[DoctorBeny]

The following news item from an RSS feed might be of interest to Monachos readers:

A jury finds four youths guilty of shooting dead a woman who was holding a baby at a christening party.
This news item is from the BBC UK News service.

Click here for fuller text...

[Seiblybiozy]

Fury, anger, rage, disbelief, fear, remorse, pity, sorrow, hate, revenge, compassion, sadness, depression, revulsion...

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner.

[Stengapsept]

Fury, anger, rage, disbelief, fear, remorse, pity, sorrow, hate, revenge, compassion, sadness, depression, revulsion...

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner.

Dear Paul,

And to think, there are still those who doubt the fallen state of man in this world? How much that woman and her family need our prayers - and how much too do those who committed this unspeakably wicked act.

Have mercy upon us all, for there is not one of us without stain of sin,


In Christ,

John

[Trikaduliana]

And the concerning thing is that all of these young men had been involved in serious, violent crime since they were children - 10 years old in one case.

There is a sub-culture at work here that the Church is not touching at all - and all the while we argue among ourselves about who is right and who is wrong. This is surely as great a scandal as the fact of this crime?

Peter

[Stengapsept]

And the concerning thing is that all of these young men had been involved in serious, violent crime since they were children - 10 years old in one case.

There is a sub-culture at work here that the Church is not touching at all - and all the while we argue among ourselves about who is right and who is wrong. This is surely as great a scandal as the fact of this crime?

Peter

Dear Peter,

Indeed. I am reminded of Genesis 4:
4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?
4:10 And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. None of the many organisations in our society seem to have entered into the lives of these young men - no fathers, no family stability, no schooling - can we be surprised at such a result from such a situation?


In Christ,

John

[Obebtetibre]

We need missions in the inner-cities of the world. I know I want to work in a low income community as a nurse practitioner, but I struggle with going back home..Queens, New York, or some other town or village. I really want to live in a village full of pious orthodox christians. Maybe that first, then back home.

love in Christ,
xenia

[Stengapsept]

We need missions in the inner-cities of the world. I know I want to work in a low income community as a nurse practitioner, but I struggle with going back home..Queens, New York, or some other town or village. I really want to live in a village full of pious orthodox christians. Maybe that first, then back home.

love in Christ,
xenia

Dear Xenia,

I suspect your longing to live in such a village is shared by others - although I wonder whether such a thing, if it really existed, would be quite as idyllic as one's imaginary village? As long as it was full of human beings, it would have its own versions of the problems of the inner cities; it is not the environment which causes the problems, it is ourselves; although, of course, the village would have the advantage of an Orthodox Church and priest; it is the lack of this last in the inner cities, indeed, it is the absence in so many of them of any trace of the Christian message, which makes them bleak places.

If you do ever go back to those places, the God bless and prosper your work; although I suspect that even in that pious Orthodox village of the imagination, it would be necessary to call on the same aid.

The reports of the lives of the children concerned in this murder made chilling reading - such bleak and lonely lives, with nothing in them of tenderness or love; these children need our prayers, as do their victims.

In Christ,

John

[bUqLfXRI]

We need missions in the inner-cities of the world. I know I want to work in a low income community as a nurse practitioner, but I struggle with going back home..Queens, New York, or some other town or village. I really want to live in a village full of pious orthodox christians. Maybe that first, then back home.

love in Christ,
xenia

Perhaps you know of the work of Fr Paisius Altschul of the St Mary of Egypt (Serbian Orthodox) parish in Kansas City, Missouri. This parish does a lot of inner-city work.

There was an interesting article about this in the latest issue of Road to Emmaus.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[jeaccatty]

We need missions in the inner-cities of the world. I know I want to work in a low income community as a nurse practitioner,

You might also contact Raphael House in San Francisco - it is a homeless shelter run by the Orthodox Church. The live in staff (including the priest/administrator and his family) is pretty much Orthodox. Also the OCA Bishop Benjamin chooses to make his residence there as well. Although the residents are not necessarily Orthodox, it is still an Orthodox atmosphere.

Fr David Moser

[Obebtetibre]

Yes, I have heard of Raphael House, and thank you for reminding me of it again. There is one in Portland, Oregon as well, so I have an option of working there right near home. Also I have also heard of the St. Mary of Egypt and plan to go there also after I get my degree.

I decided to go work in Serbia or Russia first, then to come back and work in Inner City.

thank you all for your kind replies.

In Christ,
xenia