? I think it means doing all of the things I do, but doing them because I trust that God is in them, and not doing the things that he is not a part of.
And, not thinking that anyone else is doing the work for me, I forget that it will take effort, spiritual struggle, which is such a strange thing to write out, let alone define, so who knows what I even mean? but I know that that is what it takes, spiritual struggle, which of course doesn't exclude all realms of existence because we are not dualists (or duellists)
I suppose I have gotten lazy and distracted, and from what I hear, life doesn't get any calmer.

Fr. Lawrence's message to the parish Oct 14th

Here I sit, all fluey, posting Fr. Lawrence's message, as those of you NOT home with the flu (and I know there are several of us in the parish this week!) are singing the opening antiphons. Looking forward to seeing you all next week-- Mat. Donna

Dear beloved in Christ:

Glory to Jesus Christ!

As I was sitting down and tucking into a delicious turkey dinner this last Thanksgiving Monday, I was thankful for many things (including the fact that I was not a vegetarian—or, come to that, a turkey. It’s a wonderful thing to live on the upper end of the food chain). However, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people actually gave thanks on Thanksgiving Day, and if the title of the holiday isn’t a bit culturally anachronistic, for we are not a nation that stresses gratitude to God for our blessings.

When one thinks of it, it is maybe a little odd to have a national holiday stressing a virtue; it would be like us having National Chastity Day, or National Patience Day. No bad thing, I suppose (I would pay money to see a National Chastity Parade along side a Gay Pride Parade). But the point is that we are to do our best to practice the virtues every day, and not just when the calendar mandates a special stat holiday for them. In this sense, for the Christian, every day is Thanksgiving Day.

Or, in the words of St. Paul, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. All of life is a gift, and every day, even the wretched ones, are still packed with God’s mercies. And even on the wretched days, we can still give thanks as they end and say, “Thank God that’s over!” As disciples of Jesus, thanksgiving is to be our natural state. In theological terms, all of life is sacramental, to be received as a unique gift from God, the grateful enjoyment of which brings us into communion with Him.

Sin interrupts that communion, of course, and gratitude is a habit to be learned, often with difficulty. (It was otherwise in Eden.) Our own culture gives us no help with this. It teaches us, for example, that health and long life is our right, and we feel hard done by if we are sick or faced with shortened life span. It teaches us to regard happiness and prosperity and peace as things to which we are entitled, and we blame God if we experience sadness, poverty or turmoil. Other ages were manlier and hardier than ours. Suffering and misfortune were expected as the common lot of mortals, and no one blamed the Most High when they experienced them. One needed bravery to walk the earth: as CS Lewis reminds us, most of human history was spent without the benefit of anaesthetic.

The point is that we modern North Americans must strive to overcome the ingratitude and sense of entitlement built into our culture, and to give thanks to God for all things. To end with a prayer from Garrison Keillor (of Lake Wobegon fame): “Thank You, dear God, for this good life, and forgive us if we do not love it enough.”

All my love in the Lord,
Fr. Lawrence

Message from Fr. Lawrence Sunday Oct. 7th

Dearly beloved:

May I share with you a lesson I learned last Sunday? On Sunday September 30, I stumbled downstairs after my prayers to while away the time until Matushka returned from church. I turned on the Crystal's Cathedral's "Hour of Power" (admittedly for all the wrong reasons), then watched some of "Mass for Shut-ins" to wash away the lingering taste of the "Hour of Power". Eventually Matushka returned from church, bringing with her some prosphora/ antidoran from the service, which she put into my palm and which I consumed immediately.

I have eaten such antidoran countless times, but this time was different. When I received the fragments of bread into my palm, it was like a hand extended from the Divine Liturgy, which seized mine in its firm and warm grip. Consuming the prosphora I felt an instantaneous connection to the Liturgy, and felt united to all of you: to the priest who cut the prosphora at the proskomedia, to the deacon who assisted him and carried the diskos in procession at the Great Entrance, to the subdeacons who held the bread for the people at the end of the service, to the choir and people whose Eucharistic praises sanctified the bread in this way, making it not merely bread, but church bread, a divine gift. It was as if I could almost hear the chanting and almost smell the incense. It could simply be that I am missing you more each Sunday, but I think there was something more to it than that. The physical bread became a spiritual link.

