News
Reflection on the History
25th Anniversary Dinner – St John the Compassionate Mission
- 9 June 2011
by Mary Marrocco
It was a warm June evening, not unlike today; a Wednesday. 1992. A friend invited me to come to vespers and dinner with her at a place she loved. She took me over to a backstreet I'd never seen, across (she explained) from a housing complex called the Blake. Our destination was a small strip mall at 53 Blake St. We went through the little parking lot, littered with debris, and through a beat-up blue door. A hand-lettered sign overhead read: St John the Compassionate.
Inside was life! People, chatter, sounds, smells. Young children, adults of all ages. Cigarettes – allowed in those days. In the back, we could smell a meal being prepared. The scent was a little unusual as it was also mixed with – could it be – incense? Yes, to our left was a little chapel where vespers was about to begin. Before I could ask more, a large man with no socks welcomed me and gave me a booklet; he stood beside me during the service, showing me how to follow the service, and guiding me with his rich, beautiful baritone voice. This was Stanley, a neighbourhood man who'd long lived on welfare, one of my teachers who helped me learn to see. Stanley had many ways of teaching; it was he who one day creatively produced a carrot cake featuring whole carrots sticking out of the cake.
During Vespers, the evening light streamed in through the storefront window all blue and red, because on the window was painted the Annunciation: God's Good News of the Incarnation, here in this place where grinding, unglamorous poverty met the glory of God, in the lives of real people. I was in my second year of Ph.D. studies at the Toronto School of Theology. Little did I know, that night, that I was about to receive a university education of a new kind, teaching me what the church is.
After Vespers we crowded into wooden benches at the back, where the promise of a meal was fulfilled. I was amazed at how people knew each other's names, knew I was a stranger, missed Sue or Bob who was away that night, and took pains to make me feel welcome.
After supper, a slide presentation was shown, on an old fashioned slide projector. In it, I listened to the people of the Blake tell their own stories, and watched their faces and eyes on the screen, interspersed with images of the Trinity, Christ, the Divine Liturgy. I remember seeing slides of Edna and hearing her telling how she came every day and peeled potatoes and put them in a big pot. She also told the painful story of her upbringing and her life on the streets of Toronto. But here she'd found belonging, usefulness, companionship. Edna was in the room that evening, having peeled the dinner potatoes.
I afterwards spent many more such evenings, and days, as like my friend I quickly fell in love with the place, and became a regular volunteer, and eventually a staff member.
This first-night scene came back to me several years later, when St John the Compassionate Mission found itself homeless. This was long before the word “homelessness” was in vogue. After eight or nine years of service in the area of the Blake, St John's had outgrown its rented home. Partly because the rent was being raised, it seemed, every couple of weeks or so. By now there was a bakery as well as a drop in, kids' activities, women's program, youth activities, a farmer's market, icon-making, all sorts of things, and we were overflowing our space. To our delight, we were offered a permanent home in a church across town. Should we take it? Yes!! We packed up (a looooong job after eight years of living), rented a van, and moved.
But the deal fell through, though we'd given up the little we had in order to accept it, and we were left on the street with no place to go! For a while, we had vespers and hospitality on the sidewalk--an interesting way to meet people. We continued our prayer life as St William's School up the street from the Blake, which St John's had served while it was there, invited us to use a couple of classrooms for Sunday liturgy and meal. And we worked at raising money to buy a new place, at the same time visiting all over town to see what sort of services were already available. Though an excruciatingly painful period, it was (looking back) highly useful also. When you're running a mission it's hard to take time to visit other missions. We had a chance to explore where we might be most useful, and also to get some sense of what was unique about St John's. We learned lots, not only from official services but from coffee shops, walking around, visiting, chatting. A rich time of poverty!
