CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

And unto us hath He granted life eternal; we worship His Resurrection on the third day.

We are here, Great and Holy Pascha! It is a time of joy and celebration!Today is Monday, but during this week after Pascha, we call Bright Week, we are continuing to celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Though it is a week, it is for us one continuous day. There are many blessed customs during Bright Week. We gather each morning, partaking of the blessed Pascha foods we took home from Church. We even say different morning and evening prayers during this time (See here Prayer Rule for Bright Week).

Here are some great pictures:

Pascha Cheese, known as Tvorog. Made with Farmers Cheese, Sugar and Heavy Cream. It is molded and the whey strained. This one I made (each year I do it) is probably a foot tall. It's super yummy!

Those gathered for the Pascha Divine Liturgy. It is packed at the Monastery each year. It is a great blessing to have been able to be at a Monastery for Pascha these past three years. CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

 The boys and I (taken around midnight or 12:30am) at the Church. 

 

Our Pascha basket: Hrin/Beets and Horseradish (purple stuff), Red Eggs (dyed with onion skins), Meatstick (Lamb and Buffalo mix, wrapped in Bacon), Pascha Bread (it has Raisins), Pascha Cheese (the white stuff on the left), and Hrudka/Egg Cheese (essentially a "dry" slightly sweet egg custard kinda of dish).

Another shot of our Pascha basket, but with the candle in it. Someone graciously gave us one because we didn't have one.

 A shot of the Monastery at 5:30am.

 Another shot at 5:30am

 Fuller shot of the monastery at Sunrise.

We are so blessed and full of Joy. We are all doing well. From us to all of you guys: Have a blessed and joyous Pascha and Bright Week! Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

The Baldwins 

Springing toward our Summer future

Life comes fast. I know I have mentioned how busy things are around here and how quickly our time at St. Tikhon's has gone by. Boy, has it seemed so quick. Today is May 1. Graduation is May 25. Unbelievable. Less than a month left. It has been such a blessing to have been here. We are so thankful for this time. We are gracious for the assistance and the prayers from everyone.

The big news around here is our newest little one: Justin Makarios. He was born last Monday, 8lbs even, 21 inches long. 

Again, we are so blest. What a wonderful little boy God has given us. The boys just love him so much. They took to him the moment they saw him. They are eagerly teaching him everything they know. I am already imagining 15 years from now, no one is going to mess with any of these brothers. They are so close already.

Okay, enough talk, here's some pictures:

Fr. Gabriel saying the Prayers for the first day 

(This "little service" consists of the priest saying Prayers for the health and recovery of both Mother and baby)

Fr. Benjamin saying the Prayers for the Eighth Day

Matushka Lauren holding baby Justin

(Another "little service" of prayers said for the naming of the child and the well being of the Mother and child)

 

We are all doing well. Baby and Mama are recovering speedily and doing great. We have recieved alot of love and support from the community. Here at St. Tikhon's, when one of the Seminarian wives has a baby, the community pitches in and provides dinner/meal for two weeks. They bring the food over and chat a bit. It is awesome. That's all for now. Please keep us in your prayers as we finish this journey here at St. Tikhon's. See you on the otherside of Pascha.

The Baldwins

Alexis, Veronika, Aidan, Isaak, and Justin

Nearly there...and our adventures, pt. 2

Now, for part 2 of what we have been up too.

Most recently, we all travelled down to Harrisburg, PA to see our Father Confessor. We were able to visit with him for bit. We also got to see Fr. Stephen Vernak and his family. It was a bit of a “breather” day trip and we are so thankful for it! We ventured to downtown Harrisburg and went to...Agia Sophia Coffee house! Yep, that's right, there are two: one in Colorado Springs and one in Harrisburg. I had a cup of Joe and enjoyed the atmosphere.

