Harry: “I was born in Greece, came here when I was seven. When we read the scripture in the Agape Circle, we read it and something inside of us gets brought out, whatever it is through our experiences, how that particular scripture made us feel, made us remember, and we try to tie it into the scripture, and we try to understand the other person and connect with them. One thing that I noticed in my life is that when we talk to people, it’s almost, no matter who it is that we talk to, it’s almost a form of a debate where we listen to the person saying things, and in our mind, what is being processed is, what am I going to state to top that? So it’s almost like a competition. And that’s not really conducive in anything, especially marriages. That’s just not conducive in marriages. The biggest thing that I’ve learned is just the process of listening to the other people when they are speaking. I spoke to one of my priests and he said, well, I described him the method, and he said, oh yeah, that’s active listening. I said, okay, then that’s what we’re doing, we’re actively listening to the other person. So it taught me to listen very carefully without thinking what I’m going to say. And when I repeat what they say in my own words, and the other person says, yes, I got it, yes, that’s exactly what they were saying, okay, I feel like a huge connection with them. And of course, on the flip side of the coin, when I say something, and the other person who hears me understands completely what I mean, not just verbally, but what I’m actually thinking, that is a huge, it just, it just makes me feel that I’m being heard and valued as a human being. And one of the things that we’re being taught in the Orthodox Church is when you look at another person, no matter who it is, you’re supposed to see an icon of Christ. And I really didn’t know the full depthness of that, what it meant, until I started coming to this, to these sessions. So when I was listening to other people, and you could tell in their voice that something in the scripture moved them very deeply, I felt that as well. And I didn’t see them as Joe or Mary or whoever, I saw them as an icon of Christ. So that is the biggest thing that I’ve gotten from these sessions, and I greatly appreciate it. That’s amazing, that’s amazing. It has a huge value because some of the issues that I have, like sometimes I would feel like, you know, I’m alone, I’m like the only person that has these issues, but, you know, when other people understand me, if I say something about some issues I’m having, and they would understand me, and they would show me that they’re having the same issues, I feel connected, not only do I feel connected with them, but I feel like a huge burden lifting off of my shoulders because I’m not the only person battling, you know, these issues. It gave me hope, it’s still a battle, but it just gave me hope that I’m not the only person that I’m going through this, and to try a little bit harder to get out of, you know, those situations just to get better. There was one instance where it was like a little contentions going back and forth, and I made a point, and then nobody picked it up, I mean absolutely nobody, and I’m like, okay, I know it’s a good point, but nobody picked it up, what’s going on here? Should I say something? Should I not say something? And then I thought I kept my mouth shut, let’s see where it’s going, I might learn something or whatever, and then in the end when we gave our synopsis, you actually brought it up like, oh, somebody heard me, somebody heard me, that was like the greatest thing ever, ever. Just trying to grasp the concept of love, okay, so I understand the trinity and the relationship between the Father, the Son, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, because they’re perfect, that connection between them is a relationship, and that relationship is love, and without, if it wasn’t the trinity, there wouldn’t be any love. So, since we were made in the image of God, then we are relationship people, and you can see that because, you know, Facebook is prominent, widely popular, people just flock to it, people want connections, and whether there’s love involved in that, that’s another story for Facebook, but I do know that the sessions that you have, obviously it’s called Agape Circle, right, so the connections that I’m building with the participants is a relationship based on love, which is why, you know, and that love, that relationship is to hear somebody, understand what they’re saying, verbalize what they’re saying, and connect with them. So, I think that, I think the reason that I enjoy this group is because, even before I joined the group, that was in me, okay, so, but that’s not to say I actually understood it, so there was something inside of me, because I work, I’m good with everybody, and I treat everyone with, you know, complete and utter respect, okay, I understand, you know, they have issues, I understand that they have issues, I sympathize with them, empathy, so, but when we, when I started attending these sessions, I’m like, oh, that’s what it is, okay, so basically, you told me, you showed me what I was doing, what the definition is, or what the term is, you know, just like the Holy Trinity, nowhere in the Bible does it say Holy Trinity, you know, it talks about, you know, the dove coming down, the breath, God’s breath, you know, in the oceans in Genesis, and the word, okay, it’s like, you know, what is that, and then later on, I don’t know how many years after Christ died for us, did they actually put a term for that definition, so I had a definition inside of me, but there wasn’t, you know, a word to describe that, and I grew up Orthodox, and it seems like there’s, there’s, there’s, you know, you talked about the way of life, so Christian, you know, being a Christian is the way, but it’s like the way you think, what is the base of, uh, what is the base that you use to make a decision, that’s completely different than the Western world, it’s completely different, and you know, someone, someone like me living in the West, there’s like, you know, attention, because you can see the way that thing