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Published
by the Orthodox
Christian Mission Center,
November 18, 2005
Metropolitan
Herman Honored by OCMC Board and Team
Chicago
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“We
feed the hungry, not only to satisfy their
physical needs, but also to address their
craving for spiritual nourishment. We clothe the
naked not only with coats and shoes, but in the
One in Whose very image all of us have been
created. We give drink to the thirsty, not only
to quench their physical thirst, but as a means
of sharing the One Who reveals Himself as the
“Living Water,” Who quenches the need to
encounter the divine and partake of the divine
nature itself…May Our Lord continually bring
us to the recognition of our calling to be
missionaries, apostles and disciples, signs of
divine love in a world that too often has
forgotten love’s power, a world that hungers
and thirsts for good news.” ….His Beatitude,
Metropolitan Herman.
The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC),
St. Augustine, FL – The Orthodox Christian
Mission Center Board of Directors held their
fall meeting at St. John the Baptist Orthodox
Church in Des Plaines, Illinois from November
9-11, 2005. They also welcomed and honored His
Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Archbishop of
Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All
America & Canada of the Orthodox Church in
America (OCA), in conjunction with Team
Chicago’s Benefit Banquet.
The Board of OCMC, the official international
mission and evangelism agency of the Standing
Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in
the Americas (SCOBA), is comprised of
thirty-four clergy and laity members
representing various Orthodox jurisdictions.
Metropolitan Herman represented SCOBA and
actively participated in the board meetings. The
OCMC Board reviewed the Mission Center’s
ministries, especially missionaries serving
throughout the world; and progress of a new
five-year Strategic Plan, as well as future
projects and direction for its continued growth.
With OCMC’s continued expansion, Fr. Martin
Ritsi, Executive Director of OCMC, presented the
board of directors with an architectural
rendition of OCMC’s future building, scheduled
to break ground in Spring of 2006.
During the three day event, the OCMC Health Care
Committee held a wine and cheese reception for
all local area health care professionals to
learn more about Mission opportunities.
Dr. Spero Kinnas, Acting Chair of the Health
Care Committee and OCMC Board Member, was
instrumental in coordinating the event.
Thanks to OCMC Team Chicago’s enthusiasm for
missions, the group comprised of former OCMC
missionaries organized a banquet where
Metropolitan Herman was the keynote speaker. Fr.
John Rallis, pastor of St. John the Baptist,
welcomed nearly 400 pan-Orthodox attendees from
throughout the area. Also present and
recognized at the event were Archbishop Job of
the OCA Diocese of Chicago and Metropolitan
Iakovos of the Chicago Greek Orthodox
Metropolis, official host of the OCMC fall
meeting.
Fr. Martin spoke on how Orthodox missions has
grown from very little to a vibrant organization
of missionaries throughout the world. When
he began his mission work in Kenya, he received
one of the first mission teams in 1988 that
included George Conopeotis, now an active member
Board Member and part of Team Chicago, as well
as Christine Pappas, now serving as an OCMC
long-term missionary in Albania. With
these early members from the Chicago area, their
mission experience and their zeal, they
established an active group to promote mission
work throughout their Orthodox community. Cliff
Argue, President of OCMC, then spoke and
encouraged all Orthodox Christians to step up
and consider “Putting their Faith in Action”
by considering a mission experience.
The evening’s highlight was His Beatitude
Metropolitan Herman’s speech about the
importance of mission and service as members of
the Body of Christ. His speech drew attention to
the tremendous accomplishments that OCMC has
made in the missionary field over the past few
decades. As he said “The work of these
selfless individuals has truly made an impact on
their lives, on the lives of those to whom they
have ministered and continue to minister, and on
the life of the Orthodox Church as a whole”.
OCMC would like to thank all the individuals of
our Orthodox community in the Chicago area and
around the world that made this three day event
a success.
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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