Wednesday, January 23, 2013
WE'VE MOVED
Check out our new online home at The Word From Guatemala. Please bookmark our new link www.TheWordFromGuatemala.com. Looking forward to "seeing" you there!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Misfortune/Miracle
by Alexandra Chakos
In the dictionary, the words misfortune and miracle, by virtue of their spelling, are not very far apart. Is it possible that, even in reality, a misfortune and a miracle can be closely linked events? I proffer that in some cases, they can be one and the same.
On December 31st, the last day of the year 2012, as I raced from store to store fulfilling my lengthy shopping list, my car radio was tuned to the local PRI station. This enabled me to hear a portion of a podcast by Stephen Tobolowsky, the prolific character actor and consummate storyteller. In this episode, he related a personal story of a disastrous accident and its aftermath. While riding horseback on a volcanic mountain in Iceland, he and his horse were knocked over by a strong wind. Stephen suffered what was later described to him as a fatal accident, breaking his neck in five places. What surprisingly saved his life was the severe arthritis that afflicted his neck and acted as armor to hold things in place. The very thing that he considered a cursed misfortune turned out to be his miracle.
Later that night, I bustled about my apartment preparing for the guests we had invited for a New Year's Day celebration. As I hauled my cleaning supplies into the bathroom, I stumbled on a laundry basket. This basket, filled with clothes that needed mending and alterations, had sat there for weeks, accusing me of neglect every time I entered the room. What a nuisance! Side-stepping the miserable basket, I set up my two-foot step stool and climbed up to clean the light fixture.
As I cleaned, my thoughts drifted back to Stephen Tobolowsky's story. It reminded me of my late godmother who, in her nineties, was plagued with abdominal bloating and frequent gaseous emissions. One day, I rushed her to the hospital because of her severe abdominal pain. Doctors discovered that her gall bladder had ruptured. What could have been a fatal event, was averted by her bloated belly which pressed against the gall bladder, preventing the bile from escaping. Her misfortune was her miracle!
Completing my chore, but still distracted by my thoughts, I attempted to descend from my perch. Instead of the lower step of my stool, my foot encountered air. I had accidentally stepped off the wrong side of the ladder and was hurtling toward the floor. Anticipating cracking my head on the hard porcelain floor, I instead found myself in the embrace of the accursed laundry basket, cushioned by the neglected mending. This proved to me again that a miracle can sometimes come disguised as something unpleasant.
Fr. John and I are often asked how, at our advanced ages, are we willing to forego the comforts and conveniences of our home and the companionship of family and friends to work in a third-world country, helping strangers. We can't deny that missionary work is difficult and physically challenging. Within this hardship, however, we find the greatest blessing of our lives. The fact that God has blessed us with the strength and ability to bring love and life-changing aid to people so different from ourselves is truly a miracle.
Our New Year's prayer for all of you, dear friends, is that your every difficulty and misfortune will, in fact, be your miracle.
In the dictionary, the words misfortune and miracle, by virtue of their spelling, are not very far apart. Is it possible that, even in reality, a misfortune and a miracle can be closely linked events? I proffer that in some cases, they can be one and the same.
On December 31st, the last day of the year 2012, as I raced from store to store fulfilling my lengthy shopping list, my car radio was tuned to the local PRI station. This enabled me to hear a portion of a podcast by Stephen Tobolowsky, the prolific character actor and consummate storyteller. In this episode, he related a personal story of a disastrous accident and its aftermath. While riding horseback on a volcanic mountain in Iceland, he and his horse were knocked over by a strong wind. Stephen suffered what was later described to him as a fatal accident, breaking his neck in five places. What surprisingly saved his life was the severe arthritis that afflicted his neck and acted as armor to hold things in place. The very thing that he considered a cursed misfortune turned out to be his miracle.
Later that night, I bustled about my apartment preparing for the guests we had invited for a New Year's Day celebration. As I hauled my cleaning supplies into the bathroom, I stumbled on a laundry basket. This basket, filled with clothes that needed mending and alterations, had sat there for weeks, accusing me of neglect every time I entered the room. What a nuisance! Side-stepping the miserable basket, I set up my two-foot step stool and climbed up to clean the light fixture.
