Cloud of Witnesses
June, 2004
O Foremost of the Apostles and
Teachers of the world, Peter and Paul, intercede ye with the Master of all that
He grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls.
All Saints Orthodox Church
Salina, Kansas
All Saints Orthodox Church
2818 Scanlan Avenue,
Salina, KS 67401
Church: 823-3735 Home: 309-0858
E-mail: allsaints95@sbcglobal.net
Right Rev'd. Fr. Daniel S. Griffith, pastor
(E-mail: dgriffit@sbcglobal.net)
Very Rev'd. Fr. Thomas Neustrom, (823-2410)
And the Lord said to Cain,
'Where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not. Am I my brother's
keeper?' And He said, 'What hast thou done. The voice of thy brother's blood
crieth unto Me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which
hath opened to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand'. (Gen. 4:9-11)
A Prayer for the Victims of
Abortion
O Lord God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, our only
Maker and Redeemer, Who art timelessly begotten
of the Heavenly Father and Who for love for mankind didst deign to be
incarnate in time by the power of the Holy Spirit in the
pure womb of Thine all-holy, ever-virgin Mother Mary and Whose Messiah-ship
was first discerned and Whose birth according to the flesh first announced
by the Baptist John while still in his mother's womb and Whose first witness-martyrs
were neither Apostles nor Myrrh-bearers, but innocent babes
slain by cruel Herod: Do Thou Thyself, O compassionate
Lord, look with mercy and love upon all the innocents butchered
before their first breath, whose precious blood which, like that of Israel's
first-born sons offered in sacrifice to Moloch by
their unrighteous parents, was poured out upon
the altar of vanity and lust. Grant them peace and joy. May their mighty
archangel-guardian ease the grief, bitterness and anger which wounds
their gentle hearts, that, when, as is their due, they shall stand at Thy
dread Judgment-Seat as accusers of their parents, their parentsÕ
supporters, the abortionists and their assistants who were their
heartless executioners, they be not avenging spirits but
dispensers of mercy to their debtors and sincere intercessors
before Thy tribunal. May gentle, fragrant breezes wafting from
fair Paradise surround them and assuage their childish
anguish and pain. May they know now the sweetness and tenderness
of which they have been robbed in this life and in the next. May Thy
gentle Mother extend her hand that they may know a motherÕs caress.
May Thy radiant glory lighten their darkness and rejoice
their childish hearts. And we pray Thee, O Master of all, to
withhold Thy righteous indignation against us, and
grant that a quick and final end be brought to this satanic holocaust
and that the sea of blood of righteous Abel and that of the holy Innocents
of Bethlehem be not further swelled to drown and defile the beauty of
Thy creation. Open our eyes to discern the enormity of the abominable
crime of abortion, that, with broken and contrite heart, such as Thou
dost not despise, we may repent the wickedness which we have
done and may know again Thy mercy and compassion. Having
recovered, through sincere and profound repentance, our right
minds and truly human hearts that we may walk in ways that
well-please Thee, we may ever bless, praise, serve and glorify Thee,
together with Thy Father Who is without beginning, and
Thine all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto
ages of ages. Amen.
Some
Hard, Cold Facts
In 1973 the US Supreme Court passed the "Roe versus Wade"
Legislation, legalizing abortions in all 50 states & territories
of the United States.
Since
that time there have been approximately 4,000 legal abortions performed
in the United States every day. That means an average of 1,370,000 each year; 42,470,000 from 1973-the
present. Of these only 1% were because of rape, 1% because of fetal abnormalities
& 3% because of the mother's health problems; 95% were a form of birth
control.
Worldwide
the statistics are even more horrific: 126,000 daily, 46,000,000 a year.
If
we compare the total numbers of lives lost, both military & civilian, Allied
& Axis, during WWII, the most costly war in human fatalities; there
were approximately 50,000,000 plus lost.
When
we add to these statistics the numbers of fertilized ovaries (remembering that human life
begins from the moment of conception),
byproducts of invitro-fertilization now deep frozen waiting to be used
for scientific experimentation or discarded, the cost of human life is
astonomical.
If
the blood of one righteous man, Abel, cried unto God from the ground (Genesis 4:9), then what must be the cacophony rising to God's
ears everyday because of man's butchery.
There
is no justification for these demonic sacrifices
From
the very beginning the Church has called abortion murder & those who
procure, who practice it & those who support & finance it murderers.
