The News Herald, a local Metro Detroit downriver newspaper, recently featured an article about Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church. The article, entitled “New Home for Holy Incarnation: Year Old Orthodox Parish Buys Building,“ was featured on the front page of the “Life and Leisure” section on Sunday, 17 February 2008.

You may read the article and see pictures by clicking here.

Fr John Fenton announced today that liturgical services at the new home of Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church will begin 8 March with First Vespers for Quinquagesima Sunday. The service schedule will be according to the times listed here.

“For the time being, we may need to work around dust and construction, and the placement of the altar and furnishings will be temporary,” said Fr. Fenton. “However, it will be our home.”

Holy Incarnation’s new home is located at 1385 Goddard Road in Lincoln Park, Michigan. For directions, click here.

Septuagesima Sunday
St. Matthew 8.23-27

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.

Dearly beloved:

What is this race which we run?

St. Paul plainly tells us that we are running a race. And he urges us not simply to run, but to run that you may obtain the prize. Therefore, the holy Apostle sets the goal before us. We are running to win. The prize has been set before us; it is in clear view. Now we must attain that which has been promised. Now we may lay hold on the treasure that has been stored up for us. And with this goal in mind, we run not with uncertainty, not as someone just pounding the pavement and going through the motions. Rather, we should run so that, in the end, we stand with those who have fought a good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith.

Now let us not believe that this is a race with only one winner. There is one prize, but there will be many winners. The payout is large, so many will benefit. Many will be honored, and will share the trophy. So run, St. Paul says. Run that you may obtain it.

But what is this race which we run? What is the course? And what is the point?

Fear propels most runners. They run to stay healthy, to prolong life, to avoid death. Pride propels a few. They run for the glory, for the accolades and fame. Still fewer run for the sheer joy of running. They run because they enjoy the atmosphere, and get caught up in the act. For all three—the afraid, the proud, and the lovers—for all three, the race is this world. They run the human race. That is to say, they run only with this life in mind: to get the most they can from the time they have, and to experience all that the world offers. They afraid fear missing out. The proud want to be remembered in the record books. And the lovers of this world get caught up in the act of living, in taking it all in, in living life to its fullest.

But my beloved children, that is not our race. For this world does not offer the prize that we seek. This world offers only disappointment and death. Its promises fade or are broken. And getting caught up in this world’s living means getting caught up in its march to death. For in the end, this world’s prize may be monuments for a few and satisfaction for some, but the grave for all. The Preacher is right: What does man have to show for all his running in this world? All his days are sorrowful, and the distraction of life is his, for even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. For a man has nothing better to do under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry. (Eccl 2.23; 8.15 SAAS)

If that is the goal, then the laborers who were idle all day had the best racing strategy. “Let the race come to me.” That was apparently their philosophy. And it worked out well for them. For the longer they sat idle, the less they had to do; yet, in the end, they were made equal to those who had borne the burden and heat of the day.

Yet the householder comes to them, as well as to all the others, and offers them something more, a different race. He offers them a break from their daily doldrums, and invites them to work in his vineyard. Yet what is this vineyard? Is it not a place of power and richness? (Is 5.1 SAAS) Is it not where the true vine grows, and where the vinedresser tenderly and carefully cares for his vines? Is it not where the householder calls us “friend,” does us no wrong, and is good? Is it not the vineyard of the Lord of hosts—and therefore not only escape from this life, but also the life of the world to come?

This vineyard—it is the prize that we seek. It is the both the reason we run, and the reason we wish to run well. For we run not because of fear or pride or love of this world. We run to obtain the prize. Which means that we run so that we might lay hold on eternal life, unto which we have been called.

We, then, are not only the runners that St Paul describes; we are also the laborers that Our Lord has called and invited and pressed into service in His vineyard. He has hired us in Holy Baptism in order to free us from the bondage of this world, and this world’s allurements, and this world’s only sure promise. He has sealed us as His own workers in Holy Chrismation so that we run our race not in vainly, not beating the air worthlessly, but so that we may obtain an incorruptible prize, undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. And He has brought us into His vineyard so that He might graft us to the True Vine so that His life might supply our life, which then produces in us the good fruits of holiness, charity, kindness and other good works. For the householder is Our Father. And His goal for us is not that we live life to the fullest, but that we live life in His fullness.

Let us therefore, my beloved, set our sights not on obtaining the fleeting things of this world. Instead, let us lay aside all earthly cares, all selfish ambitions, all cosmetics which makeover our dying bodies, and all desires for accumulating fame or this world’s goods. And let us also lay aside all fear, all meanness, all impatience, and all pride. For now, in this world, the sorrows of death surround us; but the Lord has heard our prayer from His holy temple, and so urges us to run the race of good faith and well-doing so that we might live within the fullness of His heavenly mansion.

