On this episode, I talk with my multilingual Canadian friend, Maria Lotfi. A talented writer and podcaster herself, Maria shares her thoughts on what service looks like in locations with various languages, as well as some of the challenges - and blessings - that come along with that.

Maria also interviewed me on her podcast, which is called "About Us." Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6GPWxPevVeFx8mgoeaidw7

Maria's personal blog: https://honeyfaceherblog.com/

This week on Service in Practice, I talk with Fr. Michael Sorial, priest of St. Anianus Coptic Orthodox Church in Monroe, NJ. He shares his story of getting involved in evangelism, and how he's used his blog and YouTube channel to reach broader audiences.

Links:

Jan 7 vs Dec 25 video: http://frmichaelsorial.com/aiovg_videos/christmas-december-25-or-january-7/

Books:

On this episode of the podcast, I had the privilege of chatting with Daniel Bein about his experience in seminary. A recent graduate from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (also known as St. Vlads), Daniel shares his journey of obtaining his Masters of Divinity. He speaks about misconceptions about seminary, different institutions, and how one can get started if they are interested in theological education. Daniel also speaks about how seminary education prepares individuals for deeper service. 

Daniel recommends several resources for anyone who is interested in seminary or simply wants to connect more deeply with their faith:

New Advent, a site for public domain patristic texts: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/   

Ancient Faith Radio, a podcast: https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts

Bible Project, a podcast: https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/the-bible-project-podcast/

He also recommends several books:

For theology, An Introduction to God by Stephen Damick (https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-God-Encountering-Orthodox-Christianity/dp/1936270994),  and For the Life of the World by Fr. Alexander Schmemann (https://svspress.com/for-the-life-of-the-world-new-edition/) 

For patristics, On The Incarnation by St. Athanasius (https://svspress.com/on-the-incarnation-english-only/), St. John Chrysostom’s commentary on the gospel according to St. John (https://svspress.com/the-holy-gospel-according-to-saint-john-a-pastoral-commentary/), and On Marriage and Family Life by St. John Chrysostom (https://svspress.com/on-marriage-and-family-life-st-john-chrysostom/)  

For service, Parenting Toward the Kingdom by Dr. Philip Mamalakis (https://store.ancientfaith.com/parenting-toward-the-kingdom/). 

For spirituality, Beginning to Pray by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom (https://store.ancientfaith.com/beginning-to-pray-metropolitan-anthony-bloom/). 

On this episode of Service in Practice, I had the blessing to interview Fr. Luke of the Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary and St Mercurius in Belleville, NJ. Fr. Luke also practices at St. Luke’s Clinic, a psychiatric clinic that is part of the church. He also teaches as an adjunct professor at New Jersey Medical School.

Fr. Luke speaks about his practice and the importance of mental health to the life of the Church and to service. We begin with some of the barriers to mental health help, and how the Church can help break those down. He also talks about the 12-step recovery process for addiction, comparing it to several Orthodox practices - repentance, confession, and service, to name a few. 

One great starting place Fr. Luke recommends is the book God’s Path to Sanity, by Dee Pennock, with a biblical and patristic basis for mental illness: https://store.ancientfaith.com/gods-path-to-sanity/

Welcome back to Service in Practice! We are back, with Season 2! One of the new elements of the podcast is the opening music, inspired by a Coptic hymn. It’s taken from the Theotokia, a praise addressed to the Mother of God, from the Sunday Midnight Praises. The music is played by my dear friend Martina Hanna on the violin. 

On the first episode of Season 2, guest Evram Dawd joins us to talk about Service as part of our identity as Christians. Evram has spent time in many different communities, from the East Coast to Myanmar. And in his time settling in new places, he discovered service was the common thread that united parishes and individuals in Christ. 

Evram quotes the Letter to Diognetus (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0101.htm), and in addition, he recommends a few books:

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1DZ4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Ages of the Spiritual Life by Paul Evdokimov: https://svspress.com/ages-of-the-spiritual-life/

On Episode 10, the last episode of Season 1 of Service in Practice, tune in to hear Magdolen Sleman talk about what washing other’s feet looks like in our everyday service. Magdolen, also known as Maggie, is working on becoming a licensed professional counselor. 

