Sunday, April 23, 2006

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Rev. John-Brian Paprock" has sent you an e-card!!

Card text follows:
Christ is Risen!
May the blessings of the risen Chirst be with you and all your loved ones!

Rev. Fr. John-Brian, Teresa, & Christopher
Middleton, Wisconsin

  • Holy Transfiguration Publications: books by Fr John Brian
  • Wednesday, April 19, 2006


    Hosanna is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hossana in the Highest! - Palm Sunday 2006 Posted by Picasa

  • Holy Transfiguration Publications: books by Fr John Brian

  • Our mission "Golgotha" for the end of Lent.... Posted by Picasa

  • Holy Transfiguration Publications: books by Fr John Brian
  • Orthodox Church mentioned in article about media and churches

    http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/html/archive_files/wsj/2006/04
    /16/1539860.php

    Churches Make Pitch On TV, Net
    Some Efforts Controversial

    Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL :: D1
    Sunday, April 16, 2006
    PATRICIA SIMMS psimms@madison.com 608-252-6492

    Media-savvy Methodist ministers at Asbury and Sugar River United Methodist
    churches have been trolling for souls on cable television this Easter
    season.
    The national headquarters of the United Methodist Church gave the two Dane
    County sister churches a matching $12,000 grant to pay for local TV ads to
    accompany a $1.7 million national advertising campaign on 18 cable networks
    that started March 29.

    "We feel like people have a heightened sensitivity and desire to connect
    with a faith community at such a high religious day as Easter," said Asbury
    Senior Pastor Harold Zimmick. "For those who aren't presently connected, we
    would like to invite them to connect with us."

    Reaching out to potential church members through electronic and
    untraditional media is catching on here.

    For the first time, First Congregational United Church of Christ posted a
    welcoming Easter banner on the catwalk that stretches across Campus Drive,
    paying the city of Madison for two weeks of exposure. The banner says, "God
    is still speaking ..."
    "We are definitely doing more in the media ... than what was done," said
    interim Associate Minister Ree Hale.

    And the Rev. John Brian Paprock of Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission in
    Madison started putting audio of his sermons on a blog last month. Cassette
    tapes proved hard to duplicate and distribute, he said. "Audioblogging
    really has made our effort easier."

    The first audio sermon was posted March 17. "There have been over 500 hits
    on the audio in its first three weeks of public operation," he said.

    The mission has had a long-standing Web site. "But the Web has changed, and
    blogs are now a good, simple way to produce quality Web presence," Paprock
    said.

    'Ejector' ad ejected

    Still, issues surrounding church marketing on commercial TV have become
    somewhat heated. This Easter season, several TV networks, both broadcast and
    cable, refused to sell air time to the 1.3-million-member United Church of
    Christ for its "ejector" ad because the network found it too controversial
    and too political.

    The ad shows a gay couple, a single mother, a disabled man and others flying
    out of their pews as a wrinkled hand pushes a red button. The intended
    message: some churches don't welcome everyone, but the UCC does.

    A similar ad by the UCC in 2004 in which bouncers stopped gay couples,
    racial minorities and others from entering a church was also rejected by the
    networks.

    CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs said the network has "a long-standing and
    well-documented policy of not accepting advocacy advertising." And Kathy
    Kelly-Brown, a spokeswoman for NBC, said the ad violates the network's
    policy against airing commercials "that deal with issues of public
    controversy."

    Roger Howard, assistant professor in the UW-Madison department of
    communication arts, said he suspects the ad was judged too controversial
    because "it portrayed a liberal Christianity that is open to everyone --
    including, specifically, homosexual people. While it may be that the
    majority of Christians ... would agree with the doctrine behind the
    commercial -- that Jesus Christ offers grace to everyone as a result of his
    divine compassion -- a very well-organized and vocal political network of
    conservative Protestant Christians has developed the ability to mobilize
    against the TV networks."

    "Fearing that bad publicity could lead to a loss in ad revenues, the
    networks seem to have taken the safer decision to not air the commercial at
    all."

    Howard said that's troubling. "It is a case where a well-organized and vocal
    minority can really exert more influence that its numbers might warrant and,
    in this case, that influence is one that shuts down a public discussion even
    before that discussion is able to begin."

    Locally

    Network policy doesn't necessarily reflect the views of Madison's
    affiliates.

    Bob Smith, general manager of NBC affiliate WMTV-15, said the decision to
    reject the UCC ads was made by the network, not by the affiliate and its
    owner, Gray Communications.

    "We have and would in the future accept church advertising," Smith said. "We
    pretty much, unless something is illegal or can be proved illegal, will
    accept most advertising, and certainly, we have accepted it in the past."

    The United Methodist Church ads running in the Madison area feature a woman
    who might be searching or in need of something.

    Hale said the ads and other similar marketing efforts are effective at
    letting people know there are options. "It brings people in," Hale said.
    "Then they determine whether we really are what we say we are."

    Zimmick said he doesn't view the phenomenon as competition among churches.
    "It's more a competition for people's time and priorities. There's plenty of
    opportunity for all of us. The challenge is to make ourselves, or any
    church, visible and known so people will see it as a viable option in their
    search for meaning and purpose."

  • Holy Transfiguration Publications: books by Fr John Brian
  • Monday, April 10, 2006

    Christmas lights with Palm Sunday source


    As we approach Holy Pesaha - Easter - Kochamma wanted this image of our Christmas sunrise liturgy to be posted.
    There is light in the windows from the first light of sunrise. There is light from the candle. There is light in front from the small fire of palm branches that is part of tradition.
    The palms given at Palm Sunday become a source of light at the darkest time of the year when we welcome the Prince of Peace into the world. At Palm Sunday, we rejoice in His majesty even though we know what is to come....  Posted by Picasa

  • Holy Transfiguration Publications: books by Fr John Brian
  • Monday, April 03, 2006

    more mission photos

    mission photos from 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005... and 2006 so far
     
     
    BTW - Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish will be celebrating its 5th anniversary this summer 
     
    Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission
    6205 University Avenue
    Madison, Wisconsin 53705
    608.236.9622

  • Holy Transfiguration Publications: books by Fr John Brian