Be the Person You Needed When You Were Younger

Be the Person You Needed When You Were Younger

October 30, 2023

Watching a documentary recently about the detrimental and life-threatening struggles thousands of homeless children face, I was struck by the following words of one of the counselors: “Be the person you needed when you were younger.” The often-quoted words are believed to originate from Ayesha Siddiqi, an author and children’s advocate. The counselor made this impassioned plea to those who might be able to support the admirable work of helping homeless children. Those of us fortunate enough to live in relative peace and prosperity rarely think, for very long, about those considerably less fortunate than us. Understandably, we get caught up in our own world and may only take a few moments to think about or help those less privileged and in need. To be sure, those needing everything from a warm smile, a compassionate ear to a good meal, are all around us if we just took the time to look and think and act. When we act, listen or think only a portion of the time about others, we are not being the person that others need. (more…)

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A Gay Man’s Dormition Story

Through the generosity of the editors of “Orthodoxy in Dialogue,” we are pleased to re-post a wonderfully sincere and poignant piece entitled “A Gay’s Man Dormition Story”, published on their website on August 15, 2023, by an anonymous source. Please read the full article by following the link to “Orthodoxy in Dialogue” below, following the first paragraph of the work.

The lenten period for the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos was always somewhat unwelcome to me. As a child, it meant the winding down of summer and the return to school which I so hated. As an adult and a teacher, those emotions did not change all that much. This was a time to treasure those precious remaining days of summer. Somehow, eating just the salad at a barbeque or going to church every night for Paraclesis felt like a letdown, or maybe something to blame for all the unfulfilled expectations I had hoped for during the summer break. It wasn’t until much later in life that I was able to appreciate the blessings that this holy time offered.

https://orthodoxyindialogue.com/2023/08/15/a-gay-mans-dormition-story/#more-23179

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Killing Birds

Killing Birds

September 12, 2022

St. Demetrius of Basarbovo

In Florida, where I live, there are many insects and reptiles. We find some of these “intruders” in our house a few times a week. Various spiders, palmetto bugs, which is just a fancy name for cockroaches, anoles, which are small, slender lizards, frogs, and even very tiny baby snakes find their way into our home. I cannot blame them since their ancestors occupied the land before we did. Unfortunately, I have a deep fear of snakes and my husband detests spiders, therefore, we have an agreement in our marriage, I get rid of the spiders and palmetto bugs, and he carefully coaxes the lizards and small snakes outside. I am not as kind to the small interlopers as he is. It works wonderfully. However, if the snakes get bigger and ever come into the house, we are moving to Alaska! (more…)

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Mystery Of Love

Mystery Of Love

August 21, 2022

In preparation to be ordained a priest, I spent four years studying in a seminary. They were some of my life’s best, yet most challenging years. I met those who would become lifelong friends. During those years I tested and questioned myself more than almost any other time in my life. While discerning a calling to the priesthood is demanding, it is even more so for a gay man. I knew that a calling to serve God in His Church was a blessing, I just had to figure out what that meant exactly and how to carry my calling out. In other words, it was a considerable mystery to me. It was a blessing that was also a mystery. (more…)

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