“Joys from the Romanian heart”- the second meeting

All participants awaited with excitement for the following Sunday when the Brailean parish introduced itself. At the beginning of the meeting, Fr. Victor again emphasized the purpose of our twinning: “To be twinned means to live something in common: our joys, fears, problems, etc. By God’s grace we still have people (and I mean you in Glasgow!) who struggle hard to preserve both Orthodox identity and orthopraxis—the spirit of orthodoxy lived, confessed, appropriated, proclaimed, the practical work of Orthodoxy. We are twinned to learn from each other, to remember each other, to share our feelings.”

It was a wonderful meeting that revealed to us only a fragment of the great work that the believers of Braila carry out under the guidance of Fr. Victor Țugui and Fr. Mihai Duca. We learned about the history of the parish, the long-awaited moment of consecration of the church, the notable guests who visited the church over time, the cultural and spiritual activities undertaken, the impressive philanthropic work carried out via the parish canteen “St. Vasile cel Mare”, the numerous projects and partnerships initiated, but especially about the extraordinarily beautiful activities organized with and for the children of the parish.

Fr. George summed up very inspiringly everything he saw during the presentation: “You talked about the Divine Liturgy, about what it is like to live Christ in the Divine Liturgy, and how Christ works after the Divine Liturgy in the life of the community. You are a living example to us. I liked it very much, I was speechless after these two meetings!” And Fr. Mark, the Scottish Orthodox priest, confessed excitedly in the sweet Romanian language: “I am speechless with admiration for the people of Brăila. I was touched to see your wonderful work, especially philanthropy. You are a great inspiration to all of us.” (Fr Mark)

The impressions sent after the meeting describe so well the atmosphere and bond that has already been created between the two parishes. “We have a lot to learn from your experience!” (Fr. Deacon Ioan Ross, Glasgow); “I was deeply impressed by the great family you created there, by the care you take of your children.” (Iulia Conduruță, Glasgow); “Very nice! I felt like I was part of their family! I felt at home, seriously!” (Nicoleta Iosif, Glasgow); “I was very moved by everything I saw because we miss our church, the dear and warm people we encountered, the warm embrace from this visit to Romania!” (Georgiana Amaicei, Glasgow); “It was super nice. I’m definitely going to go look for them, hopefully this year! They are all wonderful! Thanks so much for everything you’ve done! Honestly!” (Andrei Costin, Glasgow); “I was so excited, I wanted to say something at the end, but I had a lump in my throat!” (Mihaela Podaru, Glasgow); “At both meetings I couldn’t contain my crying, it was extraordinarily beautiful!” (Aurelia Văleanu, Glasgow); “So beautiful, thanks to God for everything! They left me speechless. They really soothed my heart!” (Simona Hapca, Dundee); “Congratulations to the moderators and to all participants! I think it was a successful activity that highlighted the specificity and spiritual beauty of our parish.” (Liliana Tudosie, Brăila)

The activities carried out in the parish of the Holy Archangels very much impressed those present: “Thank you, this is a great gift! And it’s wonderful that we learn from the parish of Holy Archangels, their community, and how many things they do together. May God help us grow as a community a little!” (Andrea Ross, Glasgow); “Very nice, a short history lesson at the beginning, wonderful! I was moved to tears by how they take care of children and the community. They really made me want even more to get to Brăila, although I was twice so close (in Ianca)”. (Raluca Berhiu)

Towards the end of the second meeting, as all participants were preparing to say goodbye, an insistent doorbell interrupted the Glasgow presenter’s closing speech! To everyone’s amazement, the meeting took a completely different turn! Instead of continuing to say goodbye, the children of Glasgow and Father George were invited to close their eyes because a surprise had been prepared for them! Children and parents from Braila enjoyed a knowing smile! The post office had come all the way from Brăila with a gift for the church in Glasgow (a big, very beautiful icon, with the Meeting of the Lord in The Temple, the patron saint of the church) and gift bags for all the children of the Romanian community in Glasgow! When they all opened their eyes, the wonder, joy and excitement was beautiful! The kids literally jumped up joy! Words cannot describe the beauty and excitement of these moments, the surprise (which only one family from the Glasgow community knew about) literally overwhelmed everyone present – both those who gave and those who received! Space no longer existed, they were all one heart, one thought, one breath! Fr. George promised to do everything possible to get all gifts to the children by next Sunday, when the final meeting was to take place!

That evening, certainly, all the children from Glasgow participating in the meeting fell asleep thinking about their new friends from Braila who overwhelmed them with their love and gently singing “Fluff, fluff, fluff, Globe of fluff you went, Fluff, fluff, fluff, Fly as high as possible!” (performed by a little girl from Brăila that evening). And the rest of us felt, as wonderfully described by Fr. Mark, that “tonight I drank from the springs of Orthodoxy.” This fairytale evening ended with a prayer in Greek to the Mother of God sung by Fr. Mark and some children from Brăila.