wfn.org | February 14, 2010 Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday

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

February 14, 2010 Sunday of Cheesefare and Mission Sunday

?The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into His harvest.? (Matthew 9:37-38)

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

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

We greet you in the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! The
Lenten fast that precedes the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha is upon
us. Like the dawn of a new day, the beginning of this 40-day journey
provides opportunities for us to recommit ourselves and our whole
lives to Christ our God. The Sunday before Great Lent, February 14th,
2010, is Mission Sunday as designated by the hierarchs of the Standing
Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA).
Over the past two millennia, the work of making disciples has been a
focal ministry of saints, and billions of people have accepted life in
Christ. Today, sixty-six percent of the world?s population is still
non-Christian; thus missionary service remains a core ministry of the
Church and a collective movement of the faithful.

Over the past 15 years, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC),
as the official missions agency of SCOBA, has provided the faithful of
North America with opportunities to answer their call to make
disciples of all nations. Over 70 people who serve as OCMC Ambassadors
are taking this call to parishes across the country, and the mission
ministries of our Orthodox Churches that are outside of America are
growing as a result.

Today, through the prayers and support of the faithful, there are 20
men and women who are serving, or preparing to serve, as long-term
missionaries in places like Albania, Romania, and Tanzania. Likewise,
young, growing seminaries around the world are receiving support to
provide theological training to over 250 local priests, catechists,
and ministry leaders in places where the Church is newly emerging.
With assistance from OCMC?s Support a Mission Priest (SAMP) Program,
there are 400 priests in 19 countries who are bringing the Faith to
those who may never have heard the Gospel?s message of salvation. And,
in 2010, OCMC plans to train and send over 100 Orthodox Christians
from across North America to serve on 14 short-term Mission Teams,
bringing a living witness to the Orthodox Faith in Africa, Asia,
Europe, Central America, and Alaskan North America.

It is our responsibility to ensure that these efforts continue. There
is no greater way to invest our abundant blessings than in the
salvation and eternal life of others. Let us pray, give, and serve to
welcome our brothers and sisters around the world into the open arms of  Christ.

In urgent expectation of Christ?s awesome Resurrection, let us work
boldly to make disciples of all nations. Truly, the harvest is
plentiful, but we need the prayers and active support of all the
faithful for OCMC, so that laborers will answer the call of the Lord
and enter into His abundant and glorious harvest.

> With paternal blessings and love in Christ,

> ?Archbishop DEMETRIOS
> Chairman
> Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
> Â
> ? Metropolitan PHILIP
> Vice Chairman
> Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
> Of North America
> Â
> ? Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER
> Secretary
> Serbian Orthodox Church in North
> And South America
> Â
> ? Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos
> Treasurer
> American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox
> Diocese in the USA
> Â
> ? Archbishop NICOLAE
> Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
> In the Americas
> Â
> ? Metropolitan JOSEPH
> Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church
> Â
> ? Metropolitan JONAH
> Orthodox Church in America
> Â
> ? Metropolitan CONSTANTINE
> Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
> Â
> ? Archpriest Alexander Abramov
> Acting Representative of the Moscow
> Patriarchate in the USA
> Â
> ? Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
> Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

STANDING CONFERENCE of the CANONICAL ORTHODOX BISHOPS in the AMERICAS
8-10 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075

TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE LIST:

http://www.goarch.org/listsubscribe?l=ARCHDIOCESE

The Archdiocese list is being made possible by the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese Department of Internet Ministries.