The "Forbidden" Books

2 Ezra, Tobit, Macabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Sirach, Epistle of Jeremiah, Bel and the Serpent.

These are books in the Bible that were somehow overlooked, by-passed, or judged "non-biblical" by Protestant scholars hundreds of years ago. Today, most people in America don't even know they were ever part of the canon of Scripture. Does this strike anyone else as odd... or disturbing? History can disappear.

I don't even know what most of these books are about. Except Tobit. Raphael House got its name from the angel in that book, and we talked about this quite often in our little chapel. But what are all these other books about, and is it bad that there is more Bible than what the Protestants believe?

Yet another complicating factor of the Orthodox Church: the Bible's different.

Back from the void

I know it's been forever. This blog will only be read by "followers" who check their RSS feeds regularly.

To all three of you, hello from my long hiatus.

I have only a few things of note to say:

1) Since we've last spoken, I've listened through half the Bible. During my awesome 4-month run of steady work at the SF Opera shop, I picked up the habit of listening to audio books. In the twenty minute commute to and from work, it's surprising how much material it's possible to absorb. The Bible Experience is an amazing, theatrical reading by almost 400 African American actors, including people like Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson. I highly recommend it.

2) Since we've last spoken, I read through The Eastern Orthodox Church by Ernst Benz. The coolest bit for me in this was finally understanding the direct, unbroken line of Orthodox churches: Jesus to Greece&Rome to Constantinople to Russia to today. He also had some wonderful things to say about icons. (Icons are one of those things desperately missing from our Protestant brother-churches; I'm beginning to feel like I need to become an expert on the ecumenical council in which icons were officially blessed. More on this later.)

3) I've been working with St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Goleta to develop a program/curriculum for their Jr. Highers. I can't publicly call the youth ministry by name yet (cuz it's super top secret) but it's pretty awesome. The program will get kicked off by an AMAZING weekend retreat in the wilds of Arrowhead. I'm totally stoked. Love this church.

4) My brain's buzzing with ideas for where my life needs to go post-grad school: St. Athanasius, maybe. Launching a new company, maybe. We'll see. USF's sucking money from me in exchange for meager inspiration, but I tell myself that having a Masters degree is a notable and necessary next step for any employment search in a cause-related org.

More later. Don't want to overwhelm you with a "I'M BACK BLOGGING!"

Celebration of the Paschal Season

Sometimes, importing images from your camera to iPhoto can feel like watching your life in fast-forward. Here are a few shots from Pascha. Ahhh, the San Francisco life...

I hope that you are enjoying the Paschal season as much as I am... Christ is Risen!

RHII Script Ending Ideas

I came across this passage from St. Epiphanios thanks to my fellow blogger at "Full of Grace and Truth."

I remember thinking in Redemption History II that my imagined "three days in the tomb" was a little weak. Jesus was gone. The audience was all just standing around, thinking "What the heck just happened?" Peter and other cast members were crying softly. The lights just went up and down three times. We were theatrically teleporting through time: "Hey, look, three days just went by..."

St. Epiphanios had a different focus for Great and Holy Saturday. In the Orthodox Church, there is a strong emphasis on the fact that Jesus went down into Hades on the day he was "asleep," waged a war with the demons, broke the gates of Hell, and rescued the first Adam together with all the saints of the Old Testament. Check out St. Epiphanios' imagined dialogue between Christ and Adam in Hades:

St. Epiphanios of Salamis on the Lord's Descent into Hades
Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.

The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.

The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.

God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep.

Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the son of Eve.

The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won Him the victory.

At the sight of Him Adam, the first man He had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: "My Lord be with you all." Christ answered him: "And with your spirit."

He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: "'Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.'

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by My own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake.

I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of My hands, you who were created in My image.

Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on My face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you.

See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in My image.

On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back.

See My hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the Cross and a sword pierced My side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise.

I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven.

I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them venerate you as a god.

The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager.

The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open.

The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Theater and Church

THE QUESTION:
WHY am I not satisfied with just church or just theater, especially being a part of such a theatrical church? Should not my artistic bug be satisfied by the Church or my faith be satisfied by the act of creation? Why do I need both and not just one?

To me, Theology and Theater have always been circles of a ven diagram:
Church is not Theater and Theater is not Church, but they significantly overlap. "Ritualistic Theater" (a la Richard Schechner) is almost no different than religious practice, and the theatricality of some churches seems more fit for the stage than for the arena of worship. In fact, in San Francisco there are Stagehand Union calls for Church events.