The reception of prosphora that Sunday reminded me of what I knew before, though never so clearly as at that moment: that the physical carries with it the spiritual, and that this connection unites us all.
It was ever so: in the early church, Holy Communion was taken by the deacons after the service to the sick who could not be present at the Eucharist. In the early church, holy relics were sometimes shared among churches, one community giving as a gift to another community a portion of the relics of its local martyr.

This sharing of a physical gift (whether of the Eucharist or of a transfer of relics) created a bond between the giver and the receiver. The sick Christian, absent from the Eucharist, did not merely receive Communion; he or she was thereby also united again with the celebrating community. The church receiving the gift of relics did not merely enjoy the sacramental presence of the martyr whose relics they received; they also enjoyed a renewed bond with the church giving them. My reception of the prosphora reminded me again of the strength of our union, in Christ, with one another. Because we belong to Him, we belong to one another as well.

Your loving papa and fellow-servant,
Fr. Lawrence

Sept. 30th message from Fr. Lawrence & weekly bulletin

I have taken all your hugs, prayers & good wishes to Fr. Lawrence today. Tomorrow the doctor will tell us what level of activity he can return to in the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, for anyone who was not able to be at church today, here is the message read out by Dn. Kurt after liturgy today-- Mat. Donna


My dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ:

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Events of the last month have given me lots of time for reflection, and I would like to share some of these reflections each Sunday as a way of keeping in touch during my time of medical exile.

I have discovered, for example, that many thoughts go through one's head while lying on a gurney waiting to be taken in for eye surgery. The first thought that went through my head was, "Help! I'm trapped in an episode of /Grey's Anatomy /and I can't get out!" The second (and more enduring) thought was, "Now I know what Zech. 2:8 means." Well, actually, the numerical citation eluded me. But there was no mistaking the words of the Scripture: "He who touches you, says the Lord of Hosts, touches the apple of My eye."

In its historical context, this refers to God's care for the city of Jerusalem, newly-restored after the Babylonian captivity. In its mystical context, it refers to His care for the Church, the heavenly Jerusalem, the People of God. God declares that, just as a man jealously guards the apple (or
pupil) of his eye, so God guards and protects His people. Lying there on that gurney, waiting for nice people to stick sharp instruments into the apple of my eye, I had a renewed appreciation of God's care for us.
I felt very jealous about the apple of my eye. It was comforting (in
retrospect) to know that the Lord regards us in the same way. He loves us, cherishes us, jealously guards and protects us from all harm. He who would harm us harms the apple of His eye.

This is an important lesson, even for those who are not lying on hospital gurneys. All that we now have and enjoy will eventually fade: health, riches, sight, even life itself. Yet our true life remains untouched by the relentless parade of years. The outer man, St. Paul reminds us, is decaying, but the inner man, touched and transformed by Christ, is being renewed day by day. In this saving renewal, all is preserved by God's power, and will be restored to us in the Kingdom of God. Death, darkness and disaster cannot harm us, for we have a mighty Protector: the Lord of Hosts. He protects us from all harm, and he who would touch us touches the apple of His eye.

Your loving papa and fellow-servant,

Fr. Lawrence

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Notes from the bulletin Sept 30:

Services this week:

Wed. Oct. 3—Vespers

Sat. Oct. 6—Vespers

Sun. Oct 7—Liturgy w. blessing of THANKSGIVING HARVEST

Please bring your harvest bounty (on Saturday night or early before liturgy) to decorate the temple and be blessed with holy water.
__________________________________________________________________________

October newsletter & calendar now available in the narthex.
To find the newsletter info online, click on the first link in the sidebar column on this page.

To have an item included in a future bulletin, please contact
Rhiannon G 604-726-0619 myotherleft@gmail.com
____________________________________________________________

Fr. Lawrence Farley, rector, is currently on sick leave.
For all inquiries at this time, please contact

Dn. Kurt Jordan, 604-824-1214 kurtedwardjordan@gmail.com

In our very own Archdiocese-- the FIRST Orthodox "Quiet Garden" in the world!

