One thing I like to do is find stories around the web talking about Orthodox goings on. Some items are good, exciting, and have positive sentiments. Others are not so happy.
This article is kind of sad. It talks about the "oldest Russian Orthodox Church in North Carolina" that has only 4 members left (4 rather old members). One of my personality traits is that I am (overly?) sentimental. A church with a history from 1932 will soon have no one to care about it.
There is an organization that is mentioned in the article called "Partners for Sacred Places." While I don't know anything about this organization, it would be nice if there was something especially for Orthodox places of worship in the US and maybe more importantly other countries.
I find it immensely sad that centuries old churches in countries that may no longer have an thriving Orthodox population are in great disrepair. One one hand I see that times change, populations move, politics of a land change and so churches are abandoned. On the other hand, these churches are holy temples, consecrated to the service of God. Faithful people put great effort into building the community, both physical temple and spiritual life, only to have the community no longer with faithful members.
I suppose the ultimate questions are: should we put money into buildings that would not benefit the spiritual development of anyone? Or is the beauty of the physical manifestations of faith of universal support to the faithful throughout the generations?
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