Oaks of Mamre

Order the icon from the Ancient Faith Store... I love to fish! It was something I did as a kid with my dad. But then college, marriage, career, and kids all started happening in rapid succession. Soon decades had passed and I had not packed up a pole.  In all honesty, I didn’t really love fishing even as a kid. I loved being with my dad mostly. But then a few years ago, we moved to a new home next to a lake. When my dad heard I was moving near a lake he gave me a pole he had for years. It had a small lure on the end. So, I figured, why not? I threw a line in the lake behind our home just a few days after arriving. On my second cast, bam! A largemouth bass was dancing on the end of my line. Second cast! I was hooked. <wink> It was exhilarating. I had an epiphany. Fishing is ok, but catching is everything. Now I love fishing because I’ve learned to couple it with catching. The gospel reading from this week is all about fishing. Jesus, walking by the Sea of ...

Good morning friends! Kevin here again from Oaks of Mamre ministry with a few thoughts on this past week's gospel reading. "Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 10.32 As I heard this week's gospel reading I was reminded of all the times in my past when I've encountered people who seemed too pushy with their invitations to come to Christ. You know the people who stand on corners and shout at everyone to “REPENT!” They are the ones with the megaphones and the leaflets that tell you how to get to heaven in 3 easy steps. Well, a couple of data points that may be of interest. One, I was that person for a season in my life in my early 20s. I have preached on the streets and handed out literature in several different countries during that short season. That's a story for another time (or never!). While I no longer practice that form of sharing my faith, I will say that it taught me to be b...

  We launch this series of writings on the week following Pentecost. And while I didn’t plan it that way, I can’t think of a better time! On Sunday we heard these words from St. John’s Gospel:
   On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” He spoke concerning the Spirit. (Gospel of St. John 7.37, 38) What might a stranger, visiting Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit, experience? Are they encountering God, the Holy Spirit? They certainly could! And in many ways, they are - though they may not fully realize fully what is happening. What is their experience of us? Are they encountering us as vessels of the Holy Spirit, as people from whom “rivers of living water are flowing”? Again, they could. I have at times experienced this in our community. And I am grateful for that. At other...

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ, "He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water'." (Jn. 7:38) This is the beginning of a new blog series coming from our Oaks of Mamre Ministry. The chair of that committee is Kevin Rains, and what Kevin writes below is a fine explanation of the work and goal of that ministry. Briefly stated here, it is about parish hospitality as a key component on assisting visitors and inquirers to experience the fulness of life offered in an Orthodox Christian community.   - Fr. Steven   ~  ~  ~   Abraham and Sarah serve the Lord by the Oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18) Hi. This is Kevin Rains. I lead the Oaks of Mamre ministry for Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit. The title of our ministry may be a little obscure to some but it’s based on a story told in The Book of Genesis (ch. 18) and further enlarged in a famous icon about Abraham providing hospitality to three stran...