 

Agia Sophia Storefront

Agia Sophia signage

For Lunch we headed down to Carlisle, PA and found a neat little vegan cafe, Gaia. They had some really tasty food. I had a veggie plate with bean dip. For a little treat we had an Espresso Chocolate chip cookie and almond bar. For the boys, a spelt blueberry muffin. All really tasty. On the way in we saw signs for an Army museum. It was a beautiful day out 70 degrees and sunny! We decided to take a visit to the Army museum on the way back home. We were glad we did and the boys had a blast. The museum itself has four stellar indoor exhibits, but the most enjoyable part was the several acre outdoor exhibit: underground trenches, in-hill trenches, tanks, watch towers, bunkers, helicopters, barracks. This museum is not just for the recent military, but from the Civil War until present time.  

Gaia Cafe, Carlisle, PA

Left: Blueberry Muffins; Middle: Espresso cookie; Right: Almond bar

Inside of Gaia

A tank greeted us as we arrived at the Army Museum

 

The boys, in the trenches

Underground

A bunker replica

We all had a great day and were very thankful for a bit of family time and time out.  It's really great to have days like this every now and again. Please remember to keep us in your prayers and also, we are happy to remember your prayer requests. Thanks!

The Baldwins

Nearly there...and other adventures, pt. 1

Please forgive me for not posting more frequently. We are very close to the finish here at St. Tikhon's. The weather has been up and down, but Thank God, we have had some really nice, warm days. Spring teasers! Since the last post, I visited the Old Rite Parish (ROCOR) in Erie, I visited the community of Holy Theophany in Colorado Springs, we journeyed half-way through Lent, and I visited Harrisburg, PA to see my Father Confessor. So, a lot has happened!

Of course, time at seminary has been quite a whirlwind and with all that we have been doing, it has spun by so very quickly. Also, with Baby Baldwin on the way, we are in hyper-mode to get things around the house prepared. We are very excited for the arrival of our newest little one. Veronika and I and the midwife (and several others) are pretty sure Baby Baldwin will be here sooner than expected, before the due date of April 22. Thank God for all things.

On to the visit to Erie. The Church of the Nativity was founded by a group of Old Believers many years ago. The nastovnik, who grew up in the community, would later become Fr. Pimen Simon. They were priestless and then he realized they needed the Holy Eucharist. He found priesthood and canonical communion, leading the parish into the Russian Church Abroad. Though the services (which are in no way abbreviated ever) are Old Rite, the entire liturgical corpus, including hymnody, for worship was translated into English (though they still use some Slavonic).

I travelled up to Erie with a friend of mine, an older gentleman. He had lived with and taught the Old Believers in Woodburn, OR. We left Saturday morning. We attended Vigil that night. I knew this service would be long. It was beautiful. The Church is magnificent. Truly prayerful worship! We were invited over to Fr. Pimen's house, the Rectory, next door. The Vigil had begun at 4:45. As we walked out of the Church, I checked my phone to see if I had messages from my wife. The time was 9:05! I couldn't believe we had been in Church for nearly 4 and a half hours! The service was so full of Grace and Life, with prayer, that I hardly noticed it had been that long. What a blessing. We attended Divine Liturgy the next Day. The community was warm and welcoming, full of prayer. Before we departed to return home, we were shown the bookstore and community hall. I was able to get a lestovka, poyas, and a few books. It was a memorable visit, one that I will always cherish. I pray I am able to return for another visit one day.

The very next weekend, I was off to Colorado Springs to meet the Parish community of Holy Theophany. The priest is Fr. Anthony Karbo. The new temple is stunning. The parish community truly warm and welcoming. I was blessed to attend services Friday (Pre-sanctified Liturgy), Saturday (Memorial Saturday Liturgy and Vespers) and Sunday (Divine Liturgy and Mission [Pan Orthodox] Vespers [in Pueblo]). I gave the homily Sunday at Divine Liturgy and that evening at the Vespers service. I was able to meet with all the clergy in area. I even got to see Fr. Zechariah and his family in Pueblo (friends of ours; he was here our first year of Seminary). During the visit to the Springs, I was able to see Agia Sophia Coffee House, Pike's peak, and meet and visit with a lot of wonderful people. It was a blessing! Veronika will be visiting them in May.

 A view of Colorado Springs

 Near the top of Pike's Peak: we are up to about 13,500 ft

 Holy Theophany

 Inside Holy Theophany

A Pueblo Sunset, outside the Greek Orthodox Church

The visit was such a blessing, but since I was traveling without the boys and Veronika, I was really happy to get back to see them. There is a lot more to tell in part 2, Check out the rest of the story!

