15/12/12

An interview with Fr. Phillip Gatari, an Orthodox priest from Kenya

Fr. Phillip Gatari recently visited Moscow. He was a guest of Sretensky Monastery for two days, and celebrated the Liturgy with the brothers and other visiting monks from Mt. Athos. After the services, this joyful pastor told us about Orthodoxy in Kenya and his work as the principal of a rural school.

Kenya is not a wealthy country, and people live a very simple life here, especially in the provinces. Fr. Phillip, the rector of the Church of St. Anthony in the village of Ishamara in central Kenya, is no exception. He is very busy—Orthodoxy is the most dynamically growing confession in Kenya, and mass baptisms in villages are not a rarity, including as many as fifty to seventy people at once.
—Fr. Phillip, tell us about your church. What ecclesiastical jurisdiction does it belong to?

Our church is dedicated to St. Anthony the Great, who lived in Egypt and is the head of monasticism for the whole world. We belong to the jurisdiction of the Alexandria Patriarchate, and our faith is Orthodoxy. My parish is located in the diocese of Kenya, and we are trying to broaden and increase it. We do not have a large parish—around 300 people, about 100 of them active parishioners.

—How did the Kenyans come to Orthodoxy?

Orthodoxy came about here at the initiative of the local people. They tried to find the true Church. Back in 1932, Orthodox Kenyans wrote a letter to Patriarch Meletios about being received into the Patriarchate of Alexandria; the Patriarch gave them a positive answer, but he soon died. The Kenyans again wrote a letter, this time to Patriarch Christopher. In 1942, Metropolitan Nicholas of Aksum came to us, looked everything over, and in 1946, the Kenyan Church was received into communion with the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

Soon, in Kenya the liberation movement against the colonial regime began. This was in 1952. There were many Orthodox parishes on the side of the rebels, and the Protestant and Catholic priests called the uprising a rebellion of pagans and savages. They imprisoned the Orthodox priests. For example, Fr. George Arthur Kaduna, the first “black” bishop in Kenya, spentten years in prison together with the future president of the country and leader of the Kikuyu tribe, Jomo Kenyatta.

The president left after his death a parcel of land for the building of an Orthodox seminary, which opened its gates in 1982. The current archbishop of Albania, Anastasios, opened this seminary. We began with private classes on weekends, studying only Liturgics, and now the seminary has risen to a serious level; we graduate students with diplomas. So, this is part of our history.

—How did you personally become Orthodox?

I became Orthodox in my childhood, at nine years old. I was not baptized as an infant.
—Are your parents also Orthodox?

They were not believers, but later they followed in their son’s footsteps and became Orthodox.
—What was most significant on your path to Orthodoxy—a person, school, or something else?

Our parish priest. He influenced me, in my village, in our church. I was a child then. I continued to go to church also after growing up.
—Tell us about your church. What is it built of?

At first our church was made of clay, and only later was there a stone building. But we have no iconographers to paint the frescoes, and it is very expensive to hire artists from Europe. Therefore we have only icons that we hang on the wall, but no wall paintings. We also had a bell, but it was stolen right from the tell tower.
—I would like to know about the spiritual life at your parish: how often do people confess and receive Communion?

Those who feel the need and have prepared themselves generally receive Communion whenever there is a Liturgy. But of course, if something prevents them, they do not commune. We usually try to talk with these people and find out what the problem is. Confession before Communion is generally not mandatory. It depends upon the people in particular. If someone comes and says, “I need to confess,” then of course we take his confession. But in many cases I try to send the person to a more experienced priest for confession.
—What kind of missionary work is done in Kenya, in your parish, and in your diocese?

We have many different kinds of missionary work. There are youth programs, programs for women, programs of male brotherhoods. We have Sunday school classes. There are also educational programs directed at work in high school and elementary classes. In the secular schools, we also try to keep a Christian direction.

I am very proud of the fact that there is an Orthodox high school in our parish that was founded by the Church, but we accept all children there, no matter what confession. We work according to a state educational program that is required in all schools in Kenya. This program is used everywhere, even in private schools: the lesson is forty minutes long, there should be eight lessons per day, qualified teachers teach them, and so on. Education is under government control.

Now we have sixty-five students, and this part of our missionary work. I as the director of our school, and the students.
When I was assigned to this parish there was a five-acre parcel of land designated for a school. It had been abandoned over the course of ten years, there was nothing there; no building, nothing. Now with God’s help there is a school there, with classrooms and desks.
In the church we try to use the local languages. Sermons are also in the local language. But in the schools, English is used throughout Kenya. The entire population speaks English.
—In your opinion, does Orthodoxy have a larger future in Kenya?

If we have wise governance and we rely upon the local peoples, follow their needs, and be their partners, then we have great potential. Our mission must encompass new ethnic groups.

Source:

13/6/13
OCP News Service
Kenya
Archdiocese of Kenya
Kenya: The only school in Nyeri County, founded by the local parish of ST.Anthony the Great under the stewardship of Fr.Philip Maina Gathari in 2006, opened its doors for students in 2007.

The only Orthodox Secondary School owned by a local Church under the jurisdiction of Orthodox Archdiocese of Kenya.
Present Principal of the school is Fr.Philip who is a Theologian from Romania and is the one who started the building of this Orthodox School for the service of the local Kenyan Youth and for the Glory of God.

After the government’s introduction of free education in 2008,the school experienced so many financial problems because of under enrollment but the Principal is always struggling to keep afloat for the honor of the local Orthodox Church in Nyeri.
Both secular and ecclesiastical education is a key to liberty and self determination.

But now the situation is very hard in Nyeri as school is struggling lot of financial issues to keep up the standards and staff alike. Shutting down this Orthodox school is very painful as lot of tears and sweat shedded by local orthodox people and Priest to run the school for this many years.

A call is now made for willing partners to partner with the Principal, Teaching staff and the local Christians the development of this wonderful and viable project for promotion of Orthodoxy in Nyeri County.

Philip Maina Gathari
A/c 0040101357966
Equity Bank Ltd.
Swift code EQBLKENA
BANK CODE 6800
BRANCH CODE 0830
BRANCH MUKURWEINI

On behalf of the school funds may channeled through Fr.Philip Gathari

Source:
Independent

9/10/13

Orthodox Christians seeking to share in a journey of faith and fulfill the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ are invited to participate in one of the 2014 mission teams sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center.
Mission teams for 2014 include

• Alaska – Youth ministry (Ouzinkie) July 18 – July 27
• Albania – Mission Institute (Tirana) (TBD)
• Albania – Youth ministry (Shen Vlash) March 10 – March 17
• Albania – Children’s Home of Hope youth ministry (Shen Vlash) June 16 – July 1
• Albania – Womens’ retreats (Tirana) August 11 – August 24
• Ghana – Teaching; celebrate the 25-year anniversary (Accra and Peki) August 2 – August 16
• Guatemala – Hogar Rafael Ayau youth ministry (San Miguel del Lago) July 10 – July 21
• Kenya – Evangelism (Turkana) March 8 – March 16
• Kenya – Teaching (Nairobi) June 4 – June 14
• Kenya – Church construction, catechism, & health care (Turkana/Lokichaar) June 17 – July 1 and June 24 – July 11
• Moldova – Womens’ retreats (Orhei) April 28 – May 6
• Moldova – Youth camp (Orhei) July 12 – July 23
• Tanzania – Health care outreach (Bukoba) February 3 – February 14 and May 12 – May 23
• Tanzania – Clergy retreats (Bukoba) October 27 – November 8
• Uganda – Stewardship training (Kampala) October 27 – November 8
• Uganda – Health care and education (Gulu) August 18 – August 30 and August 26 – September 8

