Finding a parish close to Lawton, Ok

[Moses Medina]

Hello everyone. As an update wanted to say everything is going well. My wife and I (and kiddos) continue to move forward with Orthodoxy and we go through the rite of catehuman next week. I may have updated last time to be last week but that was a mistake on my part.

Anyway, point of this topic:

I am military and have orders for fort sill, ok. I will be moving in March. That is, Lawton, OK. The nearest parish was 53 minutes away, 7 minutes closer than my current one. Its Western Right and I think its Antiochian... But I was hoping for one closer and thus am asking for help. If not I will go to this one and contact the priest to see if he will work with me since i am not completing catechism where i am currently at.

 

[Phronema]

The closest 2 that I see are exactly the same distance away in Wichita Falls, TX.

1 Antiochian, and 1 Greek parish both in Wichita Falls, TX.

Edit : In fact both Orthodox churches in Wichita Falls are next door to one another. That's kind of surprising that they're not in different portions of town.

 

[~Anastasia~]

The closest 2 that I see are exactly the same distance away in Wichita Falls, TX.

1 Antiochian, and 1 Greek parish both in Wichita Falls, TX.

Edit : In fact both Orthodox churches in Wichita Falls are next door to one another. That's kind of surprising that they're not in different portions of town.

A western rite and eastern rite next door to each other? Interesting ...

 

[~Anastasia~]

Hello everyone. As an update wanted to say everything is going well. My wife and I (and kiddos) continue to move forward with Orthodoxy and we go through the rite of catehuman next week. I may have updated last time to be last week but that was a mistake on my part.

Anyway, point of this topic:

I am military and have orders for fort sill, ok. I will be moving in March. That is, Lawton, OK. The nearest parish was 53 minutes away, 7 minutes closer than my current one. Its Western Right and I think its Antiochian... But I was hoping for one closer and thus am asking for help. If not I will go to this one and contact the priest to see if he will work with me since i am not completing catechism where i am currently at.

God be with you all and bless you.

Did you check the Assembly of Bishops site? I'm guessing LessThanPerfect did for you maybe.

Directories


Your priest could also speak to the priest where you are moving. It might help the process along.

 

[Phronema]

A western rite and eastern rite next door to each other? Interesting ...

Yes it is. The Antiochian parish seems much busier than the Greek parish, but since the Greek parish only offers services on one Sunday per month, and one Saturday per month I wonder if the priest is full time there? Father Nektarios Morrow is also listed as being as part of the Archdiocese staff, so I'm not sure.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Yes it is. The Antiochian parish seems much busier than the Greek parish, but since the Greek parish only offers services on one Sunday per month, and one Saturday per month I wonder if the priest is full time there? Father Nektarios Morrow is also listed as being as part of the Archdiocese staff, so I'm not sure.

Hmmm. I wouldn't know. But I can't see any reason to have only two services a month unless the priest is normally somewhere else.

 

[ArmyMatt]

they both look good to my eyes, I would say check them both out. I could not find anything closer unless you find a chaplain on post.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Hello everyone. As an update wanted to say everything is going well. My wife and I (and kiddos) continue to move forward with Orthodoxy and we go through the rite of catehuman next week. I may have updated last time to be last week but that was a mistake on my part.

Anyway, point of this topic:

I am military and have orders for fort sill, ok. I will be moving in March. That is, Lawton, OK. The nearest parish was 53 minutes away, 7 minutes closer than my current one. Its Western Right and I think its Antiochian... But I was hoping for one closer and thus am asking for help. If not I will go to this one and contact the priest to see if he will work with me since i am not completing catechism where i am currently at.

How long would it take you to get to the OKC area on I-44? Lots of choices there.

 

[Moses Medina]

How long would it take you to get to the OKC area on I-44? Lots of choices there.

It would take an hour and 30-40 min.

As for everyone else thank you for the responses. Im going to an antiochian parish now so im sure they can work with me better in continuing catechism vs starting over especially with my current priest calling over.

 

[~Anastasia~]

It would take an hour and 30-40 min.

As for everyone else thank you for the responses. Im going to an antiochian parish now so im sure they can work with me better in continuing catechism vs starting over especially with my current priest calling over.

