wfn.org | [OCA] Metropolitan Herman New Year's Message,

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Media Release / Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)
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Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman
at the beginning of the New Year, January 1, 2005

Dearly Beloved in the Lord:

During the last week of December 2004, the joy with which we celebrated the 
Nativity of Our Lord was darkened by reports of what has been termed the 
worst natural disaster in recorded history: the earthquake and resulting 
tsunami which left a path of death and destruction from Southeast Asia to 
the shores of Ethiopia.  The media images of this disaster could only leave 
one speechless.  And reports of tens of thousands of lost lives, many of 
them children, staggered even the most hardened of heart.

Standing as we are on the threshold of a new year, filled with hope for a 
brighter future for ourselves and for a world gripped by terror, 
inhumanity, war, and natural disaster, we are once again challenged to give 
thanks to God for all things, for His many blessings, and for the loving 
kindness He has bestowed upon us.  Such disasters serve as a reminder that 
the world is indeed fallen, and that the tragedies which seem so remote 
could surely befall any one of us, at any time.  And they also serve as a 
reminder that, as Christians, we  cannot be indifferent to the suffering of 
those we are enjoined to call "brother" and "sister."  Their sorrow is our 
sorrow.  Their loss is our loss.  Their lives, rooted in the Creator 
Himself, are as sacred as our own; as such, they cannot be considered to be 
of less worth than our own.  While giving thanks to God for sparing us the 
pain and unimaginable grief so many have suffered, we are prompted to face 
the new year with the desire to beco!
me more compassionate, more merciful, more loving-in a word, more 
God-like-in order to reveal God's presence in a world which all too often 
fails or refuses to see it.

At times like this, we are also reminded to take a sober look at our own 
lives and our own future.  Do we see the beginning of a new year as an 
occasion to pursue frivolous or meaningless resolutions, focusing 
exclusively on ourselves with little concern or compassion for others?	Do 
we honor it as an occasion to recommit ourselves to discerning God's will 
for our lives in this world, so often filled with sorrow, and in the world 
to come?  Do we welcome it as an opportunity to grow spiritually, to give 
thanks with every breath while striving to reveal in word and deed the hope 
that Our Lord offers to all who embrace and treasure it?

As we anticipate the new year with joy, let us remember in heartfelt prayer 
those who have suffered so much and who have lost everything, including 
hope.  Let us strive to share the gifts with which we have been blessed so 
abundantly, sharing them with those who have so little.  And let us 
recommit ourselves to offering thanks to God, in every place and at all 
times, while working diligently to become like Him, to partake of His 
divine nature, and to exalt Him as our only hope.

I wish you every blessing in the year to come-peace, prosperity, health, 
and length of days-and I invite you to join me in prayerfully discerning 
the countless ways Our Lord is calling us, as individuals and as His 
Church, to witness to His transfiguring presence and power in our lives and 
in our world.

With love in Christ,

+HERMAN
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada

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Donations to assist the victims of the tragedy in Southeast Asia may be 
sent to International Orthodox Christian Charities' (IOCC) "Asia Disaster 
Response," P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225. Donations may also be 
made online at www.iocc.org or by calling toll-free 1-877-803-IOCC (4622).

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With headquarters in Syosset, New York, the Orthodox Church in America 
numbers over 700 parishes, missions, monasteries, seminaries and 
institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. (www.oca.org)

For additional information, contact the Very Rev. John Matusiak,
OCA Communications Director, at 630-668-3071 or jjm@oca.org

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