Although the tempo of our days has changed dramatically, God remains good and His Grace is in abundance. We are to use our time wisely, and in many an instance, creatively unto His glory, the edification of the Church and unto salvation.
On account of pandemic, we are having to limit physical attendance at services to the clergy, a chanter, a few servers in the Sanctuary, and a member of our Parish Council who is assisting with broadcasts, beginning this evening (we will begin broadcasting at 5:45PM with the 9th hour). Thankfully, you are able to attend services remotely, at this point via https://www.facebook.com/saintanna (you need not be a member of Facebook. Just close the box that asks if you’d like to login or create a new account). We will continue to work on the quality, both video and sound, in addition to providing you texts to pray at home. In addition, we will continue to pray and creatively consider how we can best offer the Holy Mysteries to our faithful.
It is important to note that although not perfect, the internet broadcast of services are to be observed by the faithful respectfully, prayerfully and not at our leisure or convenience. We should do everything we can to be attentive and prayerful while observing the services in our home. This is certainly not a substitute to gathering in the House of the Lord, but it is the temporary response to the current situation.
I’m thankful to share that in the days ahead, we will:
- Take our study classes online.
- Create forums for our junior high school, high school and young adults to gather in fellowship.
- Conduct wellness checks (phone calls) on all of our parishioners.
- Provide additional Orthodox Christian resources for families (please note the correct address for the conference on Monasticism is https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzMFpudCpFCladKk1OEMBgPyboEGWMNzq).
Of course, if a member of your family is ill or in need, please contact Fr. Seraphim or Fr. Christopher so that we can add them to our prayer lists, schedule a visit, and or simply be of assistance.
If a member of your family is not added to our listserv, please sign them up at https://www.goarch.org/listserv/listsubscribe?l=saintanna