No.

127
June2017

TheOrthodoxParish
oftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
Lancaster,UK.

TheStavronian
amonthlymagazine&newsletterpublicisedbythe'HolyCrossSynodia'

TheParishoftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
belongstotheAntiochianOrthodoxChristianArchdioceseoftheBritishIslesandIreland.
ThePatriarchateofAntiochisthirdsenioroftheOrthodoxChurches.
ThePatriarchisHisBeatitudeJohnX.

ThediscipleswerefirstcalledChristiansinAntioch
(Acts11:26)
THETARGETCULTURE
Having received some feedback on my
article Time and Motion (March 2017
Stavronian),Iwantedto explorealittle
furthertheTargetculturefromatheologi
calandspiritualperspective.
There isnodoubtthatwelive ina
societywhichhasasitsaim,quitelite Joabanswered,YourMajesty,evenifthe
rally,theimplementationofrigidapplica
tions of performance targets. Education,
socialservices,healthandcrimepreven
tionareallsubjecttothemeasurementof
successbynumbers.Whilstnumbersmay
indicateacertainquantitativerawmeasu
rementtheygivenoindicationofquality.
Inthefield of educationof which I
waspartforalmostfortyyears,thedrive
to ever increasing attainment levels
became more demanding. Whilst this
(narrow)objectivemaybenobleinitself,
thebenefitsofaroundededucationmay
be sacrificed and the means by which
results achieved, questioned. One can
always alter the boundary, adjust the
threshold, move the target! Perhaps we
shouldaskourselveswhatismoreimpor
tant, information or wisdom? The so
calledperiodofenlightenement,ofwhich
thesecularsocietyisadirectdescendant,
iscentredonthenotionofimprovement
basedupontherational,autonomousself
and ignoring the conditioned nature of
theindividual.Proverbs9:10;Thefearof
the Lordis thebeginning of wisdom and
theknowledgeoftheholyisunderstanding.
C. S. Lewis wrote: Education without
values,asuseful as itis,seems rather to
make mana moreclever devil. There is
then often a disconnection between the
tick box mentality of a targetdriven
culture and the best interests of the
student/patient/employee/citizen. If one
focusespurelyonstatistics,thenoneloses
sight of the person! However, number
crunchingisnotnew!IntheOld Testa
ment we read: 1 Chronicles 21; Satan
decidedtocausetroubleforIsraelbymak
ingDavidthinkitwasagoodideatofind
outhowmanypeopletherewereinIsrael
andJudah.DavidtoldJoabandthearmy
commanders, Count everyone in Israel,
fromthetownofBeershebainthesouthall
theway northtoDan.ThenIwillknow
howmanypeoplecanserveinmyarmy.
Lordmadeyourkingdomahundredtimes
larger,youwouldstillruleeveryoneinit.
Why do you need to know how many
soldiers there are? Dont you think that
wouldmakethewholenationangry?
The most common word for sin in
theNewTestamentis;theuseof
thewordderivesfromtheclassicalGreek
literature of Homer and Thucydides
whichmeansto missthemark orto fail
toattainthegoal.Thewordiscommonly
usedtorepresentaspearfailingtohitthe
target.
We could then say that the Target
culture has a theological provenance,
except that there is a unique difference
fromthepresentorientation.Ourperso
nal target is not a matter of speed and
volume, it is a matter of patience and
perseverance;itisamatterofourobedi
ence,faith,serviceandresponsetowards
God and our neighbours. If it was a
matter of keeping the Commandments
thensadly,manhasfailedandbrokenall
ofthem.
Indeed,inRomanswereadallhave
sinned i.e. fallen short of the target of
perfectionthatGodhassetbeforeus.St
PaulwroteinRomans3:23;Forallhave
sinnedandfallshortofthegloryofGod.
Romans6:22; Butnowhavingbeenfreed
fromsinandenslavedtoGod,youderive
your benefit, resulting in sanctification,
andtheoutcome,eternallife.
It is significant that our Lord Jesus
Christ in his teaching, preaching and
healingmiraclesintheGospelsaddresses
particularindividuals.Knowingournatu
retomissGodstargetandoftentomiss
Godaltogether,Christtargetsourfailures
whilst seeing our potential. Nicodemus,
Saul/Paul, the Samaritan woman at the
Well,thewomancaughtinadultery,Zac
chaeus, the Paralytic etc. no tick box
mentalityhere,butadeep,caringenga
gement and address of the individuals
needsandabilities.Weareurgedtopur
suespiritualgiftsworkinginthatsynergy
withGod.
Thetruthisthatsincewehavefallen
so short of Gods commandments, we
havebecomethetargetofHisLove,and
Henevermisses!
Lamentations3:12; HebentHisbow
andsetmeasatargetforthearrow.
FrJonathan
Iadvertisedinthelocalpressbutyou
onlylookedattheheadlines.
Icalledyoubutitwenttorecorded
message.
WhenyouwereababyyourGodparents
broughtyoutoChurchtobebaptised.
Whenyouwereinloveyourpartner
bringsyoutoChurchtobemarried
Whenyoudieyourfriendsandfamily
willbringyoutoChurchforyourfuneral.
Whenareyougoingtoacceptthe
invitationforyourself?
SowhatismissingfromCH__CH?
Christianity,iffalse,isofnoimportance
and,iftrue,isofinfiniteimportance.The
one thing it cannot be is moderately
important. C.S. Lewis God In The
Dock(1970).
FrJonathan

