SF Chronicle: Of Monks and Men

OF MONKS AND MEN
Mount Athos, Greece, is a world unto itself -- with no females allowed -- that runs pretty much the way it did during the days of the Byzantine Empire
Neil Averitt, Special to The Chronicle

Sunday, October 8, 2006

(10-08) 04:00 PDT Mount Athos, Greece -- Welcome to the Monastic Republic of Holy Mount Athos. Please set your calendar back a thousand years.

Clocks here run on Byzantine time, which starts at sunset. Dates are calculated according to the Julian calendar of the Roman Empire, which varies by 13 days from the modern Gregorian calendar you're used to. Some settlements are supplied solely by mule teams, and the flags of Byzantium still fly.

Radio? Television? Newspapers? Paved roads? If they didn't exist in the year 972, you probably won't find them here.

And if you're a woman, you'd better make other plans. Females have been strictly forbidden here for a thousand years. Not even female animals are permitted.

Mount Athos is an Eastern Orthodox monastic republic and a surviving administrative unit of the Byzantine Empire -- a fully functioning mini-state with roads, settlements and a capital city, all operating under a charter granted by the Byzantine Emperor at Constantinople in 972.

That world is preserved here in astonishing detail and texture. Clothes, music, roads, public fountains, aqueducts, arched stone bridges, vegetable plots -- all are from another age. Even the shiniest new chapel is built with traditional Byzantine-style brickwork, the product of a living culture.

Legally speaking, Mount Athos is an autonomous region in northeast Greece, with many characteristics of an independent state. Visitors must show passports on the way in and undergo customs inspections on the way out.

Psychologically and geographically speaking, it's a world apart. It's perched on a hilly, heavily forested peninsula -- 6 miles wide and 35 miles long -- that terminates in the peak of Mount Athos itself, a sharply pointed, bare rock, 6,700 feet high that drops steeply into the Aegean.

Scattered over this rugged landscape are 20 large monasteries, a dozen smaller communities, innumerable hermitages and 2,500 monks. The whole place is reachable only by boat.

This exotic little state has many features of a truly great travel destination: grand architecture, hiking trails along cliff tops or through virgin forests, guest rooms in monasteries, meals of fresh, natural foods and a chance to talk with wise and thoughtful men about the nature of the good life and the state of your soul.

And no one can justly complain about the price: In the tradition of monastic hospitality, each monastery offers two meals and a night's lodging for free, then sends you on your way. You can spend a week at Mount Athos, as I recently did, without spending a dime.

That is, if they'll admit you in the first place.

Pilgrims' progress

Mount Athos guards its isolation and discourages casual visitors. To be admitted, I had to prepare a letter for the central Pilgrims' Bureau explaining why I wanted to go there. Fortunately, I had a decent reason: After years of legal practice, I was ready for a seriously nonmaterialistic pilgrimage. I was granted one of 10 permits issued each day for non-Orthodox visitors.

Mount Athos is the spiritual center of the Eastern Orthodox world. Visitors need not be Orthodox themselves, but having religious or spiritual purposes in mind will help them get in.

I got permission to visit Mount Athos last May and entered, as most visitors do, through the town of Ouranopolis, a honky-tonk resort 75 miles east of Thessaloniki. This is the end of the road from the outside world. I showed my entry papers and boarded a ferry for the two-hour ride along the coast to the little town of Daphne, the port of Mount Athos.

From Daphne, visitors can transfer to another ferry that serves the monasteries farther along the coast, or set off on one of the walking trails, or use the simple but efficient system of buses and minivans. The ferry is more pleasant than the minivans, since it cruises only a hundred yards or so off a beautiful coastline and doesn't throw up clouds of dust. But the best plan is to leave public transportation entirely before reaching your destination, and walk the last couple of hours to get into a proper pilgrim's frame of mind. That's what I did.

The most striking piece of architecture is the monastery of Simonopetra, where I stayed the first night. It sits on an outcrop of rock a thousand feet above the sea and rises like a fortress, with the bottom 40 feet of its walls blank stone. The topmost floors, however, are quite dramatically open; four stories of decidedly rickety-looking wooden balconies run all the way around the building. Walking on the balconies provides an early test of one's faith and serenity. There are gaps between the floorboards, and it's a long way down.

Like most of the monasteries, Simonopetra is filled with the sounds of heavy renovation. Just 30 years ago, it appeared that Athos was about to die out. The buildings were in disrepair, and most of the monks were old. Today, however, the average age has fallen to something closer to 40, young monks are common and many of the new entrants are highly educated. One is a former Harvard professor.

This turnaround is attributed in part to the arrival of a new generation of charismatic leaders (some of them fleeing from places, like Meteora, that had become too touristy for monastic practice), and in part to organizational changes that shifted several monasteries to a more communal and tightly organized way of life.

At Simonopetra, I began to learn the basic routine on Mount Athos: A monk passes through each monastery courtyard at 3:30 a.m., tapping a distinctive rhythm on a wooden board called a talanton to wake everyone for 4 a.m. services, which begin in total darkness and run for three hours as the candlelit church slowly brightens into daylight.

After breakfast, there's a ferry ride or a few hours' hike to the next monastery for a meeting with the host monk, who greets visitors, offers the traditional welcome of jellied candy and cool water and explains his monastery's layout and schedule. Ninety percent of pilgrims are Greek, but most guestmasters speak at least a little English.

Then there are a few quiet hours to explore, talk with the monks, attend afternoon services and have dinner. After more free time and an early bedtime at 9:30 p.m., a visitor enjoys the smooth and easy sleep of a stress-free life.

At Simonopetra I also encountered the role that relics play in Orthodox tradition. The monastery had many, including what is said to be the left hand of Mary Magdalene. Those could be kissed, or touched by crosses that the visitors had brought with them.

In two of the monasteries I visited, the monks showed me vaults containing the skeletons of deceased brothers. The practice was to bury bodies in the ground for a few years, and then to transfer the bones to the vault.