Days going by...with love

Please forgive me for not posting. This has turned out to be a very busy few weeks! Of course, there is so much to say, I can't really remember it all, so i'll share what I can, sorry!

I promised to share about the the Master Class. What is that? Well, a renown conductor from Moscow, Vladimir Gorbik came to offer a three day class to certain seminarians in the Seminary choir. It is quite an honor to be involoved and to sing under these circumstances. I can't say much about Mr. Gorbik, but my impression of him were that he is a very humble and pious Orthodox Christian. I watched him conduct and he did so with the blessings of God. He put 100% into his offering to the Lord, his conducting. I know it sounds strange the way I have described this, but let me tell you what I meean by this kind of description. See, I have a personal quirk about me. I love to watch and hear the performance of orchestras and musicians, but I am physically uncomfortable—put off—when the performance is not 100%. It's not a judgement, but rather a asceticism of listening, of sorts. I am not saying this to puff up my own evaluation of things, but just to describable my quirk. Interestingly enough, the best performers who usually give 100% are real jerks. Sorry to say, but it's usually the case. Again, more of an observation—not a judgement. Anyways, Mr. Gorbik struck me as humble and he gave 100%. It was a joy to watch him conduct with such Godly fear—love.

Vladimir Gorbik

© STOTS/Christopher Patton

Veronika and I did not sing in the choir, rather, we cooked for the workshop/Master Class. What a joy! Boy, the singers were hungry. BTW, the choir was composed of seminarians from St. Tikhon's, St. Vladimir's and Holy Trinity, plus a few from here and there. It was a great gathering and I am sure a great time of bonding for all those involved. The Class began on Friday and concluded with a performance on Sunday night. It was awesome!

© STOTS/Christopher Patton

Well, something delightful happened that Friday of the concert. Some ethiopian Christians can to visit one of the seminarians, an Ethiopian Bishop. They brought delightful food and were so kind to invite me to eat with them. I thank God for the fellowship. The food was so good, so tasty. Ethiopian cuisine is one of my favorites!

Another event that was held was the Dinner in honor of Metropolitan Tikhon. His Beatitude joined us in the seminary community along with His Grace Bishop Michael and His Grace Bishop Mark. Veronika and I cooked the meal (Roast Beef, Tomatos soup, Mash Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans). We also sang a song together. I played rhythm guitar in the recent incarnation of Dr. Harry and the Dogmatics. Dr. Harry, one of the seminary Theology professors tries each year to get together a band of sorts to plays some tunes. He gets some of the seminarians. This was my second time in he group. It was amazing. The whole dinner was a success and everyone enjoyed the music!

© STOTS/Christopher Patton

The weekend of March 17^th brought none other than St. Patrick's day! Being part Irish, I couldn't but celebrate this venerable Father and Enlightener. Several families gathered at our house and we partook of some great authentic Irish dishes. We were blessed by the fellowship!

 Roasted Cabbage

 Guinness Brown Bread and Irish Soda Bread

 Cál ceannann (Mash Potato and kale)

 Guinness Stout Cake w/Green Tea Icing

Beer Battered Pollock

Veronika and the boys are well. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Baby Baldwin (April 22). Though very tired, Veronika is happy and healthy. She is thankful for the wonderful and loving community here and for everyone's support and prayers. The boys are happy and healthy and loud and rambunctious as ever! We thank God every day for our wonderful little family.

Now, we find ourselves in the Great Fast. Clean Week is nearly over. The time here at Seminary is passing very quickly. During Clean week, there are no classes. We have services from 6am until 8:30, then 10:30 til Lunch. Then again from 4pm til 5:30pm. The schedule is similar on Wednesday and Friday except that the Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts is celebrated at 10:30am. It is indeed exhausting, but a blessed experience. We have prayed at the monastery all week during these hours of services and have received such great blessings and Grace from God. It is truly beautiful.