As I cleaned, my thoughts drifted back to Stephen Tobolowsky's story. It reminded me of my late godmother who, in her nineties, was plagued with abdominal bloating and frequent gaseous emissions. One day, I rushed her to the hospital because of her severe abdominal pain. Doctors discovered that her gall bladder had ruptured. What could have been a fatal event, was averted by her bloated belly which pressed against the gall bladder, preventing the bile from escaping. Her misfortune was her miracle!
Completing my chore, but still distracted by my thoughts, I attempted to descend from my perch. Instead of the lower step of my stool, my foot encountered air. I had accidentally stepped off the wrong side of the ladder and was hurtling toward the floor. Anticipating cracking my head on the hard porcelain floor, I instead found myself in the embrace of the accursed laundry basket, cushioned by the neglected mending. This proved to me again that a miracle can sometimes come disguised as something unpleasant.
Fr. John and I are often asked how, at our advanced ages, are we willing to forego the comforts and conveniences of our home and the companionship of family and friends to work in a third-world country, helping strangers. We can't deny that missionary work is difficult and physically challenging. Within this hardship, however, we find the greatest blessing of our lives. The fact that God has blessed us with the strength and ability to bring love and life-changing aid to people so different from ourselves is truly a miracle.
Our New Year's prayer for all of you, dear friends, is that your every difficulty and misfortune will, in fact, be your miracle.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Now Appearing
Fr. John Chakos will be appearing and offering a power point presentation about the Guatemalan mission at the following locations:
Tuesday, November 27, 12:00 noon
St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary
South Canaan, PA
Tuesday, November 27, 7:00 pm
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
1607 West Union Boulevard
Bethlehem, PA 18018
Upcoming: December 5 - 10, 2012
Fr. John and Presv. Alexandra will be attending and speaking at the Archon Orthodox Christian Pilgrimage in Havana, Cuba. Photos and information about this historic event will be posted.
Tuesday, November 27, 12:00 noon
St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary
South Canaan, PA
Tuesday, November 27, 7:00 pm
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
1607 West Union Boulevard
Bethlehem, PA 18018
Upcoming: December 5 - 10, 2012
Fr. John and Presv. Alexandra will be attending and speaking at the Archon Orthodox Christian Pilgrimage in Havana, Cuba. Photos and information about this historic event will be posted.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
TUNE IN!
ANNOUNCEMENT: As part of Missions Week at Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston, MA, Fr. John Chakos and Fr. Andres Giron will deliver a lecture entitled, Mission to Guatemala: Receiving the Mayan People Into the Orthodox Church. The lecture, which will take place on Thursday, November 8, at 7:00 pm, will be live-streamed over the Internet. To view the lecture online, visit:
http://bit.ly/HCHCMissionsLecture
Thursday, October 4, 2012
PORTRAIT OF A CATECHIST: THE FOOT SOLDIERS OF CHRIST
PORTRAIT
OF A CATECHIST: FOOT SOLDIERS OF CHRIST- Father John
Chakos
| Catechist heading home |
The
newly emergent Guatemalan Orthodox Church under the omophorion of
Metropolitan Athenagoras faces many challenges, not the least of
which is the low number of canonically ordained priests--eight to be
exact--who serve the spiritual needs of its nearly 300 communities.
| Catechist speaking to clergy |
They travel over great distances into remote mountainous areas, often
along dangerous and at times impassible muddy roads, going from
village to village in an attempt to reach people that the world has
seemingly forgotten. Because of this glaring shortage, one of the top
priorities of Father Andres Giron, Vicar of the Guatemalan Orthodox
Church, is the recruitment and training of qualified candidates for
the holy priesthood. In the meantime, and certainly well into the
future, the pressing spiritual needs of such a vibrant, dynamic and
growing church
movement require an empowered laity, not only willing to fill the
pastoral void, but to promote the church's greater mission to expand
its outreach. Among those who stand in the forefront of this great
challenge are the church's catechists. It is about these men and
women of faith that I wish to speak.
