Reports coming in from all over Kenya are painting a vivid picture of growing unrest and escalating conflict. According to Reuters, over 300 people have already died in the clashes between rival factions and the police.
 
The Kenyan capital city of Nairobi houses the Makarios III Patriarchal Seminary and St. George Orthodox Church lies nearby in the heart of the Kibera slums – the largest in Africa and a flash point for much of the recent violence.
 
In a phone conversation with OCMC Executive Director, Fr. Martin Ritsi, His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Kenya indicated that many homes of Orthodox Christians in Kibera have been burned, and displaced residents in the area are seeking safety and shelter within the confines of the St. George Orthodox Church compound. He states that three churches (not Orthodox) have been razed in Kibera thus far, and similar instances have been seen in Western Kenya as well.
 
The Archbishop went on to report that several Orthodox priests had seen their homes destroyed losing everything to fires set by angry mobs. Some of these priests are now taking refuge at the seminary which has been temporarily closed. Food has become scarce in Nairobi and people are staying home fearing continued troubles.
 
Before hanging up, His Eminence urged calm and encouraged all Orthodox Christians to pray for peace in Kenya. May the people of Kenya, guided by the Holy Spirit, find this peace through unity in a common Father and by the mercies of His only begotten son Jesus Christ.
 
The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) is a non-profit organization that has been commissioned by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) to proclaim the fullness of the Christian Faith by establishing and nurturing vibrant, Eucharistic communities, which evangelize those around them and minister to the poor.

Orthodox Christian Mission Center
P.O. Box 4319
St. Augustine, FL  32085-4319

Contact: Alex Goodwin,
Communications Director
Phone: (904) 829-5132
E-mail: communications@ocmc.org
Web: www.ocmc.org

1/6/08
Topic: The Continuing Plight of the Patriarch of Constantinople
Guest: Dr. Anthony Limberakis

For the week of January 6, Come Receive the Light will feature Fr. Chris speaking with Dr. Anthony Limberakis about The Continuing Plight of the Patriarch of Constantinople. On Special Moments in Orthodoxy, Dr. Clark Carlson and Frank Schaeffer will be discussing Orthodox Icons, and on Theologically Thinking, Fr. Stanley Harakas discusses a subject constantly in the news: "Politics." The ARK’s Featured Artist Block showcases the music of Justin Matthews, and don't forget Jason Barker's podcast "Get Wisdom #9."

Each day on The ARK and The RUDDER you can hear a different show from “The Best of Come Receive the Light,” favorite interviews from past episodes of CRTL. During January 7–11 we will be playing "Conversion in Interfaith Marriage" (1/7), "The Difference Between Dieting and Fasting" (1/8), "The Orthodox Church in Media" (1/9), "Raising Children to Be Believers" (1/10), and "Six Months to Live" (1/11).

1/13/08
Topic: Thinking through Faith
Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou & Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou

For the week of January 13, Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou and Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou will be featured on Come Receive the Light, discussing their new book "Thinking through Faith," to be published soon by Orthodox Christian Scholars.

Of course, we will have exciting programs on Special Moments in Orthodoxy and Theologically Thinking, and on “The Best of Come Receive the Light,” for this week, we will be playing "Beginners Guide to Prayer" (1/14), "One Flew Over the Onion Dome" (1/15), "Numbers and Symbolism" (1/16), "Crisis in Lebanon" (1/17), and "Same Sex Attraction" (1/18). If you're not already a regular listener, we invite you to join us on the air--and on the web--for some truly uplifting programs.

www.receive.org

Christ shall give you light.
(Ephesians 5:14)

Share the Light Sunday

20 January 2008

To the Most Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and
The Devout Faithful of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

We, the Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, greet you in this new calendar year with the love and hope that is in our Lord Jesus Christ. As Orthodox Christians, we have been richly blessed with the sacred repository of the fullness of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. With such a blessing, there come both the responsibility to offer our Orthodox Faith to the world around us and the challenge to find means that are consistent with the our Divine Message of love and forgiveness and suited for contemporary society.

Therefore, on this "Share the Light" Sunday, we ask that you take time to learn about and support the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), a ministry of SCOBA. OCN was formed to assist our parishes to meet the challenges and responsibilities of sharing the Everlasting Gospel of our Lord. OCN offers to our parishes both means and ways to enhance the outreach of the local Church. The great benefit of such outreach is that as we shine the light of Christ brighter and brighter for our non-Orthodox and un-churched neighbors, we also find that we are bringing the light of Christ to many of our own baptized Faithful who, for many reasons, have wandered away from the Church into spiritual obscurity and even darkness. But we know that "the Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (St. John 1:5). The Lord Jesus Christ is the Light, "the true Light Who enlightens every person who comes into the world" (St. John 1:9).

We can use the OCN to keep that light shining throughout the year. We commend to you the Orthodox Christian Network and its programs that are available on the radio and on its Web site, myocn.net. May we all be blessed to share the light of Christ in a world which is in desperate need of His illumination.

With paternal blessings and love in Christ,

           
+Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman   
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America   
    
+Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman   
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America      
        
+Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary    
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada  
                                                                                                             
+Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer  
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA  

+Metropolitan HERMAN
Orthodox Church in America  

+Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada 

+Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church

+Metropolitan CONSTANTINE 
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

+Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America