My next day's destination was the Danieleon -- not a monastery, but a free-standing house for five or 10 monks, located at the extreme end of the peninsula in a rugged area without roads. I caught a ferry, then toiled up a series of steep switchbacks under the hot sun for an hour. Then, at last, relief: a terrace, a walkway under a cool and shady arbor, flower beds and a view over the Aegean.

The monks at the Danieleon are famous for their expert chanting. They start in the morning darkness, in a little chapel dimly lit with a few small olive-oil lamps, some shining through containers of colored glass. They're shadowy shapes, nothing more. But in this darkness comes a sonorous, complex, humming harmony of many voices, soothing and otherworldly, a perfect accompaniment to three hours of meditation.

Not everything was sweetness and light. At dinnertime the night before, I had been sent outside with the command "exo, exo" ("out, out") and ate by myself at a table on the terrace. This was presumably because I was non-Orthodox. The non-Orthodox are sometimes sent to secondary places on Athos, particularly during church services. However, the monks did invite me into the chapel for the morning service, which was the important thing.

The monasteries varied widely in their approach to this issue, with some involving the non-Orthodox on equal terms, some seating them in the outside hall and some keeping them farther back in the church porch -- the exonarthex. In all cases where a distinction was made, however, it was done kindly and with the explanation that there was an injunction against praying with people who were not members of the church.

Varied settings and styles

Next on my journey was Grigoriou, a midsize monastery on the rocks just above the sea. It's noted for the friendliness of its monks; benches and kiosks on the grounds are arranged for easy conversation. Visitors gather around the monks in twos and threes, talking quietly, often comparing Orthodoxy and Western Christianity.

A novice at one of the monasteries -- a former teacher of classics -- explained that Catholicism has an important intellectual tradition, as exemplified by the Jesuits, while Orthodoxy is more "a religion of the heart." It tries to induce spirituality through more directly aesthetic means, such as the chants, incense, candles and, most important, the services in the quietest hour of the night when the heart is most open.

Monastery food is always plain and fresh, but varies in its sophistication. Some places serve a simple bowl of lentils; others offer artichoke hearts in lemon sauce. Dinner at Grigoriou ended with an excellent chocolate torte.

The monastery of Vatopedi is at the worldly end of the scale. It's one of the largest on the mountain, with a courtyard that looks like the center of an Italian Renaissance town. One of the monks told me that Britain's Prince Charles, a regular visitor to Mount Athos, had been a guest there earlier in the month.

Vatopedi stands in an area of rolling agricultural land, rather than on steep cliffs. An easy walk leads past farmhouses and along country lanes, where a sense of bone-deep peace lies on the land. You can hear the rush of birds' wings and the hum of bees in a flowering tree.

I was reminded of a conversation a few days previously with an English monk named Father Damian, who had stopped by Grigoriou as a visitor and ended up staying there. He recommended the line from Psalms, "Be still and know that I am God."

Back to the world

As my week wound down, I realized that a kind of spiritual detox had taken place. I felt I had been on Mount Athos long enough when I began to look forward to the pre-dawn ritual, when I accepted with contentment whatever portion of food was offered and when I felt no particular compulsion to learn the latest news. I did, however, miss the reliable hot showers of the outside world.

On the way back to the ferry and the mainland, I passed through the town of Karyes, the administrative seat of Mount Athos and, with a population of about 350, surely the smallest and dustiest capital in Europe. The main street has a few general stores. Pack mules are a common sight. But I was able to buy a candy bar there.

Arriving back in Ouranopolis, I experienced a brief culture shock: Women! Children! Cars! Crowds! I soon adjusted, but the memory of Athos lingered. And I had packed a Byzantine flag as a souvenir.



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This mount is definitely not a woman's place
Notably absent from the Mount Athos landscape is the feminine touch. Partly this is a consequence of monastic status, for Mount Athos is basically a cooperative of private monasteries. Another reason is a belief that Christ gave the peninsula to his mother, Mary, to be her private garden, and other women are excluded to more distinctively honor the Virgin Mary.

The exclusion of women is, naturally, controversial. The European Parliament has endorsed a report containing a paragraph that suggests this is a violation of women's rights. The Greek government has responded that the special status of Mount Athos was recognized in conjunction with the treaty by which Greece joined the European Union in the first place.

There have been a few exceptions to the ban. During the Greek Civil War, Mount Athos granted sanctuary to refugees, including women and girls. And in the 1930s a Greek beauty queen named Aliki Diplarakou, who had won the Miss Europe title, dressed up as a man and sneaked in.

For the male visitor, there are some benefits. The absence of women seems to ease communication among the men and to heighten introspection by removing, not sexual tensions precisely, but a layer of social complexities that would otherwise demand attention.

The ban also protects a shared mood among the visitors, who are willing to focus on the spiritual experience and share that bond. Many fear that if the ban were removed, Mount Athos would become a tourist destination like any other, its distinctive atmosphere lost.

-- Neil Averitt



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If you go
Getting there

From San Francisco, Lufthansa and United offer one-stop connecting flights to Thessaloniki, Greece. Or fly to Athens and catch a Hellenic Railways express train to Thessaloniki, about a 4 1/2-hour ride; trains leave almost hourly. From Thessaloniki, it's a two-hour bus ride to Ouranopolis, about 75 miles east of Mount Athos; buses leave every few hours. In Ouranopolis, ferries take male visitors to Daphne, the port of Mount Athos; reservations and an entry permit (see below) are required. Women and others unable to visit Mount Athos can view the monasteries from the sea on tour boats out of Ouranopolis.

Visiting the monasteries

Mount Athos Pilgrims' Bureau, 109 Egnatia St., GR-54635 Thessaloniki, Greece, 011-30-2310-252578. Gives entry permits for Mount Athos, which admits about 120 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox visitors per day.

Friends of Mount Athos, abacus.bates.edu/~rallison/friends. Source of current, detailed information on visiting. Some monasteries now require reservations; check the site for listings and phone numbers. Note that the Monastery of Simonopetra is closed through the end of this year because of renovation work.

Neil Averitt is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. To comment, e-mail travel@sfchronicle.com.

The Woes of Welfare Recipients and Workers in Texas

You can read an update from a case worker who is still slugging it out in the trenches, but who is about ready to give up by clicking here, and then here.