With regard to specific ministries

• Teaching offers a living witness of Orthodoxy through evangelism, religious education, seminars, Bible studies, and retreats. Share the Orthodox Faith with youth, adults, catechumens, clergy, ministry leaders, and the faithful. Clergy, students, teachers, seminarians, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, and Bible study leaders are urged to apply.
• Evangelism.  Preach the Gospel of Christ through evangelism in cross-cultural environments, offering the opportunity to hear and embrace the Good News. Live as Orthodox witnesses so others may come to know the saving love of Christ.
• Construction.  Provide labor and service on a building project while working with members of a local Orthodox community to help construct churches in growing Orthodox communities. Construction experience is welcomed, but not necessary.
• Youth Camps serve as examples of God’s love by engaging youth around the world through offering religious education, Bible studies, sports, arts and crafts, teaching activities, camps, and fellowship. Those willing to work with youth and young adults are encouraged to apply – camp counselors, teachers, youth ministry directors, and students.
• Health Care provides a holistic witness to the Gospel by ministering to physical needs and offering health education in regions where medical services are scarce. Health personnel – doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, counselors, HIV/AIDS specialists, therapists – are especially needed.

Registration is now open for these mission team opportunities.  Participation costs and full team descriptions will be coming soon. Apply on-line at www.ocmc.org. Contact Andrew Lekos by phone at 1-877-GO FORTH (463-6784), or by e-mail at teams@ocmc.org
, for more information.
Source:

OCMC  – 12/2/14

Karen Morrison leads one of the seminars while in the Turkana region of Kenya. Some of the nomadic, native Turkana walked two days just for teaching seminars, with the intent of returning to their tribes and sharing what they had learned about Orthodoxy.

Within the Turkana lives not only a heartbeat of survival and a foot-stomp of joy, but a soul that trills the hope of the risen Lord. Orthodox Christianity is alive and well in the cracked, mystic terrain of northern Kenya. The Turkana people proclaim the Trinity with the faith of a child and with the wisdom of an elder. Through the tireless love, support, and efforts of local parish priests, the committed connection of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, and the willingness of many to receive the Gospel, the one true faith has united over 10 communities of believers.

I was accompanied by a team of 7 incredible individuals to Kenya. It took no time at all to give ourselves the team name “Turkana Saba” (Saba= seven in Swahili). Strangers for but moments, we were a pan-Orthodox melting pot from Washington to California to Virginia to New York to Russia, and a few spots in between. The support and prayers of family and friends brought us together to the OCMC headquarters in St. Augustine, Florida. The passionate, dedicated OCMC staff readied us with lesson plan guidance and enlightened us on the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Eager and nervous (because after all, when do you really say, “Okay, now I’m ready to go to Kenya”?) we flew to Amsterdam, from there boarded Kenya Airways to Nairobi, and hopped on a puddle-jumper to Lodwar. Over thirty hours of travel left us worn out but ready. Our team stayed in the modest quarters of a Catholic guest house, which provided just fine for our needs of praying, journaling, eating, sleeping, lesson-planning, and socializing. We became experts at spraying bug spray, repairing holes in our mosquito nets, rationing toilet paper, eating cabbage and potatoes, checking for frogs in our bathroom, hand-washing laundry, taking cold showers, using water bottles to rinse after brushing our teeth, walking with flashlights at night, dodging bats, spiders, and small scorpions, and riding in the bed of the pick-up truck that served as our transportation as our drivers zoomed past pot holes on the dirt roads of the town—it should be the next ride at Disneyland!

The focal point of our mission work was teaching at St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church, just outside of Lodwar. The building itself and the water well beside it were projects of OCMC and continue to be a well-spring of life for the Turkana people. We had two teaching sessions while there—one for adults and one geared toward children. Some of the nomadic, native Turkana walked two days just for our teaching seminars, with the intent of returning to their tribes and sharing what they had learned. It makes one stop and pause: would I go to such great lengths for Truth? We had 3 concurrent teaching sessions, each with a priest/translator. My teaching experience in a Title I school with a large population of ESL students, predominately refugees from Africa, served me well in this capacity. I acted as teaching coordinator for the group—determining what got taught and where (location choices: the church building, a grass hut, and a metal shed that we affectionately referred to as the “Tin Can”). Our teaching topics included various parables, death and its origin, salvation, saints, marriage, sacraments, the Creed, transformed life in Christ, Orthodox parenting, etc. We were quite surprised both at the prior knowledge of several of the people and at the lack of knowledge of others. If there had been any schooling at all, the people were most familiar with lecture style, but we pushed many out of their comfort zone by asking questions, making crafts, and requesting them to participate in dramatizations. Watching the priests teach their own people was amazing, as their teaching exemplified the pure art of story-telling and total engagement with the content through voice inflection and gesticulation.

Highlighted below are some of my notable moments with the Turkana:

• Always being greeted with a unique handshake and a bow/kiss to either shoulder
• Kids smiling and shouting “How are YOU?!” all the time
• Holding an icon of the Crucifixion in one of my lessons, asking, “Is this the end of the story?” and a small group of men nodding, thinking that Christ’s death was the end
• Anytime the people heard something they liked or that resonated in their spirit, they’d stand, clap, and jump up and down in joyful tempo—in the middle of a lesson, as a stretch break after a lesson, during Liturgy, all the time- constant expressions of joy.
• In lieu of formal school supplies, I brought cardstock in sheet protectors to make dry erase boards. When I asked one group to draw what comes to mind when they think of a saint, an old woman started laughing because she’d never held a marker or pen before.
• Singing the Resurrection troparion (hymn) in Turkana while holding the Resurrection icon in a lesson and feeling inside the joy of Pascha in a way I’d never experienced before
• Communion—hands down- the most emotional, transformative experience; as soon as the Gifts come from behind the iconostasis, the beating of a drum, trills, laughing, smiling, jumping fill the space of the church building—they knew it was the Body and Blood. They knew it was life-giving. They reminded me of what I often forget to remember, and their reaction to receiving these precious gifts made nothing but total sense. Tears streamed down my face—unforgettable!
• Holding small children and feeling their tiny wrists and every bone of their backbone with my hands
• While sitting with a group of Turkana women on their mat one sunny afternoon, a woman took off one of her many colorful necklaces adorning her lovely, long neck and placed it on my head as a crown—I was told this particular necklace symbolizes beauty
• Listening to and watching the different tribes perform for us in welcoming and closing ceremonies—amazing voices, young & old. The heart of every old spiritual song most definitely originated there. We performed for them too—“The Call,” “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In,” “In the Jungle,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” along with Orthodox hymns.
• All moments with my team—playing cards, laughing, crying, debriefing, singing Disney songs, performing puppet shows, learning, teaching, sharing the experience together
• Being hugged and picked up off the ground by one of the Turkana women, Anna, at the close of the adult sessions and her pointing to the sky and saying something with firm conviction… later I learned she was saying, “I’ll see you in heaven!!”

Source:

Orthodox Christian Mission Center – 4/5/14

Volunteers Urgently Needed for Church Construction in Kenya!

Two teams will be serving in the Turkana region of northern Kenya to help build the Church of St. Nicholas in the remote village of Lokichar. The first team will serve from June 17^th to July 1^st and the second from June 24^th to July 11^th. At least two more volunteers are urgently needed for each team. Apply online at www.ocmc.org. You can also contact Andrew Lekos or Pres. Renee Ritsi by e-mail at teams@ocmc.org or by phone at 1-877-463-6784 ext. 141 if you are able to help build a church for our newly illumined Turkana brothers and sisters in Christ.