I hadn't even heard of the "Quiet Garden" movement-- Oh, how we could use something like this in the neighbourhood of our church! If only we had more property......check out the links at the archdiocesan website to find out about the Quiet Garden movement....

"Our Orthodox Quiet Garden
at Sifton, MB, Canada
On the grounds of the recently-restored, beautiful Orthodox Church dedicated to the Holy Resurrection, a simple Quiet Garden awaits visitors.
We invite all to drop by, sit for a bit and enjoy the greenery, flowers and birds. It is a lovely prairie spot.

It is affiliated with the Quiet Garden Movement world-wide. One of the Trustees of the Quiet Garden Movement is Bishop Kallistos (Ware).
We are the first Orthodox Quiet Garden in the world! "

Fr. Lawrence's message to the parish

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ at St. Herman's:
Glory to Jesus Christ!

Please forgive my absence from you as I recover from my second emergency retinal surgery in as many weeks. It is very difficult for me to be away from you: when the starting bell rings, an old race horse wants to bolt from the starting gate, and when Sunday morning comes, an old one-eyed priest wants to pray at the altar and preach from the ambo. But my surgeon has forbidden me to return to work for an entire month, and my bishop has ordered me to obey his medical advice.
In all this enforced absence, I am consoled by three things. (Here comes the three-point sermon after all.)

1. I am consoled by the hard work and dedication of Deacon Kurt, who is God's great gift to all of us. Being the interim pastor for an absent priest was /not /part of the expected job description when he was ordained, and this added burden is made all the more challenging by his extra domestic tasks during the week. Yet he has risen wonderfully to the sudden challenges and our community could not be left in better pastoral hands.

2. I am consoled by the presence of my dear friend and concelebrant, Fr.
John Bingham. This month has been more than interesting for him as well, and yet he has selflessly carved out the time to befriend a sick brother. I am grateful to him for his love, compassion and kindness, both me and to our community. It is my hope that we shall yet stand together at the same altar and serve together for many Liturgies.

3. Finally, I am consoled by your presence here in my absence, for it means that my words have not altogether been in vain. In all my sermons my aim has been to uplift the Name of Jesus, so that you, the holy people of God, come to Liturgy to meet, worship and exalt Him. He is our joy, the strength in our hearts, the breath in our lungs, and, (as I am discovering) the light in our eyes. You come to Church to commune with Him, as earthly members joined to our heavenly Head.

That is, you do not come to Liturgy because Fr. Lawrence is there, but rather because the Lord Jesus is there and because, as His people who belong to Him, you also belong to one another. Your absence from here on Sundays would tell me that you are failing one another as fellow-members of the same body, and therefore that I have failed you as your priest. (And how could I remedy that? By starting to preach
_four_-point sermons?) Therefore, as you meet together in the weeks to
come as the holy community you are, as St. Paul says, "I am filled with comfort, I am overflowing with joy in all my affliction". You are my consolation.

May God bless and keep you all.

Your loving papa and fellow-servant,
Fr. Lawrence


posted by Mat. Donna

please see post below for bulletin announcements

New Issue of Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity

The Fall 2007 issue of the Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity is out, and includes Fr. Lawrence's akathist to St. Arseny and my paper "Parables for Mission Planters: Principles of Leadership and Community (Drawn from Richard Adams' Watership Down). This is our very own Canadian Orthodox Theological Journal, published by the St. Arseny Institute in Winnipeg as a free download in PDF. Check it out!

