‘Secular vs. Sacred’ | Oct. 2-4 conference at Dormition Monastery, Rives Junction, Mich.

The Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries organization is holding its 16th Annual Conference Oct. 2-4 at the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery in Rives Junction, Mich.

The theme of the conference is “Secular vs. Sacred” and will be led by AOI’s Fr. Johannes L. Jacobse. Key insights to be discussed at the conference:

— When God created the world, He spoke it into existence. God said “Let
their be Light” and there was light. This is very important because it
reveals God creates by the power of His word, as St. Paul wrote later.

— God still speaks today. And God’s word today is just as powerful but it
works toward a different end. It works toward the redemption of this world
that God created.

— Man is created to hear God’s word. And when it is heard, Christ is
revealed. This word is the Gospel — the Good News — revealed to the
apostles and recorded for us in Holy Scripture.

— Christ is the Truth. Those who hear His Word, who receive the Gospel with
gladness, bring truth into the world.

— Salvation takes place in the circumstances and events of life everyday —
and not apart from it. Bringing truth into the world begins first with what
we say and speak, and if abide in Him who is Truth, we must speak what is
true. This new word participates in the redemption of the world by Christ.

Location:

Holy Dormition Monastery
3389 Rives-Eaton Rd.
Rives Junction, Michigan
Mother Gabriella, Abbess

Program:

Friday evening session
8:00 pm
Women only

Saturday,
9:00 am Liturgy

Afternoon sessions,
1:00 pm & 3:00 pm
Both men and women

Sunday, 10:00 am Liturgy

Friday, October 2nd
Arrive at Monastery after 2:00 p.m.

4:00 p.m. Conference Registration/Networking
5:00 p.m. Vespers, Compline
7:00 p.m. Dinner
8:00 p.m. Session I – Women only

Saturday, October 3rd

6:30 a.m. Matins, Hours, Akathist
9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy
11:00 a.m. Lunch
Free Time – Gift Shop
1:00 p.m. Session 2 – Men & Women
3:00 p.m. Session 3 – Men & Women
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:00 p.m. Vigil (Vespers, Matins)

Sunday, October 4th

9:00 a.m. Akathist, Hours
10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. Lunch

Fees:

$175.00 includes all sessions, room and meals
$20 per each session for commuters

The Holy Dormition Monastery has 20 beds available in their guest house.
They will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. Please see the
Conference Registration page for updates on room availability. All other
overnight guests have easy access to 4 hotels located just 10 minutes away
at the corner of I-94 & U.S. 127 North.

The Sisters of Holy Dormition Monastery have daily prayers, (Hours of the
Church) as well as Divine Liturgy on Saturday and Sunday. Our Conference
program is oriented around this schedule, which allows the guests to take
advantage of this time for prayer and reflection if they wish.

The Monastery is located on many acres of woodlands and gardens. We are
grateful to have such a beautiful and holy setting for our conference.

For more information about registration please visit this link.

OWHM contact information here.

About OWHM:

Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries was founded in 1992 with the
mission of providing support to Orthodox Christian women who work in the
medical and healing professions. This includes doctors, nurses, therapists,
social workers and the like.

From the inception of OWHM, the founders have defined all women as persons
who “minister to others,” including priest’s wives, teachers, students,
mothers and the like, in the group of women who would benefit from our
organization.

Our primary means of providing support is by sponsoring an annual three day
conference, which includes time for prayer, rest and reflection,
opportunities for networking, and lectures given by outstanding speakers. We
are grateful to have Mother Gabriella, Abbess of Holy Dormition Monastery as
our spiritual director.

Some of our past speakers have included Archimadrite Roman Braga, Abbot
Jonah Pafthausen (OCA Metropolitan Jonah-2008), Drs. Dan & Jane Hinshaw, Fr.
Dusan Koprivica, Abbot Meletios Webber, Archbishop Lazar Puhalo, Corinna
Delkeskamp-Hayes, and Fr.Thomas Hopko.

We have had many requests from men, from various walks of life to attend our
yearly conferences. In response, we will continue to welcome all women to
the “Women only”, Friday evening lecture, and will focus on the medical and
healing professions. The two Saturday lectures have been open to men since 2005.

About the speaker:

Fr. Johannes Jacobse always had a keen eye for politics and culture and
employs it well as an Antiochian Orthodox priest. Born in the Netherlands
and raised in a culturally European home, Fr. Hans has first hand experience
growing up in two cultures. It helps him understands how ideas shape our
society. He also knows that in order to preach the Gospel of Christ
effectively, you have to know how your hearer thinks and what he believes.

Fr. Hans studied history and humanities at the University of Minnesota.
Wandering in the library one afternoon he came across Alexander
Solzhenitsyn’s Harvard Address that would prove to be decisive in his
journey to the Orthodox faith.

“I could tell that this man’s reading of our cultural decline was so
thorough, so deep, and so accurate that I had to find out what well he was
drinking from,” Fr. Hans said. He did a bit of research and found out about
Orthodoxy Christianity. Six months later he met a Greek Orthodox girl. He
ended up marrying her and the rest is history. That was twenty-seven years ago.

Fr. Hans edits the website Orthodoxy Today that discusses social and moral
issues from an Orthodox Christian and the larger Judeo/Christian framework.
“American society is in deep crisis that only a moral renewal can heal,” Fr.
Hans says. “I started Orthodoxy Today to show interested readers how many of
our social problems are really moral problems at their core. I also believe
that grasping this moral dimension is a crucial part of bringing healing to
those problems,” he adds.

The success of Orthodoxy Today led to the founding of the American Orthodox
Institute, a research and educational organization that engages the cultural
issues of the day within the Orthodox Christian moral tradition, which Fr.
Hans heads. No longer content with Orthodoxy as “America’s best kept
secret,” AOI is designed to raise credible Orthodox voices to greater
prominence in the public square. You may be interested in reading his
article “Orthodox Leadership in a Brave New World.”

Fr. Hans is convinced that Orthodox Christianity has an important role to
play in American moral renewal (see his essay “Orthodoxy and the American
Awakening.” He holds a deep love for America and is grateful for its
opportunities (see his essay “Liberty”) but believes that the secular drift
of the culture is a grave danger – especially to our youth. “Grasping this
moral dimension and hearing the Gospel work hand in hand,” says Fr. Hans.
“No healing can occur apart from God. But proper healing requires a proper
diagnosis. If we want to bring light into the world, we must know how and
where to bring it.”

Any proper analysis of who we are and where we are going requires a recovery
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fr. Hans writes that everything in life must
be referenced to God. But it is important to know that the God we reference
is indeed the God of scripture, and not some idea of God we have picked up
elsewhere. “Only in the recovery of the Gospel, only when that Gospel is
properly preached and heard, will any renewal of the person, the family, and
ultimately society last and endure,” he says.

His editorials and essays have been published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press,
Duluth News Tribune, International Herald Tribune, Hellenic Voice,
Breakpoint website, Front Page Magazine website, Institute for Religion and
Democracy website, Discover website, and more. His podcasts can be heard on
Ancient Faith Radio.

Fr. Hans has been a priest for more than twenty years. He has a B.A. from
the University of Minnesota, an M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary, studied
the Greek language at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and is a
fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He is married
and has one daughter.