Join an OCMC Mission Team and Help Build a Church in Lokichar, Kenya

Since 2007, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), with the blessing of His Eminence Makarios Archbishop of Kenya, has been helping to establish the Church among the Turkana tribe. In 2010, Turkana Orthodox priests led OCMC Executive Director Fr. Martin Ritsi and a team of men and women from the United States to evangelize the people of this harsh northern region of Kenya. These priests translated as Fr. Martin and members of the team shared the good news of the Gospel. In subsequent years, more teams of Orthodox Christians visited and scores of people from numerous villages have been baptized into the Orthodox Faith.

In 2013, funds were offered to build the Church of St. Nicholas for a new community in the remote village of Lokichar. The people there have been worshiping under a tree which provides shade from the intense desert sun. When completed this will be the third permanent church in Turkana that the faithful of North America have sponsored through the OCMC.

OCMC has also sent additional mission teams to help build these churches. Two teams will be traveling to Lokichar this summer to assist with the construction of St. Nicholas. The first team will serve from June 17th to July 1st and the second from June 24th to July 11th.

This is a profound opportunity for the Orthodox Christians in the United States to further plant the seeds of the Faith and build bridges of fellowship among the Turkana of Northern Kenya. OCMC is urgently seeking volunteers for these teams. Two additional volunteers are needed for each team.

Please prayerfully consider serving on one or both of these teams this summer. For more information or to volunteer online visit http://www.ocmc.org/about/view_team.aspx?TeamId=136. You can also contact Andrew Lekos or Pres. Renee Ritsi by e-mail at teams@ocmc.org or by phone at 1-877-463-6784 ext. 141 to join one of these teams that are vital to the continued Orthodox mission efforts in the region.

Source:

The Alexandrian Orthodox Patriarchate
Diocese of Kenya – Orthodox Mission in Africa – June – July 2014

On Sunday, June 22, 2014, HE the Metropolitan Makarios of Kenya consecrated a new church, dedicated to Apostle Peter, according to the will of American donors.

As you know, in this region mostly inhabited by Africans of the Turkana tribe, the Orthodox Church of Kenya has undertaken a huge missionary and evangelical work for years. His Eminence Makarios led this campaign of love and outreach, traveling from as long away as two days far to reach there, where the big lake Turkana lies, bordering with Somalia and Ethiopia. He performed the first group baptisms in the big lake and then he appointed as catechists some graduates of the Patriarchal School, who then were ordained and today they serve in various parts of the region. The four priests work very successfully, since they are pious, faithful, zealous, humble and enthusiastic; thus they were able during this period to make such a wonderful work; thus the parishes increased and the faithful multiplied all over Turkana region.

After the Sunday consecration, HE Makarios laid the cornerstone for the third church, dedicated to St. Nicholas. There operate primary schools and kindergartens and free food is provided to the children. Furtermore, there have been drilling projects and clean water is now provided to the inhabitants of the region. The Orthodox Christian Mission Center has decisively and exclusively undertook the development of the region. Groups of young adults and priests come regularly to catechize and help in the work of evangelizing the tribe.

All the priests of the region as well as others from America and Nairobi participated in the consecration. It was a special day for Turkana, since the church was built in the midst of nowhere, but there are many who have been exhaustively catechized and converted to Orthodoxy.

The biggest problem plaguing this desert area is the constant drought. When His Eminence first visited the region to perform the first group baptisms, he wasn’t able to do so, because the lakes and rivers had dried out. In fact, once the people were in despair because of the aridity, he blessed the water and read special prayers. Then, God rained so much water that the lakes and rivers overflew and people asked the bishop to tell the God he believed in and had prayed to, Who listened to their prayers and did the miracle, to stop, because the place had gone flooded. “We asked for water but that’s too much”, they told. Blessed be the name of God!

Conclusively, this recent visit proved that our priests of the Turkana tribe work with exemplary zeal, deep faith and absolute devotion. The work of the Lord and Orthodoxy is promoted and the primitive tribe of Turkana is pronounced with the good news and a great joy.

Source:

On Sunday 18 October 2014, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa conducted the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Cathedral of Ss Anargyri in Nairobi, Kenya, supported by His Eminence Makarios of Kenya, His Grace Innocent Bishop of Burundi and Rwanda and Fr Athenodoros Papaevripiades, as well as many African priests. During the Divine Liturgy, at which the Patriarchal Academy choir sang, His Beatitude ordained to the Diaconate the second year seminarian Ioannis Karakasia. Present at the Divine Liturgy were the Ambassadors of Greece, Russia and Serbia, and hundreds of African Orthodox faithful who filled the Holy Church and the grounds from early in the morning.

In his address among other things the Patriarch expressed his joy on being given the opportunity to begin his second decade as Patriarch with his pastoral visit to Kenya, stressing the great love and interest he has for the progress of Orthodoxy on the African continent, and passed on to the congregation the blessing of St Mark, the first Bishop of Alexandria. Speaking to the local Media, His Beatitude emphasized that as Spiritual Father he works and prays always for peace, prosperity and continued stability throughout Africa and particularly in hospitable Kenya and said: “this is the centre of our mission in Africa”. In conclusion he thanked all responsible for the warm welcome afforded him and underscored that as Patriarch he will work towards combating the scourge of the deadly Ebola virus.

In his reply His Eminence Makarios of Kenya thanked His Beatitude for the joy he gave to all Orthodox Kenyans with his presence and stressed that the first decade had been productive and creative seeing that throughout Africa the expansion and consolidation of Orthodoxy is clear in all areas, thanks to the tireless efforts by the Patriarch, his prayers, his guidance and his advice. In conclusion His Eminence expressed the unlimited gratitude of the clergy and the people of Kenya for the presence of the Alexandrian Primate and his spiritual support of the multifaceted work being done in Kenya.

At noon the Ambassador of Greece hosted a reception in honour of the Patriarch and the entire community was invited. At dawn on Monday 20 October 2014, His Beatitude departed for his See filled with joy, love and gratitude for his successful and blessed journey to Kenya. Bidding farewell to His Beatitude the seminarians of the Patriarchal Academy were asked what message they would like to pass on to their Patriarch and they replied: “we love him and wait for him to return soon”.

Source:

22/2/15

Daily we live the great drama of little children. In our own societies certain things are taken as a given. Our own child grows in its environment and under any conditions it should be offered the necessary food from morning until it is time to sleep. This is an absolutely normal situation. The child cannot live unless it is given food. Here, however, in Africa, things are different. Children wake up in the morning and in the evening they go to sleep starved, there is no guarantee that they will have the necessary food. This is something very common here; therefore, they are born and grow up in this environment, whether they want to or not.

The Orthodox Diocese of Kenya, among its various programs, implemented a special feeding program for children and not only: it undertook a rescue crusade of young children, not only for daily food, i.e. breakfast and lunch, but also for educational opportunities for them at a payment of 20 euros per month. This effort met with response, and today the program has expanded throughout the country. The Greeks -even though they themselves are facing a financial crisis- made the strongest efforts and stood beside us to save as many souls as possible and relieve our children, who live under difficult and incomprehensible to us conditions. Unfortunately, there are no conditions suitable for children here. Therefore, through this program, the Diocese of Kenya has been trying to give a message of hope and certainty that they will have the right to live and be educated.

Every year, besides the daily meals, extra meals are organized on various occasions as well. So this year, at Christmas, in the courtyard of the Cathedral gathered, apart from the children of kindergarten and primary school, the children of our slum, for a sumptuous Christmas dinner and not only. Refreshments were offered, and each child got a small Christmas gift and stationery, notebooks, pencils etc.

