IOCC in Ethiopia serving persons with disability

Timkat Festival

 Beyond simply giving money, the International Orthodox Christian Charities provides people the tools, such as job and skill training, which enable people to provide for themselves and be fruitful. They are doing this in Ethiopia. Read the story of Habtamuwale the umbrella repairman and see his work!

To access:  Job Training Benefits Ethiopia’s Disabled 

Picture from JOURNEYS International: Ethiopia Part 1- Timkat Festival 

IOCC in the Holy Land

The Four Homes of Mercy, in Bethany, near Jerusalem, which was the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, which were profiled in this weblog in October through the eyes of his Eminence Metropolitan Savas Sembillas, who accompanied a good number of Orthodox Christian college students for Real Break: Jerusalem 2010 to the Holy Land and a time of service and interaction at these homes,  came to a time of severe financial shortfall recently.

After 73 years of existence, would they have to close their doors? Where would the residents, who had disabilities which preclude independent functioning, possibly go?

Thank God, the International Orthodox Christian Charities, in partnership with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stepped in with a grant, so that the dear people who depend on this ministry may remain in what for them is home,  a place of mercy. Not many institutions are that way, unfortunately, and even in these, bed space is at a premium in this needy land.  

Read the story of one of the residents, Suma, in the following IOCC article: IOCC Assists the Holy Land’s Disabled  

And here is the website of Four Homes of Mercy 

Picture from Embrace the Middle East: The Four Homes of Mercy 

Behold, the Bridegroom

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom he shall find awake. But he whom he shall find neglectful is verily unworthy. Behold, therefore, my soul, beware, lest thou fallest into deep slumber, and the door of the kingdom be closed against thee, and thou be delivered to death. But be thou wakeful, crying Holy! Holy! Holy! art Thou, O God. . . .

I behold Thy bridal chamber richly adorned, O my Saviour; but I have no wedding garment to worthily enter. Make radiant the garment of my soul, O Giver of Light, and save me. . . .

Come, ye believers, let us work diligently for the Master; for he distributes wealth unto his servants. Let each of us according to our ability, increase the gifts of grace twofold. (Tuesday) . . .

Rich men have turned poor and gone hungry; but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good things (Psalms 33 from Septuagint)

(from the Bridegroom Matins & the Pre-Sanctified Liturgies of Holy Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday)

Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; and let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. (James 1:9-10)

O Bridegroom, brilliant in Thy beauty above all mankind, who didst call us to the spiritual banquet of Thy chamber, cast away from me the likeness of the rags of iniquity, by participation in Thy Passion and adorn me with the robe of Thy beauty, and distinguish me as a brilliant guest in Thy kingdom, for Thou only art compassionate. (Tuesday Matins, from the Aposticha)

From the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese website:

 Begin Holy Week with a holy act http://www.antiochian.org/node/17595

Also see, Passion Week: An Explanation (note the Bridegroom Orthros Services Mon.-Wed.) http://www.antiochian.org/1175027131

Eleanor clearing the hurdles of life …

Eleanor

… but she needed help to get to the finish line, to become a teacher.

The Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone is providing a scholarship and an artificial leg so that she can attain her goal.

I’ll let Reverend Themi tell the story of her determination amidst the dangers of wartorn Sierre Leone: 

To access: http://pk4a.com/adeversity-and-hope/

Waterloo Disabled Village

 

Waterloo Village Water Well

The Village is one of the projects of the Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone, an Australian Orthodox Christian initiative  led Fr. Themi Adamopoulos, located near Freetown, the capital of this west African country. The effort will be sustained and thrive as Orthodox Christians  worldwide lend support. 

Orthodox Christian craft their ministries to persons with disabilities not according to a central model but according to the specific situation and the particularities of the culture.  Waterloo Disabled Village reflects this. 

The ministry involves housing, water, gardens, medical support, and education to the persons with disabilities and their families.

Access their website to learn more: Waterloo Disabled Village

Picture from Picasa Web Albums: Themi Adamopoulo photos

 

 

Bishop Basil blesses the Sheltering Tree

The Sheltering Tree I will be a home for ten persons with intellectual disabilities; each person will have their own apartment, and there will be a common area for community life. The process toward the completion of the home has been very involved; it is a work in process. But the Church in the person of His Grace Bishop Basil has blessed the home-to-be. We are a people of faith, seeing ahead to the day of fulfillment, to the completion of the Sheltering Tree I, the home, and also to a planned educational and vocational center, the ABLE Center. 

