The Joy to Serve E-Book

Juliana Schmemann

• Herausgeber: Alexander Press
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

We are already on our journey, and should be continually preparing for it. How? Is this the right question? There are as many ways to prepare for this journey as there are people living on this earth. The Church is here for those of us who are blessed with belonging to Christ. The Lord knows the ways of many who haven’t found nor encountered Him. It is not for us to decide. But we know Christ, we partake of His Body and His Blood, we stand at the foot of His Cross, we know His Love . . . Love Him back! Always and forever, this is the answer: Love Him back!
The beloved wife of the late Father Alexander Schmemann, Matushka Schmemann offers a fresh perspective concerning the role of women in the Church and, more germane, in the context of our modern world. Her words are like a flowing river that, through its passage, rejuvenates all -- the land, the people, life, the spiritual garden. As with Matushka’s first inspiring book, My Journey With Father Alexander, her words offer a simple, clear, mature affirmation and witness of a life worth living, with Him, in Him, by Him and into His service.
The book is enriched by the beautiful illustrations of the accomplished young iconographer and artist Anna Dumoulin-Tregubov.

Leseprobe

 

The Joy to Serve

by

Juliana Schmemann

 

SERIES: Orthodoxy in Dialogue with the Modern World

NUMBER VI

ILLUSTRATIONS: Anna Dumoulin - Tregubov

 

 

Juliana Schmemann

ALEXANDER PRESS MONTREAL, 2009

In the same series ORTHODOXY IN DIALOGUE WITH THE MODERN WORLD

NUMBER I: In Search of the Person: “True” and “False self” according to Donald Winnicott and St. Gregory Palamas; by Fr. Vasileios Thermos

NUMBER II: Religion, Ideology and Science; by Athanasios N. Papathanasiou

NUMBER III: Future, the Background of History: Essays on church mssion in an age of globalization; by Athanasios N. Papathanasiou

NUMBER IV: My Journey with Father Schmemann; by Juliana Schmemann

NUMBER V: Investing in the Kingdom of God; by Nikolaos, Metropolitan of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Joy to ServeCopyright © 2009 by Alexander Press Physical book ISBN: 1-896800-21-1

Alexander Press 2875 Douglas Avenue Montréal, Québec H3R 2C7 CANADA Tel: [phone] or [phone] Fax: [phone] Toll free: [phone] E-mail: [email protected] www.alexanderpress.com

✢ Contents ✢

Publisher’s Note

My Own Story – A Prologue

The Beginning

Questions About Me, the Woman in Church Ministry

The Husband – The Priest

Children

Husband and Wife – A Couple Involved in Church Ministry

Freedom

Working Outside the Parish

Advice about a Counsellor

A Widow

The Role of a Clergy Wife and a Woman in Parish Ministry

The Parish

Motherhood

Things That Can Happen

Unity

The Missionary

The Holy Spirit

Journey to the Kingdom

 

✢ Publisher’s Note ✢

As the publisher of Alexander Press, it gives me great joy to present the sixth volume in our series, Orthodoxy in Dialogue with the Modern World: The Joy to Serve, by Juliana Schmemann – our second publication by her after the overwhelming reception of her first book, My Journey with Fr. Alexander.

Matushka Juliana Schmemann, the beloved wife of the late Father Alexander Schmemann, offers a fresh perspective concerning the role of women in the Church and, more germane, in the context of our modern world.

Her words are like a flowing river that, through its passage, rejuvenates all – the land, the people, life, the spiritual garden. A simple, clear, mature affirmation and witness of a life worth living, with Him, in Him, by Him and into His service.

It reinforces, once again, my conviction that the best way to contribute to Orthodoxy’s dialogue with the world is by the “discrete witness” of the lives of His people, in particular, by reference to that portion of their lives which, through His light and grace, become “life in Christ”, an endless eucharist for the life of the World.

The book has been enriched by the beautiful illustrations of Anna Dumoulin-Tregubov, an accomplished young iconographer and artist from New Hampshire. [The exceptional quality of her work is manifest on her website (www.brighticons.com/).]