Theatrics (the vestments, the scripted movements, the smell of incense) drew me into the Orthodox Church, yet I am now looking to places outside the church for theatrical stimulation. At times I feel guilty, like the Church isn't good enough or the church isn't fully satisfying. But I am coming to realize they are meant for very different things.

Theater exalts the work of the individual creator, allowing an artist to rise to significance out of a sea of other artists, or maybe just people. Art allows a man (or woman) to contribute his unique voice to society. His way of seeing. Around this individual artist or around a body of like-minded artists, a community forms, where meaningful discussion can occur around the "whys" of things.

Church exalts the ultimate Creator, and asks the individual artist to forget himself to become part of the cosmic family of Christ. The Church asks the man to leave his personal "way of seeing" behind, and submit his heart to wisdom earned over hundreds of years. One joins the Church not so much because the Church conforms to his or her views, so much as a man or woman conforms to the views of the Church.

Perhaps my confusion comes from creating the Redemption History Series in college. For me, during that time, Theater and Church were more the same than they were different. I was seeking to find Church in the Theater, but in the end, could only construct a liturgy of my own imagination. In Ven circles, Redemption History probably looked like this to me:
There were many essential pieces: community, themes centered around Christ and the Church, the joint declaration of working for "God's glory," and consistent prayer life.

I'm pleased that the circles are separating once again, encouraging me to see one in light of the other.

What's in a name?

It's 8:14 on Great and Holy Saturday, and I hear the gold tolling of Russian bells from Holy Virgin Cathedral:

clang,

clang,

clang,

clang,

clang...

They draw the whole of our Richmond neighborhood into the Story, announcing victory by their boisterous proclamation. We are just hours from the Paschal Service, the high point of the Church calendar, the high point of history.

Tonight the tomb is empty.

I keep thinking of the word: "Pascha." I didn't grow up with this word; it tastes foreign on my tongue. Christ's Resurrection was always "Easter." Throughout my childhood, people would smile: "Happy Easter!" my sisters would don their new pastel dresses, and we would travel to Son-rise services, sometimes at sunrise.

I hear Shakespeare's words give voice to my question this season:

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

Why Pascha?

Pascha means Passover, a word that pulls us back to the time of Moses, when an adopted, stammering, son-turned-politician told the Great Pharaoh to "Let my people go." Nine plagues racked the Egyptian people before the Angel of Death was commanded to take their firstborn sons. That fateful night, the Israelites had to prove their faith. To save their firstborn son, they killed a lamb in his place, spread its blood on the door, and stayed inside while the Angel of Death flew, sighed, over them. That night, they were freed. Here is the ancient narrative:

"Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”

Then Jesus, two thousand years after Moses, two thousand years before us, took the Story deeper. He took the Story into himself, transformed it, and gave it new meaning.

Jesus Christ's Resurrection is our Pascha. It is a commemoration of our exit from an Egypt of slavery to Sin to the Promised Land, the Kingdom of God. By becoming our pure Lamb on Good Friday, Jesus claims kingship as the Lion of Judah, and shatters the gates of Hell. Death sends him away, saying as Pharaoh did, "Go, flee from us lest we all die," and we follow him across the Red Sea of our baptism, conquering the passions, enemies that would keep us from Peace. At the gate of the temple, only one, Jesus Christ, is worthy to enter. But through his Resurrection, we are adopted as sons, bought with a price, and heirs to the kingdom. We are free to enter Eden once again. We are home.

Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. The King who leads us out of bondage. The God who conquered death.

This is why "Passover" ... Pascha. Through Christ, death passes over us.

Resurrection Sunday is the Feast of our journey to everlasting Life.

Rublev's Icon

Rublev's icon of the Holy Trinity is fueling the inspiration for the next phase of my RHII re-write. This is a depiction of the well-known OT story "Abram's hospitality." Abram entertains three mysterious angels/beings, and this story is often seen as a foundational revelation of the trinity:

There are many, amazing symbolical elements to this icon. The one that speaks most profoundly to me is the way we - the viewers - are invited into relationship with the God-head by coming to the table bearing Christ's body and blood.

Here is an interesting article from a Catholic deacon on this icon.

In praise (again) of my Awesome Wife

It seems my wife can do pretty much anything. Right now she's making tortilla dough from scratch for a "papusa" recipe she found online. That's after she made banana bread and coconut pancakes for breakfast. Oh yeah, and awesome pasta last night. And all of the stuff has been vegan for Lent.

Yesterday, she finished a heavy edit of her 200-page book and it's up for an award at Mills college. Shhh. Don't tell her that I told you. She gets very self-conscious about these kind of things.

