Perhaps I'm getting too far ahead of myself, then again maybe I'm not. I believe that in my heart and in my mind I am ready to become a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In regards to Doctrines, Liturgical worship, Authority of the Church, and the whole kit and kaboodle (that I am aware of), in these matters I feel very at ease and find myself in total agreement. The experiences I have been having at church during Divine Liturgy and Vespers, remind me of my early "born again" days, those days when all of a sudden, the sky seemed blue-er and the birdies sang sweeter. So now I am at the point where my focus is turning to: "Living as an Orthodox Christian." Yes, I am aware that I am not a member of the Orthodox Church, YET.
But before I continue, I must share a "Orthodox Church - Motorcycle Story"
The setting is this past Sunday ( 5/13), I pull into the church parking lot, the time is about 9:30 a.m., the Liturgy starts at 10 a.m. (by my standards I am late, lol!). I always try to park my bike facing forward, because it takes the problem of pushing the 900 lb. cycle in reverse away from my stubby legs. So I swing across two spots and steer the machine into the center of a parking spot. Hit the kill switch, kick the kick stand down, turn the bars to the left and turn the locking switch to lock. Hop off, place helmet, sunglasses and jacket in the tour pack compartment, close the latch. Take a quick look in the right side mirror to make sure I don't have any bugs in my teeth or stuck to my face, straighten my shirt and tie and proceed to walk towards the entrance of the church when........
"Hey! is that a harley?" A voice shouts out!
"Uh, yes, yes it is " I reply in a somewhat surprised voice.
"WHOOOOO-WHEEEEEEEE!" "I like Harleys!" says the voice in an even louder than before shout.
"I have stock in Harley", the shouter informs me. "Really? that's awesome" I acknowledge.
The voice continues, "That one you have there is a beauty, too!" " Well, thank you, that's very nice to say!" I reply, as I reach for the door handle to the front door of the church, hoping against hope, that the next words to come from the recipient of a Harley Davidson dividend check, do not include the words : "How about a ride?" I really do not like riding 2 up. But, no other words are shouted as I open the church door.
The "Shouter" by the way is a woman, that I would guess is somewhere on the "other-side of 75 years old, but not quite a hundred " She has a smile and a glow about her that would melt the heart of Ebeneezer Scrooge 2 days prior to his famous night-time excursion on Christmas. A blessed saint and wonderful sight to see on Mother's Day or any other day. I going to make it point to get to know her, she's my kind of girl.
The front door closes behind me.
I feel a big smile spread across my face.
Glad I checked for bugs before.
Alright, back to living Orthodox. My disciplines are as follows:
Prayer, reading the daily Scriptures that are listed in the Lectionary contained in the Orthodox Study Bible for the present day. Reading and meditating on my own personal Bible study and continuing in my general study about the Church Fathers, Saints and overall church history as well as listening to various podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio and reading Orthodox Church articles on the web and elsewhere. Attending Saturday Vespers and Divine Liturgy on Sunday. I also plan to attend any "mid-week" services as they appear. I attended Vespers for Midfeast of Pentecost, and the Divine Liturgy for Midfeast of Pentecost. My other plan of action is to create a "Prayer Corner" in my den at home, as I feel a strong need for such and plan to ask Father Gary to "bless the icons" that I will have in the corner.
So, I would like to ask, "Is there anything else, that I may want to do?"
Also, does anyone have a "menu" for fasting on Weds. and Friday. What foods do you like on such days?
Please, keep in mind that I am aware that this is not all about "reading and being educated through books, podcasts etc.", I am also going to make it a point to meet and get to know my church family. I have been blessed already with meeting about a dozen or so and everyone of them have been absolutely gracious and friendly (especially my Harley girl!) I feel that I am allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me and counsel me. But, since I have this blog, I thought I might as well ask. I have also spoke with Fr. Gary and I will be meeting with him in the coming days to discuss like matters.
Oh yeah, I'm excited. God Bless.
Inspiering post, Jim!
ReplyDeleteTalking to Fr Gary is the way to go to find out the next steps in becoming Orthodox...as the Pastor, God had made him a guide for "the flock" will he tell you to "slow down?" I don't know. One thing for sure. He will encourage you in your walk with Christ and the Church!
I spoke with Fr. Gary Sat. night after Vespers about setting up a meeting with him in the next week or two. I also got to meet Mary, Fr. Gary's wife. She got a kick out of it when I told her that you "warned" me about her, referring to the "you can't sit here story". She really made me feel welcome at the church.
Deleteall that means is Mary is going to find something more devious to do to you....:)
DeleteI loved the story about Harley Girl ;)
ReplyDeletePlease speak with Father Gary before beginning a fasting regime. However, I highly recommend this cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/When-You-Fast-Recipes-Seasons/dp/0881412627/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337117185&sr=8-1
when you get to that point. I am also married to someone who is not Orthodox (I assume you are, anyway, forgive me if I've misread this) and there are definitely pastoral directions that Father will give you about fasting.
My wife is not Orthodox, she is still attending the same church that we were both part of, until I decided to seek out Orthodoxy. Outside of the fact that she misses not having me at church with her, everything about me heading to Eastern Orthodoxy is fine with her. Good advice to check with Fr. Gary about fasting. You always give great advice, thanks so much!
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