Then there is the following update on how this impacting the people who depend on these benefits.

East Texans Face Problems Getting Public Assistance

You can watch a video report by clicking on the above link, and then clicking on the link in the upper left hand corner.

by Donna McCollum

Since August of last year the state has been paying a private call center contractor millions of dollars to process public assistance applications. Yet many East Texans continue to wait for a few dollars worth of funding to buy food.

State workers who lost their jobs to privatizations are blaming the company's poor performance. The contractor says it just takes time to process the claims in an accurate manner. Stuck in the middle of the political battle are East Texans needing food for themselves and their families.

The region isn't directly, but rather indirectly affected by the debate over privatization. The call centers don't serve East Texas. According to a DHS spokesperson the method was never rolled out to East Texas because of problems the contractor had earlier this year. However, state workers in the local office had already quit and moved on to other jobs. Temporary workers were hired for the Lufkin office to handle the resulting backlog. The spokesman says the average wait time for benefits is now at 18 days.

But clients speak of longer waits. Timothy Fancher is one. His body has the disabling affects of cerebral palsy. He's wheelchair bound, legally blind and never worked. For the first time he applied for food stamps after his wife became disabled. To the couple's surprise he was denied because he didn't have a job. "I couldn't believe it. I've never worked before in my life and I couldn't believe it. They wanted me to go to work," said Fancher. A form letter said he must work at least 20 hours a week or enter a job program. Fancher says he received mixed messages from DHS leading to dismay. Fancher recalled, "She said, 'Mr. Fancher, I don't see no problem. Then we get a letter we were denied because I'm able to work. That don't make no sense."

The Christian Information Service Center provides food to the Fanchers and hundreds of others caught in red tape. Director Linda Smelley said, "Everyday, everyday there's a story and you don't forget them. They're not numbers. They're people with major problems." They're elderly, single parents and hungry. All are required to maneuver an automated phone system when sending in applications or while making inquiries. Some give up in frustration. Some can't even afford the phones to make the call. There's no face to face contact with a representative. Since privatization over 130 new applicants walk in a month to CICS.

Sandra Pena, a single mom of four sons holds down two jobs. The state told her food stamps would arrive last Monday, but they didn't. "They've been avoiding my calls. I leave numbers, but no one returns the calls." Pena was buying milk on credit at the convenience store where she works. The she learned about CISC. "The lady I'm with she's the one who told me about it. If this place wasn't here my kids wouldn't have nothing to eat."

Rep. Jim McReynolds of Lufkin joins about 50 state leaders who are hesitant to renew any private contracts. "At this point in time the system has failed. We ought to set that contract aside, got back to session and figure out what we need to do." McReynolds serves on the health committee.

In the meantime, non profit service agencies are overwhelmed physically and financially helping those waiting for state assistance. Smelley wants to avoid the political conflict. "They can get it straightened out. They can fix it, but we've got to feed the people while they're doing that."

The Religion of Peace Strikes Again

I guess they proved the Pope wrong, huh?

IRAQ
Decapitated Syrian-Orthodox priest laid to rest in Mosul

Funeral held today. Captors demanded public apologies for Benedict XVI’s Regensburg address and payment of US$ 250-350,000 ransom. Christians are enduring more brutal violence; a 14-year boy is crucified.

Mosul (AsiaNews) – Fr Paulos Eskandar was laid to rest in Mosul today. The decapitated body of the Syrian-Orthodox priest was found in an eastern district of this Iraqi city yesterday. He was abducted last Monday by an unknown Islamic group which posted a hefty ransom of 0-350,000, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported. The group also demanded that signs be posted on his church apologising for the Pope's Regensburg remarks as a pre-condition for negotiations.

AINA also published a letter from an Iraqi priest who fled to Sweden, describing what amounts to a full blown campaign of terror against Christians in Iraq.

Based on accounts from Christians still living in the country, Fr Adris Hanna warns that “Christians are living a terrified life in Mosul and Baghdad. Several priests have been kidnapped, girls are being raped and murdered, and a couple of days ago a fourteen-year-old boy was crucified in the Christian neighbourhood of Albasra.”

Father P. Hanna also reported that he spoke “to a group of nuns who were robbed and treated brutally on their way between Baghdad to Amman in Jordan.”

He ended his letter with a plea: “We must do what we can to stop [the massacre] . . . . We must do something.”

Lufkin Daily News: Running on Empty

Linda Smelley, executive director of CISC, stands next to a table loaded with jars of peanut butter and piles of snacks destined for the Backpack Buddy program, feeding poor school children who would normally go without adequate food at home over the weekend.


Running on empty
State cutbacks to food stamp staffing mean a 40-day wait for stamps, creating a need for food that leaves the hungry -- and the Christian Information and Service Center -- running on empty

By ASHLEY COOK
Staff writer

Saturday, October 07, 2006

The hungry are tightening their belts in Angelina County as state social service cutbacks leave them waiting up to 40 days for food stamps, according to the director of the largest food bank in the county.

Hungry people arriving at her door are often stuck in a bureaucratic no man's land, said Linda Smelley, executive director of the Christian Information and Service Center. The center is funded by grants and donations from citizens and churches.



Charles Lennox, 22, who suffers from cerebral palsy, works sorting cans at CISC every day, accompanied by his mother, Patricia. The family is giving to others in return for the help they got, Linda Smelley, CISC executive director, says.


Many people don't meet the state's complex formula for "emergency need" status, or a crisis situation has pushed them to a desperate level, beyond the state's response capability, she said.

Like the mother who didn't qualify for emergency help — grocery debit cards handed out within 24 hours — because "on paper" she was getting child support, meaning she had too much income.

"But she hadn't been getting it. If the check doesn't come, her kids go hungry," Smelley said.



Boxes of food await distribution at CISC, the largest food bank in Angelina County. Linda Smelley, executive director, says cash donations are desperately needed to offset the influx of emergency food handouts to people on lengthy food stamp waiting lists.


Qualifying for an emergency card means a person is not merely in crisis, but among the poorest of the poor. It's a situation that state Rep. Jim McReynolds (D-Lufkin) described last week as "horrible."

