Hitler Tea Kettle And Twitter

It has been awhile, so here goes…

Everyone so often something “blows up” on Twitter, and today was one of those days.  The interesting thing about learning news via Twitter is that there is only a small amount of text – 120 letters/spaces – allowed, and part of that is often a link.  So when I opened up Twitter to find a retweet that read “JC Penney “Hitler” tea kettle causes social media frenzy, then sells out online” followed by a link, well, I just had to find out what was going on.  And, well, the kettle’s profile really does look like Hitler.  More here.

hitler-jc-penney-tea-kettle

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May 28th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

Paschal Message Of His Eminence

Paschal Message
Of His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios
May 5, 2013

This past year, the Pew Research Center and the Gallup poll reported that a small percentage of Americans are active in their religious communities, and few are attending worship services. But, why is it that on Easter night our churches are filled with hundreds of brethren, even those who attend rarely, if at all? I’m convinced it is a flickering light that draws us to the empty tomb to be engulfed by its unwaning light, to partake of the joy and hope of Easter. Perhaps we do not know why, but, nevertheless, something draws us to church tonight to accept the gift of Life victorious over death. What draws all of us to church is a faith inculcated to the depths of our hearts-one often unconscious and inactive, but very much present. What draws us to church tonight resembles what attracted the Myrrh bearing women whose secret hope was surely not to find and anoint a dead corpse, but to see their Savior alive, risen from the dead.

 

We sinners come to the tomb with our doubts and our failures hoping that we may be exalted in the light of a resurrected faith. We come to have our doubts consumed by the flame which flashes from the tomb. We come hoping our hearts may be filled with divine gladness, that our eyes may glow with the light which radiates from an empty grave. We come that our souls may be filled with joy, and our voices with the victory hymn which echoes to the ends of the earth.

 

Momentarily, we will hear the Gospel of St. Mark informing us that the myrrh bearing women fled from the empty grave bewildered and trembling. In another Gospel we read that on the same day, two disciples, Luke and Cleopas made their journey to Emmaus in sad disappointment because their great hope in Jesus had apparently died with His death and burial. They didn’t recognize the Risen Lord.

 

Sadly, and all too often, we do not recognize the Risen Lord on our life’s journey either. The Gospel of John records Thomas’ doubt in the Resurrection. Like us tonight, those closest to Jesus were blinded by their fears, their doubts, and their fallen expectations. Not unlike the Myrrh-bearing women, we find the tomb a fearsome place.

 

The powerful imagery (which we heard in last night’s service) of the Prophet Ezekiel walking through a valley filled with dead men’s bones is an apt description of so much that is happening in our world. The signs of sin and death devastate us. The moral decay and violence which mark our society-as they did recently in Boston, Cambridge and Watertown-can so overwhelm us, that the hope present in our Lord’s Resurrection eludes us.

 

Like the disciples on their way from the Easter event of Resurrection, we can turn so in on our self-interests-our plans and dreams, our shattered hopes and moral shortcomings-that we fail to recognize the Risen Lord in our midst. And, like Thomas, we can set the narrow limits of human knowledge as the boundaries of our undertaking, rather than grasp the limitless horizons of faith.

 

As have Christians for 2,000 years, let us overcome our fears and our doubts to proclaim that, indeed, Christ is Risen. Easter is the new Passover. It is the Resurrection of Christ which leads us from spiritual slavery to freedom, from sin to righteousness, from sadness to joy, from darkness to light, from death to life, from a culture of cruelty to a community of compassion, from this world to the kingdom to come.

 

My brothers and sisters, on His cross Christ bore our individual sins and shortcomings, our weaknesses, our spiritual sickness and death. Rising from the tomb, He raises Adam and Eve and every one of us to newness of life in Him. It is this message that we are called to share (the message of faith and love) to a world that knows too much pain and division. Let us proclaim to all the world, “Come, receive the light from the unwaning light and glorify Christ who is risen from the dead”.
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May 13th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

A Worthy Organization

Yesterday at Sts. Anargyroi we had the pleasure of a visit from Nancy and Basil “Bill” Tolos, who of course are no strangers to our community.  Bill is the vice-president of the New England Amputee Association, a group which provides support for new amputees.  From their website:

Our team of Amputee Coalition Certified Peer Visitors are ready to assist victims and their families from the recent bombing in Boston. Our Peer Visitors are trained in and offer the following services at no charge:
Moral and emotional support for the amputee and their family
Answers to the many questions about limb loss from the perspective of someone who has been through it
Sharing of experiences and resources
Guidance for “what’s next?” in the recovery process

Bill underwent a leg amputation several years ago, and in true Bill fashion is now a certified peer advisor and VP of the organization.  He understands the difficulty of all of a sudden being without a limb and not knowing what comes next.  We passed a tray at the end of service to benefit the group and raised $400.  For those who were not there or perhaps did not have cash on them you can click on the link above to donate to the group.

A fun postscript to this story – Bill recently got a new prosthetic leg and decided to go all out – it has the Boston Red Sox logo on it!

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April 22nd, 2013 by Fr. Greg

His Eminence On Friday’s Happenings

Brethren,

As we wait and watch minute by minute to the ever changing circumstances of this developing crisis on the streets and neighborhoods of our cities, we pray to Almighty God for a peaceful and safe conclusion of this nightmare.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been personally traumatized by the events of the past several hours and days.  We pray for the healing of those injured and the eternal repose of those who have tragically lost their lives.  For all those who have witnessed with their eyes these tragedies, may the Lord bless, health, protect and strengthen you and your families.

