wfn.org | [SCOBA] SCOBA IOCC SUNDAY ENCYCLICAL

[Communications Department <Communications@GOARCH.ORG>]

SCOBA
The Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas
8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10021


You will be enriched in everything for
great generosity which, through us,
will produce thanksgiving to God.
(II Corinthians 9:11)



IOCC SUNDAY
November 23, 2008

The Hierarchs of the Standing Conference
of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas

To the Most Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and Devout Faithful
of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas

Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

On this Sunday before our national feast of Thanksgiving, we give thanks 
to our Merciful God for all His blessings, and we take time to remember 
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). As the humanitarian aid 
agency of SCOBA, IOCC serves throughout the world as ambassadors of God’s 
mercy. Agency staff and partners feed the hungry, care for the sick, and 
provide essential relief to those whose lives have been shattered by 
man-made and natural disasters.  Through your generous support, millions 
of hurting people receive the care and attention that all people deserve.

IOCC’s mission is to respond to our Lord’s call to minister to those who 
are suffering and are in need throughout the world, sharing with them 
God’s gifts of food, shelter, economic self-sufficiency, and most 
importantly, hope.  Since its inception in 1992, IOCC has delivered more 
than $275 million in services to some of the world’s most vulnerable 
people. From famine relief in Ethiopia to assisting the victims of 
Hurricane Katrina; from fire fighting equipment for Greece after the 
devastating wildfires of 2007 to relief for the war-torn Caucasus (both in 
Northern Ossetia and Georgia), IOCC brings comfort and assistance to 
literally tens of thousands. 

As Saint Paul said to the Corinthians, God provides us with the means, in 
every way, so that we will be generous at all times (2 Cor. 9:11). A 
generous heart makes way for the grace of God to freely flow both to the 
one who receives, and to the one who gives. Through our giving, as God has 
given us, we enter a holy cycle that glorifies God and uplifts our fellow 
neighbor. When you support IOCC this holiday season, your love extends to 
families in need of food and shelter. 

As your spiritual shepherds, we exhort you to be mindful of your 
blessings, and to joyfully share your bounty with those who are struggling 
throughout the world, as well as your loved ones. In doing so, you not 
only bring them help and hope, but you kindle the holy flame of God’s 
love.

May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bless you and your families this 
holiday season, as we offer thanksgiving to Him, and make ready to receive 
Him anew in His Glorious Nativity in Bethlehem.

With paternal love and blessings in Christ, 

 
†Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman 
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 
 
†Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman 
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese 
of North America  
              
†Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary 
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada 
 
†Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer 
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese 
in the USA         

†Bishop MERCURIUS of Zaraisk 
Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate 

†Archbishop DMITRI Locum Tenens
Orthodox Church in America

†Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese 
in America and Canada 

†Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church 

†Metropolitan CONSTANTINE
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

†Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America