IOCC & OCF at Virginia Tech

IOCC & OCF at Virginia Tech April 20, 2007

Here’s word from Deacon Raphael Barberg about the efforts of Orthodox organizations, including International Orthodox Christian Charities, on the Virgina Tech campus. Your help (and prayers) appreciated!

International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) are coordinating a joint response for Orthodox Christian students and others at Virginia Tech early next week. The campus, of course, is closed this week. Orthodox Christian priests will be on the VA Tech campus early next week to meet individually and in groups with OCF students and others. The priests will provide critical stress response/trauma incident counseling to any students seeking their support, with their focus being those connected to OCF.

Pascalis (Lee) Papouras, IOCC’s US program coordinator, has arranged for Fr. Angelo Pappas of Portsmouth, NH and Fr. Peter Preble of Southbridge, MA to be in Blacksburg by Monday. Fr. Angelo and Fr. Peter were two of IOCC’s first responders when Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. They expect to be joined by OCF director, Fr. Kevin Scherer and Fr. Dcn Raphael Barberg of Niagara, NY. They will coordinate their activities with Fr Dean Nastos, the OCF clergy advisor at Virginia Tech. If it is necessary to have counseling resources available the following week, IOCC has arranged for Fr. Jon-Stephen Hedges of Goleta, CA to deploy to the Tech campus.

The priests who serve as IOCC front-liners, of course, have on-going responsibilities in their respective communities. They have to arrange with their parishes to be available for this important service. They are trained and experienced counselors in addition to being priests. We are blessed by their service, and through them, we all will be “on the ground” at Virginia Tech.

To make an online donation CLICK HERE — or, call it in to the toll-free donation hotline at (877) 803-4622 or mail it to IOCC at Post Office Box 630225; Baltimore, MD 21263-0225.


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