"You can't make more than $150 a month, or have liquid assets of more than $100. You really have to be homeless," he said.

That leaves many hovering between homelessness and stability to fall through the cracks, waiting for benefits to come through.

A mother of four arrived at CISC two weeks ago looking for help. She'd planned to squeak by waiting to qualify, trusting her children would get free breakfasts and lunches through a school program. But all four came down sick, and had to stay home.



Boxes and baskets of produce, bread and canned goods wait to be handed out in the daily food distribution line at CISC. Staff photo by Joel Andrews. In center photo, Charles Lennox, 22, who suffers from cerebral palsy, works sorting cans at CISC every day, accompanied by his mother, Patricia. The family is giving to others in return for the help they got, Linda Smelley, CISC executive director, says. In photo at right, Linda Smelley, executive director of CISC, stands next to a table loaded with jars of peanut butter and piles of snacks destined for the Backpack Buddy program, feeding poor school children who would normally go without adequate food at home over the weekend.


"She didn't have any food in the house, and didn't know what to do," Smelley said. "What do they do? What do the children do? Mothers count on them to have a big lunch at school and just stretch it until the next day. I know they're starving."

In 2003, the 78th Legislature began a system-wide restructuring of social services, with food stamp privatized call centers set for a summer 2006 rollout. That rollout has since stalled.

In anticipation of the rollout, the state cut 11 jobs at the Lufkin food stamp office, one of many East Texas centers to lose staff or be closed, according to a news release from the Texas State Employees Union in February.

Additional staff took early retirement or left for other jobs ahead of the rollout, creating a critical low point for staff numbers in April, McReynolds said.

"As a result, caseloads became impossible," he said. "When the state stuttered (on the rollout), I wanted to jerk the contract. I wasn't for doing away with our state employees in the first place."

Ted Hughes, spokesman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which administers the food stamp program, said the wait time is 18 days, not 40.

"It's certainly not 18 days," Smelley said. "Not here ... I've seen the paperwork."

Clients come to her shaky, angry and sad, Shelley said. She can tell by their hair and skin they're not eating enough. Women who appear to be in their 70s are closer to 50, bodies ravaged by hunger and hard lives.

One woman in particular stays on her mind, Smelley said — a woman she described as looking "like a skeleton." State workers allegedly told the woman she would have to wait 40 days to qualify, Smelley said.

Smelley said her call to the local food stamp office confirmed it. An employee there told her they were looking to hire six new people, in hopes of trimming the wait to 30 days, she said.

Hughes didn't have a clear answer for people who don't meet emergency guidelines, but are still hungry.

"I don't know the answer to that question. There's an assumption that they will go ... and talk with one of our caseworkers. They would refer them to a food pantry or a shelter, or they may be able to arrange for some emergency food ...," Hughes said.

The food stamp office's emergency food pantry went by the wayside, the victim of short staffing, according to a former employee who asked his name not be used.

"It got so overwhelming they didn't really have time to go over and pick up food to supply the pantry. It was not a state requirement, it was something we did ... just wanting to help the people," he said.

Calls by The Lufkin Daily News to confirm the information were referred to Beaumont and then to Austin. Hughes said he did not have firsthand knowledge on the workings of the Lufkin office.

McReynolds called for "transparency" in the system, to media and the public. He failed to get a direct answer at the local level on questions about a particular job position, he said.

Two caseworker openings for Lufkin were posted on the state Web page Friday. They were listed as "temporary," expected to last six months.

Applying can be so difficult, caseworkers from the Burke Center in Lufkin, an outpatient drug and mental health center, often accompany the more confused clients to the food bank, Smelley said.

"Caseworkers are worried. They see how hungry people are. The paperwork just floors (clients). They're scared. We calm them down and tell them, 'You're not going to be hungry,'" Smelley said.



CISC Executive Director Linda Smelley


For many of them, mostly uneducated, often homeless, wading through red tape is as mystifying as filling out a tax return for the average person, she said. And thinking the homeless will be able to use the Internet, a fax machine or make lengthy call center applications is not realistic, she said.

State employees are the heroes, McReynolds emphasized, many veterans continuing to help people in need as the system rocks around them. Some employees have been hired back, and everyone is working to reduce the response time as fast as possible, he said, "even though it seems like they've been slapped by the state."

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Legislative response

McReynolds said the Legislature needs to look the system over when it meets in January, possibly throwing out the contract with Accenture, the private company hired to run the call centers.

The "black hole" episode is one symptom of a system that was too much, too soon, he said. In that case, hundreds of faxed documents, including food stamp applications, were sent to a Seattle warehouse after applicants used what was an erroneous fax number on forms created by Accenture, according to a June report in the Houston Chronicle.

"If you hire someone to do a job and they're incapable of doing a job, for crying out loud break the contract and go to Plan B," McReynolds said. "I was furious to hear they were rolling this thing out and no one's getting served. We're going to call them all up and we'll settle this when we get back (in session) in January."

Jody Anderson, a Republican running for McReynolds' District 12 seat, said McReynolds is not looking at the larger issue.

With part of the social service funding coming from the federal government, the state is fighting to catch up to new federally-mandated employment benchmarks, making it harder for Texas to meet the statistics as things are being recalibrated, he said.

"I think that's why it's slowing down," Anderson said. "We would be having that whether it would be privatized or not."

Trying to get the rollout online over the summer may have been bad timing, but it doesn't mean privatization itself is a bad idea, he said.

"I am in favor of the most efficient way to operate state government," Anderson said. "Many times privatization is the way to do that ... once they get the kinks worked out, I think the state will start seeing the savings they anticipated."

Anderson said CISC needs to be supported, regardless of anything else.

"If there's a need, this community responds to it, and that goes way beyond government," he said.

McReynolds said local state employees told him Friday the office needs computer upgrades and additional trained employees to trim response time.

"You want somebody that uses their head and their heart for those people who are most vulnerable in this society. Until the state sorts this out, that's probably not going to happen," McReynolds said. "Eighteen days is a long time. That's kind of the bottom line."