From the time of Christ, washing of the feet has been a literal and figurative element of service. Maggie takes us back to John 13, then forward to her own experiences - from being a summer camp (“nady”) counselor as a teenager, to observing and taking part in Alcoholics Anonymous as part of her coursework for her professional counseling license.

Maggie recommends the book For She Loved Much: A Homily on the Sinful Woman by Saint Ephraim the Syrian, to get into the mindset of reflection: https://www.google.com/books/edition/For_She_Loved_Much/Yxa2SgAACAAJ?hl=en

This week on Service in Practice, our first clergy guest appears. Fr. Nathanael Guirguis, the priest of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Atlanta, GA, joins and talks about the importance of the Liturgy to our service. I’m honored to interview Fr. Nathanael, who hosts the podcast Meet & Right, which you can check out for in-depth conversations about the Liturgy in the Orthodox Church.

From the early church to today's hyper-individualized world post-COVID, Fr. Nathanael stresses the importance of the Liturgy, in that it is a gathering of the believers. In Liturgy and in the Body of Christ, we, the broken, can be made whole.

Check out the article “Offering You Your Own of Your Own: Stewardship in the Liturgy” by Paul Meyendorff: http://www.stewardshipadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/Your-Own-of-Your-Own-We-Offer-to-You.pdf

One of the book recommendations from Fr. Nathanael is Deep and Wide, by Andy Stanley: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Wide-Creating-Churches-Unchurched/dp/0310526531 

Check out Fr. Nathanael’s podcast, Meet & Right: http://www.coptichymnsinenglish.com/meetandright

For episode 8, I’m honored to be interviewing guest Lilyan Andrews, writer of the blog Lilies and Thorns (https://www.liliesandthorns.com/) and personal coach. In this episode, Lilyan shares why she started her blog, and how that has helped her paint her life experiences with the colors and strokes of biblical teaching. In talking about the blog and some of her stories, Lilyan speaks to the interplay between culture and faith. 

During the episode, Lilyan recommends a couple of books, including What the Church Fathers Say About (https://www.amazon.com/What-Church-Fathers-Say-About/dp/1880971356), and Becoming a Healing Presence (https://svspress.com/becoming-a-healing-presence/)

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Even though you might not be packing your bags too soon, this is an episode that you don’t want to miss! Monica Youssef, my good friend from Serve to Learn (Coptic Orphans’ annual service trip to Egypt), shares her experiences on going on a mission trip.

During the episode, Monica and I talk about the doubts and fears that can crop up when one is considering a mission trip, based on our similar experiences before we traveled to Egypt. She gives advice on how to best handle these thoughts, emphasizing the need for prayer and introspection. In terms of how to benefit from the trip while actually there, she suggests pushing oneself to always remain present, express the love of Christ, and be adaptable to the different circumstances.

Monica recommends several books, including Orthodox Prayer Life (https://svspress.com/orthodox-prayer-life-the-interior-way/) by Fr. Matthew the Poor, as well as two titles by Henri Nouwen: Return of the Prodigal Son (https://www.amazon.com/Return-Prodigal-Son-Story-Homecoming/dp/0385473079), and Life of the Beloved (https://www.amazon.com/Life-Beloved-Spiritual-Living-Secular/dp/0824519868).

Service in Practice would love to hear your suggestions for new episode topics! Share them here: https://forms.gle/fmT7wM1RdcmaQ1S29

Tune in to hear one of my childhood Sunday School teachers, Joe Ghabour. Aside from working as a personal injury lawyer, Joe is an extremely dedicated servant at my home church, leading in Sunday School among other services.

Joe highlights some of the responsibilities that are particular to service leaders, such as the need to look out for their fellow servants and by extension, the kids those servants teach. Also, he brings to light some of the virtues a service leader should have, building upon St. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

Throughout the episode, Joe and I discuss a few great books, and I wanted to leave the titles with you: the Didache (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm),  A Silent Patriarch (https://svspress.com/a-silent-patriarch/), Discipleship (https://wp.me/paj1zT-qU) and Release of the Spirit (https://wp.me/paj1zT-re).

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