Living Word Bible Studies -- Set 2 Available 

What Jesus Says

Set two of the Diocese' LIVING WORD Bible Study series is now available for download from the Diocesan website. This set covers topics of "What Jesus said about...

• God
• The Holy Spirit
• Prayer
• Sharing the Gospel
• Love for God and Others 

Edited by Father John Matusiak, each series consists of five study guides on specific topics central to the Orthodox Christian faith and life as revealed in the spoken words of Jesus Christ.

Suitable for Group or Individual Study  

These guides are suited for group or individual study. Bible Study groups, as well as adult and teen classes, will find the study guides quite easy to use. Since, for a variety of reasons, group study can be difficult in many parishes THE LIVING WORD is also ideal for individual study. Copies can be distributed as .pdf attachments or reproduced as bulletin inserts on a weekly or monthly basis or by making copies available at the candle desk or in the pamphlet rack. 

Encourage everyone to use the guides as his or her schedule permits. Commuters using public transportation can look up one quote on the way to work
and another on the way home. Workers can set aside one coffee break every day to look up a quote. High
school and college students can look up a quote each day during study breaks or between classes. Families
can look up one quote every day, perhaps at the conclusion of their evening meal. 

A parish grant funded this multi-parish youth liturgical arts workshop

• Midwest Diocese missions, chapels or parishes are eligible.  
• Grants provide stimulus to start new ministries or strengthen existing ones.
• Grant projects involve specific effort - effort undertaken by the parish and its members.
• Projects that yield insight or tools useful to other parishes have a leg up.
• Target grant amounts are ~ $3000 or less. 

  Grant funds supported mall kiosk where shoppers explored Orthodox icons and crosses --and inquired about the church.

• What could we do if...? 
• How would that work? Why can't we do that?  
• How can we build on a parish strength -- to offer more back to God?  
• How could we shore up a weak area of parish life in Christ?

Sixty clergy and laity attended the first Urban Parish Summit in 2009

A second "Urban Parish Summit," focusing on the needs and challenges of parish ministry in the urban setting, will be held at Saint Gregory of Nyssa Church on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26-27, 2011.

Theme for this important conference will be "The Urban Parish: Dilemma or Opportunity?"

The summit is open to all clergy and laity, regardless of diocese or jurisdiction, interested in learning more about effective urban ministry and outreach. Clergy and faithful "in the field," especially those engaged in revitalizing older or declining communities, will have an opportunity to share their insights, models, and ideas.  

The summit agenda will include presentations by subject matter experts and workshops to explore urban ministry.  Food and fellowship will build connectedness among attendees

Father Thomas Mueller, rector of Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Milwaukee, WI, is developing the summit content and agenda.  The summit will build upon a similar gathering attended by over 60 clergy and laity  held at St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland in 2009. See summary here. 

The modest registration fee of $50 per person will cover materials and meals. Any Midwest Diocese parish in need of financial assistance to cover travel and hotel costs can request same by contacting Joe Kormos or submitting this form. Some funds are available to assist parishes in need.

Register Now

Details on hotels, shuttles, conference agendas along with an online registration form can be found on the event registration page --here. Space is limited so please register early.

Questions can be directed to Joseph Kormos or to Ann Marie Mecera --local contact.  

Edith Marshall Roberts summarizes "Sharing the Hope" project at Parish Ministries Conference

In subsequent articles in Parish Pulse (see "Baptists Examine Ancient Spiritual Practices" below) we note a real desire among many non-Orthodox persons for "something more" a "rootedness", a link to the apostles, authenticity in doctrine and practice and worship centering on the holiness and majesty of God.

This may be "new news" to some, however, if you've read the results of our diocese' survey of 194 converts to Orthodoxy you would know this.

Of 194 respondents to a survey taken by converts to the Orthodox faith, 29% had switched religions at least once before.

Upon considering this thought, however, it now occurs to us that we never truly published complete results of that survey --  undertaken in 2008 by members of St Mark Church in Rochester MI. The survey was ably summarized by project leader Edith Marshall Roberts at the OCA Parish Ministries Conference in 2010. Her Powerpoint can be found here.

