The Morning Offering

The Planting of a Monastery (chapter 17) 

The Judgement

As word of the assault spread across the island, we were inundated with offers of help. One contractor had one of his carpenters construct a new cross. A couple bought us a new gate, and an island lumber company donated new posts for the gate, and even had them installed for us. After the sign was replaced, we celebrated a service blessing the site of the desecration, and the new cross. Among the people attending the service were the island's Roman Catholic priest and the Assemblies of God minister. A few day's later the young man was arraigned in the island's court house, on serious charges filed by the State of Washington.

Just as we thought things were moving in our favor, we were served with a lawsuit. A young lawyer who'd heard about our plight, offered to serve, without cost to us, as our attorney. He'd assured us we were within our rights, under the law, to have the gate, cross, and sign on the easement. He was wrong. The judge ruled against us, and we were ordered to remove everything within a week, or I, as abbot, would face jail. She set a fine for every day that any of our property remained, and we were now facing the prospect of having to pay the young man seven thousand dollars in attorney fees. His claim to have had the right to remove anything on "his" property, was declared legal by the judge. I sat in court with everyone looking at me to see my response. Our inexperienced attorney had, as it turned out, given us bad advice.

I called our tax attorney that very afternoon, telling him of our sorry predicament. Jim Bush of Tacoma, WA., was a law professor, a respected attorney with a good reputation, and he, too, volunteered to represent us without charge. After some negotiations with the young man's attorney, an agreement was made that called for us to ask the State of Washington to drop all charges against my assailant, while we would be "forgiven" the court's judgement order to pay his attorney fees .

Word from our attorney that an agreement had been reached, was received on the very day a miraculous icon of Saint Nicholas had arrived at the monastery. We served a Supplicatory Service to Saint Nicholas, I  blessed the neighboring property with the icon, asking Saint Nicholas for help. I also ventured onto the property, and poured holy oil from the shrine of Saint John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, asking for his help.

With love in Christ,

Abbot Tryphon

Next Saturday: The Miracle

Sunday November 18, 2012 / November 5, 2012
24^th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone seven.

Martyrs Galacteon and his wife Episteme at Emesa (253).
Repose of St. Jonah, archbishop of Novgorod (1470).
St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus (Election 1917).
New Hieromartyr Gabriel priest (1937).
Apostles Patrobus, Hermas, Linus, Gaius, and Philologus of the Seventy (1st c.).
St. Gregory, archbishop of Alexandria (9th c.).
Martyrs Domninus, Timothy, Theophilus, Theotimus, Dorotheus, Eupsychius, Carterius, Pamphilius, Agathangelus, and Castorus of Palestine (307).
Hieromartyr Silvanus, bishop of Gaza.
St. Kea, bishop of Devon and Cornwall.
Venerable Odrada, virgin of Balen (8th c.) (Neth.).
St. Cybi, abbot in Cornwall and Wales (550) (Celtic & British).
St. Gregory of Cassano, Calabria (1002).

You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.

For those who would like to be kept informed about the persecution that is taking place against Christians throughout the Middle East, I recommend you subscribe to: http://www.jihadwatch.org/

THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.

With love in Christ,  
Abbot Tryphon

Donations can be made directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA

Ephesians 2:14-22

Christ Our Peace

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ¹⁵ having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone

¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Luke 8:41-56

⁴¹ And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. ⁴³ Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴ came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”
⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. ⁵² Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.
⁵⁴ But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” ⁵⁵ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.