A mother of two little children approached the Bishop and confessed that the food offered to them on Christmas day was the only one that they had the opportunity to eat. Otherwise, on that day the children would stay hungry.

The efforts and programs of the Metropolis of Kenya will continue even under the current economic crisis. We must not let the children suffer and live in misery. We have to strive and do everything in our power to ensure that these poor children will not sleep hungry.

Those wishing to offer a minimum contribution can do so through the Fraternity with the indication “for Kenya”. This way we can support, encourage and give hope to these unprotected children living under adverse conditions and waiting for a helping hand to continue themselves, as creatures of God, their destination on our planet.

Bishop Makarios of Kenya

Source:

On February 15, 2015, His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Kenya, assisted by his new vicar, His Grace, Bishop Neophytos, consecrated the first church in Africa dedicated to Saint Herman of Alaska—a “gift” from the clergy and laity of the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of Alaska.

Fifteen parishes and 37 individuals, most of whom are from the Diocese of Alaska, not only made the “gift” possible, but also donated the icon of Saint Herman for the iconostasis of the new temple, which was built in the Nandi region of western Kenya.

The project began when a retired diocesan priest made Facebook contact with a young, energetic Kenyan priest, Father Jonah Rotich, who needed an additional classroom for his growing village school.  Providing the $650.00 to expand the school was a relatively quick and easy project. But then Father Jonah displayed the foundations of his new church due to a shortage of funds, it was discovered that the building could be completed for a mere $17,000.00.

It was determined that 34 donors, each providing $500.00, could make Father Jonah’s dream a reality.

His Grace, Bishop David, gave his blessing to make the construction of the church a diocesan project.  At the Alaskan Diocesan Assembly in October 2014, clergy and lay delegates enthusiastically embraced the idea. Reasoning that the Russian Orthodox Church had built, decorated and furnished many historic Alaskan churches, both during the era when Alaska was part of the Russian Empire and also for 50 years thereafter, the Alaskan Orthodox faithful decided it was time for them, as a mature diocese, to begin assisting other missions around the world.

Funds were transferred to Kenya with immediate results.

Father Jonah regularly reported on the number of bricks, the kilos of sand or the quantities of cement he bought from week to week and posted photos of the construction project’s progress.  Contributors from other parts of the US and Canada supplemented the gifts from over 30 generous Alaskans and a dozen diocesan parishes. The stone and brick church was completed in less than four months!

Bishop David provided a portion of the relics of Saint Herman, which were placed in the new church’s altar table.

At the church’s consecration, Kenyan clergy and laity responded with an amazing and overwhelming celebration in dance and song, with the children, teens, men and women of the parish composing and performing jubilant songs to celebrate and give thanks to God for the gift of a church they received from their distant Alaska Native brothers and sisters in Christ.

“The project witnesses to the possibility for even a small number of Orthodox Christians to contribute significantly to the growth of the Faith using modern technology,” Bishop David said.  “Saint Herman Church in Kenya is the product of a close and trusting relationship between two priests, with the blessing of two bishops, and the possibilities of cooperation across half the globe: a church built by the Grace and Mercy and Love of God — and Facebook!”

Source:

May 2015

Hi, my name is Bill. I am Orthodox and I am a missionary. I’ve been accepted by OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center) as a missionary candidate and have been busy raising support for a ministry in Kenya since Thanksgiving 2014.

That I would end up an Orthodox missionary was not an option on my event horizon when I first began to formulate a plan for my life. First of all, I grew up in a Protestant home – Presbyterian to be precise. While family interests biased me towards medicine or the sciences, my fascination and training, however, was in history which, however interesting, does not make for an easy career path. And I was a musician to boot, playing the viola in orchestras and ensembles. Unexpectedly, the missionary option intruded itself on my list of possibilities for my life towards the end of my college career. I was by then a sincere Evangelical involved in a campus Christian fellowship. The summer before my senior year, I exchanged my studies in Medieval and Renaissance History at Duke University for living in the rural areas of Kenya with a Kenyan pastor and his family as part of a short-term mission trip in 1980. Those three brief months changed my life.

My experiences that summer convinced me that I was called to be a missionary. I realized, however, that I was woefully prepared for such a life, so I set myself to get the training and experience that I needed. I got ministry experience by working as a campus staff member for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the College of William and Mary. And then I also got my Masters of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary north of Boston, MA. I was ordained as a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor in 1989 and served churches in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. I was accepted for PhD studies at the University of Cambridge (UK) and moved there with my family in 1996. After completing my studies, I was accepted as a missionary and assigned to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where I taught at the Ethiopian Graduate School of theology for 8 years. I also served as the senior pastor of the International Evangelical Church in Addis Ababa for 4 years. In 2008, we moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where I taught at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology. In 2011, I was relieved from my position as a professor of theology and history and asked to resign from my mission.

In January of that year, I had been baptized and chrismated into the Orthodox Church of Kenya.

I met an Orthodox priest early on during my studies in Cambridge and, during tea time breaks at the research library where we both were studying, I began to hear the story of the Orthodox Church. I was astonished, as I had never been exposed to the history or the theology, and the more I learned, the more fascinated I became. The process of my converting to Orthodoxy from having been an Evangelical, Reformed pastor, scholar, and missionary took 14 years. Because of my subsequent leadership positions in churches and ministries, I had not allowed myself to question the theology or the history of my little corner of Protestantism. But when I discovered that Orthodoxy was not just different in emphasis but also different in kind from all Western forms of Christianity, I was shaken to my foundations. I began to see the development of Western theology in a new light, which led me also to see how some of my own theological choices were creating inconsistencies in my own faith and life. I deliberately began a process of taking onboard those aspects of Orthodox thinking and practice that I could get away with, given my responsibilities as a Protestant pastor and seminary teacher. I wanted to become Orthodox, but I knew that to do so would be very costly, and I feared that my life as I had known it would come to an end. So for years I read Orthodox books, prayed Orthodox prayers and straddled the fence between East and West.

A turning point occurred when we moved from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya in 2008. I no longer had the responsibility of pastoring a large church and of preaching every Sunday. This set me free to participate in an Orthodox Church. I began attending Sts. Cosmas and Damian Orthodox Church in Nairobi, the Church which served the international Orthodox community there. I also got to know the priest, Fr. Innocentios, a Ugandan archimandrite who also served as the administrator of the Orthodox seminary in Nairobi. Attending the Divine Liturgy every week made me increasingly familiar with both the liturgy and the liturgical calendar. I started trying to keep the fasts and participated in parish life. I discovered that Orthodox services were held daily at the seminary, which was closer to where I lived, so I began attending a service on Thursday mornings as well.

On that fourth Sunday, I found myself standing just to the side of the great canopied pulpit in the middle of our nave. Along the sides were icons of the four Evangelists, and on the front, just above eye level, was an icon of Christ holding an open Gospel on which something was written in modern Greek. As the Orthodox faithful were going up to receive the Mysteries, I once again felt powerfully that I wanted to join them and that this was where I belonged. And once more I tried to shove the feeling out of my being. To distract myself, I remember looking up at the icon of Christ. I slowly started to make out what the stylized script of the Bible verse was. ‘If anyone… wants to be… my disciple,… let him deny himself,… take up his cross… and follow Me.’ I suddenly realized that I wasn’t just reading some inscription on an icon, but that the Lord Jesus Himself was addressing me. It suddenly became clear that whatever the cost, the call to follow Jesus was now taking me into the Orthodox Church. And once I heard His call in these terms, my response was easy. I started taking those steps which led me five months later to being baptized and chrismated an Orthodox Christian by His Eminence Makarios, the Archbishop of Kenya.