———

Needs continue

As the debate goes on, the hungry continue to stream to CISC's door. On Friday, a man suffering from hepatitis arrived. Already gravely ill and in the system for medical care, he waited hours on a call to qualify for emergency food stamps.

"I truly believe this man is probably going to die. It's just a nightmare. You can get the general idea of what's happening," Smelley said. "They're so understaffed and the criteria for some of these people is so high, that an emergency to them and an emergency to the state are two different things. And that's the biggest problem."

Hundreds of school children are getting more to eat thanks to the Backpack Buddy program, sending food home on weekends with students. Still, there are children in class each week across the county deemed to be "starving," she said.

A look at the CISC food line, which often begins at 6 a.m. for a 9:15 a.m. opening, represents a cross section — of all ages, colors and backgrounds — of the hungry seen each year by the thousands. Smelley said every civic group, church and organization in Lufkin needs to get on board and give.

"It's become too big a ministry. The whole town should be involved," Smelley said. "It's heartbreaking. I think Lufkin doesn't know what's going on."

Donations to CISC go further in the form of money than food, Smelley said. The center is linked to food banks across the nation and has tremendous buying power, purchasing large loads of food for cents on the dollar.

To donate, write to CISC, P.O. Box 2621, Lufkin, TX, 75902, call (936) 634-2857, or e-mail Linda Smelley at linda-CISC@consolidated.net.

Ashley Cook's e-mail address is acook@coxnews.com.

The Legacy of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose)

On September 15, an evening devoted to Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), the late clergyman of the Diocese of San Francisco and Western America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, was held at the Diocesan Headquarters of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand. The event began with an archpastoral address read by His Eminence Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, who introduced the main speaker, a Doctor of History, Protopriest Michael Protopopov. Fr Michael is the Dean of Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania. He began by noting that Fr Seraphim always stressed that the main problem of Orthodoxy is not "jurisdictions" but the absence of an ecclesiastical and evangelical spirit. This is the reason that not only missionaries but Orthodox Christians in general do not taste of success in their apostolic activities. Apostle Paul long ago warned the faithful that many will not come to the Church of Christ because Christians will not live up to their high calling. For this reason, Fr Seraphim always called upon people to know themselves and not judge their neighbor. If a person sees himself in the true light, he will develop sympathy towards his neighbor, he will learn not to hate, he will learn humility, love and other good works, which are the finest means of proselytizing Orthodoxy.

At the end of a lively discussion following Fr Michael's speech, many participants of the spiritually-beneficial evening proceeded to Archbishop Hilarion's church, where a pannikhida to Fr Seraphim was performed.

On October 6, an event was devoted to the Orthodox Mission in Indonesia. The main speaker was Fr Daniel, Head of the Mission. Fr Daniel spoke about the successes and difficulties of his Mission and answered questions.

The Context

Imperial March

Turning the other Cheek

St. Alexander Nevsky
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" Matthew 5:38-29.

The question we must ask about this passage is does the Old Testament law regarding an eye for an eye related to personal revenge, or defending ones family, faith, or homeland from attack? It in fact pertains to personal revenge. This law was an improvement on the usual practice of exacting many times more punishment than the original offense had inflicted on the person offended. Christ raised the bar to the next level, and said that we should not seek personal revenge at all. However, we cannot and should not turn the other cheek when the defenseless are being attacked, because it isn't our cheek to turn.

Let's take a look at some other statements from the Scriptures:

"Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked." (Psalm 81/82: 3-4

"Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:17).

Usually, oppressors don't respond to kum by ya. More often then not, force, or at least the threat of force is necessary. So do these scriptures contradict the commands of Christ? No, they refer to defending others, not to seeking revenge.

It is often asserted that Christ never used or advocated the use of force. This is simply not true.

"And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables" (John 2:15).

A scourge is not a bunch of daisies, or a tickle-me-Elmo doll -- It's something used to violently beat other people, so as to inflict pain, in order to violently coerce them in some way or other. Whether He actually struck anyone, or merely threatened to, we are not told, but we do know that the money changers at least believed he would have, and left expeditiously.

Saints Boris and Gleb are often cited by Orthodox Pacifists as examples of the way Christians ought to respond to war. After their father, St. Vladimir, reposed, their brother sought to usurp the kingdom, and so plotted to kill Ss. Boris and Gleb. They offered no resistance, because they did not wish to fight their brother, no to see a bloody civil war. However, they were not facing an external enemy who was seeking the destruction or subjugation of their people, but their own brother, and so they chose the path of martyrdom. Their act of personal sacrifice was praise-worthy.

St. Alexander Nevsky faced a completely different situation, and Ss. Boris and Gleb actually played a role in his course of actions. St. Alexander Nevsky faced an invasion from the heterodox Swedes, and so had to defend his people and his Faith.

Here is the Kontakion of St. Alexander Nevsky:

“As thy kinsmen Boris and Gleb appeared to thee, bringing thee help from heaven when thou didst battle against Velgar the Swede and his warriors, so now, O blessed Alexander, come to the aid of thy kinfolk, and contend thou against those who wage war against us.”

This refers to the following incident from the Life of St. Alexander Nevsky:

“But there was a miraculous omen: at dawn on July 15 the warrior Pelgui, in Baptism Philip, saw a boat, and on it were the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb, in royal purple attire. Boris said: "Brother Gleb, let us help our kinsman Alexander." When Pelgui reported the vision to the prince, St Alexander commanded that no one should speak about the miracle. Emboldened by this, he urged the army to fight valiantly against the Swedes.”

Had St. Alexander Nevsky decided to not resist the Swedes, it would not have been a praiseworthy act, but rather a dereliction of duty. It would not have been a higher path, it would have been a sinful path. So in these saints lives we see the balance between turning the other cheek, and defending one own. St. Alexander's actions were praise-worthy, and Ss. Boris and Gleb's were praise-worthy... and there is no contradiction between them because they all responded to differing situations in complete accordance with the commands of Christ.

