Orthodox in Gauteng's topics - tribe.net

Proposed removal of the Orthodox in Gauteng tribe

2007-08-20T14:15:21Z

I propose to remove this "tribe" from Tribe.net, since it doesn't seem to be serving any useful purpose.

I seem to be the only one who has posted any reports on it, and it has been suggested that this makes it look as though I am the only one doing anything, so I will post no more reports of happenings in future.

So unless someone else volunteers to take over as moderator, and others post reports, there will be nothing more to see here, and so there will be no purpose in continuing.

If anyone would like to see it continue, please post a nomination for moderator, or volunteer as moderator yourself.

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Visit of OCMC mission team

2007-07-06T13:09:37Z

Yesterday we said goodbye to three young Americans who had spent three weeks in the Orthodox Archdiocese of Johannesburg and Pretoria. They had come as a short-term mission team from the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) in St Augustine, Florida, at the invitation and with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim, Archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Fuller report with pictures at URL below:

http://khanya.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/ocmc-mission-team-visit-to-south-africa/

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Report on baptism

2007-06-18T03:13:54Z

Report on baptism at St Thomas's, Sunninghill Park, here:

http://methodius.blogspot.com/2007/06/baptism-at-st-thomass-church.html

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Visit of OCMC mission team - June/July 2007

2007-06-03T03:51:48Z

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim a team of three young people from the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) in the USA will come to the Archdiocese of Johannesburg and Pretoria during June-July 2007 for a teaching mission.

The Team is composed of three dedicated and very capable people:

Seraphima Carl (born 1984) 1st year St. Vlad's seminary student; BA in Humanities minor in Biblical Studies. Has organized portions of Vacation Bible Studies, president of OCF, 4 time Team member to Tiajuana Mexico, spent 4 months helping at St. Raphael House, is a Reader in her church, plans to pursue a PhD in Theology and teaching at the seminary level
possibly overseas.

John Diamantis (born 1978) St. Tikhon's student (M. Div completed this summer); BA psychology Penn State 2002; Human developlment and Family Studies minor, carpentry and painting, Bible study leader, musically interested, camp counseler, evangelist at heart, previous team member.

Alex Goodwin (born 1977) OCMC communications director; Computer Info Systems degree; prison ministry, youth work, Sunday school, previous employment - Light and Life, previous team to Kenya.

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Report on youth conference and monastic tonsure

2006-12-11T06:43:14Z

The weekend of 7-10 December was a historic occasion for Orthodoxy in Southern Africa, with the first diocecan youth conference for the Archdiocese of Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the first monastic tonsuring of a South African monk to take place in South Africa, when the novice Brother Matthew was tonsured as the Monk Seraphim, and was ordained deacon.

Full report, with pictures, at:

http://methodius.livejournal.com/59807.html

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Youth Conference - December 2006

2006-12-02T04:56:00Z

YOUTH CAMP AND CONFERENCE - 7-10 DECEMBER

We are reaching the final stages of planning for the Archdiocesan Youth Conference at the beginning of the school holidays, and we are appealing for help from all members of the Mission Committee, and anyone else concerned about youth and mission. We need YOUR help to encourage the youth of your parish to attend, and to let us know in good time that they want to attend.

We hope to have young people from every parish in the Archdiocese. One of the concerns that has been expressed by Orthodox youth is the difficulty of being Orthodox in a pluralistic society where Orthodox Christians are a tiny minority. Most of our young people have friends who are not Orthodox, and move in social circles where Orthodox Christianity is not understood or has never been heard of. This puts pressure on our youth, but it also gives them an opportunity for mission.

So an important aim of the conference is for our Orthodox young people to see that they are not alone: scattered among the parishes they may be few, but brought together, in one place, it may be possible to feel, even if only for a few days, what it is like to live in an Orthodox environment, with other Orthodox people.

On youth day (16 June) the youth also told us some of their concerns, and topics they would like to discuss in future conferences. We won't be able to deal with all of them in one conference, but we hope to deal with some, and to cover others in later youth conferences.

* Being Orthodox in a pluralist society
* Orthodox marriage, sexual morality, HIV/Aids
* Moral regeneration, crime and corruption
* Drugs and alcohol abuse
* Poverty, unemployment, racism in church and society

At the moment we urgently need to know who is coming, and to have application forms by 30 November at the latest, especially from those who need a subsidy for the conference fee of R100.00. His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim will be going overseas on 3 December, and will therefore need to approve all applications for subsidies by 1 December at the latest. It would help if those who can afford the full conference fee could add some extra, to help subsidise those who cannot afford it.

One reason we need to know who is coming is to know the average age of participants, so we can plan the level of input. The age range is 15-30, but if necessary we will plan separate activities for those at the younger end.

We also need recommendations on who can speak on these topics, and would welcome the help of mission committee members who can do this.

The daily programme will be:

06:00 - First Hour
06:30 - Breakfast, washing up etc.
09:00 - Third Hour
09:30 - Lecture on theme
10:30 - Tea
11:00 - Discussion and questions on theme
12:00 - Sixth hour
12:30 - Lunch, washing up, free time
15:00 - Ninth Hour
15:30 - Lecture on theme or other activity
16:30 - Tea
17:00 - Discussion and on theme
18:00 - Vespers
18:30 - Supper, washing up
19:30 - General discussion, games, singing practice etc.
21:30 - Compline

This will be the same on Friday and Saturday

On Sunday there will be a different programme, with the Divine Liturgy, and we hope that His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros will be present.