During these days of prayer and fasting of the Great Lent, let us recommit ourselves to living a life of love through the Gospel, and spread the Light of Christ to all we come into contact with in order to dispel this darkness of evil.   Our Metropolis website is being updated with resources for parents to begin talking to our children about this crisis.  May the Lord keep you, your families and our children safe in His loving embrace.

With Archpastoral love,

Metropolitan Methodios

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April 19th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

From His Eminence

Message of His Eminence

Metropolitan Methodios of Boston

On the Tragedy of the Boston Marathon

 

On a day particularly rich with symbolism, an act of terrorism wounded the beautiful heart of our city and broke our hearts with the tragedy endured by innocent victims and their loved ones.

 

We reflect on the meaning of the Marathon runners which, even though forgotten most of the times, becomes especially poignant in the face of today’s tragedy: the first Marathon runner was a herald of victory—he covered the distance from the battleground of Marathon to Athens in order to announce to his fellow citizens the joyous news: ???????????! “We have won!” Historians claimed that in the battle of Marathon the European civilization won over an empire that devalued freedom and democracy. It was a victory of humanity against the forces of evil and that mentality which depreciated the values of individuality for which the Athenian city-state proud itself.

 

The Boston Marathon always coincides with another special holiday of our Commonwealth: Patriot’s Day. In that day we commemorate another victory on behalf of humanity, the victory of the first battles of the War of Revolution that gave birth to our Nation and to the liberties for which America stands.

 

Today’s terrorist attack becomes particularly meaningful when viewed under the light of this double association. It was an attack not only against our City, not only against our Nation, but, like every act of terrorism and regardless of its perpetrator, it was an attack against our civilization. The Boston Marathon is an international event and, therefore, the effects of today’s tragedy are felt worldwide.

 

We offer our condolences and prayers to the victims of this tragedy: to the innocent people who lost their lives and were injured senselessly. We stand in solidarity with every citizen of our Commonwealth, our Nation and every person of good will who shares the values of our civilization. We pray that our God, healer of our souls and bodies, bring healing to everyone affected by today’s events and peace in our hearts and in our world.

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April 15th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

Behold The Kings…

…Of Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Greece:

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March 26th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

From Constantinople To Rome

Address of His All-Holiness to His Holiness Pope Francis of Rome

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, in a formal reception in honor of the church and religious leaders by Pope Francis, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew represented the christian and faith communities in a special address to the Pope. The Patriarch’s attendance at the papal inaugural mass was a historic initiative on the part of Patriarch Bartholomew inasmuch as it was the first time in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch was personally present at a papal installation.

Vatican, March 20, 2013

Your Holiness,

In the name of the Lord of powers, we wholeheartedly congratulate You on the inspired election and deserved assumption of Your new high duties as First Bishop of the venerable Church of Senior Rome, defined by the primacy of love.

On this Throne, You succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who boldly retired for reasons of health and fatigue, a man distinguished for his meekness, theology and love. The task and responsibility before You are immense before both God and humankind. The unity of the Christian Churches is surely our foremost concern as one of the fundamental prerequisites for the credibility of our Christian witness in the eyes of those near and afar. In order to achieve this unity, we must continue the inaugurated theological dialogue so that we may jointly appreciate and approach the truth of faith, the experience of the saints, and the tradition of the first Christian millennium shared by East and West alike. It should be a dialogue of love and truth, in a spirit of humility, meekness, and honesty.

After all, the global economic crisis urgently mandates the coordination of our humanitarian action, in which You are well experienced as a result of Your long and fruitful ministry as a Good Samaritan in Latin America, where You pastorally witnessed – like so few others – the bitterness of human pain and suffering. Those who “have” must be motivated to offer – willingly and gladly – to those who “have not.” In this way, peace will be secured through justice as the sole universal request and the basic expectation of all nations. We must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, treat the suffering, and generally care for the needy so that we may hear from our Lord: “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” (Matt. 25.34)

The selection by Your beloved and esteemed Holiness of a lifestyle of simplicity has highlighted – and will continue to highlight – your priority for what is essential. This fills the hearts of everyone – Your faithful and all people in general – with a sense of hope. It is the hope that this priority will be applied broadly so that judgment and mercy, as the essence the law, may prevail in the Church.

Throughout the two-thousand-year history of the Church of Christ, certain truths of the sacred Gospel were misinterpreted by some Christian groups, resulting in secular misconceptions that have unfortunately spread in Christian circles today. Thus, the burden of our obligation andresponsibility is to remind ourselves, each another, and the entire world that God became human in Jesus Christ in order that we may lead a divine way of life. Indeed, “God is the Lord and has appeared to us.” The one who created all things in the beginning, who guides and provides for all things, descended to the depths of death on the cross in order that, through His resurrection, He may demonstrate that “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” and in His name alone, to serve His people, so that we may all be united, and that Christ may be all things and in all things,

This world is the domain where we realize this spiritual way of life, where we achieve our integration into the body of Christ, and where we are brought through Him into eternal life. The Church consecrates this earthly life, although it does not consummate its mission in this earthly life. We all realize and recognize this truth, which is why – as pastors and faithful alike – we travel this way of truth, acquiring the heavenly through the earthly.

As the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the worldwide Orthodox Church of Christ, we are certain that Your venerable and dearly beloved Holiness, who commences this historical journey with such favorable auspices as Bishop of Rome, will – together with all those who are willing and able – exhibit special concern for the reparation of secular trends so that humanity may be restored to its “original beauty” of love. We fervently pray with all Christians as well as with people throughout the world that Your Holiness will prove effective in this deeply responsible and highly onerous task.

May our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed and glorified. Thanks be to God, who in every period of time raises up worthy leaders, deserving of their calling to lead and guide His people, for the adoration of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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March 24th, 2013 by Fr. Greg
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