The Latest from OVC

This Lent we lament the death of Jeremiah.

Orthodox Volunteer Corps is a yearlong program that gives Orthodox young adults the opportunity to serve their most vulnerable neighbors, live in community, reflect on faith & service, and deepen their connection to the Church. Two of our OVC Corps Members learned to know Jeremiah through their service placements. He lived with an addiction, on the street, and in poverty. He was kind, steeped in Scripture, and devout. Over months, our Corps Members had shared food with him, provided clothing, scheduled a doctor’s appointment for him, and talked.

A few weeks ago, he showed up at service placement high, his battle with the addiction at a low point. Soon after, he left the building. Our Corps Members have watched this story play out many times. A suffering neighbor, at rock bottom, disappears into the streets. He may be gone for a day, a week, or a month before re-emerging, sometimes looking better, sometimes worse. In the case of Jeremiah, the absence was only hours. The return was tragic.

He had lingered near the shelter, his body and mind darkened by the drugs. He staggered to the front of the building, all sense of place and purpose gone. He overdosed, fainted, and fell into the street. A box truck ended his life.

This Lent, at OVC, we know death in a new way. Our Corps Members felt, directly, the passing of Jeremiah. They mourned the loss. They puzzled over the futility. They came closer to their own mortality.

But it did not end there. We are people of hope. Two days after Jeremiah’s death, in seminar, we all prayed together for the repose of his soul. And that afternoon, we visited a Christian nonprofit that works with the poor and the suffering. The executive director of that ministry shared a Scripture passage that guides their work–from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 7: “Seek the peace of the city … for in its peace you will have peace.”

We know death but also Life. We are in Lent but await Pascha. We seek the peace of the city by suffering with our neighbors even as we are washed over by the peace of God that passes all understanding.

As you walk through Lent this year, please join our journey in prayer. The Corps Members, Orthodox young adults in their 20s with remarkable potential, are giving a year of their lives for service and formation, they are being the Church and preparing for sustained leadership in their parishes and professions. Please pray for them, their formation, and their service. Thank you.