15th All American Council in Pittsburgh

We all just got back from the 15th AAC in Pittsburgh on Thursday night. It was a much more tiring trip than we anticipated (still getting used to having the third member in our family), and poor Mara ended up getting sick on Wednesday. But the level of tired didn't come close to comparing to the level of hope and joy we received from the Council. Many people have described the events that took place as "shocking." We were all taken by surprise at the election of (now Metropolitan) +Jonah. Last year we heard recordings of Fr. Jonah speaking on several topics, including prayer of the heart. But hearing the way he spoke at the Council confirmed for everyone who the next leader of the OCA would be. Fr. David Rucker liked to say something along the lines of, "the Church doesn't make priests, it just manifests and blesses what they already are." After hearing the talk that (then Bishop) +Jonah gave on Tuesday night before the election (on Wed), the Church definitely manifested and blessed the one who already was the leader of our Church. We are so joyful walking away from this Council. The OCA, abused and broken, now has a path and possibility of healing laid out before us. Even more than that, we have a leader who is engaged, who understands authority not as power but as responsibility, who wants to teach in a way that we can understand, and above all, urges us to love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourself. Glory to God!! Here is a link to articles and talks given by Metropolitan Jonah throughout the years for your reading and listening pleasure.