This series is being published by Alexander Press to present notable works by contemporary writers that contribute to the ongoing dialogue of Orthodoxy with the modern world.

Dr John Hadjinicolaou

Dormition of the Theotokos, 2009

 

To my daughter

Masha Tkachuk

Whose faithful help, patience and encouragement

Enabled me to write this book

—Pascha 2009

 

My Own Story – A Prologue

As I reach the final steps in my journey to the Kingdom, I look back with endless gratitude for the many years that I spent as a priest’s wife. I am still a priest’s wife. My husband’s departure never meant a change in my conscience nor the certitude that I am and will always be a matushka, a khourea, a presbytera, a protonitsa still responsible for trying to maintain the duties, the obligations and the joyous burden that the Lord has so generously bestowed on me.

Beginning the journey with Father Alexander – 1943

Women in ministry have our respect and admiration. Whether they are clergy wives, choir directors, church school teachers, council members; whether they are those who help in the kitchen or visit the house-bound and in hospital; whether they be counsellors or simply faithful participants in the life of the church, the list is endless and incomplete. Yet these women form the backbone of our parish communities with their loving dedication and generous gifts of time. I want to address all of you with my deep respect and humble gratitude.

And so I will try to share my ideas, my thoughts, and some of my experiences with all women, as well as men, who are devoting their lives to the service of the Lord.

My husband was a priest, a teacher, a theologian, a father, a head of school; involved in the administration of the church. He was teaching, and then helping bishops in the administration of church affairs. He was instrumental in the birth of the OCA, but then his help ceased to be welcome and the synod of bishops felt that he was interfering in their business. My role in this active life was that of his closest friend and I shared in each step of his creative endeavors throughout our life together. I was not a parish priest’s wife, in spite of the fact that the seminary faculty, married students, young students aspiring to the priesthood and all the lay people attending the seminary were in fact a kind of parish, a changing community renewed and replenished every year by a new group of students, with special needs, special programs, unique problems and crises stemming from the intensity of their calling. Their future too, was uncertain: “Where will I be assigned?”

After their departure from the seminary the new priests and their wives were very often visited in their parishes by my husband. So their lives, the diversity of their experiences, always remained a part of our life. I was regularly invited to meet with groups of young wives or mothers at the seminary who asked questions and wanted to share their expectations, doubts, concerns. In a way my talking with you now comes as the result of these testimonies and meetings. After my husband’s death I took over the torch and continued visiting parishes, meeting with many women, wives, mothers, all who now inspire me to share my thoughts with you.

I am now privileged to be part of the community of a regular parish, surrounded by love, care and support of all its members. Having spent more than forty years of my life as a teacher, as a head of school, as a counsellor of older girls, I am now watching and enjoying the ever changing atmosphere of this energetic and dynamic community with its growing children, its devoted mothers, the priest, his wife, their life. What could be a greater blessing than, at age 85, my own activities and responsibilities having become nonexistent, to “look and see that the Lord is good.”

 

The Beginning

One day, while reading the Gospel, you might be struck by the passage where Jesus says to His disciples:

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16: 24-25)

“Follow me!” These words remain in your mind, and, either through a slowly moving process or in a momentous instant, all your dreams, plans, expectations and hopes become energized, illumined, meaningful, transparent. The strong appeal of these words does not necessarily change your life, nor define your plans. But your life becomes a life already lived in the Kingdom, now, here and today.

It can be a vision of a life where the Lord is always present. It can become a concrete decision to serve the Lord. And everyone can serve – a woman, a man, those who work in the secular world as well as those who have chosen to serve the Lord in the church, in His holy work – the endless possibilities of faithful service are as many as there are people in the world.

Some women knew before they got married that their future husband would serve the church in priesthood. Others came to know their vocations later when they realized that they wanted to offer to the Lord a life of service to the church. The calling comes in many different ways and at different times in a person’s life. It does not matter, really, how and when this happens. But there you are, dear sisters, living a life that you understand in theory, but which is truly an unknown and frightening venture, enlightened by the firm desire to use your God given talents and multiplying them as faithful servants of the Lord.

“I can do it!”

“I want to do it!”