I attended a FORUM 2001 for all the Non-Government organization's in Tulcea County put on by some bureaucrats from Bucharest. It was an excellent Forum, not the formal part, but the meeting so many other people from Tulcea. In Romania - every club, chess clubs, bird watching societies etc. have to register with the government EVERY SINGLE ONE. They have to submit a proposal etc. Then someone decides if they are worthy!!!!! There are 77,000 such organizations and they are trying to figure out a way to measure "the effectiveness of every organization". So much for freedom of association! Anyway there were some great discussions.

Costica's man who is the ornithologist was there from the Bird watching club. He talked passionately about the need to pick up the trash along the Danube River and in the villages. He said that the trash keeps tourism away. (ALSO the current American crisis has meant all (our friend) Costica's scheduled tours have canceled. Swiss Air went bankrupt and canceled all trips.... BAD NEWS) At the Forum, people got very involved in the discussion and I thought we were actually making progress with useful. Practical suggestions, I mentioned the Don't Mess WIth Texas Campaign and the Adopt a Highway Project and people were very interested. THEN the bureaucrats stopped the conversation and said, this is too scientific and "specialized" for this discussion. It must be referred by the bah, bah bah, division of the bah, bah, bah, commission.... well, our friend was very passionate and said , "All we have to do is dig a big hole at each village and have people throw their garbage in the hole rather than in the river". He talked about the effect on the birds and the people of all the garbage... People laughed about caring about the birds. I am joining the Bird watching Club! For a free boat ride I think we could get kids to go pick up garbage. I am going to start hiring all the little Gypsy children who beg to pick up trash! Better than giving them handouts.

I went to church today... The Church of the Ascension with Mihaela, Ana Maria and Lidia. It was 4 hours long. People get there very early to get a kneeling place up front. I managed 45 minutes on my knees today... Better than last time. Then I gave up and took a seat on the wall. This sanctuary is much larger than the other church I have attended... There must have been four hundred people.

We arrived at 8:30. The first hour is the prelude. Music and chanting(singing) Everyone knows the songs. AT 9:00 is intercessory prayer (I think). This part is on the knees. The priest reads something and makes a prayer request and the congregation responds, in song," May the Lord have mercy on me, or on us, depending on the request. This goes on for an hour. You can tell they pray for the world as they say World Trade Center, New York, Terrorists, words one can recognize. The prayer goes through confession, adoration etc. Ahead of time people turn in lists of names for the living and the dead and the priests reads these( Every person's list gets read some time during the week). While I may not know what he is saying, I can pray in English and respond with the congregation.)

At 10:00 the worship begins, with a familiar order. (There is no bulletin and they add incense, bringing in the Bible etc. I was very moved today when we said the Apostle's Creed. You can recognize this and the Lord's Prayer. When it was said fervently, defiantly, loudly by at least four to five hundred people packed together, elbow to elbow, it was a transcending moment. Imagine for seventy years if you were not allowed to say the Apostle's Creed... What it would be like to say it. Actually, I bet Americans feel the same way now about the pledge of allegiance.Before the scripture and sermon, the priest goes into the holy room behind the Icon screen and the congregation prays for the preacher, who is praying for us... Very, very powerful! The scripture is then read and the priest preaches a sermon... about 30 - forty minutes.... Remember he has been talking or singing the whole time.. The priest today had a beautiful voice but he was hoarse by the end of the service. They have a time for the children to come forward, while the scripture is read. They place the altar cloth from the pulpit under the Bible was held over the children and while the priest is reading the scripture he touches the children. This is very moving for the children.

One aspect I love about the Orthodox Church is the way they do the blessing of the bread. People bring loaves of bread and the priest blesses it during the service. Then it is broken up and people take a cube as well as they take some home with them to share with their families to have during the week. Little babies are given bread soaked in the holy wine with a spoon. This holy bread and wine can be taken by adults only after they have fasted for three days. Each adult is supposed to take this communion four times a year. By fasting they are supposed to go without any animal products.

At the end of the service, after the Benediction everyone, every week gets anointed by the priest with oil. This part was very moving to the three girls I was with to be anointed by the Father. This priest has taken an interest in them and really is very wonderful. Actually, I have found all the priests to be very intelligent, kind, warm... plus they all sing!!! The priests in the Orthodox church are married with families. I still don't know everything about the offering. This part confuses me. At one point a plate is passed and people put their money on it. Another time people put money in the poor box, and at the Icon of Jesus. Alina told me " when they pass the plate you are paying your tax to go to heaven"/ I am not certain how much of this is really Orthodox Theology and how much is Alina's theology.The service was long, but you get into THE SPIRIT and the time passes very quickly . You leave feeling very moved spiritually. I attended a Baptist service here in Tulcea with Iona. It was just as long, with the same order, singing, prayer and Worship. It was in a New building, which was already too small for the congregation. It was packed. There were wooden benches, but four hours on a narrow wooden bench is no more comfortable than standing and kneeling. There were no icons at all in the Baptist service and the preacher wore a suit. The men still sat on one side and the women on the other. The married women (anyone who is not a virgin) still cover their heads. The separation of men and women is so men can concentrate.(Laugh if you want to, but there is a lot of truth!!!) The Romanians are not arbitrary or chauvinistic... If the women's side is full, they sit on the men's side.

At the Baptist Church, the service was very familiar. The preacher preached an hour sermon, with no notes. He pointed to God and then wagged his finger at the congregation in an angry way. Since I didn't understand much, I imagine it was Hell -Fire and Brimstone, but I don't know. I loved the singing at the Baptist Church because the tunes were familiar. Also, the people were very friendly and they had an awesome youth choir.

Twice I have listened to FCPC tapes with others and everyone is always very impressed. They SING ALONG WITH THE HYMNS WITH FERVOR. THEY EVEN SING THE ANTHEM ALONG WITH THE CHOIR... Sadly, After receiving the first two tapes, I have not received anymore. It probably is related to the bombing and air travel etc. I haven't gotten a single piece of mail since Sept. 10th, except from Hillary in Canada. I don't have any explanation except it must be related to the bombing.