I'm not telling you what to do, but it seems to me very likely that it would make more sense to choose between WR and eastern rite. Both are legitimate. But the Greek priest could just as easily as the Antiochian pick up your catechesis. In fact, your catechesis now will be more in line with continuing in an eastern rite parish. That's not to say you should/must stay eastern rite. Just that I think it's probably going to turn out to be a bigger factor than the difference between Greek/Antiochian jurisdiction. (My parish and confessor are Greek, my SF and another local parish I sometimes visit are Antiochian.)

 

[Moses Medina]

I'm not telling you what to do, but it seems to me very likely that it would make more sense to choose between WR and eastern rite. Both are legitimate. But the Greek priest could just as easily as the Antiochian pick up your catechesis. In fact, your catechesis now will be more in line with continuing in an eastern rite parish. That's not to say you should/must stay eastern rite. Just that I think it's probably going to turn out to be a bigger factor than the difference between Greek/Antiochian jurisdiction. (My parish and confessor are Greek, my SF and another local parish I sometimes visit are Antiochian.)

Very true and wise words good sir.

The one I spoke about is the Western Rite, its Antiochian but i will be comminucating with that priest and the one next to it and see what will work best? Either way, the two in Texas are indeed the ones Im eyeing.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Very true and wise words good sir.

The one I spoke about is the Western Rite, its Antiochian but i will be comminucating with that priest and the one next to it and see what will work best? Either way, the two in Texas are indeed the ones Im eyeing.

Ah I see.

I can't imagine either a Greek or Antiochian WR lol. Then again I see the WR parish only has one Sat and one Sun DL a month? If the priest is rarely there, it's also not as ideal for catechesis. Seems like you've made the most logical choice all around, but it's good to talk to both.

If I ever get out that way, out of curiosity I must visit that Greek WR parish. I can't even imagine what that would be like.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Oh, and I'm not a "sir" but that's ok.

 

[Moses Medina]

Ah I see.

I can't imagine either a Greek or Antiochian WR lol. Then again I see the WR parish only has one Sat and one Sun DL a month? If the priest is rarely there, it's also not as ideal for catechesis. Seems like you've made the most logical choice all around, but it's good to talk to both.

If I ever get out that way, out of curiosity I must visit that Greek WR parish. I can't even imagine what that would be like.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Oh, and I'm not a "sir" but that's ok.

Ugh, I knew that too! For some reason at a glance I thought I saw Anthansius as your name. My mistake!

 

[~Anastasia~]

Ugh, I knew that too! For some reason at a glance I thought I saw Anthansius as your name. My mistake!

Ah well if I'm going to get my name confused, might as well be with one of the great ones.

(Teasing you)

No worries.

 

[RDKirk]

Off topic, but my father retired at Ft Sill and I went to high school in Lawton.

 

[Moses Medina]

Off topic, but my father retired at Ft Sill and I went to high school in Lawton.

Well while we are at it, what were your thoughts of the area? Is the community good in tbe area?

 

[Moses Medina]

Ah well if I'm going to get my name confused, might as well be with one of the great ones.

(Teasing you)

No worries.

Fair enough, oh, i looked into it more, the Greek Parish is the once a month, the Antiochian WR has all sorts of stuff, Wednesday Eucharist, thursday studies, sat vespers, and sunday orthos and divine liturgy.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Fair enough, oh, i looked into it more, the Greek Parish is the once a month, the Antiochian WR has all sorts of stuff, Wednesday Eucharist, thursday studies, sat vespers, and sunday orthos and divine liturgy.

Ah ok then I've got it all confused again.

Regardless, I'm sure you can evaluate the situation when you get there.

I wouldn't be surprised if folks from the less active parish attend the other one when they aren't having services anyway. That's what I would do. It's an interesting situation to be sure.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Off topic, but my father retired at Ft Sill and I went to high school in Lawton.

Hey, brother! Good to see you! Welcome to TAW!

 

[RDKirk]

Well while we are at it, what were your thoughts of the area? Is the community good in tbe area?

I still go there once or twice a year because I have an aunt living there, and still get together with some high school friends.

It's not a real up-and coming community. While it's got a couple of production plants, Ft Sill is by far its biggest "industry." In fact, local officials will normally refer to the town as "Lawton-Ft Sill."

The crime rate is pretty high. I've never seen any place with so many liquor stores and pawn shops per capita (and most pawn shops seem to be co-located with liquor stores...one-stop shop).

As Army posts go, it's not the worst place to be stationed, but it's not great.