December
11, 2009
Fort Myers, FL: The Diocesan Council is organizing
volunteers help build a trapeza in St. Nicholas Monastery
With
the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, the Diocesan
Council is planning to send teams of volunteers to St. Nicholas
Monastery, located in Fort Myers, Florida, as part of a program called
Volunteers in Mission (VIM). The VIM team will be made up of members
of the diocese who have a variety of skills to offer. The monastery is
in need of repairs ranging from electrical work to painting and
housekeeping. The week of January 24-30, 2010 is set for the
mission trip. If we have enough for a second team, they will go on
January 31-February 6, 2010. The Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God
will visit the monastery during the second work week.
Saint
Nicholas Monastery in North Fort Myers is converting a structure,
damaged by Hurricane Charley in 2004, into a dining hall. The women's
monastery needs people who can work with frame-out, drywall hanging,
plastering, painting, tiling, concrete, carpentry, plumbing, and other
light construction jobs. A qualified electrician is urgently needed in
advance of the mission teams. A local Russian man will sponsor a
fishing excursion in the Gulf waters for both mission teams.
The
VIM team will stay at the monastery and there will be regular services
in the monastery church. There will also be time to go out and see
some of the Fort Myers area. Meals will be eaten in the monastery
trapeza. The cost is $500 per member which includes meals and
materials and some transportation. For missionary teams, this figure
is very low. VIM members may drive or travel by air to the Monastery.
The cost of travel to Florida is not included in the cost. We
encourage VIM members to ask their local church and family to help
them by offering financial support.
Once
you register, a packet of information will be sent to you. The
team size will be limited to 20 people, so apply early. The minimum
age for members is 18.
If
you travel via air, you will need to make a reservation for the South
West Florida Regional Airport in Fort Myers (RSW). One other
possibility is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL). This
airport is two hours from the Monastery, so you will need to inform
the coordinator before making your reservation. You need to arrive on
Sunday, January 24, and depart on January 31. If a second team is
created and you are a member of that team, you would fly in on January
31 and depart on February 7.
The
coordinators for this trip are Fr. John Moses, member of the Diocesan
Council, and Mother Andrea of St. Nicholas Monastery. You can call Fr.
John at (540) 887-8280 if you have any questions.
Please
click here to print the application and mail to Fr. John as soon as possible.
Each
member must send a letter of recommendation from their parish priest.
Make
plans to come to sunny Florida to serve the Lord in a hands-on
missionary project. We hope that this will be the first of many
opportunities for the Orthodox faithful of the Eastern Diocese to work
together as Volunteers in Mission.
Media
Office of the Eastern American Diocese
