The St Xenia Fellowship continues to serve the poor at the Oasis Soup Kitchen. All are welcome to help. If you have any questions please speak to Sharon, Iuliana or Danny. Please sign up if you wish to be involved in this blessed ministry!
Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the sheep and the goats calls us to reach out. Of the outreach opportunities that Christ the Saviour could get involved in, our committee decided to focus on one and to do it well. Our focus became feeding the hungry in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. After we explored the needs in the area, and the services available, we found that we would best fit into the programs currently being offered at Oasis Soup Kitchen on King St in Kitchener. We have booked 6 dates from February through June. These bookings will provide us with the opportunity to serve a meal to those in need, learn the dynamics of operating a soup kitchen, fellowship amongst ourselves as well as with those we serve, be an Orthodox presence in the community, and determine our commitment to such efforts.
Each of these six nights must be staffed with a minimum of 5, maximum of 12 people and this may include some of our youth. We would encourage all of you to take this opportunity to see how well you fit into this program. Details of these events and sign-up sheets are in the fellowship area.
Other outreach opportunities that have long been a part of our parish are: donating food bank items, collecting used clothing, visitation of the sick and prisoners, and our monthly collection of alms for the poor. Oasis has facilities in place to distribute food hampers and used clothing. Therefore, we will now offer a large portion of our food and clothing collections to Oasis.
During the first two dates Oasis will be providing the food. Beginning in March we plan to use a portion of our alms for the poor to buy the food that we will serve. At that time we will also need help to prepare some of the food prior to the serving nights.
Another outreach that has been ongoing at Christ the Saviour for many, many months is the Akathist to St. Xenia. This is a beautiful prayer service where members of our congregation gather to pray for the needs of people within our parish as well as the needs of those beyond our walls. This service is approximately ½ hour in length. Because it is beautiful, short and sweet, it is very accommodating, even for our restless toddlers. We would encourage all of our members to attend at least one of these services to experience it and to be more aware of this important outreach. Bishop Alexander has blessed us with St. Xenia as the Patron Saint for all of our outreach efforts. Let’s get to know St. Xenia.
In summary, we have numerous opportunities to participate: alms for the poor, donating food bank items, donating used clothing, serving at Oasis, cooking food in our homes prior to our serving dates, and praying for those in need. With all these choices, most if not everyone in our congregation should be able to participate in one or more of these ways.
The fruit of our efforts over the next six months will determine our next steps. To understand more about the possibilities of expansion in Orthodox outreach, I would encourage everyone to take 10 minutes to view the dvd: FOCUS North America.
May all of our efforts be to the Glory of God!
Church Beautification
Our efforts of beautifying our beloved Temple continue. Thank you to all who have helped thus far! The crowning of these efforts will be icons painted by Christopher Van Donkelaar over the course of this year. Who should grace the walls of our temple? All members of the parish are encouraged to write a ½ - 1 page explanation of which saint they believe we should choose. This should include a short biography and why this saint is important in your life and the life of the Parish.
To follow our iconographers’ progress please go to his website and read the section entitled “Plan for the West Wall.”
www.vandonkelaar.ca
Icon And Bookstore
Items available include icons, oil lamps, censers, olive wood and other wall crosses, many of which are imported from Greece, along with Orthodox Nativity and other greeting cards.
Our bookstore carries an interesting selection of both adult and children's Orthodox books, Orthodox Study Bibles (editions of the New Testament and Psalms as well as the complete Old and New Testaments), AGAIN and THE HANDMAIDEN magazines.
