SPRING
2007
REPORT
Christ is Risen!
Indeed He is Risen!
Greetings to all in this glorious
Paschal season! This is the tenth Pascha that we have celebrated with St. Philip
Antiochian Orthodox Church. What a blessing to be there with our children and
grandchildren singing on Great Friday: "Every generation to thy grave comes
bringing, Dear Christ, its dirge of praises."
Lessons on
Service
Wednesday, April 18, I spoke at the Neuman Center on the U Penn
campus to the OCF. The assigned topic was service. We sat conversation pit style
and I told stories. I thought it might be helpful to share the basic nuggets of
what I shared in very abbreviated form here.
"Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before his presence with singing." We will be able to serve the Lord better
if we are faithful in the services of the church. Worship and serving the poor
are not right hand and left hand; they are hand in glove.
"Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Practical service ‘puts feet’ to
this prayer. We are called to cooperate with Christ’s kingdom and ministry as
laid out in Isaiah 61. God honors us by calling us to be his co-workers.
"For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them." God planned good works, then made
us particularly suited to do them. We are most happy when we are cooperating
with God’s plan. When we try to just live for ourselves, it is like trying to
shove a square peg into a round hole. There is no more joyful or interesting
life than one lived serving others in Jesus’ Name.
"It is accepted according
to what a man hath; not what he hath not." The service is the Lord’s. The need
or problem you are working to address is the Lord’s problem. You can’t give more
than you have. Be obedient with what God has given you. Let him worry about the
rest. If I am burdened down and wracked with guilt over what I cannot
accomplish, I am no longer serving in Jesus’ Name; because his "yoke is easy"
and his "burden is light."
Dear Lord, please let me see what it is that you
love about this person. God loves everyone I meet, because there is something
uniquely lovable about them. Each person, no matter how difficult or twisted, in
a special and unrepeatable way bears and reflects the image of God. Ask the Lord
to let you get a peek at what that is. When God answers this prayer it breaks
your heart and fills it with grace and mercy.
"Take therefore no thought for
the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Trust God to provide for you and
for the work that you are to do everyday. An hour before I left for the city
tonight I got a call from the McGraws. Vicki said they were too sick to come or
to make anything and there was no one to bring the sandwiches from Holy
Ascension on such short notice. The folks at St. John Chrysostom showed up with
a huge box of sandwiches and dozens of packs of apple sauce. No one went hungry.
After more than 18 years of doing this, I have learned that God is a much better
planner than I am.
Even Jesus lost Judas. Why should I think I can help
everyone? I have to be honest about my own limitations. When a man’s own mother
will not allow him into her house, I should not automatically assume that the
fault lies with the mother. Discernment and wisdom come into play, but don’t let
that become a guise for hardness of heart. This lesson is so much easier to
grasp at 51 than it was at 31.
Don’t idealize the poor. Don’t villainize the
rich. They share the same human DNA. They just grew up in different ZIP codes.
People are interesting and lovable, frustrating and irritating, no matter where
you find them on the economic or social scale. "As we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the
household of faith."
It is hard to steer a parked car. Each of us has
particular works of service that we were made to do. How do you figure out what
is right for you? Just do something; any good thing. "I, being in the way, the
Lord led me ... ." There is no reason to expect the Lord to guide you if you are
not moving. I have experienced it in my own life and have seen it in many
others; that once you start serving Him in what is right in front of you, He
will then guide you to what is right for you.
Your works of service may not
look anything like my works of service. There are plenty of different things
that need to be done. Be creative. Try different things. Don’t think that if you
start something, that is what you are committed to do for the rest of your days.
if it’s right for you it will bring you joy.
If I can’t do it in Jesus’
Name, I don’t have time to do it. I refuse to be gagged and secularized. This
doesn’t mean that we should make people listen to a sermon before we help them.
Somehow that doesn’t speak unconditional love. But if an agency does not allow
me to answer honestly the question of why I am serving someone, I cannot serve
with that agency or accept their funds. The reason that I serve is that God
loves the people I serve and He compels me to be there for them.
When you
serve the Lord, you make great friends. I have been honored to know some lovely
people. Some of them have made regretfully horrible life choices. Even so, they
uniquely reflect to me the beauty and glory of the image of God. God doesn’t
make junk. It’s like that bumper sticker says: "God bless the whole world: no
exceptions."
Be a peace activist by praying for peace. Prayer in faith really
can move mountains. St. Seraphim of Sarov teaches us: "Acquire the peace of God
and a thousand around you will be saved."