However, we thought some alert readers might be interested in a more complete rendering of results. So here they are. We've spent more time than we expected compiling these results, however, if you are serious about the growth of Orthodox Christianity in America -and your parish in particular -- we think you can profit from reading the verbatim reactions of these respondents to these questions: 

• "What did you find most attractive about Orthodoxy?" (authenticity, sense of beauty and wholeness, mystical, rootedness, worship,depth)
• "What elements of the Orthodox faith and your experience in the Orthodox Church were most difficult for you when you first started investigating Eastern Orthodoxy?" (Ethnic culture, Mary, saints, complex liturgy, Icons, confession, fasting) 

Of course the summary includes only  the reactions of people who eventually embraced the Orthodox faith. It would also be informative to understand the viewpoints of those who may have explored Orthodoxy --but did not complete the journey. An effort for another day. However, there can be little doubt that some of them were influenced by the the same issues that plagued those in this survey --with the mystery of Orthodox ethnic qualities topping the list.

An important outcome of exploring the attitudes and issues facing inquirers who may at some time embrace the Orthodox faith is to be sure parishioners can offer effective answers to common questions that would likely be asked by inquirer/visitors.

Based on survey results classes have been developed to help parishioners re-learn or in some cases learn important aspects  of the faith as seen by inquirers.

Here is a compact summary of those questions in the areas of:

• Liturgy
• Sacraments
• Theotokos
• Icons
• Saints
• Tradition

How many can you answer with fluency?

What's that? We hear some of you saying you also need answers? If so you can find the questions with brief answers here.

Orthodox FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

A few of the questions from the above inquirers' list (and some others) are succinctly answered in this interview style video prepared at St. Mark's Church.  Looking for a video based web intro to your parish that says 'who you are' and "welcome" at the same time?  Consider this

Congregational Singing - A Fresh Look

Occasionally we encounter parishes that for one reason or another have difficulty with music during worship. Perhaps what once was a fine choir no longer has the same quality or quantity of voices -- or the commitment-- necessary to sing as they did in yesteryear. Often mission community struggle with a very small choir and a director who is learning "on the job". Oddly in both instances worshipers can be found standing silently without participation.   

Congregational Singing at St Joseph's

Often we suggest that perhaps a good compromise  would be to consider a congregational approach to singing.

This invariably leads to groans --derived from images of plodding, boring, monophonic liturgical responses -- barely recognizable as singing and seemingly unrelated to anything close to the quality of "beauty".  Yet, in this brief video from St. Joseph's Church in Wheaton IL -- a parish well equipped to field a fine choir -- we can see that congregational singing need not exhibit the aforementioned qualities.That's not a choir you're hearing --its the entire congregation.  

3 year old Jonathan conducting to the fourth movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony

Directing Lessons

No matter the musical approach we can all agree the leader is key. Many will recognize the director in the aforementioned video. (First to properly identify her receives a life time, autographed, subscription to Parish Pulse!) She does a fine job -- but we think even the best of Orthodox choir directors could still learn a thing or two about music directing from the energetic and engagingly talented three year old fellow in this video! (We suggest you stick with it to the end!)

(Note to self: must teach grandson to do this!) 

"New to Our Parish"  

Every parish says they are interested in new members. But not every parish behaves that way in practice. Consistently following good practices of hospitality to visitors and inquirers needs reinforcement for even the friendliest of parishioners and parishes.

One good way to remind your community of the importance of hospitality to newcomers and new parishioners is to occasionally acknowledge the new people who have recently come into your parish.  Include a "New to Our Parish" section in the parish bulletin or newsletter. 

• If the new members are persons who have recently progressed from being

  Use photos in newsletter/bulletin to help introduce newcomers.  We grabbed this photo of this photogenic family (no relation!) from a parish website --even better!

  catechumens to embracing the Orthodox faith share something about their transition, how they got to Orthodoxy and the parish and, more importantly, what they found upon arriving.
• If the new faces are Orthodox newly relocated to the area, and they had a choice of parishes, use their choice to express the important qualities that make your parish vibrant --of course without putting down another community -- and reminding parishioners to "keep it up".
• Include some personal background --where they live, school system, where they've moved from or a variety of other tidbits to help parishioners start a warm conversation. 

Even if their stories are not totally rich and compelling, all readers are reminded of a growth mentality. And, if done properly the extended introduction helps new people become integrated into parish life.   

Oh yes -- share their photo --its just a bit of extra work -- with the parish community.  