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 1 reply

Youth Day Gathering

2006-11-17T12:41:45Z

You can read more about the Youth Day gathering at St Nektarius here:

http://methodius.livejournal.com/46902.html

Comments and ideas welcome!

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 2 replies

Hours and Readers Service at Sunninghill Park

2006-09-16T13:37:54Z

Today we went to St Thomas's Serbian Orthodox Church in Sunninghill Park for the Hours and Readers Service, which we are doing, with the blessing of Archbishop Seraphim, on alternate Sundays while the priests, Fr Pantelejmon and Fr Spyridon, are away.

The first time we went, a fortnight ago, we fetched Margaret Mphela and her children from Klipfontein View. They are part of our much-diminished Tembisa mission congregation. Unfortunately we couldn't take anyone else, because since our Toyota Venture was stolen, we don't have room in our small car. We sang the service in English, and three members of St Thomas's were there with us, making nine altogether.

Today Margaret phoned to say that she couldn't come -- she has a new job, and was on night shift. So Val and I were the only ones there to sing. But this time there were more local parishioners from St Thomas's, and the number attending had doubled to 18.

Once again we sang the service in English, but the middle psalm in the Third and Sixth Hours was read in Serbian (actually I think it was Slavonic).

There were some people there that we had not seen before. Perhaps they were occasional attenders, but a few looked like Chinese or Japanese, and may have been first-time visitors. Unfortunately by the time we got out of the church after the end of the service they had gone, so we did not get a chance to talk to them. But if they were first-time visitors, it shows the importance of keeping the church open for Sunday services even if the priests are not there, and it is not possible to have the Divine Liturgy. Perhaps by the time Fr Pantelejmon gets back, there will be some people in the parish who will at least be able to read the Hours, if not sing the Obednitsa (Typika, Reader's Service).

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 1 reply

Centenary of arrival of the first priest in Gauteng

2006-08-11T08:41:16Z

I believe that 1908 will mark the centenary of the arrival of the first Orthodox priest in Gauteng, Fr Nikodemos Sarikas.

I have suggested to His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim that we find some way of commemorating the centenary, but also wonder if we could begin collecting historical material about Fr Nicodemos.

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Youth Gathering 16 June 2006

2006-07-17T14:32:00Z

Here are the results of the youth discussions at the St Naktarius monastery site on 16 June 2006

Problems and topics for future youth conferences

Problems for Orthodox youth

Racism and nationalism in the church
Moral standards, especially adultery

General problems for South African youth

Poverty (inc unemployment)
Illiteracy
HIV/Aids
Lack of moral values
Crime & government corruption

Topics for future youth conferences

Racism in the church, including ethnic nationalism
Orthodox teaching on marriage
culture
lives of saints

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Stolen car - mission problem

2006-07-10T04:17:43Z

Last night our Toyota Venture was stolen (thieves broke in the back gate,
poisoned our dog, and took the car out. They were apparently able to
disable the alarm and the gearlock).

This will cause problems for our mission work, and for the last few weeks,
with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim, we have been
taking people from Tembisa to St Thomas's Church in Sunninghill Park on
alternate Sundays, and were planning to continue doing that when Fr
Pantelejmon and Fr Spiridon go to Serbia on leave next week, and lead the
Hours and Readers service in the church. Without the Venture we will not
be able to take people from Tembisa to the church, so we ask your prayers
that the transport problem may be solved.

Deacon Stephen Hayes

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Broadcast service from St Nicholas

2006-07-09T14:00:22Z

I believe that next Sundays broadcast service from St Nicholas, Brixton will be the first time an Orthodox Service is broadcast nationall by the SABC.

Services have been broadcast before by the Pan-Hellenic Voice station in Senderwood, but their range does not extend much beyond Johannesburg and Ekurhukeni, and it is strictly a local station.

First listening to the tape after the service sounded stunning, and a CD will be made for sale in aid of parish funds. It will also be useful as a model for mission parishes that want to have services in English.

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Vidovdan in Gauteng

2006-07-02T18:05:03Z

Today we took members of our Tembisa congregation to St Thomas's Church in Sunninghill Park, where they were commemorating Vidovdan, the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo.

For a full report with pictures, see:

http://methodius.livejournal.com/48477.html

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies

Contact point for Orthodox Christians in Gauteng

2006-06-23T23:12:37Z

This is a forum and contact point for Orthodox Christians in Gauteng.

You can post news of coming parish events, especially those to which you would like to invite people from other parishes, and ask questions about the Orthodox faith, ask for help in projecdts etc.

Please invite other Orthodox Christians in Gauteng to join this "tribe" -- the more the merrier.

Once you have joined the host organisation, tribe.net, you can do a lot of other things too -- make contact with friends and family, and with other people who share your interests, join other "tribes" or start your own.

Deacon Stephen Hayes

posted in Orthodox in Gauteng - 0 replies