What was unique about St John's? The answer was pretty clear to me. The personal connection, the creation of real “community” --- not community in the sense of a lot of people who think the same, or a group of random individuals with a common interest; but community in the sense of the icon you see now on the walls of this refectory, people participating together in the welcome only God can give, and so discovering one another. I remembered the slide show, how the people who put it together clearly loved the faces and voices and stories of the folks who came to St John's--for their faces and voices were the centerpiece, and in them Christ's face was seen and Christ's voice heard. I remembered how Edna's story, in her own words, told me what St John's was; as with stories I learned later, like Doughnut Joe, and May with the heart painted on her face, and Jacquie whose one-year-old son David became the first person buried from St John's, and Alice and Rose and Larry and so many other known not by numbers, but by names and faces and lives shared. Prayed for in the chapel.
I'm not saying that no other city service values or loves the people it welcomes. But at St John's the people and their lives are the heart of the story in a way I've rarely seen elsewhere. Not as clients or the needy, but as God's beloved, who bring with them a blessing. The words of St John himself, written over the door: “Those whom you call poor and beggars, I call masters and teachers, for they and they alone can help us and bestow upon us the Kingdom of Heaven.” St John's was always teaching me to see who people really are, instead of what they look like.
The second, connected, element is that people are welcomed, not by words but by a way of being, into the life of the Trinity--as I was that first Wednesday evening. Our longing for Christ helps us welcome the stranger. Our standing with him at Liturgy helps us learn to be with each other.
Our year of homelessness taught me a lot about what St John's is, partly because we ourselves felt the sting of homelessness. We really didn't know what we were going to do--it was no act, no research topic, but reality! When we did finally arrive at this Canaan, 155 Broadview, I certainly had a much different way of welcoming the homeless – much better able to stand with others in their lost places, to meet them from my own poverty, and to see their poverty and beauty.
We were, in the end, given a generous loan, enough to allow us to put a downpayment on this building. Since then, the loan has been repaid, the mortgage paid off, a new bakery established and a building bought next door for it, a thrift shop opened, many renovations made, the chapel built, all sorts of programs developed, many connections made with local community services. St John's has become known throughout the city and even in other countries for the unique work it does.
Some time after we moved into this home and made it our own, a guest who came for lunch one day helped me again to understand what we were doing. By then, we'd turned the dirt-filled crypt of a basement into office and pantry space; upstairs, the little kitchen had been renovated into an industrial one, the main room had been transformed into a refectory, and the apartments at the back into an adjoining, beautiful wood-panelled chapel. While we were at the Blake, we tried to raise money to raise the ceiling of the little strip-mall chapel, so that the neighbourhood poor could see the incense rise. Our prayers were fulfilled beyond imagination in the transformation of two floors of apartment building into a truly gorgeous chapel.
On this day, in the lunch line-up, I got chatting with a woman who said she'd come to lunch because she used to live here, on Kintyre Street, in one of the apartments at the back. “Let me show you your apt now,” I said, and led her through the door that now linked it to the refectory. She went in with me and, like so many, gasped when she saw it. I realized that out of our homelessness, a rooming home had been made into a home for Christ and his homeless.
All this has happened first of all through the presence of these people and this life of prayer. And with the often-hidden support of donors... the donations are the earthly reality that make it possible, and keep it going, a breath of air in a polluted city and a large glowing lamp lit in the darkness of a city where poverty and need increase daily.
A year or two after we –incredulously--moved into this building, I was introduced to a book called Facing East. Published in 1997, by Frederica Matthews-Green. Several of us who were volunteering at St John's passed it around eagerly; we had a waiting list (we couldn't afford to buy it on our own, sorry Frederica!) and I remember it was one of those books I read almost at one sitting. Had Frederica been to St John's? Apparently not! Yet she could show me so clearly how what was unique about St John the Compassionate had all along been: the life of Orthodoxy. It's not “just” a mission; it's Orthodox Christianity lived in this place among these people, lived thoroughly, comprehensively, in the flesh and blood and dirt and addiction and violence and meal-serving and dish-doing and volunteering and service and fellowship and joke-swapping and the lived lives of Broadview and Queen in Riverdale, Toronto. Thank you Frederica for helping me to see what I'd been in the midst of without fully understanding it. How delightful and God-given that you should be here with us for our 25th anniversary of life!