The ministry is located in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area.

http://www.antiochian.org/content/bishop-basil-blesses-residence-disabled 

Their website:  http://www.shelteringtreecommunity.org/ 

The planned ABLE Center:  http://www.shelteringtreecommunity.org/#/able-center/ 

Also: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill consecrates the house for disabled children at the Ascension Monastery in Bancheny, Ukraine (Pictures) 

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, by Sophia Sharos

Given at the 2012 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, and discovered in For the Life of the World The monthly newsletter of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church Volume IV, Issue 6 June, 2012, Page 8 

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
Everyone, no matter what
disability someone has is
beautiful and unique in their
own way. The special needs
are seen in the eyes of God the
same way he sees people with
no disabilities. People with
disabilities can sometimes
have special inner gifts and
can be very talented in their
own way. In my opinion, special needs people have the
power to show us how precious life is.
People with disabilities
have the same rights and opportunities as people with no
disabilities. Every person is
equal in the eyes of God. It is
insulting when people have
stereotypic attitudes toward
special needs. God has a purpose and vision for all of his
children. Who are you to
judge what a person appearance looks like and how they
think?
In our society today everyone needs to learn how to
have patience with the special
needs. They learn at a different pace than people with no
disabilities, but that should
not stop us from taking the
time out to help them. In this
day in age, the people with
disabilities are “labeled” as the
people who are stupid or cannot do anything for themselves. I think we can use the
disabled as a mirror for ourselves to be grateful for what
we have. They are wounded,
and we are wounded. They
have the advantage of having
their wounds clearly and unmistakably visible.
We can reflect upon and
cherish the disabled and those
with special needs. One thing
is certain; people should always have respect for people
with special needs. Ask yourself what if I was in their
shoes? They are more than
inconveniences to be tolerated
or nuisances to be unnoticed.
Rather, these are people, treasures really, with whom we
have a bond and, if we decide
on, an affectionate relationship.
Author:
Sophia Sharos

On a Christian Attitude to Disabled People, by Jordan George from the 2012 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

Given at the 2012 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

from DEAR FRIENDS Volume 19 Issue 4 St. John Greek Orthodox Church—Sterling Heights, Michigan April 2012, Page 8 

2012 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival
by Jordan George (Junior Division)

Topic #1

Many times in the New Testament, we see Jesus caring about the blind, the paralyzed, and others with physical disabilities (for example, Matthew 9:2 and 9:27–29). Following Christ’s footsteps, discuss the Christian attitude toward disabled people. Alexander Graham Bell, Ludwig van Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh, Walt Disney—these are familiar, talented people who each had a disability. If these people lived during the time of Jesus, they would have been cast out as sinners.

The Original Sin that was committed by Adam and Eve brought about many things from the devil, including death and disability. The mindset of the people during Jesus’ time was different. In John 9:2-3, Jesus’ disciples asked,

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

St. Matrona of Moscow is an example of a person born blind who God used to display His works. Jesus came to teach the world how to live in order to gain eternal salvation. So what did He teach us about the disabled?

Everyone is familiar with His instruction in Mark 12:31 to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Essentially, our
Christian attitude is to love all, including the disabled.
How can we serve and care for the disabled? Pray. As St. Seraphim of Sarov, who suffered from dropsy, said,

our Lord Jesus Christ is the “True Physician” of our souls and bodies.

A relative of mine was diagnosed with a crippling disease. His wife has pushed him out of her and his kids’ lives
and his parents are caring for him. This situation illustrates that we must also pray for the caregivers and for those who abandon the disabled.

Jesus spent much time visiting and healing the disabled. In Matthew 9:12, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick.” However, Jesus did not find physical and mental infirmities as constituting true sickness. Rather, He found those with souls wounded by passions such as pride, self-love, and greed disabled.

One example of this is The Rich Man and Lazarus. In this Bible story, the rich man ended up going to Hell and
the beggar, Lazarus, who was covered in sores and only asked the rich man for food, ended up going to Heaven. In
John 9:39, Jesus said, 

For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

Apparently, the rich man, who was physically healthy, was blind in Jesus’ view because he ignored Lazarus
when he could have helped him. Hence, Jesus taught us that we should help the disabled when presented with the opportunity, and in doing so, through accepting Christ and doing His good works, we are helping our salvation. In Luke 14:13-14, while dining in the home of a Pharisee, Jesus said,

“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and
you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Disabilities do not hinder salvation but are sometimes used by God to strengthen individuals. Accordingly,
those disabled must never have self-pity but remember Philippians 4:13: “[We] can do everything through him
who gives [us] strength.”

We all, disabled or not, must strive for eternal salvation and try to keep our souls healthy by following these three
steps: Purification – freeing one’s self from evil and living a pure life; Illumination – spiritual enlightenment and knowledge of one’s faith; and Theosis – becoming one with God. These can be achieved by following the teachings of our Orthodox Church, which our Church Fathers refer to as a “Hospital” for our wounded souls.

In conclusion, some disabilities are obvious while others are not revealed. I challenge all of us to follow James
1:22: “be doers of the word, and not hearers only”. Let us pray for God to guide us to those with disabilities who are in need of prayers and friendship. As St. Paul said in Galatians 6:2, we must “[c]arry each other’s burdens, and in this way [we] will fulfill the law of Christ.