Further surgery for Fr. Lawrence

all, we find unexpectedly that Fr. Lawrence must return to surgery on Thursday this week. Last week we were told the eye was healing well, but today it seems the retina is detaching again. Please continue to pray. If there are any changes in services, they will be announced-- otherwise just show up for church as usual! thanks-- Mat. Donna

now or never

well, I know its not THAT far, but still. I need you all to know how important you are to me, you hermanites. and Fr. Lawrence being laid up is a little nervewracking but a little relieving. I am glad he is taking a rest, but hopeful for his recovery.
anyways. that said, you all need to know that whenever Fr. John commemorates the wonderworking elder Herman I feel a large tug of "I MISS HOME" deep in the caverns of my soul, and I know that it really is the people who live and breathe through that lame little building in langley who have so deeply shaped me and helped me get over so many things that needed to be gotten over. not to mention hosting great parties and putting up with my incessant complaining.
so, as I have just gotten back from work, and I need to eat, and drink, I wish you all could see me raising my beer in a solemn salute intending it to mean that I love you all very much and I know that while I will see you soon, it won't be soon enough.
Nice driveways!

David



oh, and ps, the island really does have better coffee. I tried it, and I like it. I know some will say I don't drink coffee, but Its the caffeine I avoid, I tried it, it really is much much better.

Reflections on Camp

Phil has told me some wonderful and inspiring things about camp, as well as reports from both parents and campers given after camp. I think it would be wonderful if we created a bit of a "reflections journal" here in which everyone and anyone (whether they attended camp or not) can reflect on the goodness that was and remains.
I, for one, would love to hear it.

What was inspiring?

What was uplifting?

What was funny or fun?

What was the best part?

What was the first thing you heard about when the campers returned?

What were the workshops like?

What was learned?

Camp Pix - Day 2

Pictures from our second day at camp are now up here. Thanks to Victoria and Matushka Sarah for documenting the experience. (I hope to get some pictures shot by others up soon too.) Enjoy, and keep keeping us in your prayers!

First Camp Photos Are Up!

The first photos of this year's camp are up - with more to come each day! Check in here to see all the fun that your children and friends and priests are up to!

Lucho, the much feared and terror inspiring Monastery Cat

As requested.

Animals at Orthodox Monasteries

I couldn't resist passing along this delightful news story. about animals at monasteries in Russia.

It is nice to know that our Vladika Seraphim also has peacocks, along with other creatures, at the diocesan centre in Ontario.

Ou est Seraphim?

Has anyone seen Seraphim lately?

Call home, buddy.

We miss you.

am I famous yet?

I must be if I'm doing a podcast, right? ;-)

The AGAIN Audio Journal on Ancient Faith Radio has its first sampler up. There are readings from me and Fr. John Schroedel. Have a listen.

End of shameless self-promotion post.

Photos from the Lerche's 2nd annual Ryder Lake BBQ

The Lerche's 2nd annual Ryder Lake BBQ was on July 28th.

Special guest appearnce by: Victoria Jordan!

Thanks for having us all over Kai and Theresia!

Click on the photo above to see more pictures...

a small prayer request

as some of you may know, I am going to school in the fall to begin my PDP (or b.ed, whichever you prefer) at UBC.
the only way this is possible (outside of selling one of our children) is for a funding grant to come through. they are now in the process of reviewing my application for funding.
please pray that it comes through.
this would be so huge for our family.

Pictures from Assembly 2007 in Ottawa

This is some sort of folk dance they do in Langley East, apparently.....

and more assembly photos!

New Caterpillars!

Hi.

many more things are on my mind, like how the sacramental nature of everything means that we must approach it with thanksgiving, like meals. every meal reminds us that everything good comes from God.

in any case, James and Katherine became catechumens at St. John of Shanghai!

pictures to come.

Many years James and Katherine!

Ryder Lake BBQ today!

Just a reminder that Kai & Theresia's 2nd annual Ryder Lake BBQ is today!
.
~ 2:00pm - 6:00pm ~
.

Everyone is welcome!

.

49175 Elkview Road

Chilliwack, BC

.

For directions or detials, please call the Lerche's at 604-858-5421

.

photos of the team

my amazing family

thank-you! I love you all and miss you sooooo so much!! 5 more days and then I`ll see you at Kai and Theresia`s!

the sheepwashes. remember these lovely people?

, originally uploaded by simply victoria.

it was so good to be able to visit them.
hopefully I`ll see them once more before I go...