In
the Didache, The Teaching of the 12 Apostles, an early Christian document which, in certain
of its parts, may be older that the Gospels themselves, in its opening section
which details of list of basic Christian moral standards states:
You shall not slay the child by abortions.
The
Epistle of Barnabas, another
early Christian document from the mid-2nd century states:
You shall not destroy your conceptions before they
are brought forth; nor kill them after they are born.
Another
2nd century document, The Apocalypse of Peter, which was widely revered in the early Church,
when describing the sufferings of the various classes of sinners in hells,
states:
And near that place [in hell] I saw another strait place into which the gore
& the filth of those who were being punished ran down & became there as
it were a lake: & there sat women having the gore up to their necks, &
over against them sat many children who were born to them out of due time,
crying; & there came forth from them sparks of fire & smote the women
in the eyes: & these were the accursed who conceived & caused
abortion.
Writing
around 197 Tertullian the great Church writer of North Africa states in
his Apology, Defense of Christianity:
For us murder is once for all forbidden; so even
the child in the womb, while yet the mother's blood is still being drawn on to
form the human being, it is not lawful for us to destroy. To forbid birth is
only quicker murder. It makes no difference whether one take away the
life once born or destroy it as it comes to birth. He is a man who is to be a
man; the fruit is always present in the seed.
In
315 the Council of Ancyra, the decrees of which are recognized by the canons of
the 4th & all subsequent Ecumenical Councils & which are in
force still today throughout the entire Orthodox church, states in it 2nd
canon:
Concerning women who
commit fornication & destroy that which they have conceived or who are employed
in making drugs for abortion, a former decree excluded them [from Communion] until the hour of death & to this some have
assented. Nevertheless, we have ordained that they fulfill 10
years [of penance], according to the prescribed degrees.
It is true that there are certain "hard cases", but
as we can see from the above statistical information, such instances are very
rare. Today we tend to focus on these very few genuinely "hard cases" &
forget the broader picture. Such was not the approach of the fathers of
the Church. ÒThey were more concerned to convey to Christians living in a
largely pagan world [in
other word, in a world not unlike the one we find ourselves in today] that abortion is the killing of an innocent life;
speculating about the possible circumstances surrounding the mother
was secondary.
É[Thus] when they preached on the evils of theft, for
example, they did not normally digress on the "hard cases" of the poor stealing
bread to feed their families. In those cases where they did, however, they
did not declare thievery a legitimate "choice" for the needy, but
called upon Christians to be more active in providing alms for
the indigent. Charity, not theft, is the answer to the various social ills
that drive the indigent to steal.
In
the same vein, whatever problems may drive a woman to seek an abortion,
the Fathers did not view killing the unborn child as the answer. Death is never
a viable solution to problems. Abortion, like suicide & euthanasia,
is at best a deceptive "solution" that resolves nothing. As the fathers
repeatedly stressed, abortion is the choice of death over life, of non-existence
over existence. As such, the Church rejected abortion in favor
of life, declaring that the ultimate answer to the hard cases lies
not with the abortionist who destroys life, but with Christ who has
"come that they may have life, & that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).Ó
As to those unfortunate women who have aborted
children, she proclaims God's mercy, which is not lightly given, but which
is available in response to profound & enduring repentance. Such women,
during their penance, she embraces with love, interceding for them, encouraging
their penitential labors & offering the Holy & Life-Giving Sacrifice
of Christ in their behalf. And when, at last their labors are done, then she
receives them as did the Lord the woman who with her tears washed His precious
feet & with her hair wiped them dry.
Parish
Council (May 19)
PREVIOUS
MINUTES: Our last meeting approved a ¼ page ad for the Souvenir Journal
for the 2004 Parish Life Conference in Austin. An ad has been submitted for
½ page: ¼ from All Saints & a ¼ from St. Mary Magdalene.
TreasurerÕs report: The money borrowed from the icon fund for the brick
project has been refunded in full (this amount was $5000, 00).
