Orthodox Church in America
Diocese of the Midwest
Speaker Background and Session Descriptions
Thus says the Lord: “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, "Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land."
Deuteronomy 15:7-8,10-11
“There is no other way to be saved, except through our neighbor... This is purity of heart: when you see the sinful or the sick, to feel compassion for them and to be tenderhearted toward them.”
St. Macarius the Great
“The way to God lies through the love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, not how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked, Did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners? That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says ‘I’; ‘I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison.’ To think that he puts an equal sign (=) between himself and anyone in need..... I always knew it, but now it has somehow penetrated to my sinews. It fills me with awe.”
St. Maria Skobtsova, martyred by the Nazis
“Nothing is more frigid than a Christian who is indifferent to the salvation of others. Indeed I wonder if such a person can be a true Christian. To become a disciple of Christ is to obey his law of love; and obedience to the law brings joy beyond measure and description. Love means to want the best for others, sharing with them the joy of life. So the Christian feels compelled to speak to others about the law of love, and the joy of obeying this law. Of course, many people are shy about speaking to others; in their case actions motivated by love will be a most eloquent testimony. But those who are not shy will surely want to express their joy at every opportunity. There is no need to use fine words or elegant phrases; even the most uneducated people can convey joyful love by the spirit which accompanies their words. Even slaves have been known to convert their masters and mistresses by the sincerity of their speech.”
St. John Chrysostom
Daria Mueller, Senior Policy Analyst, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Urban Life: Myths & Realities
Speaker Background
Daria Mueller is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), a leading non-profit in Illinois that organizes and advocates to prevent and end homelessness based on the belief that housing is a human right in a just society. During her seven years at CCH, she has specialized in advocacy focused on ending youth homelessness and violence against women.
Daria leads the Prostitution Alternatives Round Table (PART), a network of public and private agencies that work together to address prostitution in Chicago and statewide. PART was created in 2001 and has succeeded in passing legislation in Illinois that benefits women impacted by the sex trade, including offering alternatives to incarceration, criminal record sealing for those who have been convicted, and civil relief for those prostituted by others.
Last year, she helped bring about passage of the Illinois Safe Children Act, legislation that provides immunity from prosecution for prostituted minors and enhanced penalties against pimps and traffickers. This year, she led the passage of a bill which allows victims of sex trafficking to have their prostitution convictions vacated. It awaits the Governor’s signature.
As an organizer for PART, she worked with survivors of the sex trade in Chicago to develop their leadership and political activism. She recruited and co-facilitated a group of 15 survivors of the sex trade who created the 2006 documentary film, Turning A Corner, produced by Beyondmedia Education.
Daria most recently worked to establish and act as a special consultant to the WINGS Project, a new Cook County problem-solving court for women charged with felony prostitution, which offers women community-based services instead of prison time.
She co-leads a range of initiatives that serve to prevent and end youth homelessness in Chicago, and ensures ongoing state and local funding for effective service models for youth experiencing homelessness.
Daria received her Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago (Jane Addams College of Social Work), and her BSW from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Topic Summary -- Urban Life Myths and Realities
Before we can design effective urban ministries we need to understand the needs and qualities of those in need. Daria will touch on some of the misconceptions regarding people who live in the inner-city and contrast them with the realities of human need, crisis, and courage. Daria will discuss the need to understand something about the lives of those we minister to, aside from the stereotypes so prevalent in our media, political narrative, and social consciousness.
Why You Should Attend This Session:
- To understand why those in need are not to blame, the problem is not too big, and the problem is not beyond our control.
- To resist the temptation to distance ourselves from the suffering around us,
- See why the more we know about these issues and recognize the common humanity we share, the more we will see what we can—and should—do to help.
Three Things You Will Learn From Attending This Session:
- How to separate the stereotypes from the realities
- How homelessness, (particularly among youth), poverty, violence against women and prostitution can be intertwined
- Ways you can get involved in your own communities.
Fr. Daniel Rentel, Rector, St. Gregory of Nyssa Church, Columbus, OH
Discerning God’s Will in an Urban Setting (With no Desire to be Someplace Else)
Our Speaker
Ordained at 23 and now 72 years old, Fr. Rentel has spent nearly 30 years at St. Gregory’s, and says, “I could not have imagined the good that has come to us by remaining in place as an Orthodox Church in a center city environment.” Fr Daniel will retire as rector in September 2011.
Topic
Fr. Daniel will provide insight to his conviction that there is a need to discern a Gospel response to an Orthodox presence in urban environments that have lost immigrant character. He will build on the example of Christ, Who was so vitally connected to the poor, the sick, the lame and the troubled. Though St. Gregory’s was founded to be an Orthodox witness in The Ohio State University campus area, Fr. Rentel says he soon learned that multiple challenges would define the parish’s presence. Today, there is an eight-block area unofficially referred to as “St. Gregory’s Quadrant”. Fr. Rentel will discuss how the parish has successfully emerged to work this “Quadrant” to feed, clothe, teach, pick up beer cans, hire neighbors, and more—all to the glory of God often in a very humble response model.
Julia Demaree, Director, Emmaus House, Harlem
Serving the Poor: Beyond Food Clothing and Shelter
Speaker Background
As Assistant Director and Board Co-Chair of Emmaus House, Julia Raboteau, will illustrate how this non-profit organization offers physical and spiritual help to the needy in Harlem. Her experience and insight will benefit attendees in discerning their own role, limitations and opportunities for urban ministry. Founded over 40 years ago by Fr. David Kirk, Emmaus House was featured on All Things Considered in 2007.
Why You Should Attend:
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- Learn why helping those in need is about more than just food, clothing and shelter
- Find out why creative programs like “Souls in Motion” can be viable ministries that help those with psychiatric illnesses.
- See how volunteers from the suburbs give their time and treasure to Emmaus House
What You Will Learn:
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- How suburban parishes can help with urban ministry
- How the various programs in action at Emmaus House can be duplicated in your own parish
- How to empower the poor and needy with forums and education as a form of ministry
- Why turning down grants and government money can actually be a positive move for your ministry
- How referral work for those with addiction issues can be a fruitful and successful undertaking
- How to assess the needs of those who you reach out to help
- How aligning your ministry with other agencies can promote solidarity
Fr. Thomas Mueller, Rector, SS Cyril and Methodius Church, Milwaukee, WI.
Urban Parish Revitalization: Two Stories
Speaker Background
Fr. Mueller brings more than 15 years of experience specifically dealing with the ‘ups and downs, trials and errors, and many small miracles’ of a city parish, as well as being involved in an interfaith social justice ministry in Milwaukee.
Topic
Using actual case studies, Fr. Mueller will relate examples of two parishes: one i
n an old, increasingly Latino, blue-collar neighborhood; the other in a high poverty, African-American inner city area. He will relate how these two very different parishes—one Orthodox and one of another Christian denomination—transformed these parishes to vibrant and empowering parishes. In his presentation, Fr. Mueller will stress that attendees refrain from merely ‘copying’ another parish, but ‘think boldly, imaginatively, and lovingly in our own situations.’
