Beginning last year, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon has asked OCA faithful to prayerfully give directly to the work of the OCA national organization on the last weekend in October. Our OCA chancery in New York supports a variety of vital ministries for Orthodoxy in America, including missionary tools like the national church planting grant, the fantastic OCA website, church music resources that most parishes freely use, and more. His Beatitude is also working hard to help revitalize a nationwide network for youth ministry. We appreciate all these things and we need these things. I ask our entire parish community to consider a gift--above and beyond our tithes and offerings to our parish. We do indeed support our diocese (and our diocese passes a small portion to the OCA national chancery), but it is an honor to give directly to the work of His Beatitude, who has worked tirelessly to support the health and growth of the Orthodox Church in America on a continental level! OCA Stewards Sunday will be next Sunday, the 27th."