If I may be so bold, may I thank you and all here, for your invaluable support of this shared life, in the names of Edna, and Jacquie and her baby David, and John her brother, and Doughnut Joe, and Rose and Alice and Stanley and Diane and Tracey and Helen, and all our masters and teachers who bestow on us the Kingdom of Heaven.
VISIT OF FR THOMAS FITZGERALD .jpg)
Boston, Mass, USA
Fr Thomas preached at vespers for the feast of St John the Compassionate and lead a seminar for the Lived Theology School.
LTS PREFECT SPEAKS AT OISM MEETING
Hosted at Christ the Saviour Seminary
JOHNSTOWN, PA – For the first time ins everal decades, Christ the Saviour Seminary hosted a meeting of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM). From Friday, September 24 until Sunday, September 26, our diocesan seminarians welcomed representatives from the following Orthodox seminaries:
Holy Cross Seminary, Brookline, MA
Holy Trinity Seminary, Jordanville, NY
St. Sophia's Seminary, South Bound Brook, NJ
St. Tikhon's Seminary,South Canaan, PA
St. Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY
In all, there were 30 participants in this encounter. 
The visiting seminarians arrived throughout Friday evening. Late in the evening, the meeting opened—and, for most, a long day of travel ended—with the celebration of a Moleben to the Holy Spirit Before Beginning Any Good Work.
On Saturday, Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the seminarychapel, with all representatives in attendance. Following breakfast, the keynote lecture of the weekend was given by Deacon Gregory Roeber. Deacon Gregory,the current president of the Orthodox Theological Society of America, chairedthe history department at Penn State for over adecade. He shared his research andobservations on the current state of higher education in America, andhis perspectives on what role the Orthodox Church should play therein.
In the afternoon, the seminarians visited Antiochian Villagein Ligonier, PA. Providentially, the OISM meeting coincided with the annual St. Thekla Pilgrimage at Antiochian Village. In addition to touring the facilities, grounds, library and museum, the seminarians were able to participate in the Mystery of Holy Unction, which was served in the 
afternoon as part of the pilgrimage. A number of seminarians also took the opportunity to visit the grave of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, who is buried on the grounds.
In the evening, Great Vespers was celebrated at Christ theSaviour Cathedral. Dinner was served at the diocesan chancery, followed by the OISM General Assembly meeting. To close the evening, Deacon Pawel Mucha of the St. John the Compassionate Mission and the Lived Theology School in Toronto gave a stirring presentation on the multi-faceted ministry of the mission.
On Sunday, the seminarians participated in Divine Liturgy at Christ the Saviour Cathedral. After refreshments at the seminary, the gathering concluded.
The entire weekend was marked by a feeling of camaraderie amongst all involved. Many remarked at the close, almost familial atmosphere for the weekend, which was enhanced by the hospitality they received from our seminarians.
The next meeting of OISM will be held in the spring at St. Vladimir's Seminary.
Deacon Pawel Speech at LTS Graduation September 2010
I would firstly like to thank you all for your attendance here today at this, the first graduation ceremony of the Lived Theology School dedicated to St Maria of Paris. A special welcome is extended to Professor John Kapsalis and Professor Mary Morrocco who were the first teachers of the LTS seminars and also to the Right Reverend and Most Honourable Professor Ultra Tums, professor of Church History at the Knotted Stomach School of ecclesiastical history and Clan Chief of the Auchenshoogle in Scotland. Whilst Professors Kapsalis and Morrocco enlightened our interns, and others, at the LTS open seminars, with their knowledge and wisdom I can say, without hesitation, that one of our interns would not have made it through the church history module without the constant support of Professor Tums.
A school needs a home and we thank and welcome Harry who provided us with Lourmel, the LTS house. Without this basic there could have been no Lived Theology School and we would not be having this ceremony today.
Back in one of my homelands we are in these days commemorating the 70th anniversary of both the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz. This is appropriate even here, as there are often times when the Mission resembles a battlefield with dogfights in the air and like the Blitz one is never sure from what, or whom, or where, the next attack will come or, as in the blitz, exactly what form it will take. Like the Blitz, mission life tests and exposes the mettle of a person. Like Great Britain Naomi and Michael have won through to the victory of this day.
