Thank you Carson,

I agree with you - now that I am off my soap box - $$$ is important

Churches who get $$ serve the laity

I don't believe $$$ is inherently evil or anything like it.

It is a tool - like others.

I pray that I give enough $$, as well as time, and talent unworthy as I am to even enter the church.

With $$ there is ALWAYS the risk of abuse - of overspending - of improper stewardship - and sometimes of outright theft.

I appreciate your prayers.

Christ is Risen!

Lack of vocations in the BCC is a major problem. I feel that the "married clergy" issue is one of the major causes. About fifteen years ago, I attended Pascha Liturgy at my Orthodox Church. We had three Priests serving that night to a parish of about eighty adult members, because two of them had not yet been assigned parishes. All three of these Priests were former Catholics. One was a cradle Byzantine Catholic, the second was a cradle Roman who became Byzantine and then converted to Orthodoxy and lastly the third happened to marry a Greek girl and became Orthodox. Maybe at least one or maybe two of these Priests may have remained Catholic if he were allowed to be Priests in the Byzantine Catholic Church.

Brother Hay,

I know what you mean about feeling unworthy to even enter the Church. It is clearly God's house. I always always wear the best I have. It is the abode of the King.

Tex:

Christ is Risen!!

Lack of vocations is a problem endemic to all branches of Christianity. I've met clergy from every part fo the spectrum and it is a very common problem everywhere.

This afternoon I was talking to a colleague who lives and works about sixty miles north of me. Finding talent for our profession, finding physicians, finding clergy who want to come to remote places and spend their lives is a big problem across the board. Many of the communities where our churches are established offer little to do outside the parish community. There are little or no cultural activities or other diversions outside of the work these people are called to do. And that goes for all the mentioned professions. Unless a man (or woman) has family in the area where one is called, it's a tough sell to convince someone to settle in and serve. Even more so trying to convince the person's spouse to come in--worst of all trying to convince a fiance to consider moving to what can be "the back country."

We had a priest stay at our parish a year ago while on sabbatical. He has a parish in the far northwestern corner of a western state. He's out in the country 45 miles from the nearest grocery or convenience store: stuck in the middle of farming country. He says he wants to retire but no one will take his place willingly. Used to be a Catholic bishop would tell a man "go" and he'd be stuck. No more. Lots of priests simply leave, and with the shortage, another bishop will gladly take him in.

I think sometimes we look at this whole vocations thing in a vacuum, not considering the community and the "outside the parish" environment we want a member of the clergy to live in. Given the often polarized atmosphere of some parishes, you have one more reason for the vocation shortage.

Bob

I would say that TEX is right.

You would think that a church needing clergy would express that need by accepting more men into vocations.

But from what I have observed - the acceptance into vocations is restrictive rather than open - rejecting rather than accepting.

I am really getting tired of hearing about the need for clergy when there are plenty of good men - good candidates seeking the vocation that are rejected. I personally know 3 great Byzantine Catholic men who were rejected to the diaconate program in our eparchy. One of them an unmarried man.

I'm afraid if things don't change - The Church will suffer.
Priests and Deacons age - and die - and retire - without a sufficient generation of new and willing men - eventually the Church could die or it's growth stunted.

If I were accepted I'd move anywhere they asked me to move.
Whereever the need.

The vibrancy of a church is directly reflected in how many seek and are accepted into vocations.

Imagine early christianity if the early christians were restrictive in the extreme to people joining the Church.

Just some thoughts in the matter.

I really don't see how some of the EC and EO parishes will last more than another 10 to 20 years, i.e. after the majority of the parishoners have passed on.
While there are certainly some EC and EO that are doing a great job of reaching out and bring newcomers in, there are those that refuse to have liturgies in English despite having financial problems and causing them to split from other EC congregations.
I'm also a little saddened when EC & EO parishes say they're welcoming and for you to stay after and eat and talk with them and the only people that will talk with you is the priest and other visitors -- you are eyed with suspicion or just ignored. Geez where's the love? I can go to nearly any protestant church and enjoy coffee and donuts time and have a multitude of people come up and talk to me or say more than "hi" when I come up to them and introduce myself...just saying.
To be fair in many cases (EC, RC, EO) the Priests are the ones extending the hand and friendship and following up. Pastors, priests, ministers tend to understand the state of the Christian church better than the laity. The EC I visited recently was very nice and followed up with a letter and a phone call -- I explained they way I felt and I gathered that he would've preferred to have a liturgy in English but that it was far off from happening...

Hayduc,

Again I agree. I think we run on fear and it will do us in. Still, that may be God's will.

CDL

Good points, Dave. Again, I'm inclined to add that our ec churches need to stop appearing to be so repellently insular, and, I'm sad to say that in at least one case I've witnessed, with a strong hint of a polarizing holier than thouisms viz. the Latins. Boy howdy, wouldn't that just put mixed marriage members in a good receptive mood?
I don't know: putting so much energy into ritual, raiments, and marathon Liturgies, yet seemingly offering so little in institutionalizing an informed and tangible Christian charity, outreach, and welcome makes me plum tired.