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Christmas Letter 2003 from Anthony Manousos and Kathleen Ross
“To fos en th skotia fainei kai skotia auto ou katelaben.” (kata Iwnnhn 1:5)
Once again we are grateful to “the Light [that] shines in the darkness and cannot be extinguished” (John 1:5). This has been a very intense year for us (and for the world), but with God’s grace and help from our friends and family, we have muddled through. We pray for peace and for enlightened leadership during this time of “perpetual war for perpetual peace.” We take to heart the words of A.J. Muste: “There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” We also take comfort in the words of Jesus, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you... Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). We are thankful for the love of our family and friends. Your light helps us to see when the shadows of night seem overwhelming.
Here are some of ways that the Light has shown in our life this year:
Moving to another new house: After selling our condo in Whittier, we moved from the parsonage of Walteria United Methodist Church in Torrance to a new place not far from the church (several church members are our neighbors). Our “new house” (built in the 1950s) proved to be a “money pit,” but after considerable expense and hassle, we are finally settled in and reasonably comfortable. We feel blessed that a Japanese student named Hiromi Suzuki is now living with us. A pleasant and easy-going Japanese businesswoman, she is studying English at a local language school and is making significant progress (from level 2 to level 3 in two months!). Our cats are also very happily ensconced in my office, a separate building in the backyard. They seem pleased to have a little house all their own!
Wedding and other news: We were also pleased that one of our “daughters,” a musically gifted Korean student named Hye-Jeong, received her Masters in music pedagogy at California State University at Fullerton this spring. To our surprise and delight, she also was married to a Korean-American whom she met during the Christmas holidays last winter. She is now starting a music school in Anaheim. We love attending her recitals and visiting with her and her family!
Wild fires in Southern California: We were saddened to learn that the wildfires swept through our old neighborhood in San Bernardino, burning down several homes of dear friends from our days serving Del Rosa UMC. The parsonage we had lived in was one of the first homes to be incinerated, and the pastor and his family lost everything they owned. Our church here at Walteria UMC donated housewares and clothing, which we delivered to our friends at Del Rosa UMC.
Compassionate Listening. Some Quaker angels contributed funds to Friends Bulletin which enabled us to publish the collected writings of Gene Hoffman, a veteran peace activist from Santa Barbara who just celebrated her 84th birthday. An actress, pastoral counselor, peace activist, and mother of seven children, Gene has led a fascinating life and written numerous articles, pamphlets, and books. Like Anthony, she did Soviet-American citizen diplomacy during the 1980s. She also led workshops that brought Israelis and Palestinians together and helped them to listen to each other at a deep level. Gene’s message is extremely relevant for our times: “An enemy is someone whose story we have not heard.” You can find out more about this book and her life at http://westernquaker.net/gene_knudsen_hoffman.htm.
Visit to Greece and Turkey. We had a wonderful time traveling in the footsteps of St Paul with Pat Mercier (a member of Kathleen’s church) and over 300 other Christians, most of them Methodists, including our own Bishop Mary Ann Swenson. Our cruise went to places such as Corinth, Saloniki, Phillipi, Istabul, Ephesus, etc. Our final stop on the island of Patmos (where St John wrote the Book of Revelations) occurred on the day when bombs had begun falling in Baghdad. We stayed in Greece for another week, where we attended one of the largest anti-war demonstrations in Europe. Like most Europeans (and most other people around the world), Greeks are very friendly towards Americans, but are strongly opposed to what our military calls “full spectrum dominance” of the Middle East. We had a more personal reason for visiting Greece – a ferry ride to Andros, the island where Anthony’s father was born, where we visited cousins Anthony hadn’t seen for 30 years. We were blessed to worship at the church where Anthony’s father was baptized and visited the house where he was born and raised, which is still in the family. It was a beautiful nostos (Greek for homecoming).
Visits to family: Our August vacation took us north to visit Kathleen’s brother, sister-in-law and nephew – Jim, Anne and Edward, and we were thrilled to be invited back again to join in their Thanksgiving feast. Kathleen saw the last 2003 soccer game played by her niece Adriana, and enjoyed celebrating her sister Capri’s 9th birthday. Brother David also came for Kathleen’s 50th birthday bash in July in our new home, along with new neighbors and friends at Walteria UMC. Anthony’s business trips to the East Coast (he is now a member of the Board of Pendle Hill Conference Center where we first met!) allowed him several visits to his sister Elizabeth and her children Emily and Demetrios. This Christmas we plan to enjoy a “white Christmas” in New Jersey with them as well.
News of the Walteria UMC. “Small enough to be personal and big enough to make a difference” is the motto on our new church website (www.lightupyourlife.org) -- which is still being developed. Special joys are: new Friday night Kid’s Club and Youth Group (with a start-up grant of $5,000 from the Annual Conference), winning 2nd place in per capita Mission Giving in the Annual Conference; installing a new roof and new front sign, painting the entire outside of the facility—plus Social Hall (!); and welcoming a new start-up Korean United Methodist Church to share our facility! Kathleen is now the District Director of Spirituality, a member of the District Vision Our Future Committee, and continues to be a member of the Conference Facilitators Leadership Team.
Whew! It’s been quite a year, filled with blessings and challenges as we continue to practice our calling to follow the Light! |