Who
are the catechists and what role do they play? They are most
certainly teachers as the name implies, but also the respected
leaders of the church communities. They possess a moral authority
that goes well beyond the mere teaching of the faith. They are the
voice of Christ to the people and organizers of the spiritual,
educational and worship life of the community. They are indeed the
backbone of the Orthodox Church in Guatemala and in every sense the
foot soldiers of Christ. Without them the church would not have been
able to advance as it has over the past twenty-five years.
I
have gained a greater appreciation of their unique role in the church
by attending the bi-monthly seminars that are held at the Centro
Apostólico in Huehuetenango. They often travel from great distances
at great expense to themselves to attend the two day seminars. They
carry their own bedding and even children with them and sleep on the
cement floor of the large lecture hall where the classes are held.
They love and live by the Holy Scriptures and speak of Christ and the
Church with great conviction. Likewise they lead late night vigils of
prayer in their villages and call upon the faithful to fast for
specific intentions. In short, they fulfill the calling of the royal
priesthood of the believers through prophetic teaching and preaching,
self-donating service and virtuous leadership. I greatly admire their
commitment and am inspired by their faith. It is amazing what an
empowered laity can do to set the church on fire. If Orthodoxy is to
grow in Latin America it will need catechists like these to lead the
way.
| The Mission Center in Huehuetenango |
CENTRO
APOSTÓLICO
Home Again!
I apologize, Dear Readers, for having neglected you for so many weeks. We returned to our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home at the beginning of September. The time flew by as we re-aquainted ourselves with family and friends and rejoiced in the birth of our 11th grandchild. While our life in the U.S. is certainly comfortable and pleasant, we have not succumbed to retiree La-La-Land. We are still devoted to our Guatemalan mission and are actively working on it here, raising funds and amassing supplies to take back.
I have been purchasing supplies for the vestment sewing project that are difficult to access in Guatemala, such as, galloon trim, cross appliqués, buttons, and emblems. Fr. John has been collecting ecclesiastical supplies for the Guatemalan churches, such as, communion sets (which include a chalice, paten, asterisk, spoon, and lance), censors, portable Holy Communion kits, and hand-held blessing crosses. If you know of a church that has these items to spare, please send them to:
I have been purchasing supplies for the vestment sewing project that are difficult to access in Guatemala, such as, galloon trim, cross appliqués, buttons, and emblems. Fr. John has been collecting ecclesiastical supplies for the Guatemalan churches, such as, communion sets (which include a chalice, paten, asterisk, spoon, and lance), censors, portable Holy Communion kits, and hand-held blessing crosses. If you know of a church that has these items to spare, please send them to:
Guatemalan Mission
c/o Holy Cross Church
123 Gilkeson Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
Upcoming Events:
- WALK FOR MISSIONS -- October 14, 2012 -- a 7K hike in Pittsburgh's South Park where participants collect pledges to earn money for each mile walked. All proceeds benefit the Guatemalan mission. It begins at 2:00 pm. For more information, call Holy Cross Church, 412-833-3355 or email atchakos04@msn.com
- RECEPTION & LECTURE -- October 25 -- Holy Cross Church Community Center, 7:00 pm. An evening of hearty appetizers and desserts by Chef Domenica Merante and a talk by Fr. John Chakos, Mission to Guatemala: Receiving the Mayan People Into the Orthodox Church. Donation, $35; proceeds to benefit Three Hierarchs Eastern Orthodox School and the Guatemalan mission.
- MISSION WEEK at HOLY CROSS SEMINARY -- BOSTON, MA -- November 5 - 10 -- Fr. Andres Giron, leader of the Guatemalan Orthodox Church, and Fr. John Chakos will be lecturing and teaching classes on Orthodox missions, especially in Guatemala.
- FEAST DAY OF ST. NICHOLAS -- HAVANA, CUBA -- December 5 - 10 -- The Order of St. Andrew Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will be making a pilgrimage to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Havana, Cuba. Fr. Andres Giron and Fr. John Chakos will be presenting a talk about the rapid growth of Orthodoxy in Guatemala.
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