V.P. TOMARAS: οΏ½BOTH OUR FAITH, AND OUR FILOTIMO, CALL ON US TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THIS UNPRECEDENTED DISASTERοΏ½

On New YearοΏ½s Day, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of 250 million Orthodox worshippers in the world, led the faithful in praying to God to spare mankind from earthquakes and in pleading for His mercy during a memorial service at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul.  In the U.S., Archbishop Demetrios of America urged the faithful to give, saying, οΏ½Let those who have survived a foreboding wave of death and destruction now be encompassed by a comforting wave of love and concern,οΏ½ and directed the 550 U.S. parishes of the Archdiocese to pass a special collection tray this Sunday, January 9 for οΏ½Asian Disaster Relief Fund.οΏ½  And in Athens, the Hellenic Republic was the first foreign government to send chartered aircraft to Thailand to evacuate foreign nationals, followed by a continuing stream of C-130 airplanes to the region filled with experts and supplies.  GreeceοΏ½s ERT TV network has also organized a telethon, generating donations projected to exceed 10 million euros.

οΏ½We are heartened by the response of our leaders, both religious and civic, to this unprecedented tragedy, and commend them,οΏ½ said V.P. and Regional Coordinator Chris P. Tomaras. οΏ½We Hellenes know the tremendous suffering natural disasters inflict on the body and soul, and deeply empathize with these victims.  Even though only 7 Hellenes of the estimated 500 who were in the region are currently still unaccounted for, both our Faith and our Filotimo call on us to help these victims.  And while there are many different ways each of us can help, we urge the Hellenes of our Region to channel their response through the Archdiocese of America and/or the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) which is organized under the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA),οΏ½ emphasized V.P. Tomaras.  Under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Metropolitan Nikitas of Hong Kong has mobilized to provide assistance in the affected region on behalf of our Orthodox Christian Faith, and is receiving direct support from the IOCC.  

V.P. Tomaras also directed that the IOCCοΏ½s public service ad be forwarded to our Regional print media for publication as space allows.
 
Here are several ways you can help:

οΏ½ Pray: Take your family to church this Sunday, January 9, for the Memorial Service for the 150,000 victims of this tragedy.

οΏ½ Contribute:  Be generous when the special οΏ½Asian Disaster Relief FundοΏ½ tray is passed in Church.  Or visit www.saeamerica.org ; there is a link to the Archdiocese of America website, where you can make a secure donation by credit card.  Or send your check to the IOCCοΏ½s οΏ½Asia Disaster ResponseοΏ½ at: IOCC, P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225 or call the IOCC (toll-free) at: 1-877-803-IOCC (4622), or 1-410-243-9820.

οΏ½ Send: The IOCC is encouraging Orthodox Christians to assemble οΏ½Gift of the HeartοΏ½ health kits for shipment to the areas hardest hit by the tsunami. To learn more about assembling the health kits, please visit www.iocc.org/healthkits.

 Met. Nikitas needs our support to help the victims

 Millions urgently need our help