Big Fat Greek Dinner (chaired by Reader John & Fr. Daniel): A special "Thank You" to Johnna
Walker for her design work on the flyers, tickets & menus. "Thank You"
to the Houchins for their donation of 2 roaster ovens. It was suggested
that we vary our menu & noted that "that variety may help with repeat
dinner patrons". "Thank You" to Bill Fekas for preparing & coordinating
the food. All who participated in & helped with the dinner were appreciated;
for all contributed to the dinner's success. Net profit from the dinner is
$724.00 (expenses
$1232.96, our largest expense was for advertizing)
MAINTENANCE:
Elm tree removal: Larry stated, "not all of the elm trees would be removed for
the church property." The elm leaf beetle problem would not necessarily be
stopped by removal; adjoining properties have elm trees. All trees should be
treated. There are 2 hatches per year, & the 1st has
occurred. Larry has treated the church trees & will do so again at the 2nd
hatch. The Toxeol¨ company was hired to spray the inside of the church.
AOCWNA: Bill Fekas suggested to Fr. Daniel that we
really need another refrigerator. There would be adequate space in the kitchen
for such a refrigerator. The ladies group has taken up the discussion of this
project. The women are unable to send anyone to the SW Regional Conference
in Austin (this June).
EAST WALL PROGRESS: Jan has indicated through Fr.
Daniel that she is making progress. She has had some family issues come up
& work has slowed. However, progress is now being made.
FALL DINNER: It was suggested by Bill Fekas that
such a dinner could be more low key: Soup & Sandwich or have a Tail-Gate
Party theme.
PRIEST REPORT: David & Kristina LitchmanÕs wedding,
the 1st wedding during Fr. Daniel's pastorate at All Saints,
was celebrated May 2nd. Wedding Service booklets were prepared which
can be used for future weddings.
Food for Hungry boxes have been counted coming to
$300.00. This money has been turned in already.
A new exhibit on Ethiopian
Christianity has
opened at the Heartland Orthodox Museum, Topeka. All should try &
attend. The museum is a wonderful resource for Orthodoxy, & we must
support it. The museum is for all not just for Orthodox Christians. It is, in
fact, primarily intended to acquaint non-Orthodox with the richness &
reality of Orthodox Christianity. To this end the Museum is a regular part of
packaged tours of Kansas & materials about the Museum are readily available
in all Kansas tourist bureaus.
Father will be away from May 26-28. He is
presenting to Lutheran pastors near Franklin, TN.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT: On
Memorial Day Paul Sidebottom, our first seminary graduate will receive his
degree from St. TikhonÕs Seminary, South Canaan, PA. Paul is not planning to be
ordained immediately, but hopes, instead, to be assigned to missionary work for
a year or so. It was decided to give him a gift from the Parish Council of
$200.00 + whatever parishioners should contribute in the next 2 Sundays.
Dates to
Remember
Sun., June 6th: All
Saints Sunday (our
patronal feast)
Mon., June 7th: Beginning of the Fast of the Holy Apostles
June 10-13: Parish Life Conf.,
Austin, TX
Wed., June 16: Parish Council
Meeting
Tues., June 29th: Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul
July 15-18: Antiochian Archdiocese
Convention, Pittsburgh, PA
July 18-22: Biennial Clergy
Symposium, Antiochian Village
Sun., Aug. 1st
: Beginning of the 2 week Fast of the Virgin Mary
Fri., Aug. 6th: Feast of
the Transfiguration of the Savior.
Sun., Aug. 15th: Feast
of the Falling-Asleep of the All-Holy Theotokos & Ever-Virgin
Mary
Aug. 21st: Blessing of
the grapes at the Winery
Wed., Sept. 8th: Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Tues., Sept. 14th: Feast of the Universal
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Oct. 9th, 2004: Fall
Dinner (fund raiser)
Nov. 13th: pre-advent
church family dinner
Nov. 15th: Advent fast begins
Our Sincere Best
Wishes for our Graduate (Andrew Walker[Brown Machey
College]) & Our Prayers
for GodÕs Rich Blessings upon him.
God
Grant You Many, Many Blessed Years!
Names'
Days
Lynda Innes, Eleanor
Smith & Sara Osborn (Martha, Sister of Mary & Lazarus of Bethany, June 4)
& Vi Wygal (Venerable
Nun Anastasia (Anna) of Serbia, Mother of St. Savva, June 21).
Birthdays
Mary
Ellen Guest (June
2), Christian Bahrim (June 8), George Norton (June 11),
Fr.
Thomas Neustrom (June
19), Vi Wygal (June
22) & Bogdana Bahrim (June 28).
Wedding
Anniversaries
Fr. Thomas
& Khouriya Lukie Neustrom (June
12).