A Prayer for Peace
We thank
Thee, Master and Lover of mankind, King of the ages and giver of all good
things, for destroying the dividing wall of enmity and granting peace to those
who seek thy mercy. We appeal to Thee to awaken the longing for a peaceful life
in all those who are filled with hatred for their neighbors, thinking especially
of those at war or preparing for war. Grant peace to thy servants. Implant in
them the fear of Thee and confirm in them love one for another. Extinguish every
dispute and banish all temptations to disagreement. For Thou art our peace and
to Thee we ascribe glory: to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
- from the Orthodox Book of
Needs, St. Tikhon’s Seminary, Pennsylvania, USA
Gear Up for Summer
The
number of people we serve goes up in the summer. Several of the shelters and a
number of the meal programs in the city close for the summer. Also, with warm
weather and extended light, there are more non-homeless people who will stop by
to take a meal with us. Our numbers also increase as the month goes on; as those
who do receive government assistance run out of money before they run out of
month.
This means we need more sandwiches, peanuts, power packs, etc., in the
summer months. We can also use more volunteers to help serve.
Live
Music
Years ago, we had several musicians who would come down and sing and
play while and after we were serving. If you have a portable instrument that can
tolerate outdoor use and don’t mind some rather lively improvisational help, it
would be great if you could join us on a Thursday night!
You know what they
say about music soothing the heart of a savage beast. Perhaps you can help bring
peace to the streets.
What We Do
The King’s Jubilee serves soup,
sandwiches, pasta with meat sauce, fruit drink, fruit and goodies (if we have
them) to between 50 and 175 men and a few women in Center City Philadelphia
every Thursday night. This is in a park, year-round. We also share toiletries,
blankets and season appropriate clothing with them.
We serve in the open air,
because some of those we serve are paranoid and will not readily enter a place
with which they are unfamiliar. Also, some of them are not homeless, but are on
very low fixed incomes. They won’t go to a soup kitchen to take from a program
just for the homeless, but they feel free to eat with us to stretch their food
budget, so they can stay off the street.
We also try to gather resources for
other ministries that serve the poor in Jesus’ Name. If we can’t do it in Jesus’
Name, we don’t have the time or the desire to do it.
Word in Action
International
Rev. Joses St. Phard was in an accident that totalled their
van. It was an old van, so they did not have collision coverage. They need a new
(or used) van or mini-van to facilitate their ministry among the poor and
homeless in Philadelphia.
They also need an inexpensive, color
printer/photocopier to use in their tutoring program. If you can donate either
of these things or want to make a cash donation toward them or toward their
other expenses, call Chantal St. Phard at 215-324-7665 for more
information.
Tutoring Opprtunities
The YMCA Education & Technology
Center in Center City Philadelphia needs literacy and English as a Second
Language (ESL) tutors. This requires a six month commitment of three hours each
week. This is a good opportunity for service for retired people or those who
work night shift as these are daytime sessions. For more information, contact
Alice Leber-Cook, 215-400-2100 ext: 2219 or aleber-cook@philaymca.org. The YMCA
is at 125 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
The Indian Valley Opportunity
Center in Souderton needs ESL tutors. They require tutors to have a bachelors
degree and pass a criminal background check. They provide 12 hours of training
and ask for a minimum of four months commitment at three hours per week. Times
are negotiable between student and tutor. To learn more or to volunteer contact
Olga Boswell at 215-723-5430 ext: 111. She is in Monday, Wednesday & Friday,
10 to 3.
Both of these opportunities are for tutoring adults of all
ages.
Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered, and let them that hate
him flee from before his face.
Christ is risen from the dead trampling down
death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
< This is my full
time job. It enables me to have a flexible schedule, so I can do this ministry.
After over seven years, the website has over 1,000 different icons on it. I have
signed royalty agreements with about twenty iconographers of a variety of
styles. The collection is growing all the time. I have shipped to all 50 states,
every province in Canada and to about forty other countries on all six inhabited
continents, including South Korea, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan,
Bolivia, Mexico, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, N. Ireland, Denmark, Italy,
Greece, Austria, France, Finland, Spain, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, South Africa
& Papua New Guinea. We average over 9,000 hits per day on the website. About
18% of profits subsidize The King’s Jubilee. Please shop our collection at
www.comeandseeicons.com
Cash & Checks Accepted
If you want to
participate in this ministry, please feel free to mail checks to:
The King's Jubilee
27 N. Front St.
Souderton, PA 18964-1148
Our phone is:
267-497-0267
email: TKJ@shoutforjoy.net
Thank you. May the Lord bless you as you bless the poor in
Jesus' Name.
Peace,
Cranford Joseph Coulter
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