On Sunday May 22, 2011 a devastating EF5 multi-vortex tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, at about 5:41 PM CDT. It reached a width in excess of one mile during its path through the southern part of the city. It rapidly intensified and tracked eastward across the city. This tornado ranks as one of Missouri's and America's deadliest tornados and is very likely to be one of the costliest; the cost to rebuild Joplin could exceed $3 billion. It was the first F5 or EF5 in Missouri since the Ruskin Heights tornado struck south of Kansas City in 1957. It is also the second F5 or EF5 tornado in Missouri history dating back to 1950. The May tornado was the deadliest tornado to hit the United States since 1947 - the seventh deadliest single tornado in United States history, and the twenty-sixth deadliest in world history.
As of June 13, officials reported that 152 people were killed by the tornado.
When the Christians of Holy UnMercenaries Greek Orthodox Parish in Chicago heard of the tornado devastation in Joplin they contacted Greek Orthodox Helping Other People Everywhere. With the help of the Christians in other parishes GO HOPE mobilized and sent relief aid in the form of various supplies to Joplin. This is a video essay about that mission.
Please see the video and pictures posted below.
“Trust ye not in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.”
(Psalm 145:3)
We mustn’t have absolute trust in human beings for our salvation, no matter what dignity they have. Human beings are changeable. Today they are saints, tomorrow—deniers. Today—sinners, tomorrow—righteous. We must have absolute trust in God, and in Him we must base our hopes of salvation. “Blessed is he of whom the God of Jacob is his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 145:5). Read more...
Jonesboro is a town located near the Eastern border of Arkansas, with a population of approximately 60,000. From a human standpoint, it’s not the most likely candidate for a traditional Orthodox mission, but for an Orthodox Christian who orders his priorities around Christ and His Church, it makes perfect sense. Read more...
2025 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2025 youth conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! To learn more, visit the conference website.
Q. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people observe fasting, but my confessor told me to fast from oil on Wednesday and Friday. Oil is a pretty vague category, though, and I was wondering if I could get a more explicit description of what kinds of food and drink are excluded on strict fast days. Read more...