It is true as Brian Martin of the Kodiak Daily Mirror has pointed out “There is a dark cloud hanging over St. Herman’s Seminary right now”. As a part time seminarian, a fairly new resident to Kodiak, and a member of Holy Resurrection Cathedral I find this “dark cloud” to be a unique source of healing and an opportunity for us to come together as a community and reach out to those who are in a time of need. This isn’t a time for us to sit back on our pedestals and cast judgments and hateful comments but a time for us to ask what can we do to help, how should we pray for you?.
My first experience here in Kodiak was back in the early 90’s while serving as a deck hand aboard the USCG Yoconna, after getting out of the service I remained here for a while doing odd jobs, I also managed the transient workers campground at the old Gibson Cove camp site for one summer. After that I moved across the bay to Homer where I met my beautiful wife got married and had our first son, we moved to the lower 48’s for school when tragedy struck and our first son passed away at the age of 6 weeks. We spent a lot of time moving and trying to rebuild our family, which we now have three wonderful boys. Back in 99/2000 we moved back to Kodiak with the intentions of setting our roots down and meet a lot of great people unfortunately just as we were starting to settle down I became gravely Ill and was diagnosed with Cohn’s disease. Medical help was very difficult for us to find mostly the expense of the medicine so we once again moved back to the lower 48’s all with the dream of returning some day. During our stay in Texas, Virginia, and Arizona we worked hard to instill love and values that was shown to us through the people of Alaska that influenced our live over the years, into our children and tried to gain training and skills that would help us to become productive members of this great land and to be able to give back to those who are in need. We don’t have much but if all we can give is a kind word, or some sober and sound advice, or maybe you need help getting you bag to the garbage can or you need a friend or your hurting inside don’t know what to do. We try to help those who are in a time of need the best we can. When we were in a time of need, help was given to us, love, compassion, shelter, food, friendship, a shoulder to cry on, and a strong arm to hold onto when ours was failing.
Just last summer a “Dark Cloud” was hanging over my family while I set in the Hospital bed in Anchorage not sure if I was going to live or die during the surgery, which was believed to be cancer. I survived the surgery, blessed to not have cancer even though approximately 3 feet of my large intestine had to be removed. While in the Hospital Bishop Nickoli visited me, twice and prayed for me as a loving father would for his son, Father Chad, Father Yaakov visited and prayed for me and helped me in my times of needs. Before going to Anchorage for surgery I was in and out of the emergency room because of so much pain and feeling like I was going to die Fr. Innocent was there holding my hand at one time he help me over to the sink and stood by my side as I was throwing up. Father Innocent spends a lot of time praying with and for the people of this community, weather they are in the hospital or at home, he spends a lot of time in tears in the homes and hearts of who he serves and those whom he serves he has come to love and protect.
It is true there are a lot of things going on at the Seminary which gives those of us who are faithful to Gods command an opportunity to love and serve each other, and not just those directly involved but those in the community weather they reject message of the Church which is Christ Love or embrace it. These “Dark Clouds” just reinforce the need for the words of this prayer of Saint Herman ;”… May the hearts of your spiritual children be filled with that faith and love of the Holy Church which you manifested in your holy life; pray Him to deliver us from the temptations which cause us to fall; renew in us a child-like faith in our Heavenly Father; teach us to place our trust in God, and in Him alone; satisfy our thirst for the true knowledge of God; show us how to serve God faithfully; transfigure our life that it may truly reflect the image and likeness of God within us. O Holy Father and Patron of the Church in America: be a physician to the weak in faith; be a support to the fallen; be a defender to the defenseless; be a bulwark of strength to the weary in spirit; be a guide to the travelers by sea, by land and by air; be our heavenly intercessor. O Venerable Father Herman of Alaska, together with all the saints and the heavenly hosts, pray to God that on each of us He will bestow wisdom for our mind, strength for our will, light for our spirit, enabling us to attain to the true peace of life which is from God alone. We praise with joyous and grateful hearts, the Life-Creating Trinity: Father Almighty, Only-Begotten Son, Comforter, Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”
This is a dark time not just for St. Herman’s Seminary or for the Holy Resurrection Cathedral, but a dark time for the community of Kodiak and the whole state of Alaska. We need people to gather around us and help pray that God will be blessed and those who do not know God will be able to see and believe in our Heavenly Protector and lover of Mankind. Now is the time to come home and pray.
Because of His Love
Ambrose Stapleton
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