Please remember we are happy to pray for you requests. We attend frequent service at the Monastery where the body of St. Alexis is and also relics of many other saints including St. Nikolai of Zicia, St. Herman and St. Raphael of Brooklyn. Please message me or e-mail me (alexis.baldwin@stots.edu). Also, if you would like to help us cover our expenses, we are very grateful. Every little bit counts for a lot. You can either click on the donate for paypal, or send us a check (please contact me if you need our home address). Thanks so much. Please remember us in your prayers!

The Baldwins  

Good and Joyous it is when brothers dwell in unity

I know it has been several weeks since I posted. Please forgive me, it has been super-busy around here! We went to a weekend retreat meeting, we had an well-known Russian Choir Master give a Master Class for the seminary choir and we had the annual pre-lenten Dinner party which was, this year, a Dinner in honor of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon. Veronika and I cooked for the class and the Dinner Party, but got a weekend off when we travelled to Johnsontown, PA for OISM (see explanation below).

About OISM

From February 22-24, Seminarians gathered for fellowship at Camp Nazareth in Mercer, PA for the bi-annual OISM meeting. They came from St. Tikhon's, St. Vlad's, St. Sophia's, Holy Trinity, Holy Cross , and Christ the Saviour Seminaries. OISM stands for Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement. The weekend meeting ran from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. It was a time in which I got to see some familiar faces and also meet other seminarians. The highlight for me, beyond fellowship, was that His Grace, Bishop Gregory, Ruling Hierarch for the American Carpatho-Rusyn Diocese was present the whole weekend. He sat in on our meetings and took meals with us. He shared his thoughts about OISM with us. He impart his Pastoral wisdom to us. He listened, joked, and encouraged us. He spoke to us in a way that was both sobering and inspirational.

His Grace, being from the South, has several loving parishioners that miss him. They have sent him a couple of King cakes. To our delight, he brought one to share with us! Here is a video of him explaining the King Cake tradition: 

Here is the amazing King Cake in question:

Yes, it was delicious. The absolute comical thing is that the Seminarian who is from Louisiana got the baby. 

 Here's a few pictures of the OISM gathering:

Father Michael Ellis, who is the North American OCF Office announces the recent appointment of Fr. North American Chaplain of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship was a speaker. He presented on establishing an OCF chapter on College campuses and the importance of priestly ministry to Orthodox college students.

We had some free time Saturday afternoon, so I rounded a few guys and hopped into the car. I wanted to visit downtown Mercer--I'm a real get to expreience the local culture kind of guy. So, we travelled to the town square. Needless to say, the lack of pictures of this location indicates exactly our experience with the town square. Long story short, we ended up driving outside of town into the country for a little bit and then:

Yes, that is an Amish buggy. We got purposely lost trying to follow a sign that said "Fresh Baked Good--three miles." We ended up, to my delight, in Amish country! Better yet, we stumbled upon this delightful spot: 

 See the sign? It reads "Baked Goods in the Basement." Okay, so I don't look so happy and it's not because I was subjected myself to Amish Basement Pie. Quite the contrary. That look is the "hey we are in Amish country and I am irritated that you are taking photos in a place where it is rude/forbidden to take pictures." Okay, so I was secretly also delighted that this photo was taken. What about the Pie, you say? It. Was. A. Mazing! I was loan a few bucks by one of my fellow seminarians and picked up a handmade lard infused Crust Pecan Pie. It was awesome. So back to the rest of the weekend. Here's some shots of the Chapel on the grounds of Camp Nazareth:

OISM is not merely about hanging out with other seminarians from the other seminaries. It is not just about a few days away. It's not just an opportunity to see the other seminary schools. Though it includes these things, it is really about forging bonds. We meet and fellowship at these meetings and know that these bonds we make now with our fellow brother seminarians will extend out into our lives when we are finished with seminary. We are forging strong bonds based on fellowship in Christ—bonds that we take with us when we graduate seminary.  

A shot of us all who participated in OISM

I'll have to make another post soon about the Master Class and the Pre-Lenten Dinner, so check back in for that. Please remember to keep us in your prayers and also, contact us with any prayer requests you have. We will remember them in our daily prayers.

In Christ,

The Baldwins