Dear Parishioners,
I often laugh at myself in this day and age when I think of all the ways I have to communi- cate with everyone, yet often time, cannot get my message across in a clear and concise way. We can text each other, email each other, "instant message" each other, telephone each other, "facebook" each other....and sometimes... we can even write each other a letter. Yet, in this day and age, with all these methods of communication, we still don't do a great job in getting the message across.
This edition of the Trinitarian is dedicated, in part, to communication. We are trying to im- prove our communication skills within our own parish by continuing the long standing tradition of distributing annually the names of our parishioners along with their address and phone number. I hope this enables you to better communicate with the families of our Community. (Please do not sell or give away these names to any marketing type companies. They are for inter-parish use only.) Please also pay attention to the information following the addresses which include pastoral and litur- gical guidelines along with important information concerning hospitals and Orthodox Churches in the area.
In line with the above thought, I think of the many times in our parish when we do fundrais- ing; the Festival, the Church Annual Dinner Dance, the Philoptochos Candlelight Dinner etc., and I have grown to realize that some of our fundraisers should also be friend-raisers, with the intent of widening the perimeter of our parish family. I am always to impressed when I see the sign; ALL ARE WELCOME in front of our Orthodox Churches. Even though we preach that Orthodoxy is a faith for all people, we often don't honor that tradition when someone walks into our Churches. Put- ting the diminishing statistics aside concerning Baptisms and Weddings within our Archdiocese, we actually need, you and I alike, to go out and spread the Gospel of Christ to even one person in our lifetime with the hopes of bringing them closer to Christ through the front door of our Orthodox Church. We are not missionaries per se, but we are on a mission. From the moment we think that our Church is just ours we add to the diminishing and unnerving statistics that our church is slowly becoming extinct here in America.
So, my prayer for this upcoming Easter Season is that we open our spiritual arms to bring someone from the perimeter of our Church closer to the center, and/or bring in someone who is un- churched and introduce them to the beauty of God's House through our precious Orthodox Faith.
Wishing you a blessed, holy and spirit-filled Paschal Season, I remain;
Most Faithfully,
Father Nicholas