If the Church social worker is guided only by external attitudes and rules, doing works of mercy without the inner work, it can do more harm than good, said the Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon on preaching to the Martha and Mary convent of mercy October 17, 2018, the day of the largest Church social forum reports Diakoniai.
The VIII Congress of the Church social Ministry is continued in sections at the Russian state social University. The evening of 17 October was held meeting of participants with the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church charity and social kurenyovsko of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon. During the meeting, the participants unanimously prayed for the health of the victims and the repose of those killed in the tragedy in Kerch. The Congress is attended by representatives of 167 24 Russian and foreign dioceses.
“In recent years, done a lot: in the Church is actively developing in social work. In it, there are organized forms of assistance increased the number of Church social workers, said in his opening remarks of the meeting the Rev. But I think it is very important to remember that the main thing in our social service technologies and techniques, and love unfeigned, Christian. Without it, our Ministry can not be called a Church”.
Bishop Panteleimon also reminded that if in social service to develop only the external form, to take care of the number of people under guardianship and volunteers, the benefits from such work will not be very much. “The social Ministry of the Church is a Ministry of love, so our challenge is not only to develop forms of Ministry, but to use them so that we can become closer to God. That it does not harm us, did not stop to fulfill the great commandment, and helped us,” said the vicar of his Holiness Patriarch Kirill.
He reminded the leaders of the diocesan social Department, that every employee who comes to Church to do the works of mercy must be fulfilled with more love, become light for others. Chairman of the Synodal Department also stressed that social service should bring joy and heads, and employees, and those who receive assistance. “Our business should be no verbal preaching, and the preaching of Christianity, which is to reveal the divine way, said Bishop Panteleimon. A person receives information not only through words but also through our faces, tone, behavior, ability to listen and sympathize”.
With welcoming speech to the heads of the diocesan departments of social rector of the Russian state social University Natalia Pochinok. She stressed the importance of mutual exchange of experience of social service of the Church and the University. “Social Ministry is a specialized aspect of our educational activities, science, practice, — said Natalia Pochinok. — Transmitting knowledge to the students and the whole country, we rely not only on modern technology and methods, but also on the Foundation of the Church’s social Ministry.”
Meeting with Bishop Panteleimon was organized in the format of “question-answer”. The questions of the participants related to organizational and spiritual work in social Ministry: how to avoid “burnout” in social work, to combine several services, to organize the work of subordinates. “The social service Department is a Department of love where everything each other happy and ready to help. The head, the gospel is not a master but a servant, ready to help. If we put the heads we have been called to serve others,” he answered the question about the work Bishop Panteleimon.
The questions asked by the representatives of both Russian and foreign dioceses — Tallinn, Vilna-Lithuania, Sourozh. Their questions concerned the nature of the interaction of Church and state, social structures, differences in the organization of social work departments in Russia and abroad.
In the middle of the meeting, the participants unanimously prayed for the health of the victims and the repose of those killed in the tragedy in Kerch, where 20 people died and over 40 were injured. All the participants also prayed for the speedy recovery of the members of the Congress of the diocese of North sea that the road to the airport was involved in a road accident.
A report on the Church of the hospital of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, was the Director and chief doctor of the hospital Alexey Zaroff. He spoke about the newly opened Department of surgical ophthalmology, Oncology day hospital and the new building of the neurological Department.
Also on 17 October, the Bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevo Panteleimon after the divine Liturgy in the Martha and Mary convent was awarded the best assistant for the homeless. This year’s winner of the national award for homeless in the name of Hope Mametovoi became Archpriest Roman Khabibulin, the Abbot of Holy cross temple of Ufa, the head of the shelter for homeless people. He spent 17 years coordinating the arrival of aid to the homeless.
The main theme of the Congress this year is the coordination of social Ministry throughout the diocese. On the first day of the Congress at the Russian state social University took place a job at the Federal districts, representatives from each Federal district discussed the current issues and problems together with the coordinators of the Federal districts from the Synodal Department for charity.
This is the first year for the Church Congress was a separate program for experienced and newly appointed managers of social departments. For experienced managers of social departments held a section for conducting systematic activities in the diocese, the basics of personnel management and projects, interaction with public authorities. For newly appointed heads of social departments were organized section about the sequence of actions when taking office, gathering resources from scratch. Specialists of the Synodal Department will also tell you where to start the development of specific areas of social work: assistance for the disabled, alcohol and drug addicts, assistance to families, protivoavarijnye activities, assistance for the homeless.
A separate program was provided for delegates from sisterhoods of mercy — the participants talked about the meaning of the nursing service in the modern world, bringing new sisters, prevention of burnout, about the inner life of sisterhoods, mission sisters.
At the VIII Congress of the Church in social service was organized the online broadcast of the main activities and clubs for everyone.
19 October plenary session of the Congress in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, headed by his Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill. He will address the delegates and answer their questions.