ASK YOUR CLERGY WHAT THEY ARE BRINGING FROM THE RETREAT
October 7, 2023
ASK YOUR CLERGY WHAT THEY ARE BRINGING FROM THE RETREAT
(THEY WILL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU!)
The Annual Clergy Retreat hosted by the Archeparchy of Winnipeg for all the bishops, priests and deacons with the support of the parishes, was held this year at the Wilderness Edge Retreat and Conference Centre in Pinawa, Manitoba.
Winnipeg's Auxiliary Bishop, Most Rev. Andriy Rabiy was chosen to direct the 5-day retreat that included daily liturgical services and talks, as well as for less informal discussions over meals and fellowship. Bishop Andriy offered three formal sessions per day as well as a homily-reflection related to the Scripture readings at the daily Divine Liturgy.
His personal pastoral experience came through his talks which were always directly associated with the pastoral ministry of clergy among the People of God - especially in the parish setting. He progressively moved from exploring the function and characteristics of a priest as being an example to the people and a prophet, a teacher, an apostle, a healer and much more. Yes, as one expects at a retreat, he also challenged the clergy to look at themselves and assess themselves. However, he also offered much encouragement and reminded the clergy that the Lord invited them to ministry and would provide them with all the grace and practical wherewithal as they dedicated themselves to serving God's People.
Aside from the regular schedule of a daily Eucharistic liturgy and prayer from the chasoslov, there were some additional special services like Molebens to the first Bishop to Canada, Blessed Hieromartyr Nykyta Budka and then to the Mother of God. One invariably moving service is the panakhyda that is led by Metropolitan Lawrence at every retreat for any of their brother clergy who have died since the last retreat. In this Panakhyda they also remember in their prayer all the clergy - bishops, priests and deacons - both monastic and secular - that have served in the Archeparchy since the very beginning. Among those clergy one can imagine the dedication of many, many priests that served in the rough pioneer days, travelling to remote areas to visit God's children to bless them and assure them that they were not forgotten by the Lord or His Church. Some of the priests ended up moving to other eparchies and some returned to Europe. Then, there are the many dedicated priests who have their own story that is known only to the Lord now, as their earthly remains are interred in remote cemeteries around the province as they were buried among the people they served.
