www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Radio and New Year's Resolution

Christ is Baptized!

Thank you to Carson Lauffer for mentioning the interviews on our Light of the East Radio program with members of the Chaldean Church. Light of the East Radio is becoming an international voice for the Eastern Christian world. We recently also had an interview with a member of the Serbian Unity Congress who, like the Iraqi committee, is trying to raise awareness of how Christians are being persecuted in their respective homelands.
We also have had guests from the Ukrainian Catholic University in Ukraine. We also had an interview with famed political analyst Dick Morris who is an advisor to the President of Ukraine

A proposed New Year's Resolution for the Eastern Catholic Churches in America:

A renewal of the Eastern Churches powered by the engine of Liturgy--a liturgical worldview--taking liturgy from inside the church and bringing it into the way we consider and interface with every dimension of Church life: Key to this would be making an assessment of what entities are likely to be the most fruitful and evangelical given the current and foreseeable demographic and ecclesiastical situation of the Eastern Churches in America. Then cut all losses. Amalgamate resources and redistribute these resources according to what will yield the most. This will temporarily mean numerically fewer entities, but stronger and more fruitful ones. In time, this will produce numbers as well. I envision four principle areas for investment:

1. Parishes and missions=Having fewer parish facilities where there is now an overabundance and establishing new parish communities or viable missions where there appears to be a greater potential for yield. (Note the use of the phrase, parish "facilities." The word "parish" was not used on its own because not every parish measures up to what parish really should be in this time of the New Evangelization especially. Rather, many of our "parishes" are simply serving as "chapels of convenience" and therefore pandering to some of our worst spiritual traits such as secularims, complacency, apathy toward our fellow Eastern Catholics who have no parish within hundreds and hundreds of miles, convenience, and resistance to "divinization."

Also included in the parish consideration would be an investment in the proper design, construction, renovation and liturgical life of our parishes or missions. It is the particular "nature of the beast" of the Eastern Churches that the ONLY way we can effectively evangelize is through a total package. It is different for the western churches and I think that this is a critical distinction that the Eastern Churches in America have overlooked. For the east the total package is vital (proper architecture, art, music, liturgy, fellowship, maintenance, environmental design, etc--all together, not just a little of this and maybe later the rest of that, maybe--ALL of it together--integrated--the single greatest genius of the East--integration--total package.

2. Media especially radio, TV, internet

3. Monastic and other forms of community life

4. Youth

Anyone care to add, subtract or modify this New Year's resolution?

--Fr. Thomas J. Loya, STB, MA.
Light of the East Radio
Tabor Life Institute

I have spoken with the directors of evangelism of the eparchies in the US. There is an agreed need for less discussion and more action. Numerous evangelism plans have been drawn up at different levels, but we need as I was told on one phone conversation "Boots on the ground. An increase in the diaconate so that missions can be better supported. More missions in the rural areas instead of centering on urban centers."

Also, Father, there seems to be a misunderstanding by the laity about what being an Eastern Christian means. Much like some confuse tradition with Tradition, many Byzantines confuse hereditary or cultural ties with the Church. As a result new people are often perceived as not to be able to fit in to the parish because they don't know the "old songs" etc. The Roman church and many Orthodox make no such bones about such things and continue to grow by being faithful to their orthodox beliefs while still maintaining a rich cultural "flavor."

As you said, some parishes have become locations of convenience. When our parish started what has become a regular flow of new members some old-timers actually left. One woman said she wanted things to stay the same as they always had been and the new people should "go back where they came from." Beyond the obvious point that without new members the church might not continue, it pointed to a turning away from the Gospel for the sake of comfort. That borders on sinful.

Groups like BEMA, DECO, and others are going to be essential to turning the tide. Adopting practices of other Eastern churches to evangelize is also essential. How many parishioners invite friends or acquaintances to their parish? If success is even one in ten wouldn't most of our small parishes see a huge percentage rise in attendance?

Lastly, clergy need to be available and conversant in the methodologies of evangelism. Call many (save yours of course!) parishes or chanceries with a question and see how quickly yours call is returned. After calling both in the past year the average is about 2 weeks with a full half never calling back at all. With the interested person wanting answers to the standard questions (Is it really Catholic? Would I be welcome? Is it in English? How do I get there?), how many think 2 weeks to get divine liturgy times and directions is an acceptable response time? Something must be done while acknowledging that the lone priest with all his other obligations is not over-blessed with money or time.

Father Bless!

A question for you (I know this is off topic bu i hope you will indulge me). Can you please explain what you mean by a liturgical worldview?
Does this mean something different to me as a Roman Catholic?

Thank you