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Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy
Thonotosassa, Florida, USA
About Our Church:
Our Mission
Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me....Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' (Matthew 25:34-36,40b)
While we are committed to fulfilling all of our Savior's mandates, the Fellowship is especially focused on feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, housing the homeless, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned, starting with caring for the aged, the sick, and the dying and visiting the imprisoned. However, unlike many existing ministries, we shall never create a large bureaucratic institution measuring its success by the number served. Instead, the measure of our success must always be the individual being served with Holy Love as though he or she were Christ Himself and that same individual feeling the Love of God coming from the one who serves. That Divinely loving act is an Event in Eternity.
For all members of the Fellowship, whether monastic or secular, regardless of what other ministry activities they do, our central activity is intercessory prayer. In keeping with ancient monastic traditions, whenever our prayers are sought, not only will the specific intention be included in our Eucharistic Liturgies but also the name shall be added to the rolls of those for whom we pray.
Those lists shall be maintained by our monastic brothers and sisters. We must always remember that, contrary to the thinking of the "World", prayer is one of the most powerful things that we can do for people so long as it is not divorced from practical action where applicable.
Let us always seek God's Wisdom wherever it may be found. Let us receive it without prejudice whether it is ancient or modern, whether it is written or unwritten. Holy Scripture was inspired of God, but all of nature including Man was created by God. Since all of Holy Scripture required the intervention of human efforts in the writing, translating, and preserving of it, perhaps Nature carries God's message more purely if we can receive it.
While at some future date there maybe facilities run by the Fellowship which need fulltime paid workers, it must be remembered that they are never paid to administer the Sacraments or Sacramentals of the Church nor to share the love of God. Members of the Fellowship shall only receive either pay for work that would otherwise require nonmembers to be hired or reimbursement for approved expenses. Furthermore the monastic members are never paid to do their quota of the shared work of the community. It must be remembered that our Lord was never paid. "And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.'"(Matthew 8:20)
PASTOR
My name is Father John Missing and I am a native Floridian. Although I grew up Southern Baptist, or rather, because I did, I found my way many years ago to the Orthodox Church, where I eventually began my monastic life and was tonsured a Stavrophore monk. Several years later, I was ordained to the priesthood in the American Catholic Church, Diocese of Central Florida, which was subsequently reorganized as the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. Now, under the auspices of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Catholic Monastery and Missionary Society I have been empowered to establish the Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy.
Since my ordination, I have served the oft neglected elements of society: the aged and AIDS patients in nursing homes, alcoholics and addicts, and the imprisoned. Currently, I am attending the local community college, studying to be an RN in order to open a Christian residential hospice in this area. I have some definite ideas about what such a facility should be. There will be elements of a home environment and the spiritual qualities of monastic life. Since I know from my own life experience that we are all dying, indeed there is no other way out of this life, hospice is not about dying but about learning to live before you die. I shall incorporate a healthy diet, a little gardening, a modicum of prayer and meditation, and the best of modern and alternative medical care into a healing environment. I believe that, while it is commendable to feed, clothe, or house a multitude of people through the work of a "Christian" agency, it is of infinitely more importance from the spiritual perspective to bring about a spark of Christlike love and compassion between two individuals. There will be more hungry, more naked, more homeless, but that spark of Christlike love and compassion is an Event in Eternity.Here are links to other sites that you may be interested in:
Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy
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We'd love to hear from you! Email us at:
fatherjohn@whyweb.com