Winston Churchill said to the Canadian parliament in Ottawa during the dark days of 1941:
“We have not journeyed all this way across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy.”
Well, our interns came at least across the prairies to LTS and over this past year have proved that they are not made of sugar candy.
Why did they cross the mountains and the prairies to become interns at this Lived Theology School? Their personal reasons are precisely that, personal. But I can say something about what LTS called them to. This Lived Theology School is the only place in North America that offers to its interns an integrated course in Orthodox mission built on four cornerstones:
- a reflective theological study of the nature and practice of Orthodox mission
- immersion in the liturgical worship of the Church
- many and varied opportunities for practical diakonia or service of the poor and marginalized
- life in community
There are places of higher learning of course in the Orthodox Church in North America that can, and do, offer much more advanced academic theological education than LTS can and does. And perhaps it is true in one way as Churchill said at Harvard University in the still dark days of 1943 that “empires of the future are the empires of the mind.” (Speech at Harvard University, September 6, 1943) But knowledge of Orthodoxy is nothing if it is not incarnated in living practice and Orthodoxy becomes united with Orthopraxis. Both Naomi and Michael are to be commended for the way in which, as their final assessments demonstrated, they, after one year of living Orthodox mission, were able to relate the theory to the practice of Orthodox mission and the practice to the theory. The credit for this goes to their real teachers, the poor and the marginalized who come to the Mission, and without whom the teaching they received would have been just a useless empire in the mind. They may not have the academic knowledge of a PhD graduate in Patristics but I like to think that if St John Chrysostom or St Basil popped into LTS they would recognise their teachings in our interns by the life they are living.
I can confidently say that Michael and Naomi have often during this past year shared Winston Churchill’s sentiment to the War cabinet, “So little time, so much to do.” They have both learned and practiced the fact that there are usually no easy solutions, no cuddly, fuzzy “miracles” on a cloud to solve people’s brokenness and that sometimes one needs to remember that before the Resurrection came the Descent into Hell and that sometimes all one can do is to sit a while in hell with someone. But they also learned to follow the advice of Winston Churchill, even if they didn’t know they were doing so, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” It speaks to their personal integrity that in all the challenges they faced during their internship, and there were many, that they did not succumb, as far as I know, to Churchill’s rule, “When I was younger I made it a rule never to take strong drink before lunch. It is now my rule never to do so before breakfast.” But I am only the Prefect of LTS and Prefects don’t know everything that goes on! I can tell you that if they were having a strong drink before breakfast they certainly weren’t sharing it. They did however develop a fine tradition of hospitality at Lourmel, the LTS house; an extension of their own community life there, to others in the community of the Mission and the parish.
The unglamorous daily grind of an Orthodox Mission, it ain’t romantic folks, would be unsustainable, and wouldn’t be Orthodox, without the daily bread of liturgical and personal prayer. Naomi and Michael lived out their commitment daily to this way of life not simply by being present but also by fully involving themselves by taking responsibility for the conduct of the services; this not just at “parish” services but on a daily basis for the people of the Mission. They also did much of the hidden work behind the scenes in caring for the physical fabric of the chapel and ensuring that everything was ready for services and thus living out their love for the House of the Lord. Lamps don’t fill and light themselves and vestments don’t change colour themselves and the floor is not self-cleaning. As is frequent in Orthodox mission the important things are the small things not the grand gestures and that is true whether it is in the chapel or other parts of the building.
Winston Churchill, in an uncharacteristically Calvinist mood, said of himself, “We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glow-worm.” Both Michael and Naomi had their glow-worm moments but Orthros at 6.45 on Friday morning, especially in the long and busy days of winter, wasn’t always one of them.
I don’t need to tell you how Naomi and Michael have made themselves part of the community of the parish – you all know it. Only those of us here every day really know how they have made themselves part of the Mission community. Each of them formed bonds with people at the Mission for as one of them wrote; “only when mission becomes the whole of your life can you become part of the lives of others.” And in this year as interns, mission has been the whole of their lives.And sometimes this was a heavy load and they could say with St Maria of Paris who when she was complimented on the wonderful work she was doing, “but it is so hard.” But that is precisely where Orthodox mission begins in the ascetism of doing for others in a place where “the Poor our Teachers” will soon let you know how well, or badly, you are doing.
