Holy Comforter Orthodox Church was a local independent church in Houston, Texas led by Archbishop +Walter B. Conway. I met +Walter through a co-worker, Larry, who invited me to his ordination ceremony. +Walter had a wonderful personality and I instantly liked him. I particularly remember that he would walk up to someone and say, “tell me something spiritual”. That generally made me think a moment!

+Walter’s church was a small building that had formerly been a convenience store. Before I met him, the roof had leaked badly, doing a lot of damage. By the time we met him, +Walter had already restored the building itself, but the small electronic organ no longer worked. It was full of mold! Kathryn, my wife, cleaned the workings of the organ and restored it to playing order. She became our organist. We had such fun each Sunday gathering there to pray and sing.

Along with fellowship came a growing understanding of the mindset of some early church Fathers. Ideas such as theosis, humility, compassion, and service connected with me deeply at a time when I was ready to learn. The challenge to live a life of self-awareness and humility was moving to me.

The humble lay aside all vanity and conceit in the service of the least of God’s creatures, and to consider no good act as beneath one’s dignity and honor. [oca.org]

I found +Walter very inspiring. I had always felt drawn towards service to others, and in 1990 I took the vows of ordination in his Church. Our view was to work in our normal careers, not being paid as clergy, but instead to find ways to bring light and life with us wherever we go. +Walter was an attorney, and at the time Larry and I were computer systems analysts and software architects. The idea was not to convert, but to serve and inspire, with God’s grace giving us insight and strength.

Oh then, my daughters, let there be no neglect: but when obedience calls you to exterior employments (as, for example, into the kitchen, amidst the pots and dishes), remember that our Lord goes along with you, to help you both in your interior and exterior duties.

– Saint Teresa of Avila, The Book Of The Foundations

And, of course, we were deepening our connections with God, learning what He wanted us to learn, and growing in unexpected directions. I felt so alive during this time. It was also during this time that I began to understand how much I still needed to learn and to grow, and that God gives me situations that support that growth. Years later, while training as a facilitator of Organization Development, I learned that even small situations can be rich sources of learning and growth. Every conversation, every interaction, every meeting, can be a revealing learning experience, if we pay attention to our inner self and our impact on those around us. Reviewing those interactions quietly helps us hear the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

A time of change

Both +Walter and Larry went to be with the Lord in 1993. I continued the church under the omophorion of the bishop in Tennessee who had been +Walter's chief consecrator. We were not connected to a major, widely recognized Orthodox jurisdiction. And, our local group was very tiny. Most of our (already small) congregation had known +Walter through his law practice, and they left right away. Not long after October 1996, when I had attended a synodal gathering in Tennessee, my employer gave me a new assignment that would include years of overseas travel. For purely practical reasons, we stopped operating our little church.

I had done some church-related desktop publishing for +Walter, including preparing his Liturgy texts in computer form. It didn’t seem right to discard or shelve in a box the liturgy materials we prepared. I put them here in my small library of Western Rite Liturgy texts for reference.

My simple view of religion

The proper purpose of religion is to teach me how to live, not to teach me how everyone else should live. Being Christ to the world can mean, for example, living lives of service and compassion, pursuing a life-long struggle to improve and grow in our walk with God.

Sometimes it surprises people that I do not try to “convert” them, as if that would work anyway. While I am always happy to share something of my path when asked, I have no desire to force anyone to follow my path. I were to remove the freedom of choice from others, I would deny them an essential part of their personhood. It would mean nothing.

I believe hopeful, positive creativity is affirming of life and to be encouraged. Destructiveness and negativity are the opposite and to be avoided. People do often find me trying to encourage others to enjoy doing something creative and joyful. I feel that, when we create something positive, we give honor and worship to the God who created us.

Last modified on 2024-10-13