“Fr. Dustin, aren’t all those extra services (feast days, Vespers, Matins) just for monks and retired people?” Here’s my brief response.
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So Many Services
You Who Did…Now Do…
Finding words for prayer can be tough. However, using the prayers of the church can help us find our own words.
Read morePan Orthodox Vespers
Festival Hospitality: Pan-Orthodox Vespers is this Sunday, April 10 at 5:30 p.m. with a potluck to follow at about 6:30. Please come and join us!
Read moreWhy Christmas Isn’t Complete without the Eucharist
Sorry for my absence lately. I was traveling all over the country for over a month, largely for church-related actives. At any rate, it’s good to be back. I think I’ll start with some thoughts on Christmas – after all,
Read moreApproaching the Awesome Eucharist, Part 2
In part 1 (click here to read it) I encouraged active preparation to receive Christ in the Eucharist. However, it’s very easy to get caught up in the rules for communion preparation. In fact, some people asked me some very good
Read moreCan We Not Go to Church?
Some Sundays I don’t feel like going to church. On a typical Sunday morning, I have to get there 2 hours before everyone else. In that first hour, I have candles to light, entrance prayers to say, vesting prayers to
Read moreANGELS, DEMONS, and JINN – OH MY!
One of my ministries in Dubuque is serving on the board of Dubuque’s ecumenical conversations, the Children of Abraham. The goal of these conversations is to build an atmosphere of civic life that builds inter-religious solidarity, cooperation, and friendship. I
Read moreCOVERING THE GIFTS!
As I mentioned in my last post (click here to read), the priest prepares the bread, called prosphora, for the Divine Liturgy in a special serviced called Proskomedia. During that service he cuts out a section of the bread that
Read moreHOW DO WE REMEMBER CHRIST’S SACRIFICE?
One of the most popular posts, so far, was the post entitled, “Stamping Bread” (click here to read it). There I talked about the different parts of the bread used for the Orthodox Eucharist. I spoke about the lamb that
Read moreSTAMPING BREAD
One tradition that sets Christians apart from other religions is the celebration of the Eucharist, also known as the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. In an earlier post (click here), I talked about how the Eucharist is an offering to God.
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