First 2006 OCMC Team Prepares for Argentina
First 2006 OCMC Team Prepares for Argentina
December 9, 2005
The Orthodox Christian Mission Center, St. Augustine, FL - The first
OCMC Orthodox Mission Team to Argentina has been invited by His Eminence
TARASIOS, Metropolitan of Buenos Aires and Exarch of South America, to
the town of Berisso, Argentina. From January 13-28, the 2006 Argentina
Mission Team will assist with the construction, repairs and partial
restoration of five dwellings in Berisso, outside of Buenos Aires.
Team members will work with a local team of Orthodox youths and have the
opportunity to share what it means to be an Orthodox Christian. The
Berisso Project will help develop a spirit of voluntarism within the
Orthodox youth while also involving the community at large. Members of
the team will be housed in homes of local Orthodox community members.
The OCMC Missionary in Argentina, Cynthia Baldwin-Thanos, of Sacramento,
CA, is coordinating The Berisso Project (read more about Cynthia at:
www.ocmc.org/missionaries).
Please pray for team members as they make final preparations, travel for
training and then depart for Argentina. For information on other OCMC
short-term mission team opportunities in 2006, go online to
www.ocmc.org/teams.
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SUPPLEMENTAL:
Over the past several years, Argentina has been undergoing a series of
financial crises which have impacted the middle class and the working
poor more heavily than any other part of the society. The Asociación
Misionera de la Iglesia Griega Ortodoxa de Sudamérica (AMIGOS) was
created as an Orthodox response to the significant needs of the poor in
South America and to serve as the humanitarian arm of the Church. It
comes under the auspices of the Department of Acción Social Misiones y
Filantropía of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitanate of Buenos Aires and
South America. The mission of AMIGOS is to respond to the call of our
Lord Jesus Christ to serve those that are suffering and are in need.
AMIGOS strives to put into effect both long term and short term projects
to aid those who are the most vulnerable.
The Berisso Project, sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Metropolitanate,
will coordinate and help an international team of young Orthodox
Christian adults repair the homes of elderly founders of the Orthodox
community in the town of Berisso near Buenos Aires. These founders are
elderly now, ranging in age from the mid seventies to late eighties, and
lack the materials, the tools, and the physical strength to repair
their modest homes. The project is a mission in Christian service,
given with respect for the individual and with “filial” love.
The Holy Greek Orthodox Metropolitanate of Buenos Aires covers all
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, and
Ecuador. There are over 50,000 Greek Orthodox faithful on the South
American continent, with the majority in Argentina. There are 25 active
communities throughout the Metropolitanate and 17 clergy in all (at
least 6 priests are over 70 years of age). Currently there are two
Argentina-born priests; several South American-born priests in Peru and
Brazil; and several South American candidates studying for the
priesthood in the U.S. and in Greece.
The Orthodox Church in South America is in need of more priests. In
South America, one third of the Greek Orthodox churches are locked up
for lack of clergy, and the faithful must go for years without a visit
from a priest. Many other Orthodox churches hold services only once a
month, for the priests must travel long distances to serve two or three
different communities. The Archdiocese needs instructors and housing for
prospective students. The Church in South America has very few
resources. Please contact OCMC to learn how to support this missions
Metropolis of the Orthodox Church.
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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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