Lamentations come occasionally in the liturgy of the Church but they are a daily event at the Mission when a certain person is present and the cry goes up “Where’s Naomi? Is Naomi coming? When is Naomi coming? Is Naomi away, she didn’t tell me? Is Naomi coming back soon? Is Naomi upstairs? Is Naomi downstairs? Is Naomi in the washroom? Is she coming out soon? Is she all right she hasn’t come out of the washroom? (Well, actually Naomi has sneaked down the back stairs to do some work) I haven’t seen Naomi (for at least 2 whole minutes) is she coming back? When is she coming back?” [1]
Michael and Naomimade a big step, a graduation, when they left the Prairies to come to Toronto to become interns at the Lived Theology School now they are graduating once more. But graduating in Orthodox mission is not like a final exam at university, done and completed. Winston said it well when he said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” (Speech at Lord Mayor’s Luncheon, Mansion House, London, November 10, 1942)
Dn Pawel
Prefect LTS
Lent, Holy Week & Pascha: An Intern’s Reflection On the Great Fast
and the Great Feast at the Mission
I think we all groaned when we learned that Lent followed so closely on the heels of the Nativity Fast this year.
Winter was wearing on us, we were longing for sunlight, and BAM! Here comes the Fast of all fasts. more...
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Latest News from October to December 2009 more... |
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Working Guest Volunteers |
"We must always draw life from the liturgy of our Church; and at the same time, we cannot forget to respond to the needs of our neighbour, especially during these difficult times in our world. The Church becomes the Church when it identifies with the most vulnerable" From the letter of greeting of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the 21st Diocesan Sobor/Council of the Carpatho-Russian diocese, July 1st 2009 |
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Archbishop Lazar, from the Canadian Orthodox Monastery of All Saints of North America
(OCA, Archdiocese of Canada)
came to visit the Mission on Thursday March 25, 2010 and shared his experience in living with drug addicts in British Columbia.
Metropolitan Nikitas from the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA came to visit the Mission on Saturday March 6, 2010 and discussed our Lived Theology School Program.
Metropolitan Nikitas challenged us to have courage to live the faith practically and not just in words.
St. Silouan Retreat with Paul Ladouceur at St. Mary of Egypt:
Oct 23, 2009
LTS students were involved in a retreat at St. Mary of Egypt Refuge on October 23-25. The students, along other participants from around Ontario, where treated to a meditation on the life and teachings of St. Silouan the Anthonite by Paul Ladouceur – professor at Sherbrooke University, author and lecturer.
St. Silouan has a story of the transformitive power of God and the importance of love, particularly brotherly love in a Christian life. His most famous phrase, "Keep your mind in hell, and despair not", was discussed in depth. This near-contemporary saint would have remained unknown if it wasn't for a book of his teachings written by his disciple Father Sophrony.
The participants were led by Fr. John Jillions for the first ever liturgy in the new chapel at the Refuge. Participants used spare time for fellowship, prayer and exploring the beautiful grounds of the Refuge.
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First Saturday Seminar with John Kapsalis at Lived Thelogy School:
Nov 28, 2009
A Saturday Seminar was held at Lourmel House of the Lived Theology School on Saturday, Nov 28. There were 8 people in attendance including the students and others involved in various ways with the school and St. John the Compassionate Mission. John Kapsalis, Professor of New Testament at Toronto Theological Academy lectured on the topic, "Led by the Hand of God, Poverty in the Orthodox Tradition and the Call to Radical Devotion ".
John Kapsalis focused on the Scriptures and what they say about poverty. He emphasized the importance of not idealizing the poor but rather showed that it is a question of an attitude to money. Service to the poor is a Scriptural requirement and there are numerous examples of such service in both the New and Old Testaments. Christian generosity made a huge impression on the Roman world as it was given to everyone in need and not only to those who were in the Christian community. John Kapsalis emphasized that giving to others is a natural part of who God is. There were also discussions on idealizations of poverty and how parishes and individuals can apply these Scriptural principles. The participants prayed, fellowshipped and ate together.
