By Archpriest Eric G. Tosi

The Diocese of New York and New Jersey held the third Annual Evangelism School from August 7 to August 9, 2024, at St. Gregory the Theologian Orthodox Church in Wappingers Falls, NY. This initiative is blessed by His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, fully funded by the Diocesan Council, and held in conjunction with the Diocesan Commission on Mission and Evangelism.

This year the School focused on parish revitalization, and the participants gathered to spend three intensive days of learning and reflecting on the apostolic work necessary to strengthen the “legacy” parishes. Speakers and presenters were brought in to offer their insights to the attendees, who were gathered from every deanery in the Diocese.

The course work covered the theology and application of parish revitalization, with many of the presenters sharing their own experiences in older parishes and how they were able to revitalize their church communities through various methodologies. Among the instructors were His Eminence, Archbishop Michael; Mitred Archpriest Joseph Lickwar, Chancellor of the Diocese and retired rector of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Jersey City, NJ; Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, Director of the Commission on Mission and Evangelism; Archpriest David Garretson, Rector of SS. Peter and Paul Church in South River, NJ; and Archpriest Thomas Soroka, Rector of St. Nicholas Church in McKees Rocks, PA.

The value of these meetings was summed up by one participant who stated, “I had never been able to think critically about the work needed to revitalize our parish. I thought we were going to remain in such a static position, but with the success stories and evaluation tools presented, I have the hope and the tools to begin the conversation in the parish.”

Each day began with prayer, continuing with roundtable discussions on various issues facing legacy parishes, and concluding with an open discussion period. Each presenter contributed valuable lessons from his own particular pastoral journey. His Eminence shared his insights into his many years as a parish rector and how he overcame various challenging circumstances. He also shared his direction to parishes as they confront difficult questions, and he advised the students on how to lead the necessary conversations. Fr. Jospeh Lickwar shared stories from his 60 years as a priest and provided a number of examples of challenges and how to navigate through these challenges.

Fr. David Garretson shared his thoughts on leadership in legacy parishes and provided examples of the difficulties faced by his parish over the years. Fr. Thomas Soroka recounted the remarkable story of St. Nicholas, a parish in decline in a very depressed area. Fr. Thomas was able to outline his strategy in confronting the challenges as well as how the parish overcame these hardships over 25 years of ministry. Fr. Eric Tosi spoke of various evangelism strategies which are applied in bringing a mission “mindset” into the parishes as well as sharing various tools that can be used for evaluating the health of the parish and identifying strategies for growth. “The intent of these sessions was for participants to bring back these tools to their own churches and begin the conversation,” Fr. Eric stated, “but the real value is actually in looking honestly at each situation and beginning to think critically in turning parishes around.”

The School coincided with the Feast of St. Herman of Alaska, the Wonderworker of North America and one of the greatest inspirations for the apostolic work of the Orthodox Church in America. His Eminence Archbishop Michael presided at the services for the Feast and spoke of the need to tell out stories in order to strengthen the churches.

The Diocese will hold the next Evangelism School in August of 2025 at St. Gregory’s Church, as the School continues to rotate clergy and laypersons from each deanery through these inspiring sessions. May God be glorified through our efforts!