She is also artsy, photographic, and inspiring. I say, "Wanna go for a walk?" She hops and says, "Yeeeaahh!" We're in the park five minutes later and she pulls out this antique camera and starts taking pictures of flowers and the sun and stuff:

Earlier today she was a Tazmanian-devil-in-reverse, furiously sorting every imaginable thing in our room... in less than an hour! I am little help in these times as I tend to get wrapped up in the first paper that crosses my path, reading it as though it is a lost treasure from the ancient past. Observe her incredulity as I snapped a photo of her frenzied cleaning:

But my personal favorite of the day has to be the Easter card one of her students made. Yes, did I forget to mention? ...she is also teaches art. She had her students make cards for prisoners, to help brighten the season. She opted not to send this one:

Yes. My wife is awesome. Unquestionably.

Cathedrals

Thanks to St. Athanasius Church in Santa Barbara, my long-dormant interest in Cathedral construction has been re-kindled. They're building one. The price tag: at least 7 million; a small price to pay for this portal to the Kingdom of Heaven.

I'm fascinated by the philosophical, theological, and practical considerations involved in building a Cathedral.

Fr. Thomas Hopko wrote a series of very helpful "intro to Orthodoxy" books. He talks about theology of church architecture: "Orthodox Church architecture reveals that God is with men, dwelling in them and living in them through Christ and the Spirit. It does so by using the dome or the vaulted ceiling to crown the Christian church building [...] Unlike the pointed arches which point to God far up in the heavens, the dome or the spacious, all-embracing ceiling gives the impression that in the Kingdom of God, and in the Church, Christ 'unites all things in himself, things in heaven and things on earth' (Eph. 1:10)."

The dome is certainly the distinguishing feature of an Orthodox Cathedral. Interesting that the form of the church building is an expression of "Immanuel," God with us.

Related: I appreciate this song by Jump Little Children, Cathedrals. Thanks, Taylor Gray - friend, graphic designer, and visual artist - for the introduction.

New RHII, First Pages

Anna Lieberman, Daniel Rufener, Chelsea Sleeth, Tyler Leivo, Christopher Martinez, Jesse Garcia, and Ian Redford in RHII, photo curtesy Cory Schoolland

I've changed the title, and gutted the first two pages.

I quickly realized I will have to make changes for practical reasons as much as I do for “theological” reasons. Since the original script was developed "on the fly," there was little time or reason to load the pages with meticulous stage direction. The original text reflects a great deal of bodily memory: unwritten stage action. For example, Abraham wandered around the stage, "symbolically" wandering the desert. Where the script seems pathetically sparse usually meant action filled the gaps. Jesus gathered the audience from outdoors and led audience members indoors, but you never could have known this from the original script. In the second version, I hope to be clear.

Given the constraints of this blog, I'll send you to my absurdly new "google site" page, where you can download the pdfs of the first pages and give me some feedback. Thanks for looking!

ORIGINAL PAGE 1

NEW PAGE 1-2

It's Hard to Pray...

...surrounded by the noise of those who don't care about prayer, or education, or anything beyond their latest wrench set. The stagehand union can be lucrative, engaging, even exhilarating when you're working in a real, San Francisco theater, building a show televised to millions across the world. But there are also days when you feel life eeking out of you with every petty command from someone who gets paid too much to make rich people richer.

Today was a rough day on the spirit, but a good day for humility. Especially good for Lent.

How Icons are Made

"The icon requires a dry, well-aged, knot-free, non-resinous wood, for example, lime, alder, birch, or cypress, or pine with little resinous content. Two horizontal wedges of a hard wood are often inserted in the back of the panel to counteract warping. Frequently a recessed area is made in the panel, the margins serving both as a frame and protection for the image.

The surface of the wood panel is lightly scored so that it can better hold the material that will be attached to it, as the icon is painted not directly on the wood but on an intermediate surface. Often a piece of loosely woven linen or cheesecloth is glued on, or the board is just "sized" with a mixture of gelatine and hot water with a small amount of chalk or alabaster whiting added. This provides a base for what will follow - careful application of five to seven thin layers of gesso without air bubbles or any other irregularity or contamination. Each layer must dry slowly for at least twelve hours before the next layer is applied. The process of simply preparing the surface takes at least a week."

-from Praying with Icons by Jim Forrest

Writing icons is gaining popularity in the US, as more and more people are discovering Orthodoxy. One such iconographer from Ohio, I referenced in an earlier post. A good friend, Nicolai Tsai is a very gifted iconographer, and has been commissioned to write icons for numerous churches in Alaska.

Glory to God for those that are helping us to pray by their artwork.

