Metropolitan Herman Honored by OCMC Board and Team Chicago
Monday, November 21, 2005
Metropolitan Herman Honored by OCMC Board and Team Chicago
November 18, 2005
“We feed the hungry, not only to satisfy their physical needs, but also
to address their craving for spiritual nourishment. We clothe the naked
not only with coats and shoes, but in the One in Whose very image all of
us have been created. We give drink to the thirsty, not only to quench
their physical thirst, but as a means of sharing the One Who reveals
Himself as the “Living Water,” Who quenches the need to encounter the
divine and partake of the divine nature itself…May Our Lord continually
bring us to the recognition of our calling to be missionaries, apostles
and disciples, signs of divine love in a world that too often has
forgotten love’s power, a world that hungers and thirsts for good news.”
….His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman.
The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), St. Augustine, FL – The
Orthodox Christian Mission Center Board of Directors held their fall
meeting at St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Des Plaines, Illinois
from November 9-11, 2005. They also welcomed and honored His Beatitude,
Metropolitan Herman, Archbishop of Washington and New York,
Metropolitan of All America & Canada of the Orthodox Church in
America (OCA), in conjunction with Team Chicago’s Benefit Banquet.
The Board of OCMC, the official international mission and evangelism
agency of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in
the Americas (SCOBA), is comprised of thirty-four clergy and laity
members representing various Orthodox jurisdictions. Metropolitan Herman
represented SCOBA and actively participated in the board meetings. The
OCMC Board reviewed the Mission Center’s ministries, especially
missionaries serving throughout the world; and progress of a new
five-year Strategic Plan, as well as future projects and direction for
its continued growth. With OCMC’s continued expansion, Fr. Martin
Ritsi, Executive Director of OCMC, presented the board of directors with
an architectural rendition of OCMC’s future building, scheduled to
break ground in Spring of 2006.
During the three day event, the OCMC Health Care Committee held a wine
and cheese reception for all local area health care professionals to
learn more about Mission opportunities. Dr. Spero Kinnas, Acting Chair
of the Health Care Committee and OCMC Board Member, was instrumental in
coordinating the event.
Thanks to OCMC Team Chicago’s enthusiasm for missions, the group
comprised of former OCMC missionaries organized a banquet where
Metropolitan Herman was the keynote speaker. Fr. John Rallis, pastor of
St. John the Baptist, welcomed nearly 400 pan-Orthodox attendees from
throughout the area. Also present and recognized at the event were
Archbishop Job of the OCA Diocese of Chicago and Metropolitan Iakovos of
the Chicago Greek Orthodox Metropolis, official host of the OCMC fall
meeting.
Fr. Martin spoke on how Orthodox missions has grown from very little to a
vibrant organization of missionaries throughout the world. When he
began his mission work in Kenya, he received one of the first mission
teams in 1988 that included George Conopeotis, now an active member
Board Member and part of Team Chicago, as well as Christine Pappas, now
serving as an OCMC long-term missionary in Albania. With these early
members from the Chicago area, their mission experience and their zeal,
they established an active group to promote mission work throughout
their Orthodox community. Cliff Argue, President of OCMC, then spoke and
encouraged all Orthodox Christians to step up and consider “Putting
their Faith in Action” by considering a mission experience.
The evening’s highlight was His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman’s speech
about the importance of mission and service as members of the Body of
Christ. His speech drew attention to the tremendous accomplishments that
OCMC has made in the missionary field over the past few decades. As he
said “The work of these selfless individuals has truly made an impact on
their lives, on the lives of those to whom they have ministered and
continue to minister, and on the life of the Orthodox Church as a
whole”.
OCMC would like to thank all the individuals of our Orthodox community
in the Chicago area and around the world that made this three day event a
success.
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The Orthodox Christian Mission Center: Helping Orthodox Christians
respond to Christ''s call to preach, teach, baptize, minister to the
poor and make disciples of all nations as the official international
mission agency of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox
Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA).
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