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Report on Clergy Laity July 30, 2006 The Clergy-Laity Congresses are held every two years. They constitute the highest legislative Body of our Holy Greek Orthodox Church in America. Most Parishes are represented by their Parish Priest and at least one or more, up to three laymen. Participating in these Congresses are the Synod of our Bishops, Members of the Archons of the Patriarchate, and the Leadership "100." Also, the Philoptochos Societies have their own meetings, as well as the Youth, and not least the Retired Clergy of America, who honored me with a beautiful plaque, as a cofounder of the Organization, founded in 1989. It would be impossible within the span of 12 to 15 minutes of sermon time, to cover all the issues even at a minimum. But, I will endeavor to give you an idea of the scope of the Congress, by scanning over all the groups, which met separately, then brought their reports to the Plenary Sessions, where after some discussion, with some additions or deletions they were approved by all the Delegates. The Congress commenced on Sunday with a grand Divine Liturgy presided over by His Eminence our Archbishop Demetrios, the Synod of Bishops and the representative of our Holy Patriarchate, His Eminence Metropolitan of Sebastia, Demetrios. The Congress was concluded with the Grand Banquet on the following Thursday, at which over 2000 sat to hear the pointed brief addresses of the Dignitaries, which included the R.C. Bishop of Nashville, and of course, the Congress was sealed with the address of our Archbishop Demetrios. The Archbishop had chosen as the theme for this Congress the 15th verse of Chapter 4 of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Christ." This was the spirit that permeated the Congress, so as to register a successful conclave, where the spirit of the Lord was truly felt. The Committees met in groups. I will only bring to you in capsule form, some of the decisions, which passed, and will be implemented. In the Department of Philanthropy, which of course is the basic endeavor in Christianity, well over one million dollars was collected for the Hurricane Katrina Fund. Also retired Clergy and Presvyteres, who were subsisting on meager retirement funds, were finally upgraded, mainly due to the initial efforts of the Retired Clergy of America, of which your Priest was a co-founder in 1989. As a result of a Parish survey, a booklet titled "Philanthropic Ministries" was published, which of its content will inspire all Members of the Faith to mobilize their "time, talents and treasures," and employ them to fulfill their sacred duty to truly be "doers of the word and not simply hearers," as St. James wrote in his Epistle, Chapter 1 verse 22, and to believe that "faith without works is dead." St. James 2:26 From the Department of Outreach and Evangelism, the Parishes have been enriched by pamphlets and booklets, to revitalize the faith of active and inactive Orthodox Christians and inquirers. Of course to initiate and sustain all programs, Stewardship is the basis, as St. Paul emphasizes in his second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verse 7, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." To say, that Stewardship is defined only in our giving money to the Church, is to seriously limit our understanding of the teachings of Christ in our everyday living. We must understand, that our Christian faith is based upon correct living, as much as it is upon correct theology; the theology of our Holy Church. For, as the great Saint Paul says: "without love, we are nothing." (1st Corinthians 13:2) We should in no way limit our dedication to the Church as an Institution, but we should expand upon it in every possible way, because the Church is not an Institution in the normal sense of the word. The Church is the Body of Christ, and we are the Members of His Body, always worshiping and glorifying our Saviour through the Church. The National Ministries of the Archdiocese are funded mainly through the Total Commitment Program, which receives 15% from each Parish's income. All revenues received from the Parish allocations are managed by the Archdiocesan Office of Finance and distributed to the various ministries. Next, the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries focuses on the GOYA, that is the Greek Orthodox Youth of America, as it does on the Orthodox Christian Fellowship through the College Campus Ministry, and the Young Adult League, which encompasses our Young Adults from 18-35. Various programs include regular Meetings, Retreats, Pilgrimages, and the supplement captioned Challenge in the Orthodox Observer, to keep our younger folk in sharper focus of the Church. The Department of Religious Education continues to publish suitable materials for our Sunday Schools and is presently implementing a 9th and 10th Grade Teenage Curriculum. It is currently working on Byzantine Music training, made possible through a $20,000 grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. On a national scale, the St. John the Chrysostom National Oratorical Festival, inspires our teenagers to compete on various Religious subjects. This program has been highly successful all over the United States. To hear these young people speak on religious subjects is truly an inspiration. The Department of Greek Education is striving to fulfill the need to publish new and up to date Greek language Books for our Afternoon Greek Schools. There are also 20 full time Parochial Schools, functioning well, as always, and have always produced excellent results, with their graduates being accepted in the finest Universities in America. A report was also given by the Director of Intermarriage Ministries Fr. Charles Joanides, stating that there is an Interfaith Marriage Web Site, as well as chat rooms. Also each month in the Orthodox Observer Fr. Joanides publishes a pertinent article. Relative materials are offered to assist Clergy, Lay workers, Lay leaders and Intermarried couples. There was also a very interesting report of the Orthodox Chaplains in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, as well as in the VA Hospitals, Police and Fire Departments, Prisons and College Campuses. Finally there was a Report of the "Archdiocesan Advisory Committee on Science and Technology (AACST), formed by Archbishop Demetrios in 2001. This Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the leadership of the Archdiocese. It addresses the rapid scientific and technological changes within our contemporary society, that profoundly affects our everyday lives. This Committee aims to address the beginning and end of life, human reproduction, the way we receive and process information, the structure of society, and our present and future existence in our natural environment. It conducts its work through a dialogue of scientists and engineers with theologians, lawyers, mental health professionals and other scholars. This Committee focuses its work in the most efficient manner possible and organized into the following three subcommittees: 1) Bioethics and Medical Issues. 2) Energy, Environment and Economics. 3) Physical Sciences and Advanced Technologies. Lastly, resolutions were passed for the aiding of our Patriarchate, which is suffering at the hands of the Turks, who do not want to comprehend, that what the Vatican is to the Roman Catholics, the Patriarchate is to the 250,000,000 Orthodox in the world. There are ongoing organized protests to the European Union not to admit Turkey as a Member, until freedom of religion and the basic human rights are given. The Turks don’t even appreciate, that our Patriarch Bartholomew serves as a natural bridge between civilizations, which is evidenced in his meetings with the top leaders in Muslim countries, like Libya and Iran, as well as with our U.S. Presidents. For his world-wide reaching out, our Patriarch was awarded the most prestigious honor, the Congressional Gold Medal for his efforts to promote peace and religious tolerance, and his extraordinary leadership on behalf of the environment. Unfortunately the Turks continuously intervene in the affairs of our Patriarchate. Amongst other horrible events Turkey has confiscated 90% of the 8000 properties of the Greek Orthodox faithful in Constantinople. Since 1971 our eminent Theological in Halki has remained with closed doors. Protest letters have been sent to President Bush, as well as to the Members of Congress. All in all, it was a very warm meeting of our Parishes, through its Clergy and Lay leaders. It manifested a very vibrant Church, a Church which is united in God's love. Truly, we did give substance to our Archbishop's choice of the Biblical verse from St. Paul epistle to the Fphesians: "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Christ." Amen. Fr. George Papadeas
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