Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry

Prison Ministry Sunday 2021 Flyer.jpg

Sunday July 25, 2021

Prison Ministry Awareness 2021

“Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name.” (Psalm 142:7)

To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Pious Faithful of our Holy Orthodox Church in the

United States:

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings and blessings to you all!

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States has blessed us to observe the

Sunday before the feast of St. Silas, the patron saint of prison ministry, as Prison Ministry

Awareness Sunday. This year we remember this sacred ministry on July 25, 2021.

After a year of isolation, we are experiencing the full joy of our freedom this summer. Many of us

are making up for lost time: taking trips, seeing our friends, and most importantly, returning to our

churches in person.

For our brothers and sisters in prison, it has been a hard year as well. Lockdowns meant many of

the 2.3 million men and women incarcerated in the United States were in truly deep isolation

without visitations from family, friends, and clergy. As restrictions now ease, we are called more

than ever to exercise our own freedoms to serve those who have suffered emotionally, physically,

and spiritually over these last months. Now is the moment to cherish our blessings by sharing them

with those who our Lord has commanded us to see Himself in.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the

kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food;

I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you

clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25).

Along with those in prison right now, we can find the Lord in the faces of those who have been

released from prison and are seeking to find community in our parishes and rebuild their lives

through the Orthodox way of life. We can also visit the Lord in caring for the family members of

prisoners. Indeed, the staggering rates of incarceration in the US make it is difficult to find an

Orthodox parish in our country that does not have a parishioner deeply affected by the incarceration

of an immediate family member.

As the Episcopal Moderator of Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry, I respectfully request you

observe this day of awareness. The Holy Orthodox Church, through Orthodox Christian Prison

Ministry, brings the mercy, forgiveness, and love of Christ to those people who need hope and

healing living in the darkness of prison.

We humbly ask that after passing a tray for the ongoing work of your parish, you please pass a

second tray on Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday for the work of the Orthodox Christian Prison

Ministry.

As Saint Isaac the Syrian says, “A cruel and merciless heart is never purified. A merciful man is

the doctor of his own soul because as a strong wind from his heart, he drives out the darkness of

the passions.” Please show mercy to our brothers and sisters in jails and prisons across the

United States on July 25th.

With much love and thanks in our risen Lord,

†Archbishop Mark of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, OCA

Information for your Homeschooling Parishioners (St. Raphael School)

St. Raphael School (SRS), is a live, online Orthodox school for homeschooled students in grades K–12. Through a few transitions, our beloved school is maturing and growing beyond our initial dreams. It has been a joy to see children across Orthodoxy throughout the world deepening their love for and knowledge of Christ and His Church through reading the writings of our Holy Fathers.

St. Raphael School offers more than catechism classes; it also has classical and liberal arts courses, as well as Greek, Byzantine chant, and iconography classes, all taught in the Orthodox tradition. St. Raphael  operates as a “school within a school” as part of Scholé Academy, a division of Classical Academic Press, a larger online school that is committed to the revival of classical education—the educational model that the Holy Fathers were reared in themselves.

All the faculty of St. Raphael are Orthodox, and Scholé Academy also employs across its disciplines some Orthodox faculty. Classes are held via a live video-conferencing platform, which is ideal for homeschool parents looking to add just one or two online courses in subjects for which they lack expertise or would like to augment with their own curriculum.

St. Raphael School and Scholé Academy are also a Gold-level sponsor of St. Emmelia Ministries, the outreach arm of our Antiochian Diocese’s Department of Homeschooling.

Join our listserv to receive e-newsletters from SRS

Visit www.RaphaelSchool.org to learn more about SRS’s mission and courses.



Saint Vincent de Paul (A voluteer opportunity the second Tuesday of the month)

cropped-Mission-Logo-in-White.png

In Matthew 25 it is clear that we are to feed the hungry. ‘In as much as you do it to the least of one of my brethren, you have done it onto me’. Our SVdP ministry has been committed and active for some 15 years. Our efforts with this local ministry (503 Giuseppe Court, Suite 8 Roseville, https://www.placersvdp.com) include preparing a meal, serving the meal, and cleaning up dishes. You do not need experience, just a willing, and loving heart!

Our SVdP designated day to serve is the second Tuesday of each month. We arrive by 9:30 am and are usually finished by 11:30 am with COVID times (the guests cannot enter the building). Non-COVID times are 9:30-1:30.

We always welcome volunteers and are actively looking to build a consistent team of folks that we can rotate amongst. If you are over the age of 14 and would like to be involved in rolling up your sleeves and helping those less fortunate than ourselves, please contact Markella 916-599-6909. And, God-willing, once we have a regular team of regular volunteers, we can request an additional day to serve those in need. May our efforts continued to be blessed.