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St. Mary of Egypt Refuge Hosts Breathlines Retreat:
Dec 4-6, 2009
"You'd better stop at Tim Horton's on the way. It's tradition."
This is the warning I received from the whole van of retreat-ers as we barreled down the Don Valley Parkway on our way to St. Mary of Egypt Refuge. They then discussed what action they would take, should I choose to ignore the warning. Five minutes later, all but one were asleep and softly snoring.
Traffic was quick and three hours later we found ourselves at the Refuge (with a satisfactory stop at Timmy's in Port Hope).
Our weekend was a good one. Laurie Edwards lead us in a day of Breathlines painting. Breathlines is a meditative art form during which the painter focuses on nothing other than his/her exhalation, blindly painting a line with each breath, then searching for a story or depiction in the lines created, and developing it further. Laurie has lead similar Breathlines sessions for the indigenous people of Northern Saskatchewan and many other places. Our painting sessions were complemented by hot drinks, quiet, contemplative prayer, hikes, Christmas carols, and a beautiful snowfall on our last day.
I can safely say that all 12 retreat participants strengthened existing friendships and built new ones, and had a peaceful and enjoyable weekend.
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Second Saturday Seminar with Prof. Mary Marrocco at
Lived Theology School: Dec 12, 2009
Healing and Wholeness in St. Mary of Egypt and the Early Fathers
One of Mary Marrocco's favorite subjects to study and discuss is the Patristic texts, that is, the writings of the early church fathers and mothers. She brought with her texts of St. Irenaeus of Lyons and St. Gregory of Nyssa's "Life of Macrina", his work on his sister Macrina.
St. Irenaeus lived "a stone's throw" from the time of Christ himself, only a couple hundred years following. In a He held a rather different view of the healing of humanity, and, in a nutshell, that is: what is humanity in it's glory? and how are we going to get there? So different from "how am I going to fix your problems?"
Little would be known of St. Macrina had it not been for her brother St. Gregory of Nyssa who recognized her virtue and penned her hagiography. She was saintly as a child, was engaged to be married but when her husband-to-be died before the wedding, would take no other suitor, saying she wanted to be faithful to him. She was very close to her mother, it is said never leaving her side, and eventually persuaded her mother to live very simply despite their wealth, and treat their servants as equals.
Much, much more can be said and ruminated upon when considering these patristic texts. We are thankful to Mary Marrocco for spending the day contemplating these saints with us.
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October 1st 2009
LTS opened it's doors to our first students from Western Canada. Very quickly they have settled in to a routine of prayer, service, study and community life. A series of theological workshops have been setup and will be made available to outside students and others who are interested. No day seems to be the same and there seems to be no time to get bored. Our students are also involved in shaping the structure and the new relationship between the LTS School and the Mission. We still welcome applications.
Unlike the "weekend, do good for the poor", that can end up feeling like spiritual tourism, the students of LTS have this unique opportunity in North America to gain a "Wisdom of the heart", without which no real ministry with the poor is effective. This "Wisdom" cannot be learned by a crash course on "helping the poor". You have to live for sometime in community with them in order to begin to understand. We are happy that youth in Orthodox North America are realizing this and are giving their time, mind and money towards gaining this wisdom.
LTS House Blessing (May 9, 2009)
Firstly on behalf of Fr Roberto and the community that is St John the Compassionate Mission I would like to thank Fr Velichko and Fr Nikolai who have joined us today for the blessing of this special house. more...
JANUARY 7th 2009 - LTS has a new home!
The Lived Theology School now has its own community house located near St. John the Compassionate Mission. We will have room for up to 8 students. Applications for this year are still very welcome. Please pass on the word to anyone you think could be interested in this opportunity to live and learn Orthodox mission in the inner-city.
For those in the Toronto area - help with furnishing the house would be very welcome. We need everything (except a kitchen)!
Inquiries about LTS and the house should be made to the Intern Director, Sub-deacon Pawel, at livedtheologyschool@yahoo.ca