An Obvious Opportunity

 

                As the Divine Liturgy came to an end, the head priest made an announcement that all of the men of the parish needed to meet immediately after the afternoon meal, as a wonderful opportunity had been revealed to them, which he wanted to share with everyone and anyone that was interested in providing assistance. The afternoon meal was finished, and fifteen men gathered outside near the play area.

               “Thank you for coming together, everyone,” the head priest said as everyone gave him their attention. “I was approached by someone in the parish who has exceptional computer skills and he suggested that we begin watching when men or women are released from prison, which would give us the opportunity to interact with them, invite them to visit our parish, and hopefully draw them into becoming members. We will keep you all informed as this new effort begins to take shape, hopefully we’ll begin to see new visitors from those that we approach. I want to make one more comment, we will not be approaching prisoners who have a history of sexual assault.”

               After the head priest stopped talking, he watched as all of the men dispersed into the building, around the campus, and he watched as a few of them gathered their families and begin their drive home. Over the next hour, the head priest, the second priest, and the two deacons remained in a now empty facility. Every Tuesday of each week came to pass, giving the priests, the deacons, and several other men and women the opportunity to meet the former prisoners as they were released from prison. As they had hoped several of the former prisoners arrived on the following Sunday, and thanked everyone for their hospitality and kindness.

               After three months of this activity, the parish saw a steady increase in new attendees with many excellent and thoughtful questions. After six more months of consistent attendance, twelve people made the decision to be baptized and become part of the parish. Everyone in the parish was thrilled and excited to see the radical change in the new members, with a great deal of friendly interaction, new relationships, and an overall improvement in their quality of life.

               This sudden change in the people who were now members of the parish brought about many opportunities for everyone to be kind, interactive, to offer thoughtful advice and guidance, and provide an example of how to live and how to love. It is a well known fact and genuine reality that everyone has sins with which they struggle, as the historic members of the parish began to interact with the new members, they communicated the truth that everyone sins, everyone has weaknesses, and there is never a good reason to judge anyone else, criticize anyone else, or act as if you are one who has no need for instruction or guidance from others.

               They communicated that one of the most important aspects of being part of the Church is found in the need for regular confession and repentance. The two priests were overjoyed to see the change that was taking place in the new members, as they turned their back on lives of crime, neglect, and selfishness. The number of people who consistently visited each week continued to grow, as some of those whom they had approached many months before were now occasionally attending, asking questions, and expressing interest in becoming members of the Church.

               As the sanctuary became more and more full each week, discussions began to take place about the need for a larger building, more food, and greater efforts at expansion. Someone strongly suggested that a new dining hall should be built which would allow the sanctuary to be enlarged into the current space that was used for dining after each Divine Liturgy. With this suggestion, the parish leaders gathered to discuss the amount of money that would be needed to take on a new construction project, and how long it would take to raise enough money, begin the project, and eventually expand into a new dining hall, allowing for an enlargement of the current sanctuary.

               Three years slowly crept by as everyone watched the bank account continue to grow, all leading up to a time when new construction could begin. The Church leaders watched as the number of people continued to increase until the sanctuary was completely full, with everyone standing shoulder to should, front to back, and suffering through excessive heat and oppressive body odor. Many of the men and women of the parish continued to watch and interact with prisoners as they were released from prison, bringing about a steady increase in numbers.

               Every quarter of each year, the Church received a large anonymous donation, which was remarkably encouraging to everyone as they moved closer and closer to having enough money to begin construction. Overwhelming joy washed over everyone in the congregation as construction of the new dining hall finally began. Within two years of picking away at construction, the new dining hall was finally completed, creating the opportunity for the sanctuary to be expanded into the former dining hall.

               A quarterly report was written and submitted to the bishop so that he could be consistently informed and updated as the parish continued to grow and succeed in reaching those in the community around them. When the construction of the new dining hall came to a completion, the bishop arrived and took part in the blessing ceremony for the new building. The ceremony was a beautiful event with many other Orthodox believers arriving from different parts of North America, South America, and from different countries.

               The original members of the parish stood in awe of the massive number of visitors, dozens of priests, deacons, bishops, and metropolitans that joined them in their celebration of growth and social impact. Several articles appeared in nearby newspapers, on podcasts, and in several magazines throughout the global Orthodox world. After a time period of three months, the priests and the deacons received an invitation to travel to Moscow to meet with Patriarch Kirill, share the details of their wonderful and glorious progress over the past few years.

               Plans were made, details were put into place, and after a brief three-day trip to Moscow, the priests and the deacons returned home with many wonderful memories, beautiful photographs, and emotional and psychological bliss at such a rare opportunity to meet the Patriarch. The large quarterly anonymous donations continued, which moved the Church closer and closer to completing a few other projects for greater expansion, greater social impact, and increased communication with those in the community around them.

               Ten more years passed by, as the construction of a new sanctuary continued, creating more space and greater beauty, with larger numbers of Church members on a steady increase each year. Eventually construction was completed, which created a great deal of news and stories about the steady improvement of the Church and their unstoppable positive influence on the community around them.

               Over time, it became glaringly obvious that this congregation was growing, improving, and taking a radically different path than all other Russian Orthodox parishes across North America and South America. Their continued success allowed them to assist and contribute to the growth of the other congregations in the Americas. Following a surprise announcement from the Moscow Patriarchate office, this congregation was informed that Patriarch Kirill would be visiting them within the next year to congratulate them on their wonderful success and growth.

               Patriarch Kirill and Bishop Matthew arrived six months after the announcement of their visit, bringing with them a massive crowd of visitors from North America, South America, and from many other countries. Following their arrival, a meeting was held between all leaders of the Church, and the following Sunday, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated with a very full room of faithful Orthodox believers.

               The Divine Liturgy came to an end, which was followed by a well prepared and delicious afternoon meal. It was with great sadness that everyone at the parish watched as the Patriarch, and the bishop departed to return to their own parishes and communicate the wonderful success that this small congregation had managed to accomplish. Over the next two weeks, many photos were gathered and organized, to be consolidated into a printed full color photo book, available for anyone to purchase as a reminder of the wonderful event of which they were a part.