Eparchial conference focuses on building leadership (11/08/98)

Eparchial conference focuses on building leadership

by Kathryn Solovey Babak

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. - "Building Leadership" was the theme of the Fourth Annual eparchial conference of the St. Nicholas Eparchy held here on September 25-27, sponsored by the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Phoenix, under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Hugo Soutus.

Over 130 delegates attended from across the St. Nicholas Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and two provinces in Canada. In addition to familiar faces from previous conferences, many new people dedicated to the revitalization of the Ukrainian Catholic Church attended, as did an increased number of younger people - a positive step towards ensuring the future existence of this Eastern Church.

The conference opened with a prayer service in the makeshift chapel that the priests had created in a hotel conference room. The service was sung, in accordance with the Eastern tradition of the Ukrainian Church.

The conference presenter was Bishop Nicholas Samra, auxiliary of the Melkite Diocese of Newton, Mass. The Melkites, who originate in the Middle East, received their Byzantine religion from Constantinople like the Ukrainians. The Melkite Catholic liturgy is virtually identical to the Ukrainian Catholic liturgy.

Bishop Samra's "Building Leadership" theme was Bible-based. He spoke about the "gifts" that God has bestowed on each individual and how these gifts need to be used in conjunction with one another in works of service to develop the Body of Christ. The task of the Church is to recognize these gifts and enable them to be used in fellowship so that the whole body increases in love - this is when ministry happens. The concepts of ministry of the pastor and ministry of the laity, he emphasized, are meant to complement each other to help the Church community develop a true, full-bodied fellowship.

"True fellowship, or koinonia, is not only the sharing of a common faith but also a sharing of the varied gifts of grace; the gifts of the pastor and teacher and the gifts of each of the believers who make up the body," Bishop Samra said. The concept of developing lay ministries was particularly relevant in light of the worldwide Sobor in Ukraine in August 1998, which was devoted to the theme of "The Role of the Laity in Today's Church."

Bishop Samra presented the idea of stewardship - the concept that everything is a gift from God and it is our task to take care of all of His gifts with love and responsibility, to be stewards of creation. This applies to every aspect of our lives from a personal level to a parish level and beyond, he added.

Bishop Samra's lectures were interspersed with lively discussions related to the material presented. Delegates were asked to examine themselves and their parishes to try to determine where they are in their spiritual journey. The conference concluded with delegates from the same parishes being grouped together to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of their own parish and to define a strategic plan for becoming a full-fledged community in Christ.

The Phoenix committee scheduled an enjoyable poolside supper on Friday evening complete with Southwestern cuisine and a mariachi band that performed a range of music from Hispanic songs to The Beatles. The delegates joined in with singing and dancing. The evening unexpectedly became spiritual when a singer from band told the audience about her work as a church singer in a variety of Christian communities and then sang several beautifully inspired versions of Christian songs, including "Amazing Grace." The delegates were touched by her "sharing" and ended the evening by singing a heartfelt "Mnohaya Lita" to the mariachi band.

A wonderful supper on Saturday evening was followed by the presentation of a personalized "Certificate of Completion" to each delegate by Bishop Samra and the originator of the St. Nicholas eparchial conferences, Bishop Michael Wiwchar. This was followed by an informative fashion show of historical Ukrainian costumes sponsored by the local chapter of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America.

The conference officially ended on Sunday with a magnificent pontifical divine liturgy held at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Phoenix. It was a magnificent service because of the beauty, pageantry and, most importantly, spirituality of celebrating a divine liturgy with at least 15 priests, deacons and altar servers, and two bishops. It was a moving experience as the faithful prayed with a Bishop who is Melkite, a priest who is Scottish, a deacon from Australia, a monk who is Irish, and delegates from Detroit to Hawaii - all celebrating together the 1,500-year-old Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

Next year's eparchial conference is being sponsored by the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Los Angeles and is currently scheduled for October 8-10, 1999.

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