God of Beauty

"The understanding of God is the understanding of beauty," said Father Nathaniel, the elderly monk who welcomed us. "Beauty is at the heart of our monastic life. The life of prayer is a constant well of beauty. We have the beauty of music in the Holy Liturgy. The great beauty of monastic life is communal life in Christ. Living together in love, living without enmity, as peaceful with each other as one dead body is peaceful with another dead body. We are dead to enmity." I was reminded of Dostoevsky's words in The Idiot, "Beauty will save the world."

- from Praying with Icons by Jim Forest

Redemption History II

Tyler Leivo as Christ in Redemption History II. Photo curtesy Cory Schoolland.

Thanks to the encouragement of some Christian friends at St. Athanasius Orthodox Church, I'm re-visiting a piece of my past: Redemption History II. I am re-writing the script, and hoping, in the next year or two going to gather a small company to begin re-production.

What a trippy experience it's been, even for a couple of days, scanning images, reading the scriptural text, listening to music. I was in such a different place in life then - things were so much more chaotic, unsure, dark - but this play seems to stand in my memory as a Time-outside-of-Time.

In light of the Spirit-centric theology which has recently been filling my mind, I'm beginning to see my script of four or five years ago as pretty... I don't know... "judgmental." There was such a heavy focus on suffering and pain and separation from God and guilt that it's a wonder people could connect with it. I mean, no fault of the actors - they were fantastic - but with the culmination being the grotesque crucifixion of Christ and getting the audience to chant with the actors "Crucify him," it didn't seem to warrant the smiling "Go and tell all the world" delivered by the disciples at the end.

It's like I went to hear Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture and could only get excited about the cannons firing.

Ah, well. I'll post re-writes and old photos; I'll be asking for feedback.

My wife is AWESOME

I walked into our San Francisco Edwardian house tonight after a long day of work with the Union, and the sweet aroma of Indian spices, sauteing onions, and sweet bread greeted me softly as I walked in the door.

My wife had slaved away for nearly THREE HOURS preparing an incredible Indian curry (masala?) and naan. It was super delicious. I am too lucky.

I'm not sure why it took till now to get a good wifey post on this blog... my partner-in-all-things is sure to be featured frequently as she is awesome, and as she is super creative.

Yay Kellie!

Houses of God

There are a few Orthodox monasteries in California. These are havens of spiritual healing, filled with people of God seeking deep, prayerful relationship with Christ. There are many more of these centers in California and throughout the world, and I would love to know of them. Please comment and share!

St. John's Monastery: Located in the far north of California, this is an especially hospitable place, shepherded by Fr. Meletios Webber. There are many photos available on Facebook if your interested in a quick glance. And my good friend Tim Lindwall is there right now.

St. Herman's Monastery: Also in far northern California, this property borders a State-preserved wilderness, and the brothers are renowned for their austere lifestyle. They are dedicated to the printing and production of Orthodox material, and many wonderful books are available through their press ministry.

Holy Cross Monastery (photo featured for this post): Holy Cross is in the Bay Area and run by three priest monks who work outside jobs to support the ministry. Because of the beauty of the property, they often host conferences, events, weddings, and retreats.

Holy Assumption Monastery: In Calistoga, this women's monastery has a beautiful history that stretches back to the 1940's. The Church fell into disrepair, and the nuns left, thinking they would never return. A priest who was a skilled carpenter moved in to repair the buildings while the nuns lived in the Santa Barbara area... in a trailer park. For years, the nuns had a monastery of vehicles until the SB county cracked down on their "illegal" congregation of trailers in a single area. They sold the trailers. Half of the nuns moved back to Calistoga. Half moved to Santa Paula.

Adoption as Sons and Daughters

Adoption into "the family" is one of the core features of an Orthodox worldview. From my first moments of learning about the Orthodox Church, the phrase "the people of God" kept re-surfacing.

Ruth's fervent words in the Church's history express the essence of the modern day Orthodox person's life: "Don't ask me to leave you, or to go back from following after you: for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay: your people will be my people, and your God my God." (Ruth 1:16) Ruth was greatly and abundantly blessed by her fervent decision to remain with her mother-in-law: she was re-married to a man named Boaz and gave birth to Obed, the ancestor of Jesus.

When a person becomes Orthodox they are guided by a priest who becomes the person's spiritual father: a wise man available for questions, guidance, prayerful support. A member of the Church must also be adopted by godparents: two older, wiser members of the Church who have a special significance to the person becoming Orthodox, and who take responsibility for the child in the faith. In a marriage, there must be family witnesses to the creation of a family. So too, in Orthodoxy, there must be family witnesses to the adoption of this new child in the faith. Joining the Orthodox Church is in every way the same as joining a family. As Christ is the head of the Church, so Christ is the head of this family.