Transition Packet

Transition packet makes the welcoming of new people organized and consistent. Warmly explaining expectations help people get up to speed more quickly.

Helping to make new persons feel welcome --and making room for them (physically and conceptually)  -- is of course important. But helping them to understand that the decision to affiliate with the parish entails commitments and expectations on their end as well is equally important.  It also helps to establish differences between the way your parish operates and what they may have experienced elsewhere. 

To achieve this some parishes use a welcome packet. A handsome folder, perhaps a with parish logo or photo of the church, can be used to aggregate a variety of newcomer centric materials. In talking to various parishes here are some of the items included in a new member packet.

1. Welcome cover letter from the rector
2. Mission and vision statements and core values (see subsequent article Discovering Parish Core Values))
3. Annual parish event calendar  
4. List of parish ministries -- study, worship, fellowship and service -- and their goals and coordinator's  name and photo.
5. Parish Directory -- names,addresses, phone numbers etc.
6. Church School summary - classes, contacts, registration procedures, parent student expectations, current year's curriculum points of emphasis. Enrollment forms.
7. Summary of standard pastoral practice for receiving communion, arranging pastoral visitations, special services, office hours, "who to contact when...", wedding practices.
8. An enumeration of "commitments of membership". These vary from parish to parish but often include expectations of:
• daily prayer
• participating in a ministry that fits the person's gifts and interests,
• sacramental participation (confession/communion),
• duty to be informed about issues facing the parish, the diocese and the national church, and to attend annual meetings
• responsibility to provide generous, meaningful financial support
• expectation to spread the Good news of Jesus Christ as part of an Orthodox life.
• And, in general, to actively work to make the parish a better place than when they arrived. 
9. "Estimate of Giving"/Pledge card; box of envelopes; parish financial information summary. (pie chart of budget, overview of assets, key priorities for coming years.) 

Obviously this information can begin to sound dry,cold and like a corporate human resources manual. (Ugh!! Just thinking about that brings shivers to our spine!) However, good writing combined with a few warm inviting photographs of your parish life can make an important difference here. Just as on your parish website.

Some parishes combine the welcome packet with a welcome interview and/or a parish orientation session offered on an as needed or regularly scheduled basis. Many parishes are now including at least a subset of the above information on their website -- to make it clear they desire and expect new communicants --and that they are regularly blessed with same.   

The key point is to get the new parishioner off on the right foot --to become a contributor to parish life --not a random consumer of parish services.

Now... speaking of parish websites...

We try to occasionally look in on websites from parishes in our diocese. As with anything some parishes do this better than others. We've mentioned much of this before (see some past articles on parish websites here and here) but it bears repeating.   

Here are some of the items that we often find to be "broken" about many parish sites: 

Keep it Current

It goes without saying that is is now well past time to announce something other than the times of your Christmas services! Or the 2008 parish anniversary. Parish websites are no longer a curiosity. They are the face of your parish in the expanding world of the internet. You haven't left your nativity scene up until March! So keep the site fresh and appealing! Its your front door.

This parish website posts schedule changes in an easy to find location

Announce Schedule Changes on Website (Also)

...not just email lists. OK, sometimes something is canceled or rescheduled. To get the word out most parishes now send out such announcements to their email list. BUT often we forget that others, not on your e-list, are depending on your website for info. Someone may be planning to attend --based on consulting your website.  Make the change on your site --hopefully in an easily found place that calls attention to the change: "Attention: Schedule Change"  

Presanctified Liturgies

As we write this article we are in a strange city --with many OCA parish options - looking for a church at which to attend Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evening. Suffice it to say five of seven websites consulted made it waaaaaay too difficult to figure out the pre-sanctified start time. One parish site offered no information on the service whatsoever. We won't even go into info on Holy Week.

Keep Things in Synch

Many websites have a variety of locations where certain info exists -- keep them all offering consistent info. We find loads of conflicting data!

Empty Calendars?

Nothing screams "dead and dormant" like a blank monthly calendar --yet at least half of the parish websites we encounter offer monthly calendars with virtually nothing on them. Parish activites -classes, meetings, ministries, trips, social activities, rehearsals, planning sessions, cooking, cleaning and of course worship services are the ways in which parishes develop, grow and express themselves. These events also serve as entry points for newcomers. So an empty calendar can be a turn off.

