Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday
February 14, 2010
Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday
"The
harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:37-38)
To the Most Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and
The Devout Faithful of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas
Dearly Beloved in the Lord,
We greet you in the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! The
Lenten fast that precedes the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha is upon us.
Like the dawn of a new day, the beginning of this 40-day journey
provides opportunities for us to recommit ourselves and our whole lives
to Christ our God. The Sunday before Great Lent, February 14th, 2010, is
Mission Sunday as designated by the hierarchs of the Standing
Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA).
Over the past two millennia, the work of making disciples has been a
focal ministry of saints, and billions of people have accepted life in
Christ. Today, sixty-six percent of the world's population is still
non-Christian; thus missionary service remains a core ministry of the
Church and a collective movement of the faithful.
Over the past 15 years, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center
(OCMC), as the official missions agency of SCOBA, has provided the
faithful of North America with opportunities to answer their call to
make disciples of all nations. Over 70 people who serve as OCMC
Ambassadors are taking this call to parishes across the country, and the
mission ministries of our Orthodox Churches that are outside of America
are growing as a result.
Today, through the prayers and support of the faithful, there are
20 men and women who are serving, or preparing to serve, as long-term
missionaries in places like Albania, Romania, and Tanzania. Likewise,
young, growing seminaries around the world are receiving support to
provide theological training to over 250 local priests, catechists, and
ministry leaders in places where the Church is newly emerging. With
assistance from OCMC's Support a Mission Priest (SAMP) Program, there
are 400 priests in 19 countries who are bringing the Faith to those who
may never have heard the Gospel's message of salvation. And, in 2010,
OCMC plans to train and send over 100 Orthodox Christians from across
North America to serve on 14 short-term Mission Teams, bringing a living
witness to the Orthodox Faith in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America,
and Alaskan North America.
It is our responsibility to ensure that these efforts continue.
There is no greater way to invest our abundant blessings than in the
salvation and eternal life of others. Let us pray, give, and serve to
welcome our brothers and sisters around the world into the open arms of
Christ.
In urgent expectation of Christ's awesome Resurrection, let us work boldly to make disciples of all nations. Truly, the harvest is plentiful,
but we need the prayers and active support of all the faithful for
OCMC, so that laborers will answer the call of the Lord and enter into
His abundant and glorious harvest.
With paternal blessings and love in Christ,
+Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
+Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
+Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary
Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America
+Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA
+Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas
+Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church
+Metropolitan JONAH
Orthodox Church in America
+Metropolitan CONSTANTINE
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
+Archpriest Alexander Abramov
Acting Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA
+Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America