The following quote from the Moscow Patriarchate’s Social Concept Document, and the section on “War and Peace” is instructive:

“When St. Cyril Equal-to-the-Apostles was sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople to preach the gospel among the Saracens, in their capital city he had to enter into a dispute about faith with Muhamaddan scholars. Among others, they asked him: 'Your God is Christ. He commanded you to pray for enemies, to do good to those who hate and persecute you and to offer the other cheek to those who hit you, but what do you actually do? If anyone offends you, you sharpen your sword and go into battle and kill. Why do you not obey your Christ?' Having heard this, St. Cyril asked his fellow-polemists: 'If there are two commandments written in one law, who will be its best respecter - the one who obeys only one commandment or the one who obeys both?' When the Hagerenes said that the best respecter of law is the one who obeys both commandments, the holy preacher continued: 'Christ is our God Who ordered us to pray for our offenders and to do good to them. He also said that no one of us can show greater love in life than he who gives his life for his friends (Jn. 15:3). That is why we generously endure offences caused us as private people. But in company we defend one another and give our lives in battle for our neighbours, so that you, having taken our fellows prisoners, could not imprison their souls together with their bodies by forcing them into renouncing their faith and into godless deeds. Our Christ-loving soldiers protect our Holy Church with arms in their hands. They safeguard the sovereign in whose sacred person they respect the image of the rule of the Heavenly King. They safeguard their land because with its fall the home authority will inevitably fall too and the evangelical faith will be shaken. These are precious pledges for which soldiers should fight to the last. And if they give their lives in battlefield, the Church will include them in the community of the holy martyrs and call them intercessors before God'.”

In case you missed Rush Limbaugh on CBS

You can watch it here:



Rush's point is best summed up by the words of my father:

"My only problem with Moslems is that they want me dead."

Oh Happy Day!

The Decision of the Synod of Bishops

NEW YORK: September 6, 2006 The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the “Act on Canonical Communion”

The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, at its regular session on August 24/September 6, 2006, considered:

The report of the Secretary of the Commission on discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate, Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff, on the results of the seventh joint meeting of the Commissions held in late June of this year.

After an exhaustive discussion of the matter, decreed:

To take into consideration the report of Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff.

On the basis of the decision of the Council of Bishops of May 15-19, 2006, to confirm and approve the “Act on Canonical Communion” in its revised form as prepared by the church Commissions at the seventh joint meeting, along with other materials developed by the Commissions.

In accordance with the directions of the Council of Bishops of 2006, to instruct the Commission on discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate, jointly with the Commission on dialog with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, to work out the details of the ceremony of the signing of the “Act” and the Rite of establishment of canonical communion of both parts of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Also, in accordance with the decision of the Council of Bishops, to authorize Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany, Chairman of the Commission on discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate, to coordinate together with Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun the simultaneous publication of the “Act” which has been confirmed by both Holy Synods on the official websites of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church.

To consider at the next expanded session of the Synod of Bishops, to be scheduled at the time of the feast day of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God this year, on the proposals prepared by the joint Commissions at their next meeting.

To inform the flock through a special Address on the present state of the negotiation process and the proposed plans for the future.

See the original (in Russian) here.

Epistle of ROCOR regarding the Act of Canonical Communion

Address
of the Synod of Bishops
to the God-loving Flock of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Dear in the Lord Fathers, Brothers and Sisters!

For 90 years now, the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia have existed on all continents, along with monasteries, publishing houses and parishes. Everything that signifies church life: parish councils, sisterhoods, schools, youth groups, general parish meetings, magnificent choirs, altar boys, etc. gathered around them. All this arose as diocesan conferences and Church Councils convened, which regulated all of church life. Thus, through the chaos of the persecution of the Russian Church, the Russian Orthodox people gathered to stand around their Hierarchy, which found itself abroad, and strove to serve towards the emancipation and rebirth of their people on the foundation of the Orthodox Faith.

Within the boundaries of Russia, persecution took the form of the absolute destruction of faith in Christ. Much was destroyed, many suffered. But the Lord did not permit the disappearance of the Church in our Homeland. In those places where ancient churches survived, people are once again gaining spiritual nourishment. That which was destroyed is being rebuilt. Church life is rising from the ashes. Archpastors, clergymen and believers are trying to rebuild Orthodox Russia anew. This process of renascence requires effort and the strength of will, since it is necessary to conduct spiritual educational work with the descendants of the generations of godless violence which touched absolutely every person without exception. Many obstacles remain on this path, but we see that these obstacles, and the remnants of Soviet times, are gradually being overcome.

The day has arrived when we must seek the reestablishment of communion with the wellspring of our own traditions. For there are two wills at work—one being that of those Russians who are children of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, prepared in every way to cooperate in the reestablishment of church life and development of the spirituality of the people, and the other is from our brethren and sisters in Russia, who labor towards her rebirth and extend their hand to us.

Positive changes in the church life of our Homeland spurred the Council of Bishops of October 2000 to establish a Committee on the unity of the Russian Church and to bless the organization of scholarly conferences on church history with the participation of the members of our Church and representatives of the Church in Russia. These conferences were held in 2001 and 2002. Then, in December 2003, a Commission on discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate was formed. At the same time, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate decided to create a similar Commission on dialog with our Church. This bore witness to the earnest and good-willed effort of both parts of the Russian Orthodox Church to make sense of the tragedy of our common history, so that we "may discuss peacefully… whatever question there is which separates your communion from us," as we read in Canon 92 (103) of the Council of Carthage, which called upon the flock to trust their Hierarchy, which possessed the right to heal the divisions between the Orthodox and the Donatists.

The "Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia," the by-laws under which our Church lives, demand that we regularize the situation of the Local Russian Church. It is important to note that a commission to revise the "Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia" was established before the year 2000.

This shows that even then it was apparent that our "Regulations" are in need of amendment. Since 2000, new possibilities emerged in this regard. Now, in connection with the adoption of the "Act on Canonical Communion," our by-laws can be reexamined, taking into account new possibilities.

