PARISH VOICES

When we look at the world around us, it's easy to feel like everything is splitting apart. Institutions we once trusted feel unsteady. Technology is changing faster than our hearts can keep up with. Even our own inner lives feel stretched thin, as if the familiar structures we relied on are cracking. I've felt a lot of this in my own life lately. Most days the pace of change is faster than I can absorb. Things I thought were stable have shifted. Routines I depended on have be

Did you hear the joke about Fr. Tom having a meeting with twenty people from our Church consisting of five women, five men, five kids, and five parish council members? The joke is: how many priests were in that meeting? The answer is twenty-one! I bet that you are not laughing, and you might be thinking, "Do you even know what a joke is, Josh? That isn't a joke!" I agree with you. It is not a joke, so my question is, why do we live like it is a joke? We live like Fr. Tom is t

Our Holy Orthodox Church is such a blessing and light to the world, reminding us of what is important, navigating us towards reality, directing us to focus on things that are from God. Our church is constantly inviting us to make love our aim and to desire the spiritual gifts as we celebrate two life-changing feast days in August: the Transfiguration of our Lord on the 6th, and the Dormition of our Holy Mother of God, the Theotokos, on the 15th.

Mary Magdalene ran with her companions to Jesus' tomb to complete the anointing of the body of their dear and beloved friend Jesus but hesitated, knowing there was a huge stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" So often we hesitate not knowing who or how the huge stones that block our hearts will be rolled away. We must learn to want our stones rolled back so our heart can be exposed! Yes, rolling stones i

Suffering is an undeniable part of life. Pain, distress, or hardship is something we all face. For me, suffering has never been just defeat; it has been survival. It shapes our fears, dictates our decisions, and weighs heavily on our hearts. We instinctively try to control our circumstances, believing that if we hold on tightly enough, we can avoid the pain. Yet, as we enter Holy Week, Christ offers another path. He is inviting us on this path with Him. This path is one of su

I give up my thoughts and I accept what I feel, I bear it, I live it, and I offer it to God. I call to Him in my feelings so He can heal...

During Fr. Tom’s sermon on Sunday, January 26th, something truly resonated with me. The gospel reading was about Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax...

As Christmas and the New Year flew by, 2025 has already brought its own challenges. While I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions, there’s something undeniably special about the new beginning it offers, allowing me to deepen my relationship with Christ and keep Him at the center of my life. Reflecting on Fr. Tom’s sermon from Theophany Eve about being a container of Christ, I was struck by the image of feeling trapped under a container by the weight of expectations and da

Creation Touched By The Creator When Jesus is being baptized by John the Baptist, we are called to embrace the miracle of how creation participates in our salvation story! Our hymns at Epiphany reveal that: "Today, the uncreated one is, by His own will, touched by the creature. Today, the prophet and forerunner approaches the Master but pauses in awe. Today, the waters of the Jordan are turned into healing by the presence of the Lord. Today, paradise is opened to all humankin

The Encounter of Faith I've been intrigued with the parable of the blind man found in Luke 18:35-43 during my Advent journey. The blind man, who was minding his own business begging by the roadside in Jericho, meets the crowd following Jesus and asks what the commotion is about. He is told that Jesus is passing by. Jesus is passing by? Immediately the blind man cries out to Christ, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The crowd tries to silence and distract him, tries to