That we may do so we a true heart and firm resolve, let us beg the prayers of the Holy Mother of God, of St Matthias and the other Holy Apostles, of St Boniface and of all the saints; that aided and defended by their prayers, we, who are justly afflicted for our sins, may for the glory of the Lord’s name be mercifully delivered, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, to whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, belongs all glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

Fr John W Fenton
Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church
24 February 2008

In the Orthodox Church fasting is not an individual practice, but a communal habit. In addition, the Lenten Fast does not offer suggestions on what to “give up.” Rather, it prescribes the common rule the faithful are to follow as they fast together. Individuals may choose to “give up” additional items during Lent, but such choices should not replace the Lenten fast, and should be made in consolation with individual’s spiritual father.In Orthodox churches in the Western tradition, the Lenten fast consists of the following:

• Fasting on all weekdays (Mon-Sat) in Lent
• Fasting and abstinence on all Fridays in Lent
• Fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday (March 12)
• Fasting and abstinence on Ember Wednesday, Ember Friday and Ember Saturday in Lent. (March 19, 21, 22)

Those who, for medical or other legitimate reasons, find it difficult to observe the Lenten Fast should speak with their spiritual father concerning legitimate modifications in order to keep the spirit of the Fast.

NOTE:

Fasting consists of not eating until after noon; and then eating only one full meal with a collation (about 1/4 of a meal) permitted as a second meal.

Abstinence refers to refraining from flesh meat (pork, beef, chicken, etc.) and their juices or broths. Shell fish and fin fish as well as dairy products are permitted.

All Orthodox communicants and catechumens in the Western tradition are asked to follow these rules; however, only those between the ages of 21 and 60 are obligated to observe the fasts of the Church, and those who have completed their seventh year of age are bound to the law of abstinence.

Despite slippery roads and typical Michigan weather, negotiations for the purchase of a church home for Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church were successfully concluded on Tuesday, 12 February 2008. Fr. John Fenton, priest at Holy Incarnation, signed the closing documents. Witnessing the closing were David Lichtenstein, the Holy Incarnation Parish Council Chairman, and Allen Runkis, the Holy Incarnation Treasurer.The closing culminated a year-long search for Holy Incarnation’s own building, and met a goal that Fr Fenton established when the parish held its initial Mass on 18 February 2007. After the Mass, Fr Fenton announced that the newly formed Parish Council should set the goal to “be in our own home” by Easter 2008.

During the past year, the parish has leased a worship facility. “Our hosts this past year have been very gracious and accommodating,” said Fr John Fenton, the pastor of Holy Incarnation. “However, there have also been understandable limitations and the hassle of ‘church-in-a-box.’ Most of all, there’s been a sense of temporariness and a yearning to establish roots. I rejoice that the Lord has graciously heard our prayers, and that Metropolitan PHILIP and Bishop MARK have blessed our efforts.”

The new church building is an important step in the re-establishment of a Western Rite Orthodox parish in metropolitan Detroit. Western Rite parishes are Orthodox parishes utilizing the liturgical tradition of European Christianity. In particular, the Sunday Mass follows the historic Latin or Roman rite. “All of our services are in English,” explained Fr Fenton, “but the order of worship, customs, and liturgical art follows a pattern familiar to most Christians in Europe and America.”

From 1975-2001, Incarnation Orthodox Church in Detroit served the liturgical needs of Western Rite Orthodox Christians in and around Detroit, and was the cornerstone of the Western Orthodoxy in the Midwest. Fr Fenton explained that Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church builds on the legacy of the former Incarnation parish. “We are the beneficiaries of years of sacrificial giving,” said Fr Fenton, “because the funds held in trust after the closing of Incarnation have helped finance the new facility for Holy Incarnation.” Fr Fenton stated the new building will further the permanent re-establishment of a Western Rite presence in Detroit. He also remarked that the new building will increase the Orthodox presence and mission in the downriver area.

The newly purchased building is located in Lincoln Park, Michigan, a near suburb in the downriver area of Detroit. Built as a worship and educational facility, the building has served various Protestant congregations during the past 50 years. “With classrooms and a liturgical space, this building fits our needs perfectly,” said Fr Fenton.

Fr Fenton reports that the building is in good repair, but will require renovations so that the worship space is suitable for the Western Orthodox liturgy. “There is some work to be done, but it is our hope and prayer to begin Orthodox Lent in our new facility,” reported Fr Fenton. In particular, an altar and choir (chancel) will need to be constructed. The priest estimates that this work should be completed in 30 days.

The move to the new facility will result in a change in service times for the Orthodox parish. Currently, Sunday Mass is celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Once the move has occurred, the new Sunday Mass time will be 9:30 a.m.

For updates concerning the move, and to learn more about Holy Incarnation, readers are invited to visit the Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church website (http://holyincarnation.org)