THEINVITATION
TheParableoftheGreatSupperLuke
14:15;Nowwhenoneofthosewhosatat
thetablewithHimheardthesethings,he
saidtoHim,Blessedishewhoshalleat
bread in the kingdom of God! Then He
saidtohim,Acertainmangaveagreat
supper and invited many, and sent his
servantatsuppertimetosaytothosewho
wereinvited,Come,forallthingsarenow
ready.Buttheyallwithoneaccordbegan
tomakeexcuses.

Irangyourdoorbellbuttherewasno
answer.
IrangtheChurchbellbutyoudecidedto
stayinbed.
Iemailedyoubuttherewasnoresponse. THOUGHTSFROMTHE
Itextedyoubutyouwerebusy.
IputitonFacebook(!)butitjust
CELTICFATHERS
provokedanargument.
Iputpostersupbutyoudidnotlikethe Fromthe lifeof Saint Ita of Killeedy,
design. Ireland: The great Navigator, Saint
Brendan, visited Saint Ita between his
voyages and always deferred to her
counsel. Brendan is believed to have
asked her what three things God loved MAJORCELEBRATIONSTHIS
best.TruefaithinGodandapureheart,
a simple life with a religious spirit, and
MONTH
openhandednessinspiredbycharity,she th
answered. The three things God most 4June:HolyPentecost
th
detestedwereascowlingface,obstinacy 5June:HieromartyrBonifaceof
in wrongdoing, and too great a Crediton,ArchbishopofMainz(754)
th
confidenceinthepowerofmoney. 9June:St.ColumbaofIona,Enlightener
ofScotland(597)
th
ChristosVasilopoulos 16June:StTychontheWonderworker
th
Kozani,Greece 17June:St.Botolph,Abbotofthe
MonasteryofIkanhoe(680)
nd
22June:St.Alban,Protomartyrof
Britain(304)
th
24June:NativityoftheForerunnerand
NAMESOFDEPARTED BaptistJohn
LOVEDONESTOBE th
26June:AppearanceoftheIconofour
REMEMBEREDTHISMONTH MostHolyLadyTheotokosofTikhvin
th
29June:PeterandPaul,theHoly
Jun.5:Vasileios Apostles
th
Jun.22:Ioannis 30June:SynaxisoftheTwelveHoly
Apostles
MEMORYETERNAL!
For the lives of Saints please visit the
Pleasesendusthenamesofyourdepar CalendaroftheGreekOrthodoxArchdi
ted loved ones and date of their depar oceseofAmerica:www.calendar.goarch.org
tureinorderforthemtoberemembered.

PARISHNEWS
AniconofSaintMartin,handpaintedby
monksofMtAthos,hasbeendonatedto
the Parish! May our Lord and Saviour
JesusChristgivetherewardforthisholy
giftthatisentrustedtoourParish!
Christos Vasilopoulos from Kozani,
Greece,sendshiswarm greetingstothe
Parish.
 ServicesatStMartin'sinJune*
Sat.3rd 10:30 MemorialserviceatPicadillyScotforthCemetery
12:30 GreatVespers
Sun.4th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgyforPentecost
12:00 Parishlunch
13:30 SundayVespersandKneelingprayers
Sat.10th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.11th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Sat.17th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.18th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Sat.24th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.25th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgyfollowedbyParishlunch
*Helpsettingupthechurchisgreatlyappreciatedandstartshalfanhourbeforetheservice.

Godcaresforeveryone.Despairisineffectalackoffaith
St.GeorgeKarslides

Forfurtherinformationpleasecontact:
FatherJonathanHemmings
67SibseyStr.,Fairfield,Lancaster,LA15DQ
Tel:+441524840759,+441524580600
Email:frjah@yahoo.co.uk
www.orthodoxlancaster.org.uk
www.antiochianorthodox.co.uk
ThefollowingblogsofOldStavroniansareavailableinRomanian,ConstiintaOrtodoxa,in
English,Orthodoxcityhermit,andinGreek,Orthodoxyrainbow.

TopandbottomsketchesarecreatedattheHolyMonasteryofTheAnnunciationoftheTheotokosChios,Greece,courtesyofFrTheodosiosDendrinos,Ithaca,Greece.
ThesketchofChristbyPhotisKontoglouwasscannedfromtheOrthodoxcalendaroftheApostolikiDiakoniaoftheChurchofGreece.