St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, Junior Division Winner, Athena Eleftheriou, on the Christian Attitude toward disabled people

Greek Orthodox Christian teenagers each year are given an opportunity to shine at the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. They are given a choice of a number of topics for the Oratorical Festival, one of dealt, in the 2012 contest, with attitudes toward persons with disability.

The winner was Athena Eleftheriou, and her oratory can be read in an article from the April 8, 2012 Northeast Cobb Patch, written by her mother, Marilyn, Eleftheriou.  Click here to access the article, and Athena’s oratory: Northeast Cobb Girl Wins St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival 

The Oratory Guidelines for this particular topic:

St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival 2012
Topics, Tips, and Resources

Junior Division (Grades 7–9)

1. Many times in the New Testament, we see Jesus caring about the
blind, the paralyzed, and others with physical disabilities (for
example, Matthew 9:2 and 9:27–29). Following Christ’s footsteps,
discuss the Christian attitude toward disabled people.

A. Read the Church’s teachings:
Matthew 4:23–25, 8:1–13, 9:27–38, and 12:9–14; Mark 2:12; Luke 13:10–13
B. Consider the direction your speech might take. Here are some examples:
• Select several healing stories in the Bible and discuss whom it is that Christ heals.
What is the Church’s attitude toward the disabled? Talk about how the Church in
general and your local church are helping the disabled, and ways in which they
could be of further help.
• What is “disability” in the Bible? How does our society define the term? Who are the
disabled, according to Christ? Who are they in your eyes?
• We are created in the image and likeness of God. How does one carry that image
despite a physical disability?

Service Dogs Inside the Church?

Emmy

  Someone from my Parish asked me some time ago why the Orthodox Church doesn’t allow service dogs in our Churches. In this weblog an Orthodox Christian who has a service dog weighs in on the issue. It’s not a precise and full answer, but it is an  answer that brings a sense of resolution in that it comes from someone who has a stake in the matter.  

For this answer, see the comments (the sixth one, by turtlemom3):

http://turtlemom3.wordpress.com/service-dogs/ 

Here’s the part of the comment which addresses the situation in the Orthodox Church (which is only part of her response to a person from another Christian group who has a personal issue in regard to the use of service dogs in their church:

… I know in the Orthodox Christian Church, there is a pretty hard and fast rule about dogs being inside the Church – because of certain sacramental and canonical considerations. While they don’t make a lot of sense to those of us who have service dogs, I respect their stand, and don’t bring Emmy with me when we go to Church – I don’t want to banish her to the Narthex.

I’m publishing this quote because Turtlemom’s experiences in these matters are a valuable resource in regard to persons with disability in the Orthodox Church.

It is a sign of Christian maturity that she can say what she does without understanding the whys and wherefores of the policy.  

Orthodox Christians do not need to “master” situations with their minds to be at peace with their Church. Life in Christ is in so many ways such a wondrous mystery that we can, as St. Paul says, “give thanks in all circumstances,” even those contrary to our wills, for we know, ultimately, that God has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Update- A recent (12/23/12) clarifying response to a query by me from Turtlemom: 

I deeply regret being so late responding to your comment on my post, and coming here to comment on some of your posts.
You mentioned the Canon forbidding dogs from Orthodox Churches. This was decided when dogs were not clean, not well thought of, There were Old Testament Biblical proscriptions about dogs, and Revelation says dogs will be prohibited from Heaven.
Yet, dogs are a creation of God, just as bears (St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Seraphim of Sarov), and ravens (St. Elijah). Just as hinds (St. Basil the Elder and St. Macrina), and lions (Saint Mammes); otters (St. Cuthbert); stag (St. Eustathios); leopards (Abune Gebre Menfes Kiddus); snakes (Abba Aregawi). There are numerous other examples.
As far as dogs and saints, there is Paul the Hermit who was accompanied by a wolf.
A blog by a woman who has researched the Orthodox Church and animals:
http://members.tripod.com/~Near_to_God/ – especially the post:
http://members.tripod.com/~Near_to_God/AllThings.html 
In our parish, a blind woman brings her guide dog to services. There is no scandal as the dog leads her up to receive Holy Communion.
Much about dogs in church depend upon the individual priest and bishop. [Italics not original to the quote.]
Anyway, that’s what I’ve gleaned. I have not taken my service dog to church because I am physically unable to attend services. But, should I become able to attend, I will take Emmy. She is the soul of discretion and good behavior – as are most service dogs. 

This clarification might seem to contradict the former statement, but the fact is, the Orthodox Church is not primarily about law, but grace. The canons of the Church are meant to provide the people of God with a structure that will lead them to salvation, avoiding harmful practices. But they are not rigid rules. Our hierarchs exercise what is called economia in regard to them, interpreting them for each person and situation so as to further spiritual growth for the people involved.  

Just as our Lord Jesus, as recorded in St. John’s Gospel, chapter 8,  dealt mercifully with the woman caught in the act of adultery (the people seeking to stone her to death pointed out to him that they were simply about to do what the Law says), so our holy Bishops seek the salvation of the persons under their charge in their interpretation of the Church’s canons.