REPRESENTATIVE OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ATTENDS CONFERENCE ON PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN THE WORLD

July 1, 2015 – A conference on the Persecution of Christians in the World took place at the European Parliament in Brussels. It was initiated by European People’s Party with the aim to call the European Union leaders and EU member states to make the persecution of Christians a priority in their foreign policy in pursuance of the Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 30, 2015, in relation to the killing of students in Kenya by terror group al-Shabaab.

The program of the conference included an introduction and two issue panel discussions concerning the situation in the Middle East countries, primarily Iraq and Syria, and the situation of Christians in other regions, especially in Asia and Africa.

The forum began its work with a minute of silence in memory of Christians victimized by Christianophobia.

The conference was addressed by officials of the European Parliament, prominent religious leaders and media persons.

Local Orthodox Churches were represented by Archpriest Dimitry Sizonenko, acting representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European international organizations in Brussels, and Archpriest Sorin Selaru, head of the Romanian Church representation to the EU.

The speakers stressed that Christians are the most persecuted religious community in the world today; their rights and dignity are trampled in 75% of the countries in the world. This situation speaks of the existence of Christianophobia as a widely-spread phenomenon. The mass media would willingly report killings of Christians in the Islamic world while passing over in silence the cases of persecution taking place in other countries and in peaceful situations. Disrespect for freedom of faith inevitably begets the violation of other freedoms, political and economic.

In many countries, the discrimination of Christians has grown into mass persecution against people of other religions when the religious factor becomes an instrument of pressure brought to bear on dissent and disliked minorities. Thus, the persecution of Christians has become not only a humanitarian or confessional disaster but also a disturbing sign of the political degradation of society. A society in which there is no freedom of faith inevitably finds itself on the brink of civil war.

Summing up the discussions, European Parliament member Cristian Dan Preda said in particular that it should be admitted that it is easier today to reach a consensus in the European Parliament with regard to persecution for a faith or religious beliefs if Christians are not mentioned at all. Every day, reports are coming about glaring facts of discrimination against Christian, but publications in the mass media do not help towards a deeper understanding of the problem – they only build up fears. The religious component of the protection of Christians should become one of the key factors in the foreign policy work of the European Union for the sake of the preservation of peace.

DECR Communication Service

Source:

15/12/12

An interview with Fr. Phillip Gatari, an Orthodox priest from Kenya

Fr. Phillip Gatari recently visited Moscow. He was a guest of Sretensky Monastery for two days, and celebrated the Liturgy with the brothers and other visiting monks from Mt. Athos. After the services, this joyful pastor told us about Orthodoxy in Kenya and his work as the principal of a rural school.

Kenya is not a wealthy country, and people live a very simple life here, especially in the provinces. Fr. Phillip, the rector of the Church of St. Anthony in the village of Ishamara in central Kenya, is no exception. He is very busy—Orthodoxy is the most dynamically growing confession in Kenya, and mass baptisms in villages are not a rarity, including as many as fifty to seventy people at once.
—Fr. Phillip, tell us about your church. What ecclesiastical jurisdiction does it belong to?

Our church is dedicated to St. Anthony the Great, who lived in Egypt and is the head of monasticism for the whole world. We belong to the jurisdiction of the Alexandria Patriarchate, and our faith is Orthodoxy. My parish is located in the diocese of Kenya, and we are trying to broaden and increase it. We do not have a large parish—around 300 people, about 100 of them active parishioners.

—How did the Kenyans come to Orthodoxy?

Orthodoxy came about here at the initiative of the local people. They tried to find the true Church. Back in 1932, Orthodox Kenyans wrote a letter to Patriarch Meletios about being received into the Patriarchate of Alexandria; the Patriarch gave them a positive answer, but he soon died. The Kenyans again wrote a letter, this time to Patriarch Christopher. In 1942, Metropolitan Nicholas of Aksum came to us, looked everything over, and in 1946, the Kenyan Church was received into communion with the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

Soon, in Kenya the liberation movement against the colonial regime began. This was in 1952. There were many Orthodox parishes on the side of the rebels, and the Protestant and Catholic priests called the uprising a rebellion of pagans and savages. They imprisoned the Orthodox priests. For example, Fr. George Arthur Kaduna, the first “black” bishop in Kenya, spentten years in prison together with the future president of the country and leader of the Kikuyu tribe, Jomo Kenyatta.

The president left after his death a parcel of land for the building of an Orthodox seminary, which opened its gates in 1982. The current archbishop of Albania, Anastasios, opened this seminary. We began with private classes on weekends, studying only Liturgics, and now the seminary has risen to a serious level; we graduate students with diplomas. So, this is part of our history.

—How did you personally become Orthodox?

I became Orthodox in my childhood, at nine years old. I was not baptized as an infant.
—Are your parents also Orthodox?

They were not believers, but later they followed in their son’s footsteps and became Orthodox.
—What was most significant on your path to Orthodoxy—a person, school, or something else?

Our parish priest. He influenced me, in my village, in our church. I was a child then. I continued to go to church also after growing up.
—Tell us about your church. What is it built of?

At first our church was made of clay, and only later was there a stone building. But we have no iconographers to paint the frescoes, and it is very expensive to hire artists from Europe. Therefore we have only icons that we hang on the wall, but no wall paintings. We also had a bell, but it was stolen right from the tell tower.
—I would like to know about the spiritual life at your parish: how often do people confess and receive Communion?

Those who feel the need and have prepared themselves generally receive Communion whenever there is a Liturgy. But of course, if something prevents them, they do not commune. We usually try to talk with these people and find out what the problem is. Confession before Communion is generally not mandatory. It depends upon the people in particular. If someone comes and says, “I need to confess,” then of course we take his confession. But in many cases I try to send the person to a more experienced priest for confession.
—What kind of missionary work is done in Kenya, in your parish, and in your diocese?

We have many different kinds of missionary work. There are youth programs, programs for women, programs of male brotherhoods. We have Sunday school classes. There are also educational programs directed at work in high school and elementary classes. In the secular schools, we also try to keep a Christian direction.

I am very proud of the fact that there is an Orthodox high school in our parish that was founded by the Church, but we accept all children there, no matter what confession. We work according to a state educational program that is required in all schools in Kenya. This program is used everywhere, even in private schools: the lesson is forty minutes long, there should be eight lessons per day, qualified teachers teach them, and so on. Education is under government control.

Now we have sixty-five students, and this part of our missionary work. I as the director of our school, and the students.
When I was assigned to this parish there was a five-acre parcel of land designated for a school. It had been abandoned over the course of ten years, there was nothing there; no building, nothing. Now with God’s help there is a school there, with classrooms and desks.
In the church we try to use the local languages. Sermons are also in the local language. But in the schools, English is used throughout Kenya. The entire population speaks English.
—In your opinion, does Orthodoxy have a larger future in Kenya?

If we have wise governance and we rely upon the local peoples, follow their needs, and be their partners, then we have great potential. Our mission must encompass new ethnic groups.

Source:

REPRESENTATIVE OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ATTENDS CONFERENCE ON PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN THE WORLD

July 1, 2015 – A conference on the Persecution of Christians in the World took place at the European Parliament in Brussels. It was initiated by European People’s Party with the aim to call the European Union leaders and EU member states to make the persecution of Christians a priority in their foreign policy in pursuance of the Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 30, 2015, in relation to the killing of students in Kenya by terror group al-Shabaab.

The program of the conference included an introduction and two issue panel discussions concerning the situation in the Middle East countries, primarily Iraq and Syria, and the situation of Christians in other regions, especially in Asia and Africa.

