Saint John's Eastern Orthodox Church
1101 Bell Street, Amarillo, Texas, 79106
(806) 355-0683
Message from Father David
......the continuing process of our "openness to
God'...
The efforts of the "Writers Group",
composed of members of the Parish Council and others, have been and
are meeting frequently to craft an appropriate letter of application
for the Archdiocese Small Parish Proposal Grant.
The President of the Parish Council,
Faye Palacio, has acted as the one who convenes the group.
Faye has provided an outline of approach to "drafting our
expression" of our life as Orthodox Christians in The Body of
Christ, His Church in Amarillo, Texas.
The optimism and hoped for fulfillment
of efforts to express who we are is not as simple as it would seem.
Often the struggle for us who are involved means research, fact
checking, further effort to craft statements, and sharing our
insights. All this makes this present moment a strenuous one.
There have been three meetings so far. .
.many more seem likely. . .where the small group of four persons
have drafted through Faye's leadership, the basic outline for the
Grant. This has led to many email exchanges as well as
personal anguish as we struggle to share our particular "subjective
vision" of the needs of the parish and accepting the guidance of our
best intuition and experience as Orthodox Christians.
We do know. . ."Unless the Lord builds
the House, the builder builds in vain. . .(Psalm 127:1). So we
ask you the reader for your thoughts and reflections--verbally,
emails, and most importantly in written form... of your experience
of being born into Orthodoxy or becoming Orthodox through the act of
your conversion this needs to be expressed and shared with the Grant
Writers Group.
Who are you as a faithful person?
What precautions have you taken to manifest your Orthodox
Personhood? Your Spirituality? Your ethical orientation
so "right action" rather than "wrong action"; "positive" rather than
"negative" thoughts are expressed? What do you really hope
for? How has God helped you celebrate "Another day in
Paradise", as we hear from one of our dear parishioners. How
do you express your Thankfulness in an active way or in a meditative
way--or both?
These questions guide the Writers Group
and give orientation and direction in shaping our future mission and
our hope for that which is wondrous, beautiful, abundant in peace, a
tranquil life with deep satisfaction where we come to know we are
forgiven for our errors and forgiving of others who have offended
us. . .As we overcome those adversities and "tribulations of wrath,
danger, and necessity".
We pray!!
Your continuing support through your
talent, your time, your treasure, your presence, your optimism, your
hope for the future, your dignity, that we "small band of brothers
and sisters" are like the early
Church, "...we endure, gain character,
become a force of the Voice of God through action and belief of
persons just like each one of us.
Yes! You and me: We who overcome and
are triumphant over dismay, distractions, temptations, bitterness
and contempt, and self-destructive attitudes and thoughts gain much
that is good. . .that is of God.
It is this willingness and our love of
freedom, our loyalty, our honoring of each other even in
disagreement, our sense of duty. . .These attributes remain true and
necessary and bind us to Him, Christ Who gives us this new life so
His Kingdom as It is in Heaven, so It is to be on earth.
We are His people. We are the work
of His hands. We are called to be "perfect"--complete---and to
be full of peace, and called by His Name.
You, Christian, are necessary in this
moment of striving to make certain and real our efforts as the
fulfilling element of the quest for the true community of faith as
Saint John the Prodromos, who said. "I must decrease so that He may
increase."
We give of ourselves sacrificialy.
It is in our giving of ourselves more
completely than ever before in our history that we will fulfill our
quest to express ourselves as a "chosen people, a royal priest hood"
capable of fulfilling God's love for His children and for His full
Creation.
May We be blessed as were the Apostles.
. .,who were anointed at Pentacost with "flames of fire"!
Father David, Protopresbyter , you
Priest, who prays for you. . .
Eritrean/Ethiopian Bible Study is held each Saturday afternoon at 4:00 and
all are invited to come to this special time of worship.
Also, on the Sundays when Fr. David is not present we have Bible
Study at 11:00 am, with the church opening earlier so that we
may all enter and prepare ourselves through prayer and
meditations.
News
Letter
July
Calendar
August
Calendar
If you have not turned in your 2017 stewardship pledge
card yet, December is the time to do so. We cannot determine a
budget for the year without a proposed income for the year.
Pledges are the only “hard number” that we have to determine our
ability to pay the church’s expenses throughout the year. It is
our generosity in giving that keeps not only St. John’s
operating, but our membership in the Archdiocese and the
Metropolis.
See Carl or Rex to get your card if you need one.
