HERALD - Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Page 2DEAN’S MESSAGE“MAKING A DIFFERENCE THIS CHRISTMAS”HeraldOne day, as he began hisdaily prayer, a holy hermit sawa crippled man, a motherbegging for food for her malnourishedchild and a victimof what must have been a severebeating, passing by him.Seeing them, the holy manturned to God and said,―Great Lord! How is it thatsuch a loving Creator can seeso much suffering and yet donothing about it?‖ And deepwithin his heart he heard Godreply, ―I have done somethingabout it. I made you.‖Yes, God made us to be Hishands and feet, and to be Hishealing body in the person ofJesus Christ. If God‘s work isgoing to be done, it must bedone through us and by us. IfGod‘s work is going to bedone at our Saint Sophia Cathedral,God needs our willinghands, feet and especially ourgenerous hearts.This Christmas is very specialfor our beloved cathedral. Anew multi-purpose communitycenter will be rising on ourproperty and will double thesize of our old outgrown facility.In a sense, it is a Christmas giftfrom God, made possible bythe loving and generoushearts of our people. For thosewho were waiting to see if thisproject would really happenbefore making a major gift orpledge, now is the time to respondwith generosity and joy!At a recent eulogy, I heard thefollowing words from a friend ofthe deceased and also a generousfriend of mine. He said, ―Ibelieve that the entire worldturns on and that all of life isdetermined by the answer tothis question: What do youhave to offer and when willyou give your gift?‖ These veryprofound words are the essenceof Christmas and thewhole Christmas message.How can we expect to receiveunless we give ? Saint Sophia‘sbest days are yet to come.God provides and His provisionscome through your heartsand hands. What can youoffer this Christmas to the workof the Lord?Our new community center stillneeds the generous gifts fromthose who can give throughgenerosity and through sacrifice.An ancient Christian prayersays it best:―Dearest Lord,Teach me to be generous.Teach me to serve you as youdeserve.To give and not to countcost;To fight and not to heed thewound;To toil and not to see rest;To labor and not to seekreward;Save that of feeling that I doyour will.Amen.‖When you are ready to makeyour commitment andpledge to this exciting project,please see me or amember of our Foundation orParish Council.Merry Christmas my belovedbrothers and sisters in Christ.See you in church.In Christ,“When you write or update your will, please remember Saint Sophia Cathedral. Your gift will live into eternity.”