Update Related Sites

Your parish has a listing in the parish directories sections at www.oca.org and www.midwestdiocese.org. Check those occasionally to make sure they are accurate. Also, check Orthodoxy in America to be sure you're shown there and the  listing is accurate. 

Avoid Excessive Formatting

Multiple fonts,font sizes formats , colors etc. look sloppy, confusing and sophomoric. Most website templates have style sheets created by people who are better at making things look good than you. Obey their rules!

Spice up a page of text about church school with an actual photo of kids learning

Where & When

Make it really easy to find times and driving instructions. Most visits to your site are for this purpose.  Make this easy. Get it? EEEEZEEE. Front page.

Lose the dreary backgrounds

We've encountered a number of sites with grey or off-  shade backgrounds. We find these dreary. We suggest you stick to white backgrounds --better contrast and brighter more postive look.

Becoming a Member

Many parish sites are beginning to add information on their site that explains how to become a parish member. They make it clear that their parish is not a private club and that not only do they welcome new members -- it actually happens regularly. (If this is a rare occurrence in your parish --pretend)

if your parish has only a few children use close-ups to convey the photogenic qualities of youth

and finally ... some of you knew this was coming...

Feature the Photos

Too many parishes still seem to bury photos in a "Parish Photos" page. Often this is because there are 74 photos of one parish event ("the Strelnitzky baptism")--but few if any photos of actual parish life beyond the baptism. You know... like... coming to church... parish ministries... studying... sacraments. Make sure you have good photos (see article Photographing Your Parish for tips) of your parish and intersperse them on various greeting and ministry pages of the website. What kind of photos (topics) do you need? Send us an eamil and we'll forward you examples of "20 (Good) Photos Every Parish Needs to Have".

And of course, need we remind you about who makes the best photo subjects? GOOD! We hear many avid readers proclaiming in unison (or harmony) -- CHILDREN! (If your parish is short on children this year --rent some! Many are motivated by ice cream!) 

We're aware of at least four or five parishes in our diocese rethinking their approach to stewardship. Often an implicit assumption in these conversations is the idea that the path to more generous donations lies in a combination of starting earlier, more effectively communicating the parish's financial need, overcoming objections and concerns about how the parish spends its money, explaining the purpose of Diocesan assessments and reminding people that the purpose of good stewardship is to acknowledge in the most concrete way possible that God is the source of all their possessions -- the absolute sovereign of their life.

These are all good, important, relevant efforts. However another forgotten dynamic may be at work. The aforementioned strategies all assume that parishioners can give additional money back to the parish to support its work --its just a matter of motivation. In reality too many parishioners barely make ends meet. There is too much month for their paycheck as the saying goes. They are in debt. Many would like to contribute more to the support of the parish --they just don't know how to manage it.

It is with this issue in mind that some Orthodox parishes are providing support and training to parishioners on a proper Christian approach to managing their resources. One such parish is Holy Trinity Church in Overland Park KS. The parish recently hosted a course offered by the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. The thirteen week course is taught via DVD lessons and is led by a volunteer class coordinator who has the responsibility of leading group discussions after each video. A number of parishioners are attending the course to learn practical skills for scaling back, budgeting and managing/eliminating debt. "It teaches couples to communicate openly and honestly  about money --and in turn to set priorities about all aspects of their life together," said one parishioner.

Holy Trinity Church, Overland Park KS

Discovering Parish Values

Father Jonathan Ivanoff  Leads Webinar

Our most recent webinar -- "Discovering Parish Values - Foundation for Living a Life in Christ" --proved to be an extremely popular topic. Presented by Father Jonathan Ivanoff, the webinar was attended by 75 persons from a variety of OCA Dioceses. It outlined the importance of understanding and renewing the attitudes, values, and beliefs that define a church and shape its practices. Many have also viewed the online archive recording --found here and the slides found here.

According to Fr. Ivanoff, who is rector of St John the Theologian Orthodox Church in Shirley NY, a long time member of the OCA's Department of Evangelization and the founder of Orthodox NCD America, core values are not statements of faith, belief, or theology, scriptural purpose statements, favorite programs, or strategies. Instead they are; 

"consistent, passionate, scriptural, distinctive convictions that determine our priorities, influence our decisions, drive our ministry and are demonstrated by our behavior."