Iconographic Plan for the Shrine Church of Saint Anna (Video)

Since 1998, stewards of our community have hoped to build a Church. It was decided in 2001 that the sanctuary was to be dedicated to seeking the intercessions of St. Anna. Thanks be to God, each day we make more progress, bringing this vision to reality (visit and then scroll down on our homepage, www.saintanna.org to view the latest progress). At some point next year, we’ll be celebrating services in our beautiful Shrine Church.

I’ve included the word “Shrine” above because this was not part of our original vision; it was however a blessing that was bestowed upon us. It distinguishes our community. It distinguishes our ministry. It distinguishes our holy space.

In approximately 2008, we began studying how a Church honoring Saint Anna, that possessed her relics (and with those of St. Joachim), that was also dedicated to the sanctity of marriage and family, might communicate these blessings through sacred space and iconography. It was a lengthy study that included travel to several monasteries, included the input of theologians, clergy, laity, artisans, and some of you. Thanks be to God, we have a plan!

Thanks be to God, Massimo Melinni and his artisans, together with Francesca Lofaro, have brought this vision to reality. As you watch the video prepared for our parish, I would encourage you to:

  1. Be prayerful! This is an offering to God that will inspire generations.

  2. Be overwhelmed! The Church will be simply stunning!

  3. Be humbled! It will cost a lot and may not get done for a generation, but that’s okay. Others may have to finish the work we begin.

  4. Be joyful! God is good and our matron saint is worthy of our honor as she continues to intercede on our behalf.

  5. Be trusting! God will provide through our prayers, through our efforts, and through our offerings.

Ultimately, our efforts are not simply about the structure or the iconography or any of the furnishings (the plan for the woodwork should be ready in about a month though), it’s about salvation! This project, like our stewardship, is an expression of our love for Christ, our hope in the Resurrection, and our willingness to offer His love to all those who come into our midst here in Roseville.


May God be well pleased with our efforts.

+fr. Christopher

"How to" Green Your Parish - Featuring St. Anna Parish!

This week’s “How-to” Green Your Parish episode features our Parish on “Learning from our Parishes.” The “How-to” Green Your Parish series is an initiative of the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. New episodes will be released weekly featuring ideas and ways to introduce creation care and sustainability in your parish and home. Ranging from practical to theological, each three-minute video offers a unique perspective on environmental stewardship through the knowledge and expertise of Orthodox Christians across the United States. 

Our gratitude to Fr. Seraphim, Emil, and Tim for being featured in the video and for sharing their insights as good stewards of Creation. We also thank Stephen for taking the footage and doing the first round of edits.

May our efforts on our Church grounds continue to be blessed and to God’s glory through the intercessions of St. Anna.

In Support of Missions (Project Mexico & St. Innocent Service Works' home building and service program)

In Support of Missions – An Opportunity to Give!

Dear St Anna's Community,

For those of you who don't know me, my name is William Cumbelich, and I am Spiro and Vasiliki Halikas' grandson. You might have seen me over the years on my visits up here in Roseville, however my family and I live in the Bay Area, and I have grown up serving in the altar at Ascension Cathedral in Oakland.

From June to August this summer, I will have the privilege of traveling to St Basil's Academy in New York to serve as an intern for Project Mexico & St. Innocent Service Works' home building and service program. As you may know, St Basil's Academy is a national non-profit philanthropic center of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America which provides a loving Christian environment and a home for orphans, children of chronically ill or destitute parents and children from broken homes. The Academy's mission is to facilitate shelter, protection, love, and education in youth so they grow up to be healthy, wholesome, well-rounded Orthodox Christians, as well as productive members of society with vision and hope.

Due to the challenges of the pandemic and border closures, Project Mexico has organized mission trips across the country, instead of their traditional home building trips in Tijuana. My fellow interns and I will be at locations such as the St Herman house in Cleveland, the Neighborhood Resilience Project in Pittsburg, building homes for Habitat for Humanity in Boston, and so many other wonderful service opportunities.

Most of you can't simply pack up and spend an entire summer on a mission trip. However, you can play an integral role in our Orthodox mission programs through your prayers and financial support of interns such as I, as we act as the boots on the ground, putting Christ's Gospel in action. In order for me to participate in this internship, I need to raise $6,500 by May 20th. This money will pay for my transportation to and from New York, training, housing, food and some other minimal expenses during my stay.

I know that this pandemic has wreaked financial havoc for many and there isn't a lot of extra cash to go around. However, gifts of any size will go a long way, and I consider your support an honor not to be taken lightly. But most importantly, I ask for your continued prayers this summer as I hope to fulfill Christ's calling to "defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy" Psalm 82:3

You can donate directly online to my personal fundraising page: https://sisw.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/williamcumbelich1 or write a check made payable to Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage. Please write summer internship and my name on the memo line of the check. Your donation will be tax deductible. For more information, see St. Innocent Service Works & St. Innocent Orphanage website at www.projectmexico.org.

Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare, and while I'm there. Thank you for your support and may God bless you all! In Christ,
William Cumbelich