www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall How did you discover this forum?

Charles you must have run into one too many nails when you guys were building the chapel Ed Klages and the Church members worked diligently on this, must have been where the dreams are coming from http://www.hrbcc.org/photos_chasovnia.shtml

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to work on the chapel. I have 3 of those 1/2-time jobs that all take nearly full time - school librarian, computer tech teacher, and church organist/music director. However, Ed is a top-notch guy who is solidly grounded in tradition and in our faith. He does a great job at everything he works on.

Well Charles you were nailing in nails with your prayers I am sure. They help to make the hammering go a lot quicker

I found this site by a link at the Byzantine Catholic Church site.
I was newly Byzantine, and coming out of my Year of Ill Health.
My first six months or so here were contentious; I started out by feuding with Alex for a good while. I thought him thin-skinned and humorless. He thought I was an insufferable smart a** [I plead guilty; as Chesterton said "an ounce of sarcasm is worth a pound of argument"].
Now, of course, Alex and I greatly admire one another! I think I convinced him that caution instead of creativity in iconography is wise, and he convinced me that Hus was not a heretic.
My sense of humor and inexperience with online discussions got me in a lot of trouble. I even managed to make Alice, the Sweetheart of the Forum, angry a couple of times [I won't go into it, but I was right!]
At the lowest point, someone even started a thread calling for my ouster! And a lot of people posted their agreement! Man, that hurt. However, it turned out that it was a case of mistaken identity: they thought that I was another Daniel who posted here, a convert to Orthodoxy who posted a lot of uncharitable comments about Catholicism. Lesson: make sure you have the right target in your sites before you pull the trigger.
I changed my screen name to "Iconophile", and my avatar image and that straightened that out [the one I have now is my third, an icon I painted for my daughter, Maria Rose].
I will note that I have never been suspended, unlike certain other posters .
I have learned a few things while here, not least not to take things personally. Also, in the heat of argument, I bear in mind that it is rarely for the sake of my opponents, most of whom have a conclusion firmly in their grasp and will adjust the facts to fit. Rather, it is for the lurkers, who outnumber posters, and who, above the fray, are judiciously weighing out the logic and evidence.
And finally, I learned to use the graemlins! When I first came here, a cyberspace neophyte who fancied himself a good writer, I refused to use these tools. After all, if one was a good writer, one was not going to be misunderstood, right?
Wrong, at least in this medium. So, I sprinkle my posts liberally with these little faces and find that I am rarely misunderstood these days :p .
-Daniel

I, too, noticed the message board section when surfing the websites of the various "Ruthenian" Churches. There was much to for me to learn on these boards, so I keep coming back!

Well, I was posting on another forum that was quite uncharitable and didn't quite agree with my views on Christian unity. It seems they had their own agenda, so you either went along with it or else. To make a long story short, they attack in groups. Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Not willing to lower my integrity and conform to anything, I decided to annoy everyone here. I say 'annoy' because the person that told me about this forum believed that would be exactly what I'd be doing.

Zenovia

It was perhaps a month or so after my dear husband reposed in the Lord. Sleep was a stranger to me and I was googling his name at 2 in the morning. I was astounded to discover on this forum pages of prayers for him from people who did not know him... prayers for a miraculous recovery and prayers for me to be comforted and strengthened... then prayers for his eternal memory and for my two boys and me.

How could I stay away from such a place? The richness and compassion of the prayers offered for me and my beloved moved me to tears. The charity and tenderness offered me by the few with whom I have corresponded have brought me tremendous solace.

If you read this, go to the Prayer forum and offer your prayers;;; you have no idea whom you might be reaching.

-- Penthaetria, with profound gratitude

This all started in November when my son Justin was in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. My wife was in the city (as it's known here in the country!) and I was left by myself to work at my office. I take a long lunch and I was looking for a more traditional Christmas to share with my family (there are six of us now!) I read about Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Ruthenian (where is that, I thought, I had attended a Ruthenian Divine Liturgy or two but didn't really know where it was and assumed it was like Bohemia, it doesn't exist anymore) Christmasses and wanted to incorporate those traditions into my home.

I googled for more info and came here. I read, and then tried to post. It turns out they won't let just any yayhoo on this forum (actually they did they let me on here ) I actually had to apply to get on here!

So it was Christmas that led me to the Forum.

I forget how I found this Forum, but I am very glad and grateful to have found it.

-- John