Still, it is necessary to point out that we are not discussing the "self-abolishment" of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Our Church will exist as before, as attested to by the first paragraph of the "Act on Canonical Communion:" "The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, conducting its salvific service in the dioceses, parishes, monasteries, brotherhoods and other ecclesiastical bodies that took shape through history, remains an indissoluble part of the Local Russian Orthodox Church." These words in the "Act" attest to the recognition on the part of the Moscow Patriarchate of our historical path and of the living bond between the entire Local Russian Orthodox Church and its part abroad, which always existed and which we never denied. This historical document will reestablish the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church, through this mutual act acknowledging the lawful status of the Russian Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarchate in Russia. Each side, preserving its identity as a Church, will continue to exist in full legality and independence, but now recognizing the other side and declaring the unity of the Russian Church. For this reason, this means the reconciliation and mutual recognition of each other while yet preserving our administrative self-governance, for we understand the needs of our clergy and of our flock better than they understand them in Moscow.

The IV All-Diaspora Council and the Council of Bishops that followed approved the steps towards reestablishing unity already taken by our Hierarchy, and blessed its continued progress.

The above-mentioned "Act" has been approved and confirmed by the Synod of Bishops, but it will be finally adopted when it is signed by the Primates of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church. Working out the details of this signing, and also the Rite of the establishment of canonical communion has been assigned to the Commission on discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate. It is expected that it will embark on this task jointly with the Commission on dialog with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia at their next meeting. Then, the results of this meeting will be considered at the next session of the Synod of Bishops, which will be held in December of this year.

Dear in the Lord fathers, brothers and sisters! We do not intend to depart from our positions of principle, in particular with regard to the ecumenical movement. We intend to continue to firmly speak out in condemnation of the so-called "branch theory" and of joint prayer with heretics, which is emphasized in our anathema of ecumenism adopted by the Council of Bishops of 1983. This is reflected in the documents of the church Commissions confirmed by both Holy Synods and published in the official publications of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church. From this we see that in the Moscow Patriarchate, our attitude towards the heresy of ecumenism has long ago been absorbed. That is why we are not compromising the inherited principles which have always guided us. Still, we were always open to dialog with everyone, but on the condition that this be done without any hindrance to Orthodox teaching. In the decisions of the Councils of Bishops we always held fast to the ecclesiology of moderation, and never rejected the presence of grace in the Moscow Patriarchate or in other Local Churches.

We will continue to maintain the spirit of our great fathers, the founders of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, following their legacy and the historical path of our Church. To carry this great inheritance to Russia is the mission we strive to fulfill.

We will always remember that only in the Kingdom of Heaven will everything be perfect and good, that in the Church on earth we will perpetually experience difficulties caused by human passions, failings, temptations and sins, which must be overcome by means of beneficial fraternal dialog and cooperation, condescension, understanding and a Christian attitude towards each other, as Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians: "correct such a one in the spirit of meekness" (Galatians 6:1).

In conclusion, let us remember Schema-Archimandrite Amvrossy (Kurganov) of blessed memory, the Abbot of Vvedensky Milkovo Monastery in Serbia, whence came several bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, since departed. The eminent church figure of the Russian diaspora, P.S. Lopukhin, writing on the Christian death of Fr Amvrossy, said: "I preserve in my memory this image of a man, weeping in joy on his death bed for Divine unity." Blessed Metropolitan Anthony said of Fr Amvrossy that in spirit he was closer to him than anyone.

May God grant all of us to experience this feeling of "spiritual joy in Divine unity," leading us to the successful conclusion of the process of reconciliation of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church.

May the Lord help us! Amen.

The quick start guide to why Fr. John posts so much about Welfare in Texas

I decided that I should have a one post link to explain to the casual reader who might stumble across this blog and wonder why I post so often on issues related to Welfare in Texas

I worked for what was the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) until relatively recently (now it is the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)) for 13 years... the last five of which I was a supervisor.

The following are the key post that put all the others into context:

1) What's Wrong With Welfare, Part I (an introduction into my connection with TDHS as a "tent-making" clergyman, and my thoughts on Welfare)

2) What's Wrong With Welfare, Part II... Let them eat Spam! (more of my thoughts on Welfare

3) The Meltdown of the Colorado Welfare System, and what it should have taught us about the Meltdown in Texas.

4) The Great Leap Forward, and Other Examples of Bureaucratic Stupidity

5) If I had a Hammer: The Limits of Privatization

6) Foxes in the Chicken House: Big Corporations taking the Tax Payers for a Ride

I left this agency after 13 years, not because I didn't like the people I worked with, or dealing with the people who needed the services it provided. I simply reached a point where I would no longer be a part of the destruction of that agency, and pretend that I could continue to serve the people I had been serving given the increasingly impossible situation that privatization was creating. On the one hand, staff have to deal with the ongoing down-sizing of permanent (and well trained) staff, without any decrease in workload; and on the other hand staff had to deal with the promise that most of them would be out of work within a year... which made the staffing problem even worse. We had to deal with long hiring freezes in the past, as well as high stress levels; but unlike the past, this time around, the only thing we had to look forward to is busting our chops for the next year or so, and then eventually getting a position at reduced pay… if we got one at all.

Given those realities, I decided it was best to create my own options, and find other means to support my family.

This wouldn’t have bothered me so much if this was happening because the state had decided to cut welfare programs, and so fewer staff were needed to do the work. It also would not have bothered me so much if I thought that the new system would work, and save the state money. However, I am firmly convinced that this new system will be a boondoggle of historical proportions when all is said and done (and this only becomes clearer as the months go by). I am also convinced that the day will come that the state will have to rebuild the agency that they are now dismantling… but at a huge cost, because they will have lost all the infrastructure that they had both in terms of facilities and equipment, and in terms of experienced staff who knew how to get the work done. This is bad business for the state, and a shameful way to treat staff that have maintained one of the most cost efficient state welfare agencies in the United States.

When I was still working for HHSC, I suppose some might have thought my complaints were due only to selfish concerns, but now that I haven't had a personal financial interest in the matter for over a year, I hope those who think so will reconsider what I have been saying.

I believe time will prove me right... in fact, I believe that the past year has steadily been proving me right, but another year or two will remove all doubts for anyone who is willing to be swayed by evidence or reason.

The BBC Visits Jordanville

The BBC visited Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, to do a report on their Summer choral school. You can listen to the report by clicking here.