The forum began its work with a minute of silence in memory of Christians victimized by Christianophobia.

The conference was addressed by officials of the European Parliament, prominent religious leaders and media persons.

Local Orthodox Churches were represented by Archpriest Dimitry Sizonenko, acting representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European international organizations in Brussels, and Archpriest Sorin Selaru, head of the Romanian Church representation to the EU.

The speakers stressed that Christians are the most persecuted religious community in the world today; their rights and dignity are trampled in 75% of the countries in the world. This situation speaks of the existence of Christianophobia as a widely-spread phenomenon. The mass media would willingly report killings of Christians in the Islamic world while passing over in silence the cases of persecution taking place in other countries and in peaceful situations. Disrespect for freedom of faith inevitably begets the violation of other freedoms, political and economic.

In many countries, the discrimination of Christians has grown into mass persecution against people of other religions when the religious factor becomes an instrument of pressure brought to bear on dissent and disliked minorities. Thus, the persecution of Christians has become not only a humanitarian or confessional disaster but also a disturbing sign of the political degradation of society. A society in which there is no freedom of faith inevitably finds itself on the brink of civil war.

Summing up the discussions, European Parliament member Cristian Dan Preda said in particular that it should be admitted that it is easier today to reach a consensus in the European Parliament with regard to persecution for a faith or religious beliefs if Christians are not mentioned at all. Every day, reports are coming about glaring facts of discrimination against Christian, but publications in the mass media do not help towards a deeper understanding of the problem – they only build up fears. The religious component of the protection of Christians should become one of the key factors in the foreign policy work of the European Union for the sake of the preservation of peace.

DECR Communication Service

Source:

August 2015

Dear All

We credit Ekaterina Zagulyaeva, Christian Orthodox journalist from Moscow, Russia for exposing the needs of the Kenyan orphans & the unselfish work performed by Father Mark Mwangi & his wife Presbytera Alice Mwangi, in identifying & assisting orphaned children in obtaining shelter, healthcare needs, nutrition,  education & fulfilling their spiritual needs.

Below is a link to the beautifully illustrated article she published, December 11, 2014.  In addition, below we have also posted photos of Ekaterina’s visit to Father Mark Mwangi’s Orphanage.

 Africa Father Mwangi’s Orphanage

Through Facebook,  the needs of the Kenyan orphans  came to the awareness of Timothy Farrell,  the charity organizer of the Saint Philothea Project.

Saint Philothea Project (Facebook)

Timothy expanded his aid in assisting Romanian orphans, with a mission trip which included a visit to Illasit, Kenya. We are asking those who can help, to please make a donation to the Saint Philothea Project.

Father Mark Mwangi serves three churches in the area. He is the only priest. He serves these humble churches made of corrugated metal, which have neither water nor electricity. Father’s primary means of transportation is a 100 cc motorcycle,  although he has also walked on foot over two hours each way carrying his vestments, to perform church service!  A four hour trip on foot, to serve the parishioners of his community, on any given day.

There is no established orphanage,  per se. Children are taken in by elders or stay in homes once occupied by their now deceased parents. There are 20 houses in all, attending to the need of 60 children.  Father Mark Mwangi & his wife visit them once a month.  There is no water or electricity in these homes either. Children often times sleep on dirt floors,  three of them sharing a single blanket.  When it rains it is not uncommoon for the wall to allow the rain inside the house.  It is not an easy situation.

They cannot afford to go to school,  so they continue to live a life of poverty.  Many work in the fields to make a living.

The good news is, that education in Kenya is free. However,  these children cannot afford to pay for a school uniform & the textbooks required to attend.  A uniform for elementary school is $60. The cost to attend highschool per year is $250. At the present time,  there are 50 elementary school children & 10 high school children.  Our first goal is to raise $6,000 to place all these kids in school.  School in Kenya starts each January!  This is a reasonably obtainable goal, that with your generosity,  can change the life of a child who has lost so much & has so little.

Together,  Father Mark & his wife see to the needs of all the orphans & the people of his village.  Presbytera Alice, who has taken a course through a local hospital, sees to their health needs. She educates them about HIV & AIDS as well as ways to prevent the spread of disease.  She has been doing this since 2004.

Free treatment drugs are the only assistance the government offers. This requires a trip to the local hospital,  to which many have no means of getting to.  Father also has a special arrangement with the hospital, allowing him to keep & distribute medications from his home. They do all this, in addition to raising four children of their own & on a very limited salary.

Being able to afford better transportation such as a small car would be a huge assistance to Father Mark & Presbytera. This would allow them to reach people in need faster, freeing up his time to give more aid, instead of time spent walking.  It would allow him to transport those in need to local hospitals & to distribute goods.  Our second goal, is to help Father Mark afford a small vehicle to be able to attend to needs of the three churches he serves & to provide aid to the orphans.  

Many cannot afford to pay for hospital treatments,  so Father Mark schedules medical clinics four times a year in the village. It costs $90 to organize these clinics & they treat upwards of 175 people,  many outside of Father Mark’s parish. Ideally he would like to schedule one medical clinic a month.  Our third goal is to raise an additional  $1,100 to assist Father Mark in scheduling one medical clinic per month.   With your help,  it could be possible!

I, Anastasia Poulos am just an ordinary citizen of Christ’s Orthodox church. I met Presbytera Alice through an Orthodox group on Facebook. We bonded because I come from parents who also serve the Lord. We chatted for months & Presbytera never once shared with me her dire need. She never once asked for ANYTHING!  It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Ekaterina’s article, that I realized what a gift this couple is to their community.  It pulled at my heart and I wept. I prayed to God to show me a way in which I could be of assistance.  One of the best gifts we can give, is our time & skills. It is something I gave up freely, in putting together this fundraiser site.  I pray that God will guide us in doing good.  Through HIS LOVE and your generosity,  all things are possible.

My ultimate long term goal for these needy children is to raise enough funds to build a proper,  strong & warm shelter/orphanage, where they can take comfort in; a safe place they can lay their heads & call home.  In the mean time, their needs are great. They need beds, blankets, school supplies, food & medical care.  Any excess funds will be used to provide these basic needs.

Please take a moment to read the article to see more of the great work that Father Mark Mwangi & his wife do to help the people of their community. They are a spiritual resource, teachers, healers & caregivers to those in their village and beyond.  We invite you to join them in their labor of love,  assisting them in fulfilling the needs of these beautiful souls, brothers & sisters in Christ.

Timothy Farrell through his philanthropic organization,  Saint Philothea Project,  will be collecting contributions & organizing mission trips,  both to Kenya & to Romania to assist with the needs of orphans & widows in both areas.

Those who wish to contribute items for our cause,  please contact him to arrange for shipment.

pilgrimtim@yahoo.com

In final thought, we all have something we can give to help others.  Please give.  The cost of a Starbucks Coffee,  a Happy Meal etc. might seem insignificant to you,  but $5 in Africa can provide each child 1 kilogram of rice, 1 kilogram of corn meal and 1 kilogram of Vegetable lard!  Staples that are commonly used to keep the hunger pains at bay.

We THANK YOU for your love & support.

You can also HELP OUR CAUSE BY SHARING OUR PAGE  with others. 

We look forward to growing with you.  Pictures of our progress will be shared.   Come join us in our journey

Sincerely,

Anastasia Poulos,
Timothy Farrell & Saint Philothea Project,
Ekaterina Zagulyaeva,
Presbytera Alice Mwangi &
Father Mark Mwangi.

