October edition of OCA young adult “Wonder” blog focuses on belief, doubt, cynicism

Christ

The October edition of “Wonder,” the blog of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries, is now available on-line.

This month’s theme—“Help My Unbelief”—features articles focusing on the struggles of belief, doubt, and cynicism everyone faces.  The edition is the first completed under the supervision of Deacon Jason Ketz, the blog’s new editor.

Most of the edition’s authors are from Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN, in honor of the parish’s recent celebration of its 125th anniversary.

In the introductory article, Priest Robert Royer explores the mechanics of belief, and locates unbelief as the tension between reality and personal perception.  Though painful, this temporary unbelief leads us to a deeper understanding of our Lord and Savior.  Mrs. Miho Ealy reflects upon her personal encounters with unbelief in a hospital chaplaincy setting and discovers how asking our Lord for help with our unbelief requires us to surrender to His plan.  Mr. Nathaniel Kostick leads his readers on a moving journey through his own past struggles with unbelief, and offers invaluable insight on practical ways of steering through doubt and preventing our struggles from decaying into outright rejection of our Lord.  Priest Benjamin Tucci rounds out the collection of essays with a pastoral message, pinpointing our tendency to mistake doubt for our impulse to sin.  He challenges us to protect ourselves from doubt and temptation by remembering that the salvation promised to us by Jesus Christ begins at the cross.

The theme of the November edition, in anticipation of American Thanksgiving Day, is “Giving thanks for all things, at all times.”  The deadline for submissions is November 10.

As always, readers are invited to submit articles, creative writing, artwork, poetry, photos, and videos for future installments.  Suggested topics are always welcome. Send all materials and comments to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

To subscribe to “Wonder,” log on to ocawonder.com and click the “sign me up” link on the left side of the page.