Core Values are Important

Fr. Ivanoff indicated that core values are important for a variety of reasons including: 

Provide Foundation

When considering new ideas and initiatives in the parish a set of core values becomes the bedrock upon which future visions of ministry are founded. In fact it could be said that parish values are the building blocks of parish vision --the parameters that define boundaries of the vision and the driving force behind the vision.

Aid in Averting Conflict

When you think about it most issues --large and small -- that arise in parishes have at their root an important difference in values among the differing viewpoints. Test this yourself. Think of a recent disagreement within your parish. (Hopefully this will be difficult!) What differing/misaligned values (expressed or unexpressed) might have been at the root of that episode. 

A Language for Communication

It stands to reason that a parish that has worked to discern its values --and to continually improve them -- has also unlocked a language for communication that can serve it well as it confronts and solves problems.

Answers Why We Do What We Do

"The most accurate indicators of parish's current values are its behavior --and how it spends its money", said Fr. Ivanoff. 

• If we charge a fee for children to attend church school --or consistently skimp on education budgets its a safe bet that in fact we don't truly value the formation of our young people into pious and educated Orthodox Christians.
• If we are ready to cut charitable contributions from the parish budget --or argue against using parish funds for charitable purposes -- it seems reasonable that we  don't see (value) that action as part of our parish's life in Christ.
• Likewise the parish that says it values vibrant worship -- yet most parishioners straggle into Liturgy late or pinch pirogis or layer baklava in the kitchen while a festal liturgy is served in church --is of course kidding itself.

Such behaviors --whether actions or "budget principles" are particlularly transparent to newcomers to the parish. In one parish the hour long debate at a parish meeting about whether to buy a new lawn mower turned off a family of new parishioners to the point they almost didn't return. "They debated minor details --while leaving what to us were significant areas of ministry funding unsupported," mentioned the couple. (We are reminded of a version of Parkinson's Law of Triviality -the time spent on an agenda item varies inversely to the sum of the $ involved!)

Provide the Courage for Risk Taking

In our opinion one of the most important qualities of parish leadership is to establish a reasonable "risk profile" for the parish. We're not talking (just) about insurance risks -fire and liability etc or even financial risk --though each of these is part of an overall view of parish "risk". We're talking more like "ministry risk". "Can we sustain an effort to..." "Do we foresee ourselves trying..." And, most importantly, "Why not?"

When a parish has not evaluated, discussed, or dialogued about its hopes and vision --based on what it truly collectively values, out of the box, innovative (yes, it is OK to be be innovative in Orthodoxy!) ideas and proposals are consistently dead on arrival. And, the parish settles in a for prolonged period of ruttedness. New efforts and new approaches are become buried in skepticism and torpor. "I just don't think this parish is ready for that" becomes the bromide that keeps everything safe and often limits progress.

Clear, expressed, core values can provide the incentive, intensity, energy, clarity, confidence and enthusiasm for acting on the hope that is in us. They become the foundation for better communication, decision making and... reasonable risk taking. 

From Values to Core Values

As we listened to Fr. Ivanoff  we came to appreciate the important differences between "values" (which every parish has in one form or another) and true core values. It seems to us that the journey to core values involves three transitions:

• Shared -- From personal/randomly agreed upon to convictions collectively shared by most in the parish. Are
• Holy -- True core values are holy.  Often this involves a transition from current values based on secular topics or principles to values that express the fullness of the Gospel. Which of these values could be held by (e.g.) Kiwanis club -or PTA etc.  Which can only be done by a church? By an Orthodox Church?
• Lived -- In discerning core values its important to differentiate between aspirational values -ones that are holy and shared but not enacted and values that are also lived. These values that are truly "baked in" to the parish culture  and expressed by behaviors, attitudes and the way we solve problems. 

Questions for Discovering Core Values

Discerning core values for a parish --particularly a parish that has little past experience with dialogue -- can be tricky. Fr. Ivanoff suggested breaking into two or more groups, and discussing some of the following questions: (we've added a few of our own)

Parish Core Values need to be shared. Determining if values are shared broadly, requires conversations, often structured, in small groups.