Source:

OCP News Service – October 2015- The Kenyan Orthodox Mission 
Father Mark Mwangi & Presbytera Alice Mwangi of Illacit – Kenya

Please visit the Mission page to learn more:

Kindly make your valuable donations here:

Also Read –
Kindly Support the Orthodox Christian Orphanage of Kenya:

Dear Friends,

We are still looking for donors to help sponsor a child to go to school. We have 60+ orphans who HOPE to start school in January. The only thing keeping them from having an opportunity to GET OUT OF POVERTY, is $60 (the cost of a mandatory school uniform).

PLEASE, won’t you open your heart & give! Saint Philothea Project will be going to Kenya in January to buy & distribute uniforms & food. Click on our link. Contributions can be made securely online. FOLLOW ALONG AS WE POST UPDATES & PHOTOS OF OUR MISSION! Tell your friends by SHARING OUR LINK! Thank you.

Source:
OCP News Service

Orthodox Mission Team opportunities for 2016 are now available! You service is needed! Please apply today and help lead youth camps, teach the Faith, minister to women, restore a church, or offer healthcare in a world longing for the love of Christ.

Orthodox Christian Mission Center – October 2015

Visit OCMC Website here:

Around the world there are adults and children longing to learn more about the Faith. There are women who want to offer their time and talents to the Church, but need guidance on how best to serve. There are people desperate for healthcare. In 2016, Orthodox Mission Teams from the OCMC will do these things and more. Your service on one of these teams is needed!

Mission teams will be serving in seven countries this year including Alaska (USA), Albania, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, and Uganda. Dates and descriptions for upcoming mission teams are as follows:

MARCH

3/19/2016 to 3/27/2016 – Albania: Work with Albanian youth leaders to host a conference for young adults from throughout Albania.

3/26/2016 to 4/2/2016 – Mexico: Offer youth and adult catechism to educate and encourage the faithful in the remote villages of San Esteban and Pisaflores.

APRIL

4/8/2016 to 4/17/2016 – Guatemala: Provide healthcare and education in northern Guatemala.

MAY

5/9/2016 to 5/21/2016 – Indonesia: Assist with the healthcare outreach at the Theotokos Orthodox Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra.

5/9/2016 to 5/21/2016 – Uganda: Provide healthcare at the Holy Cross Orthodox Mission Hospital in Kampala.

5/23/2016 to 6/10/2016 – Albania: Earn credit hours and study Orthodox Christian missiology with coursework offered through the Missions Institute of Orthodox Christianity with a missions practicum to Albania.

JUNE

6/7/2016 to 6/20/2016 – Albania: Help administer summer programs for the Children’s Home of Hope in Shen Vlash and the Protagonist School in Tirana.

6/15/2016 to 6/28/2016 – Guatemala: Offer a summer church school program for two communities outside Nuevo Conception in southwest Guatemala.

6/28/2016 to 7/11/2016 – Indonesia: Teach the Faith at schools operated by the Orthodox Church in Indonesia.

6/28/2016 to 7/11/2016 – Indonesia: Offer a family and youth outreach by teaching about the Orthodox understanding of marriage, family life, and raising children in Singaraja, Bali.

JULY

7/1/2016 to 7/11/2016 – Alaska: Participate in an annual youth camp in Kwethluk and lead a young adult retreat in Napaskiak.

7/20/2016 to 7/30/2016 – Alaska: Participate in an annual youth camp near Pilot Station.

7/27/2016 to 8/5/2016 – Alaska: Offer a camp program for children, teenagers, and adults in Old Harbor.

AUGUST

8/26/2016 to 9/4/2016 – Guatemala: Provide healthcare and education in northern Guatemala.

OCTOBER

10/25/2016 to 11/5/2016 – Albania: Plan and lead spiritual retreats for clergy wives and women leaders in Albania.

Dates and details for teams to Kenya are still to be determined. Visit http://www.ocmc.org/about/open_teams.aspx, e-mailteams@ocmc.org, or call 1-877-463-6784 for more information or to volunteer.

Source:

Orthodox Mission Fraternity- November 2015

Support the Orthodox Mission in Kenya. Donate now.

For many years people had been waiting for Christ to come: the One who would bring love and peace, the real smile and justice, equality and serenity, things so precious to someone who wants to feel the true meaning of life.

Since then two thousand years have gone by and still there are people who not only live in poverty and deprivation, but also have not even heard that message of love and justice. They are still waiting for him; they have not yet met Him or seen Him.

The doleful land of Africa was deprived of this great gift of God, did not see the light or the sun of justice when it was revealed to humanity.

Suddenly, this light came and shone for this land too. And the indigenous peoples, trying to comprehend this great mystery of the Resurrection, started building and inaugurating sacred churches in the name of God and realized that they should feel as His own children. Now they know that God is the One who embraces and accompanies them in their lives. He shows them the way and they walk along with Him. This is the mystery of the Gospel. They live and move between divine intervention and love.

As for the Orthodox Mission of the Patriarchate of Alexandria throughout the African continent, one of its main concerns is to build schools for educating young people in order not only to combat illiteracy but also to help them become useful citizens.

Moreover, the Orthodox Church of Kenya is struggling to diminish pain and fight disease by providing free medical care to all people.

Once again, the Orthodox Church, being sensitized to all this agony and life of hardship, offers its contribution to alleviate those poor people’s pain and fight injustice, which they are suffering from.

The church bell rings and calls the faithful for the eternal journey to the Kingdom of Heaven; they dance and play, thanking and praising God with their simple, pure, selfless heart. For many years the Holy Metropolis of Kenya has been working with various charitable organizations; as a result of this collaboration, there are annual visits on a permanent basis, tours with doctors of all specialties and other volunteers who heal physical as well as spiritual wounds.

Hospitals, clinics, schools, churches are tokens of the bond of love coming from Orthodox believers all around the world. The local authorities recognize their contribution, appreciate it and express their gratitude for it.

As for the people’s pleasure, this is manifest and expressed in so many different ways. It seems like doors and windows are opened to them… they taste the joy and blessings that are now offered by the presence of Orthodoxy; the love of God has entered into their homes making them feel that they are children of God, noble creatures, all equal before Him… These visits strengthen the people. This hope that we have not forgotten them is offered even to those living in the most remote areas. The Church is beside them, having undertaken the great mission of providing spiritual care as well as social welfare and assistance.

Not long after the acquaintance with true faith, the living conditions got better and the people started appreciating more things such as nature, the beauty of creation, life itself as a gift from God despite the adversities they were confronted with. Through the missionary movement and activity of Orthodoxy these people, young and old, are offered hope, joy as well as peacefulness and are able to smile…

This is what the Orthodox spirit does. The tradition of Orthodoxy along with local habits forms a wonderful mosaic, rich in content. Now the people continue their traditions, their daily habits in a new perspective, that of a new life. This is the true path of Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy embraces all people, accepts their traditional habits. This is, then, the superpower that can save humanity and spare man from aimless searching and wandering. It can offer a lot of light, the true light, which will transform and regenerate the human race.

Today Orthodoxy renews its strength and determines the real dimensions of its mission, an ecumenical and universal message: to embrace all people of all races, all backgrounds and all languages.

† Archbishop Makarios of Kenya

Source:

OCP News Service- Anastasia- Saint Philothea Project- 19/11/15

Kindly make your Valuable donations here:

Learn more about the Kenyan orthodox Mission here:

Dear Friends & Family,

We thank you for your support wholeheartedly!

As we draw near to the holidays, we are closing in on our deadline for our mission trip to Kenya! We ask that you help Saint Philothea Project by sharing news of our project with those you know. Please take the time to tell friends & family. Please share our link! We have hit a major milestone of $6000 raising the money needed to place the orphans in school! The school year in Kenya begins January 2016.

