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Wednesday
Nov152006

November 2006 Newsletter

Christ is in our midst! I pray this newsletter finds you well and that you enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving. I thank God for your faithful support of this ministry, which is making a life-changing difference in the lives of students, faculty, and others.

As the end of the year fast approaches, we ask you to prayerfully consider giving a first time or extra gift to ACM, or increasing your monthly pledge of support. This first full-time pan-Orthodox ministry of the Church in North America is dependent on the support of individuals like you to continue and grow the ministry to reach more souls for Christ and His Church and help those already Orthodox to come to own their faith.

As you consider what you can give to participate in the work of this ministry, here’s an update on some of the accomplishments of Annapolis College Ministry:

  • EIGHT students, alumni and faculty have been catechized through this ministry;
  • SEVEN have been baptized and chrismated in the past three years;
  • There are another SIX inquirers on their way to the Faith at this time whom I meet with regularly for pastoral care and mentoring;
  • WEEKLY OCF meetings at both St. John’s College and the Naval Academy include Vespers and a study on many different aspects of the Orthodox Faith and living the life of a faithful Orthodox Christian;
  • DAILY Evening Prayers at St. John’s with a core group of SEVEN students;
  • Annapolis College Ministry is truly pan-Orthodox with a board spanning 3 jurisdictions working together to help provide oversight for the ministry;
  • Two study groups for inquirers and Orthodox meet with me at St. John’s during the week with a third group currently in formation;
  • WEEKLY meetings with individual students and others at both the USNA and SJCA and in the city of Annapolis;
  • Friday evening fellowship meetings and Nativity Paraklesis services;
  • Fall and Spring Semester retreats and other opportunities for formation;
  • Students are brought to an Orthodox Church on Sundays;
  • Last summer we ministered weekly to the incoming class of midshipmen at the USNA during Plebe Summer.

In October I was privileged to share the vision and mission of Annapolis College Ministry with a forum sponsored by the OCL (Orthodox Christian Laity). I was invited to speak because Annapolis College Ministry represents the fruit of inter-Orthodox outreach, evangelism, and ministry, which the group sees as its mission to promote.

We are not a large ministry, but by God’s grace we have been making a transformational difference for the Kingdom in the lives of many. Lives have been changed as students, alumni, and faculty have come to embrace Christ and His holy Orthodox Church.

Can you afford an extra $10 a month or more to support the work of this ministry?

May God bless you as you prepare for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord!