Racism, prejudice, and hatred: as a nation and global community, we have been speaking, posting, and protesting against such evils because the knee of a police officer murdered a black man. We all witnessed this horrifying incident on the news and social media. We were rightfully angry and disgusted. Many went to the streets in protest and others went to social media and expressed their feelings and emotions. We most likely sat down with our children and explained to them what was happening in the world and answered the question: “Who is George Floyd?” As a parish, we addressed the incident through our “Morning of Hope” and “Evening of Hope.” We continue to address the topic of racism, prejudice, and hatred through this homily. And will continue to address it in our parish through a Christ-centered focus. Addressing what has happened is very important. It is necessary! Being silent is not an option. How can we as Orthodox Christians, who participate in parish life and are active in the church, address these racial issues?

My family immigrated to America in 1986. From 1986 to 1992 (est.) my maternal grandfather would write letters because at that time in India, house phones were not available to everyone. At the very top of those letters my grandfather would always write three words: GOD IS LOVE.

In the Eastern traditions, particularly those in the Middle East and India, men in the past would wear a skirt-like robe. The idea of trousers came later. In the time of Jesus, men wore these types of long robes that went all the way down, leaving a little bit of room from the ground. Men had some sort of belt, not in the modern sense, but rather a cloth tied around the waist and knotted.

What’s in your bucket list? A bucket list is a certain number of achievements or experiences that a person wants to accomplish during his or her lifetime. This idea was further popularized in American culture with the release of the movie, “The Bucket List (2007),” starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Do you have a bucket list? Most of us do, even though it is unintentional.  In other words, we all have a few things that we want to do before we leave this world. And in most cases that deals with us going to a certain part of the world that is unique and exotic. Or maybe we want to reach a certain position in our career or have a certain level of accomplishment in our workplace. Whatever the case might be our “bucket list” usually is numbered with “going somewhere” or “doing something.”