is like, yeah, no, I know when, when I talk to some people at church, and every now and then, I would push, you know, for a theological, um, you know, uh, inquiry or something, they would tell me things, and I’m like, that is so way off base, that’s not, that’s not the Orthodox church, you’re living, you’re living in the Western world, and especially with the saying that says, you know, when you’re Rome, do as the Romans do, uh, you know, I don’t know, here it’s like you’re being drawn, and, and, and, and if you don’t think like everybody else, you know, you’re thinking to yourself, am I crazy, you know, am I wrong, the answer is no, I’m not crazy, I’m not wrong, it’s just I think differently than they, than they, uh, think, right, or in Orthodox countries, though the, the mindset, the Christian mindset gets permeated into the culture, so there’s a woman at, at work, she’s Russian, She’s not, you know, orthodox, but, you know, she wears her ring in her right hand, and she knows, you know, saint’s name day and stuff like that, but she’s not… But the strange thing is, when I talk to this person, it’s almost… I understand what she’s saying. The words she uses, everything. So it’s almost, you know, it’s almost like she’s a sister. And even some of the Ethiopian orthodox women that we have at work, when I talk to them, it’s like talking to my sister. You know, the way they talk. So even though, you know, even though they didn’t grow up, on the one hand, they didn’t grow up orthodox, that mindset is part of the culture. Here in the West, it’s not. It’s like a whole bunch of cultures, and they’re like vying for attention, they’re vying for power, you know, one overcoming the other, and there’s so many… It’s like a huge competition. But we have an alternative, you know, and we need to spread that way of thinking, because it’s a really viable alternative to what we have here. One of the biggest issues that I see when people are having problems, when they’re given a solution to get out of those problems, it’s a secular solution. Nothing is tied into the scriptures. You know, people want to understand. There’s a gentleman, he’s not orthodox at work, and his father passed away recently, so he just started talking, and I don’t know how the conversation went into that direction, but I said, you know, there’s a whole mindset that the orthodox have, and I explained to him, and he was connecting with me, and asking me questions, and he came up with this thing all by himself. He says, you mean to tell me what you’re saying is that medtania is to take responsibility for your actions and change your ways. I’m like, yep, that’s it. That’s it, my friend. That’s it. So people want to understand, and when somebody’s there to explain it to them, they change their own way. I’ve been around priests for a long time, and I know they’re battling things just like we’re battling things. Whatever they’re battling is different than what we’re battling, because they have to take care of an entire community, and there aren’t enough priests, and I know it’s like, you have one priest that’s responsible for 700 families. It’s a lot of work, and I don’t envy them, but they do have things to offer, and it’s very difficult. I can say that the priest is very difficult to change your, I’m going to use the word mindset, so it’s very hard to change your mindset. So when they’re out there ministering to people, they have to have a certain type of mindset to get things done, to go and bless the people in the hospitals, funerals, weddings, baptisms, couples. They have issues. That’s one mindset, and for them to come to a meeting like this, they have to put that away and change their mindset. Instead of ministering to people, they open up themselves to a small group of people, and that’s not an easy thing to do, but it is very worthwhile for everybody to do that. It’s not just, I don’t think it’s just us that benefit from priest participation, but I think the priests can benefit as well, because they get to see on a personal level what we are going through. So they can use that experience when they go out to minister to people to benefit them. So the relationship that we have between each other, the openness, they don’t lose anything. Their roles is part of them, and that’s what they bring to the table, and that’s something invaluable. They have their humanity. They have the knowledge of the scriptures. They have experience in ministering to people. Us normal folks, we don’t minister to people, but we have lots of problems. Yeah, and it’s great. You express those things, and somebody connects with you, and the priests have a few more things that they know that they can bring to the table, and I know they can take something back as well. I would just suggest for the priest to at least attend one session and see how it is not one meeting, but a series. That’s what I would recommend. That is an example of Christ coming down and humbling himself, yet he didn’t act superior to anybody. You know, he’s God. So they kind of imitate Christ in that regard.”

Narrator: “Ellen/Helen, what did you think of the Agape Circle?” Ellen/Helen: “I really enjoyed that it came along at this particular time. I had participated in another Agape Circle at a different time, and I’m just always amazed how God seems to provide just what you need, when you need it. I also enjoyed the sharing, but I’m amazed also at how much I get from all the different things that people are saying. I can be working through something and hear a message from somebody else about what might be important in that dilemma or that struggle. I think the exchange and the people sharing is so important because you can have an issue that you’re working on, but it goes round and round in your head if you don’t get to bounce it off of other people or you don’t hear another person’s perspective on similar topics. The exchange is so valuable and I’m just grateful that it came up again and that it came at such a time as this before Lent and after a long road recently of other things going on in life to be able to take the time to just rest and rest in Christ with other people.” Narrator: “Beautiful. Thank you.”