Future Efforts

Tomorrow, July the 15th, will be the first evening I spend a couple of hours at a local coffee shop.

This will be the beginning of an attempt to find potential converts to Orthodoxy, as well as potential church planters.

The approach will be simple: go to the coffee shop with Orthodox Study Bible in hand and do some reading. I will be praying that God will send me contacts and set up divine appointments.

And I may rotate from the coffee shop to the local Celtic Tavern which is pretty much across the street from the coffee shop.

If I do this long enough and pair these locations with the Steaming Bean next fall, some positive results may take place.

The bottom line is that a local Orthodox parish would provide a better opportunity for greater involvement for those of us who are Parker residents.

I firmly believe that there should be an Orthodox parish in every suburb of all major cities in the U.S.

For a city like Denver, that would mean suburbs like Aurora, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Englewood, Littleton, Thorton, Westminister, Wheatridge and Lakewood. It would also mean nearby towns such as Franktown, Elizabeth, Castle Rock, Brighton, etc.

That would mean 13 parishes for those municipalities listed directly above.

Ambitious? Unrealistic?

Probably so.

But thinking in these terms beats the complacent alternative.

The Anglican Church in North America isn't waiting around and has pledged the planting of hundreds of new parishes across the country.

Should we be any less ambitious than they are?

Blessings in The Holy Trinity, One God and the Divine Community of Love.

Columba Silouan