February 11, 2012 Howell, NJ:
Diocesan Media Office releases Video Documentary on the 2011 Winter
Pastoral Conference in Miami
n December 6-8,
2011, the Winter Pastoral Conference of the Eastern American Diocese
took place in St. Vladimir’s Church in Miami, FL. With the blessing
of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, the diocesan Media Office
has produced a short documentary film about the conference, which is
available to our readers below.
This conference was
monumental because it was the first of its kind to be organized as
part of the Pastoral Resources Program, and was entirely dedicated
to pastoral training in the areas of Orthodox Psychotherapy and
Liturgics.
The
Pastoral
Resources Program was developed by the Diocesan Council in November
2010, as a way to organize lectures, seminars, and interviews that
can be used as learning tools for diocesan clergy in continuing
their pastoral training. In December 2011, the Diocese received a
grant from the Fund for Assistance to fund the PRP for 2012. The FFA
also helped many clergymen who could otherwise not afford the travel
expenses associated with the conference.
"The positive
feedback from our clergy about the Miami conference was
overwhelming," said diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov.
"It is very clear that there is a serious demand to continue these
types of educational programs in our Diocese, and with God’s help,
the Pastoral Resources Program will continue to satisfy that
demand."
As the diocesan
administration works to bring this program to life in 2012, they are
faced with several challenges.
"As wonderful as
pastoral conferences are, they are not necessarily the most cost
effective way to run a continuing education program," explains Fr.
Serge. "We needed to find a way to recreate the experience of a
pastoral conference for a fraction of the cost."
The seminars and
discussions that are being organized in 2012 as part of the PRP, are
designed for live audiences of no more than ten clergymen, and will
be filmed for publication on the diocesan website.
"This will allow us to host
up to 12 ‘mini conferences’ per year for a wide audience of clergy,
without putting an additional financial burden on the parishes."
For the past two
months, the diocesan media office has been working on developing the
logistics of the Pastoral Resources Program so that it is both
effective and professional.
"This is
unchartered territory for us," said Media Office Director Reader
Peter Lukianov. "For the past three years we have been able to
maintain a fully bilingual website primarily because all of our
material consisted of articles and photographs. As we transition
into video reporting, we do not want to alienate any part of our
audience by producing video lectures that are not bilingual. Our
team of writers and translators has been researching various
solutions to this and other obstacles."
As the Pastoral
Resources Program grows, a vision for the future of the Media Office
becomes much clearer. Staff members hope to expand upon the use of
videos outside of the PRP, to chronicle the living history of the
Eastern American Diocese. Reader Inocencio Correa, a photojournalism
and digital media student at Valencia College in Orlando, FL, will
develop various videos and documentaries as the diocesan
videographer.
"We have hit a pivotal point in our culture, when the mass
consumption of electronics, particularly portable communication
devices, has become the standard form of communication," Reader
Inocencio explains. "Through video journalism, we have the ability
to provide our Diocese with a visually stronger and more effective
way to communicate as the Church. Videos can capture the life of our
Diocese – our traditions, our goals and efforts, even our struggles,
so that we can preserve them for future generations."
The films published below are modest demonstrations of how video can
be used to educate and raise awareness of particular efforts in the
Church. With God’s help, and through the support of organizations
such as the Fund for Assistance, the Media Office hopes to publish
many similar videos in the coming months.
Republication of materials must include a reference to:
"Eastern American Diocesewww.eadiocese.org."