Dear Lord Jesus, lead us again and again to the promised land, where God's people live together and worship together, free from the encumbrance of sin and alive in the Spirit.

St. John the Almsgiver, an icon of Stewardship

"He had a grand signeur's liberality and self-assurance; he was also, if we may believe his biographer, a man of perfect humility.

"In all, St. John is said to have collected during his eight years in office 10,000 lbs of gold from donations in addition to the 8,000 he had found in the treasury of the Church. [...] At the same time the patriarch is said to have had 7,500 beggars in his care. He built hospices for them - elongated vaulted buildings provided with wooden benches, mats and blankets. He also build hostelries for visiting monks, and when Jerusalem fell to the Persians in 614, he sent vast sums of money to rebuild its churches and ransom prisoners."

- Cyril Mango's Byzantium

A 7th century working-class laborer would have made about 1/7 of a pound of gold per year. One pound of gold = 7 years for a normal person. In eight years, St. John stewarded about 10,000 times what a full-time worker made in the same time period.

St. John administrated a huge bureaucracy, but his generosity and success flowed from a prayerful other-worldliness:

"St John, a strict ascetic and man of prayer, was always mindful of his soul, and of death. He ordered a coffin for himself, but told the craftsmen not to finish it. Instead, he would have them come each feastday and ask if it was time to finish the work."

- OCA website

His dependency on God was literally hand-to-mouth, but he never wanted for anything:

"On another occasion, after he gave his habit to a poor man who passed by, a person he did not know appeared immediately afterwards and gave him a sack containing a hundred gold pieces. After that, when he gave an alms, he always said, 'I am going to see whether Jesus Christ will fulfill His promise of giving me a hundredfold.' The accomplished promise occurred so many times that he ceased to say these words, which were, in any case, for the benefit of those surrounding him.”

- Catholic website for Lives of Saints

The other-worldly focus of this saint-man's life make me consider what it means to steward my wealth. My wife and I have been given many, many resources: masters-level educations, small-but-reasonable incomes, a rented apartment in the Richmond district of SF, wonderful families with great examples of parents. The scales are SO in our favor, especially compared with the 90% of the world that live more simply than we do. So what shall we do? How shall we, like St. John, live on fire with the Holy Spirit, asking to be vessels of His love?

I'm open to suggestions, and I'm certainly not the only one thinking about these things. Roy Goble, founder of Pathlight International, is a man concerned with the poor of the world, especially those in Belize; he recently wrote on this subject in his blog. He called his post "Wealth, Work, and the World." Great thoughts, and a good read.

I'm also inspired by the list of activities in Dan Miller's book about finding your vocation, 48 Days to the Work You Love. He's talking about finding your calling in life, not feeding the poor per se, but to me his suggestions take abstract ideas to the realm of concrete action plans:

"Set aside time for vigorous physical exercise. Walk 3 miles 4 or 5 times a week - the feeling will help release tension and stimulate creativity. Seek out a godly mentor. Much of the success of Alcoholics Anonymous has been from attendees' having another person to call in the lowest times. Read inspirational material at least 2 hours daily. Volunteer for a worthy cause - helping someone else in need is a great way to ease the inward pain [of aimlessness]."

Through the prayers of St. John, may my search for effective, God-dependant ministry turn to action for the Kingdom.

Francis Chan should be Orthodox

Can anyone tell me why (at this particular moment) I feel way more inspired reading modern Protestant material about relationship with God than I do when I read modern Orthodox literature about relationship with God?

I mean, I just read Francis Chan's Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit, and came up with a ton of practical ideas for developing my relationship with God.

The ideas are simple. The content is heart-convicting. And the cover is so well designed.

Where is this stuff in the current, AMERICAN Orthodox Church?

Searching for Vocation

I'm reading a book by Dan Miller called 48 Days to the Work You Love, because I'm actively searching for my vocation.

Here was a list of his job-seeker questions that I thought are appropriate for any Christian:

What was I born to do?

What would be my greatest contribution to others?

What do I really love to do (and when I'm doing it, time just flies by)?

What are the reoccurring themes I find myself drawn to?

How do I want to be remembered?

When Raphael House's Christian community disintegrated, it freed me from the constraints of "Facilities Management." I knew I wasn't a maintenance guy at heart, but was willing to 'put up with' my job in order to live in Christian community and provide for my wife. Now I'm stagehand-ing for income, and vision casting for vocation. Pray for me.