• To what are we committed? As persons/individuals? As a parish?
• What is God calling me/us to do here?
• What are things like when they are at their best here? How do we evaluate that? What criteria do we use?
• How do we spend our time in  this parish?
• What behaviors, methods, procedures, policies would be exhibited by an Orthodox Church that has stated ____ as a core value?
• What are we "against"? What behaviors would you/we simply not tolerate in this parish?
• What ideas have we rejected in the past? Why...
• Consider two decisions that the parish has made recently.  What was the basis of those decisions? What does that action reveal about our values
• What is the purpose/ mission of our parish? (Who are we?  What do we do?  Why do we do it? Who do we do it for?) Given that purpose what should such a community value?
• What values are expressed by today's epistle and gospel?
• What values are demonstrated at our Parish annual meeting? Our parish council meetings
• What important Christian values are (often/occasionally) not observable at these sessions
• Does our budget express our priorities and values?
• What sacred cows exist in our parish? What topics are undiscussable?
• What stirs us to action?
• What do we want our parish to be known for?
• What are we passionate about? 

Once groups have considered a few of these questions, complete statements like "We are committed to..." or "We value...". Then reconvene the small groups, share the lists and work to: 

• Build consensus on 5-6 values that have "arrived" and taken root.
• Identify a few items for which a number of people show energy --but clearly are not shared by all or are shared but not lived. Keep them on a list of emerging values, or "values in progress". 
• If you identified items that revealed conflict and disagreement those could  be put on a list of values causing gridlock.
• Ask your priest --or others outside the group --to create a list of ideas/values in anticipation - future issues not yet begun to be addressed.

Revisit these lists in the future to see how the the values landscape may have progressed - or regressed.

Parish Health Inventory

We would also add that another good approach to discerning parish values would be to take the parish council, or an adult study group, or even the youth group and work through a chapter of our Diocese' Parish Health Inventory Model at each session. Many items in the inventory are values like in character. Nominate 2-3 values from each chapter that the group says it shares.  At the end of the eight segments of the inventory, collect the aggregate list and pare it down to the top five or six shared and lived values.  

All too often we may find ourselves less than appreciative of traditional Orthodox spiritual practices. "Why in the world do we do ___." Likewise its not hard to hear pleas of "Shouldn't we be doing X, Y or Z" -- usually practices found in other (non-Orthodox) denominations?

So we found this article (and related articles here, here and Unfamiliar Practices May Bring Unexpected Benefits to Churches") in the Associated Baptist Press (our first and likely only visit to this site) interesting. The article begins: 

"So you want to spend the weeks prior to Easter exploring spiritual disciplines but aren't sure where to start? In his book ... writer ... Tony Jones offers an easily accessible approach to spiritual practices developed by Christians across the centuries.   

The book was the product of a dilemma he faced, said Jones, theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch, a Christian congregation in Minneapolis.

'For years I'd been told that to be a Christian meant I had to do three things: (1) read the Bible, (2) pray and (3) go to church," he wrote. "But I had come to the realization that there must be something more. And indeed there is. There is a long tradition of searching among the followers of Jesus -- it's a quest, really, for ways to connect with God .... The quest is to know Jesus better, to follow him more closely, to become -- in some mysterious way -- wrapped into his presence.' "

Without ever acknowledging the existence of anything known as Orthodox Christianity this article and a few related linked articles introduce readers to the following practices, heretofore apparently unknown to most of their readers:  

• Lent  -- "...its not a made up Catholic thing"  

  "Baptist Press" introduces readers to various spiritual practices --including the Jesus Prayer.

• Liturgical Seasons - "I always found it odd that in the Baptist tradition in which I grew up, we were so devout in celebrating the secular calendar -- Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day.... But if there was a day that had been embraced by Christians for about 2,000 years which said something about what it means to be church, we dismissed it. ... The rhythm of the Christian year takes us into the rhythm of Christ's life,"
• Holy Week -- "It's odd in churches that they celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter with great joy but there's nothing in between. Holy Week puts that in perspective."
• The Jesus Prayer - "continuous, uninterrupted call on the holy name of Jesus Christ with the lips, mind and heart"
• Prayer of Hours - "A fixed set of prayer times throughout the day..."
• Pilgrimmages - "...aim (is) to enrich spiritual life by separation from the familiar..."
• Icons - "Probably the least familiar to - and most discomfiting for - evangelicals, icons are an aid to bring people into the presence of God."

They apparently have not yet discovered the lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem.