Ukrainian Church in Woonsocket RI Will Honour Firemen Who Battled November Fire

There was a typo in the last line… “St Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church” was mistakenly inserted. I corrected it. The people doing the poster were rushed… shit happens. It’s put to rights, now…

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St Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Woonsocket RI is still recovering from the November fire that heavily-damaged its ornate 70-year-old granite and wood church building at 74 Harris Avenue. Nevertheless, coping with the near loss of their church won’t keep St Michael’s parishioners from offering a special tribute to the firefighters who kept total disaster at bay back on 21 November 2012. Fr Anthony Perkins, pastor at St Michael, said, “At the end of the Liturgy on Sunday, we’ve invited them to come. We’re going to present them with an icon of St Michael, who’s not only our patron saint, but he’s also the patron saint of firefighters”. The parish had the icon specially-made; it’s giving it to the firefighters in the hope that they’ll remain safe in their dangerous work to help others. Fr Anthony said, “We pray for them at every service”.

The parish hasn’t been able to hold services in their Ukrainian-style church (highlighted by two stone towers topped by gold-leaf ornamental domes) since the accidental fire broke out inside the structure. Instead, parishioners gather for liturgy in their church hall across the parking lot. For now, they’ve installed an iconostas… a separating wall between the altar and the congregation… borrowed from another church. Speaking of the temporary modification, Fr Anthony said, “Now, it’s recognisable as a worship space”.

The parish is still working out the details of the repair of the damaged church with its insurance company and Fr Anthony said that he expects repair work would start in the near future. He added that the fire damage could’ve been much worse if city firefighters weren’t as successful at saving the significant city landmark as they were, saying, “It was pretty close to being destroyed, really close, because the fire had gotten up into the rafters. Once that happens, it usually becomes a total loss”. However, the firefighters and their scene commanders kept in constant contact with parishioners as they battled the blaze, and they were able to work out a strategy that saved the church. Fr Anthony noted, “We told them where they could poke a hole into the rafters through the choir loft and they were able to go through that to put it out”.

The firefighters also went into the sanctuary of the church to rescue important parish religious artefacts that would’ve been otherwise lost to the fire. Fr Anthony stated, “After they put the fire out, they were like a moving company and got everything out of there. We weren’t able to salvage everything, but the important things were. We had religious relics in the church and they were able to get them out. They were tremendous. They kept talking to us and telling us what was going on. They were able to stop it. It’s going to need a new roof, but we didn’t have to tear down the walls”.

In the aftermath of the fire, the parishioners held services outside the church right away, but didn’t get a full understanding of the damage occurring in the fire until recently. After visiting the church to see the damage himself, Metropolitan Antony Scharba, the First Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, told Fr Anthony that he should take his congregation inside the fire damaged church. Fr Anthony told us, “He said, ‘You have to bring the people to see this’. So, the parish held a prayer service inside their church about a month ago, and it was a powerful experience for the congregation”. The parishioners of St Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church continue to work toward the day they’ll once again hold services inside their church and Fr Anthony said that the ceremony honouring city firefighters would be another step along that road.

In an effort to help repair the church, a benefit concert will occur on Sunday, 19 May, at the Blackstone River Theatre (click here for directions) on 549 Broad Street in Cumberland RI at 19.00 EDT. The concert will feature Ukrainian musician Julian Kytasty (click here for a vid). Admission is 20 USD (630 Roubles. 15.60 Euros. 13.20 UK Pounds) for adults, 15 USD (423 Roubles. 11.70 Euros. 9.90 UK Pounds) for seniors and 10 USD (315 Roubles. 7.80 Euros. 6.60 UK Pounds) for children under 12. For more information, call (401) 725-9272.

18 May 2013

Joseph Nadeau

The Call (Woonsocket RI) 

http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/8284

Editor’s Note:

These guys ain’t fly-by-night Johnnie-come-Lately newbies… they’re the real deal; hey, send ‘em a fin or two, if you can. They’re on the up-and-square. This is a typical Orthodox parish founded by hard-working immigrants, sustained by their faithful kids. It’s what Orthodoxy in the American diaspora is all about… give ‘em a hand… they need it.

BMD

Pentagon Believes It Has the Right to Kill Anyone Anywhere at Any Time

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The Pentagon said that according to American and international law the American military could kill and capture anyone on foreign soil considered an enemy by the US government. Assistant Secretary of Defence Michael Sheehan and Acting General Counsel Robert Taylor stated this on Thursday at a hearing of the US Senate Armed Services Committee. In their view, such a situation should continue for a decade or two.

17 May 2013

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/news/2013_05_17/Pentagon-believes-it-has-the-right-to-kill-anyone-anywhere/

Editor’s Note:

That statement’s brazen, unprincipled  and unrepentant… but it illustrates the very nature of the American Corporate State (and of the oligarchs who control it) in all its amorality, illegality, and criminality. THIS is what Victor Potapov, James Paffhausen, Alexander Webster, Rod Dreher, Terrence Mattingly, and Freddie M-G (and the rest of the demented konvertsy) applaud. I’ll only say this… woe to those who call “good” evil and “evil” good. ‘Nuff said…

BMD

15 May 2013. Do You Want to Worship Mammon Like Rod Dreher, Victor Potapov, and James Paffhausen? Or, Do You Want to Follow Christ?

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Here’s the “bible” of the konvertsy… nasty, ain’t it?

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Today, loud rightwing extremists are trying to take over our Church in the American diaspora and link it with godless moneygrubbing “conservative” elements in the the American political scene. Well, they’re NOT in the mainstream of the Church. HH is a LEFTIE. Let me repeat that… politically, HH, like most of the clergy in the Rodina is a Leftie. He’s friends with the Castro brothers… he’s friends with China… he’s supports the Palestinians and Socialist Cuba. That is, he doesn’t support the Rightie lunacy spouted by Victor Potapov, James Paffhausen, Alexander Webster, Terrence Mattingly, Rod Dreher, and Michael Dahulich.

If you’re an Orthodox Christian, you’ll follow HH… as for the people I named, well, they’re following an evil ideology. Oppose them… it does affect the destiny of your immortal soul. Remember this… Our Lord Christ didn’t use the police power of the state to coerce obedience… neither should we.

BMD

 

Russia and the USA Want Talks Between Syrian Régime and Opposition

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On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Russia and the USA would set up an international conference on Syria by the end of this month. He’s optimistic that it’d involve both the Syrian government and opposition forces. At a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, Kerry said that the conference would aim at facilitating a solution to the Syrian crisis through political dialogue. Lavrov added that the Syrian government assured Russia that it’s ready to participate in the conference, saying, “But, of course, so far, these are just words that have yet to be transformed into actions”. He went to say that the Syrian opposition hasn’t commented on the proposal. So far, opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have refused to sit down for talks with the régime in the past, saying that Assad’s removal is a non-negotiable issue. Lavrov pointed up that the conference would be a follow-up to last year’s international meeting in Genève that drafted a peace roadmap for Syria.

The communiqué passed in Genève by the UN Action Group on Syria, which includes Syria’s neighbours and the permanent members of the UN Security Council, proposed to start with the creation of a transitional government drawn both from the opposition and Assad’s administration. Both Kerry and Lavrov stressed that Russia and the USA support the Genève roadmap, seeing political dialogue as the only solution for Syria. Kerry said that the alternative is increasing violence, a humanitarian crisis, and the country’s disintegration.

Moscow and Washington have clashed over Syria in the past; the USA put the responsibility for the civil war on Assad’s régime, whilst Russia insisted that the opposition should share the blame for the conflict. Russia blocked several UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, saying that they were biased in favour of the opposition. The USA supported the Syrian opposition, providing the motley coalition of forces (which includes many radical Islamists) with non-lethal military equipment. Recently, a bill filed with the US Senate proposed the supply of weapons to the Syrian insurgents. Kerry said the bill’s fate depended on the American inquiry in progress into reports that the rebels used chemical weapons, but added the matter may become a moot point if the government and the opposition begin dialogue. More than 70,000 have died in the two-year-long present conflict in Syria, according to the latest UN estimates.

8 May 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20130508/181018883/Russia-US-Want-Talks-Between-Syrian-Govt-Opposition.html

Editor’s Note:

Let’s not put too fine a face on this. The USA has woken up to the fact that Islamist radicals would benefit from the toppling of Assad. Besides that, Russia and China are adamant… NO MORE BOMBS! To put the kybosh on the idea of “intervention”, it’s unaffordable (there ain’t nuttin’ in Motha Hubbard’s cupboard, kids… Bush wasted it all on the adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan) and it’d destabilise the entire region (the Gulf States are most jittery on that score, and they’re American allies). Look carefully at:

Recently, a bill filed with the US Senate proposed the supply of weapons to the Syrian insurgents. Kerry said the bill’s fate depended on the American inquiry in progress into reports that the rebels used chemical weapons, but added the matter may become a moot point if the government and the opposition begin dialogue.

That is, Kerry’s given the US government a face-saving fig-leaf. The opposition will refuse to sit down with Assad… then, the USA will piously (and hypocritically) withdraw its former offer of arms. “They won’t sit down for peace talks… they’re terrorists intent on mayhem”. Let’s not be coy, the Boston bombing incident makes it politically impossible for any American régime to cooperate with any group that even looks like it might have Islamic militants within it. Any road, most of Obama’s rhetoric on Syria was election-year hogwash, not meant to be taken seriously by mature adults. Reflect on this… Wet Willy would’ve gotten the USA involved in a very sticky wicket just to placate the Religious Right troglodytes in the GOP. God IS in His Heaven… the Old Master does it again (just like when he defused the claptrap over Iran)… hey, anybody who still chain-smokes, backs Spartak, plays the guitar, goes white-water rafting, and cusses when he wants to can’t be all bad.

BMD