We now aim to fulfill the second goal we set for this mission & that is to help Father Mark Mwangi with the purchase of a reliable used car. I have spoken to Father Mark, who estimates the cost of this purchase to be $4,000. Please keep in mind, Father Mark & his Presbytera visit 20 households each month that house the orphans. He also performs service at two churches 4 Sundays each month.

That means they travel almost every day of the month, doing Gods service. They also attempt to fulfill the needs of orphans by carrying goods to the various households. He currently uses a motorcycle as transportation. In the past, for 15 years he carried on his ministry on foot! The ability to afford a small vehicle with provide safety, the ability to transport goods to the orphans, to carry his vestments to church, to transport those who need to get to the local hospital which is several hours away & much more! We aim to enable this servant of God the means by which to continue his good works with ease. As we continue to grow our mission, we ask that you keep the names of our orphans in your prayers. With the love of Christ & humility, We thank you!

Saint Philothea Project NAMES OF ORTHODOX AFRICA ORPHANS: Barack, Richard, Rafael, Monicah, Joyce, Mary, Millicent, Esther, Victoria, Bernabas, Jedidah, Faith, Lucy, James, Harrison, Joseph, Joseph, Zifforah, Irene, Helen, Demetrios, Elijah, Tabitha, Boniface, Nancy, Agnes, Faith, Magdeline, Moses, Joseph, Benson, James, Rahab, Paul, Jane, Geoffrey, Jane, Wanjiku, Kelvin, Francis, Lakeli, Collins, Mituso, Peter, Margate, Joseph, Musjoka, Veronica, David, Riziki, Solomon, Josephone, Josephine, Kunta, Peter, Brayan, Charity, Fuarine, Francis, Elly, Jon, Beth, Nancy, Phelista, Mrtha, Nancy, Mam, John, Matt.

Source:
OCP News Service

Anastasia – December 2015 – Saint Philothea Project

Lear more about the Kenyan Orthodox Mission Here:

Kindly visit the below to make your valuable donations!!!
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/7122l0/ab/654ZX6

Dear Friends & Family,

We thank you for your support wholeheartedly! As we draw near to the holidays, we are closing in on our deadline for our mission trip to Kenya! There are LESS THAN 30 DAYS LEFT, before our mission trip. We ask that you help Saint Philothea Project by sharing news of our project with those you know. Please take the time to tell friends & family. Please share our link!

We have almost raised $7500! We could not have done this without your support!

Father Mark Mwangi’s Orphanage supports 67 children. As you know, we are raising money to help buy school uniforms so that the children can attend school. There are many internal issues with children attending school. There are tests that are given to every child before attending school. Based on academic preparation shown by their scores, it appears that 28 children are ready to attend elementary school this year. Some of the older kids are trying to get in to high school. This also requires test taking and a substantial tuition. Perhaps the remainder who did not qualify, did not score high enough to be offered a chance to study this year. All of this will have some resolution when President of Saint Philothea Project, Timothy Farrell makes his personal visit. We will consider what options are available to strengthen & enable those left behind.

In the meantime, Saint Philothea Project has put a deposit down on 28 uniforms for those who will be attending. What a great achievement! The school year in Kenya begins mid January 2016.

We now aim to fulfill the second goal we set for this mission & that is to help Father Mark Mwangi with the purchase of a reliable used car. I have spoken to Father Mark, who estimates the cost of this purchase to be $4,000. Please keep in mind, Father Mark & his Presbytera visit 20 households each month that house the orphans. He also performs service at two churches 4 Sundays each month. That means they travel almost every day of the month, doing Gods service. They also attempt to fulfill the needs of orphans by carrying goods to the various households. He currently uses a motorcycle as transportation. In the past, for 15 years he carried on his ministry on foot! The ability to afford a small vehicle with provides safety, the ability to transport goods to the orphans, to carry his vestments to church, to transport those who need to get to the local hospital which is several hours away & much more! We aim to enable this servant of God the means by which to continue his good works with ease.

Your donations will also seek to provide food & other basic needs that we discover when we physically arrive in Kenya. We will keep you updated on all the good we do through your contributions!

As we continue to grow our mission, we ask that you keep the names of our orphans in your prayers.

With the love of Christ & humility, We thank you! Saint Philothea Project

NAMES OF ORTHODOX AFRICA ORPHANS: Barack, Richard, Rafael, Monicah, Joyce, Mary, Millicent, Esther, Victoria, Bernabas, Jedidah, Faith, Lucy, James, Harrison, Joseph, Joseph, Zifforah, Irene, Helen, Demetrios, Elijah, Tabitha, Boniface, Nancy, Agnes, Faith, Magdeline, Moses, Joseph, Benson, James, Rahab, Paul, Jane, Geoffrey, Jane, Wanjiku, Kelvin, Francis, Lakeli, Collins, Mituso, Peter, Margate, Joseph, Musjoka, Veronica, David, Riziki, Solomon, Josephone, Josephine, Kunta, Peter, Brayan, Charity, Fuarine, Francis, Elly, Jon, Beth, Nancy, Phelista, Mrtha, Nancy, Mam, John, and Matt.

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Independent

The 2016 OCMC Evangelism team to the Turkana of Northern Kenya shared Orthodox Christianity with nearly 400 people in three villages. Many of them had never heard the Gospel message. Team members shared their Faith through skits, talks, movies, and fellowship

OCMC– April 2016

In the face of 100 degree heat, the shade offered by the large tree we approached was welcoming, but would the 90+ people already gathered beneath the tree be as welcoming? We had traveled by truck for more than four hours, a group of students from Holy Cross Seminary, a priest, a former missionary to Albania, several OCMC staff members, and the newly-ordained Bishop of the Kisumu Diocese, His Grace Athanasius, to share the Orthodox Faith with people in three villages OCMC had never before visited. We’d learned from experience that these first meetings can go many different ways, from joyous celebration to suspicious hesitation.

The people of the first village we visited knew we were coming, but we could tell that they had questions about who we were and why we were there. Thankfully we also had three Turkana Orthodox priests with us as well to help with first introductions. We greeted the elder men first, then the women, and then the youth and children, as is customary in Turkana society. We shared about ourselves and where we were from. Common bonds like the fact that we had children and that we were people of faith helped us open up to one another. These bonds, however, were sealed in the most beautifully Turkana way imaginable – through song and dance. That is where it all began!

The Turkana teach through story. We came with the story of Christ – His life, death, and resurrection. We presented what we could from the Gospel in the form of skits. Some of them elicited laughter, others fear, and still others questions. Each skit was followed by a time where the stories could be more fully explained. More questions followed, we enjoyed a meal together, and slowly the idea of Christ as God was shared – an idea further planted by the showing of a movie about Christ’s life translated into the Turkana language.

For three days to the people of three villages, nearly 400 in all, we planted this seed, and we saw our prayers answered. We are Orthodox. We know that coming to the Faith is a journey. We were not expecting to convert these people. We just wanted to invite them to embark on a journey toward Christ. Thankfully, as we prepared to leave, each village asked that we return to continue sharing about this Jesus Christ!

With this invitation, the Turkana Orthodox priests said they would come again. Over time, a year or more, those who want it will be catechized. The richness of the Orthodox Faith and its fulfillment of their own beliefs will be revealed. Then through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, they will join our Orthodox family.

This is how it has happened in more than 15 Turkana villages since 2007, and it has seen more than 1,500 people come into the Faith. The work must continue! Each team, each missionary, each donation, and each prayer plays its part in welcoming people into the Church and transforming lives forever.

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