July 6, 2009

JOHNSTOWN, PA - Tommorow morning,  July 7, 2009, Very Rev Protopresbyter Peter Paproski and Very Rev. Fr. Miles Zdinak will be leading a four day mission trip to St. John the Compassionate Mission in Toronto, Ontario.  Joining Fr. Peter and Fr. Miles will be youth from throughout the diocese including officers and members of the National Junior ACRY, who have spearheaded Lenten fundraising missions in support of St. John the Compassionate Mission.

St. John the Compassionate Mission is an apostolate of our diocese. Overseen by the Very Rev. Roberto Ubertino, St. John's Mission serves the poor and needy of the greater Toronto, Ontario region. In particular it operates a soup kitchen, a food pantry, a bakery and a thrift shop.  Not only does it feed the hungry, it also gives the unemployed the opportunity for job training and employment. From the missionary outreach work of St. John the Compassionate has arisen a diocesan mission parish dedicated to St. Siloan the Athonite, and most recently, the Lived School of Theology, which is a guided internship program which offers hands-on ministry to the poor and catechetical training in the field of Orthodox missionary work.

While at the mission, our diocesan youth will assist with the daily meal service operation, take part in a special work project, take a tour of the bakery and thrift shop and take part in the daily worship of the community, including Divine Liturgy on Friday morning, prior to their departure.

Diocesan faithful are kindly asked to pray for the safe travel of our mission team and are invited to follow their journey by logging on to the daily photo journel which, barring any unforseen technological issues will be updated nightly.