A Martyr Who Would Not Be Forced to Convert to Islam

Forced conversions to Islam is nothing new. Countless martyrs were either martyred for refusing to convert, or were forcibly converted, repented, and then were martyred for being "apostates", or for slandering "the prophet". Here is one martyr who would not renounce Christ, even though her family encouraged her to do so, to save her life.

Note: Chryse means "Golden" in Greek. She was Bulgarian, and so went by "Zlata" which means "Golden" in Slavonic.

Newmartyr Chryse (Zlata) of Meglena, Bulgaria
Commemorated on October 13
From www.oca.org

New Martyr Zlata (Chryse) This "golden vessel of virginity and undefiled bride of Christ," was born in the village of Slatena, Meglena diocese, on the border of Bulgaria and Serbia, while Bulgaria was under the Turkish Yoke.

From her youth Zlata displayed an unusually strong character, a firm faith in Christ, and was both chaste and beautiful. A certain Turk was obsessed with her, and seized her one day as she was gathering wood. He carried her off to his house, and repeatedly tried to seduce the maiden and force her to accept Islam. Since persuasion did not work, he began to threaten her with grievous tortures.

The glorious martyr was not frightened by these threats, but said she would never deny Christ no matter what they did to her. For six months the impious Hagarenes tried to make Zlata accept their religion, but she remained steadfast. Then they ordered the saint's parents and sisters to convince her to become a Moslem. Otherwise, they said, they would kill Zlata and torture them.

The parents and sisters of the saint wept and urged her to deny Christ "just for the sake of appearances," so that they all might be spared torments and death. St Zlata was unmoved by their pleas, and replied, "You who incite me to deny Christ are no longer my parents and sisters. Instead, I have the Lord Jesus Christ as my father, the Theotokos as my mother, and the saints as my brothers and sisters!"

When the Moslems saw that they could not weaken the resolve of the saint, they tormented her for three months, beating her with clubs. Later, they peeled strips of skin from her body so that the earth was reddened by her blood. Then they heated a skewer and passed it through her ears.

Nearby was her spiritual Father, the hieromonk Timothy of Stavronikita Monastery on Mt. Athos. She sent word to him to pray that she would successfully complete the course of martyrdom. It was he who recorded her martyrdom.

Finally, the Moslems fell into a fury at having been conquered by a woman, so they tied her to a tree and cut her to pieces with their knives. Her pure soul was received by Christ, Who bestowed on her the double crowns of virginity and martyrdom. Certain Christians gathered her relics secretly and buried them with reverence. St Zlata suffered for Christ in the year 1795.

The Price Tag for TIERS approaching 1 BILLION dollars

According to a recent article in INPUT, TIERS has so far cost the tax payers 800 million dollars. Mind you, this was necessary because the old system was costing the state 1.5 million dollars a year. At this rate, even if TIERS doesn't cost the state another penny... which of course it will, since TIERS still does not work as well as the old system by a long shot, the state will break even in the year 2540 A.D.

It is possible that INPUT has the figure wrong, because in 2005, the price tag admitted to by HHSC was approximately 300 million... and so if we stick with the lower figure, we will only have to wait until the year 2156 A.D. to break even, barring any further expenses needed to fix TIERS.

This, of course, does not take into account the intangible human costs of people doing without because a system doesn't deliver the services that they are supposed to be getting.

"Recent controversies surrounding "big bang" projects like the $800 million Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) will drive states toward more iterative approaches to integrated eligibility. "Everyone looked past the low-key, successful implementations in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts a few years ago and got excited about the potentially huge short-term returns of a project like TIERS," added Dixon. "The next wave of projects will follow the more patient example of states like Utah, New York, and North Carolina, which are taking phased approaches that minimize the risk of service disruptions upon rollout of the new interface."" INPUT, August 23, 2006

One has to wonder when someone is going to be held accountable for such a huge amount of waste.

Rowan Williams,as THE BISHOP

Read this article about the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, handling of the current crisic in Anglicanism over gay marriage and the ordination of gays by clicking here.

Then watch Monty Python's "The Bishop":



This skit should make complete sense now in the light of the firm leadership we see to address this problem.

The Bishop: "It has made a decision that is not the decision of the wider body of Christ. In terms of the issue under consideration: there are enough Christians of good faith in every denomination – from evangelical to Roman Catholic – to whom it is not quite so self-evident, who are not absolutely sure that we have always read the Bible correctly. They are saying: this is an issue we must talk about. But if we are going to have time to discuss this prayerfully, thoughtfully, we really don’t need people saying: we must change it now."

No... the rest of Christendom is not saying this is something that you must talk about. They're saying that you have departed from Christian tradition.

The Bishop: "Don't marry the gay guys Vic... don't marry the gay guys!

Boom!

The Bishop: "We wuz too late!"

More Reuters Photos from the Lebanon War That Might Have Been Faked

You can check out more of these highly questionable photos here.

Is Christianity a White Man's Religion?

TIERS for the Elderly

Translation for those who don't know all the agency lingo below. The new Computer system that the State of Texas paid hundreds of millions of dollars for, and been trying to get up and running properly for the past 7 years, still doesn't work, and so they are now telling staff that work with Medicaid for the elderly and disabled to go back to using the old system for any cases that are new, or haven't already been converted into the new (but dysfunctional) system.

To: TIERS/State Portal Users

From: TIERS Application Support

Subject: ME/DADS New Applications

Date: August 9, 2006

The Office of Eligibility Services has requested the Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities staff located in the Integrated Eligibility pilot offices to discontinue processing applications for clients who are unknown to SAVERR and TIERS through the TIERS system. These applications should be processed using the legacy system (SAVERR/MECM) effective July 15, 2006.

In order to keep consistent with this process, The Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) staff located in the Integrated Eligibility pilot offices (Travis and Hays Counties) will discontinue processing applications for clients who are unknown to SAVERR, SAS and TIERS through the TIERS system. These client applications should be processed using legacy systems (SASO/SAS Wizards) effective July 15, 2006.

ME/DADS cases currently in TIERS should continue to be worked in TIERS.

Texas Works staff located in the Integrated Eligibility pilot offices should continue processing new applications through the TIERS system.