--- OUTREACH VIDEO PROGRAMS --- Dear Bishops, presbyters, deacons, monastics, readers, matushkas, teachers, catechists all clergy and faithful laity. Greetings in our Lord! PLEASE dont rush to remove yourselves from this conversation before you give the chance reading even if its the slightest little bit of this letter. I promise this is NOT spam. A few simple words or comments can ASSIST in the GROWTH of a young ORTHODOX CHURCH!!!! Masters, fathers bless! I pray and hope this message finds everyone well during these late, difficult, unsettling and disturbing periods of Christian living all around our globe. Please, let’s all continue to pray for the safety of one another especially for our brothers and sisters persecuted in the Middle East. With the blessing of our Metropolitan Alexander and my priest Fr. David I am sending you this message to address and explore the many possible ways in which our Orthodox Faith can be presented in the form of seminars, video presentations, educational studies, lectures and etc. I am positive most of us are aware of the abundant amount of resources that exist nowadays, either it be a good documentary, a series of online videos or a professionally published dvd set. The different direction, angles, approaches and styles of material that choose to present the Orthodox Faith often vary in content, delivery and stylistics. Some take the historical route, others present liturgics, others focus more on dogmatics, others the noetic life and prayer, the lives of Saints, iconography, monasticism and the list can go on and on (you get the point). Different approaches, formats, styles and deliveries all serve well for different people, all are blessed and work in unique ways depending on the needs and current state of each individual or group...none is necessarily more superior than the other, although perhaps a body of work which tries to incorporate a good balance of all of Orthodoxys elements could commonly cater to a larger number of people. My current English speaking parish (which I have been involved in the last 2 years), St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Mission in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, an extremely small mission slowly growing and just starting to get its feet wet so to speak, after having purchased our new building over a year now.....We have been in the process of brainstorming, organizing and coordinating our first official outreach program that would be applicable, compatible, relevant and edifying to our surrounding neighborhoods, populations and more specifically to your ordinary, average everyday man...always in smooth adaptation with the cultural ethos and spirit of our honorable homeland, Canada. Due to time restraints and perhaps not having invested enough effort thoroughly early on, we rushingly decided in using a dvd series titled The Way, some of you may already be familiar with the series. The Way is an educational program created by the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies at Cambridge University in England; most of the members involved in its production are professors, scholars, academics and clergymen that serve the Church of England. The series is broken into 12 sessions which follow the formula of the well know Alpha Program (which includes group study, presentation, discussion and a complimentary meal). Upon receiving the series and having watched most of the videos already, I was personally disappointed in the overall presentation and delivery of the speakers. The length of each session averages to about 40 minutes; each speaker just plain reads the material from a paper or off a display screen thats obviously near the capturing camera. The tone of delivery is intensely cut and dry, the content although pristinely Orthodox, is presented in a very academically austere and scholarly fashion. There is no audience present in any of the videos which makes the output very de-personalized and distant….instead more monotonous, mechanical, confined, rigid and by the book. In all honesty the relevance and impression left on me are very disappointing and minimalistic for my expectations. I had a difficult time preserving my interest throughout the whole length of some of the 40 minute videos. To conclude to my point, I am having second opinions about the overall effectiveness and relevance such a presentation would have on our Canadian culture and citizens. I believe that, unless the program is strictly directed towards people in high end Academia (like scholars, university students, academics and etc...) I fear that its resonance to a wider array of inquirers would be poor if not next to none. The cliché phrase First impression is last impression echoes through my heart and mind, and our small parish at this point would like to take the wisest steps in developing an effective program that relates and applies to our current day and age. Having done some extensive research ever since acquiring the Way series, and beginning to consider the use of other works. I am open to any experiences, criticisms, feedback or other alternatives you have to suggest. To clarify, we still think of structurally using the Alpha format in organizing the event (as I mentioned before - this includes the several video sessions, group studies, discussion, paper handouts and a meal...) but instead we may just use another video series more fit and appropriate for our possible audience. Unfortunately the lack of finances, available contacts, key people and time limitations do not allow us to prepare something of our own, as in personally putting a presentation together ourselves, hence why we have chosen the video format for now. A FEW QUESTIONS I HAVE : - Are you familiar with The Way series at all....if so what was your experience like? - Which educational approach in introducing Orthodoxy to non-Orthodox (mostly denominational Christians) do you prefer and why? (Historical, theological, dogmatic, liturgical, prayerful, artistic/iconographical/sensory, mystical, monastic, lives of Saints etc...) - What is the most accurate way in assessing and understanding what is suited for a particular surrounding local community (demographically speaking) ? - How do you traditionally and patristically intergrade and relate culture into such a presentation, without diluting or offending the position and sanctity of the Church? - How important are the public, socializational, fun, non-spiritual and creative factors for the success of such an event compared to the spiritual things ? How do we establish what the Fathers called the Royal Path, a happy medium, the middle way? - Any general comments relating to the topic are welcome; forgive my lengthy write up. I humbly request if you could please petition, commemorate and remember either liturgically or personally the following members of our mission involved in the beginnings of this effort : Fr. David James Gordon Herman Kathryn John (Peter) And myself Polychronios Thank you for taking the time to read this message. May the Panagia have you all under her care!
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 19:54:48 +0000
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