Dear friend,

Imagine what it’s like to be without heat in sub-freezing cold weather - for weeks… You can’t do laundry… You can’t take a shower… But you keep working – in the cold…

I am sitting in my well-heated house as I’m writing this, warming up my hands on a hot cup of green tea… And all I can think of is…

The fathers are so so so cold…

Can they even get something hot to drink? Can they get a hot meal? All we know is what they put on their website, and it doesn’t give very much information besides the basics. We can’t really contact them, since there’s no phone or internet connection.

Last time we managed to speak to the abbot – Fr Seraphim – he had to drive out far of the area just to call us. All we know is what he told us. You know what he said to me? He said: “Glory to God for everything!” Yes, including their present hardships.

And since monks don’t like to complain, I assume that the situation is worse than what we know.

Can you help the brethren of the Holy Cross Monastery today? Will you join me in sending them a gift of $25, $35, or even an incredibly generous $50 before April 30^th?

When you give today, you will be providing immediate relief to the monastery. They will be able to offset the emergency repairs to their infrastructure, buy the necessary supplies to weather the crisis, and more capable generators.

This way, future natural disasters won’t have such a disruptive impact on the monastic life here and on the businesses by which the monks support themselves.

Will you, please, help the fathers by giving a donation now? Every dollar you give will be matched until we’ve reached $25,000!

The fathers are dealing with the situation really well – with cheerful hope in God. But their church roof was crushed by a tree, and the hole is getting bigger every day. Because the roof is still covered in ice, they can’t fix the hole.

Which means, the inside of the church is being ruined as we speak…

Most of the brothers live in huts – tiny houses in the woods surrounding the monastery. Some of them have wood stoves, so it’s just a question of having enough wood… But other monastics depend on electricity to keep them warm. At the moment, the brethren use kerosene heaters to warm several buildings where they gather to sleep at night.

But what happens if they run out of kerosene? Several of their generators broke down soon after the storm. And I’ve heard from people in the area that it’s nearly impossible to get a generator in West Virginia these days. Because so many people lost power and want one right away.

Will you help keep the brethren warm? Please give today!

I pray to the Lord, to the Holy Theotokos, and to St. Panteleimon, that you, your family, and your friends are safe and that you have everything you need, including electricity, heat, and hot tea.

May our Lord God, His Holy Mother, and all the saints keep you safe from harm and give you peace.

And I thank you for taking the time to read this letter. My friend, I really need your help. I know you care deeply for our Church, because you have generously supported FFA’s work to help our Church in the past. Thank you.

Please, will you give $25, $35, or even an incredibly generous $50 before April 30^th?

• Your gift of $25 will be doubled by matching funds to $50
• Your gift of $35 will be doubled by matching funds to $70
• If you can give $50, that’s $100 to do so much more for the monks who pray for us daily

Thank you so much for reading this. On behalf of all of us at the Fund for Assistance to ROCOR, I wish you well, and we all send our love and gratitude.

I’m also glad to remind you that you and every single FFA donor are being prayed for by the fathers at the Holy Cross Hermitage.

With love in Christ and prayers for your health and salvation,

Mark Selawry
FFA President

P.S. Please, take out your checkbook and write out a check for $25, $35 $50, or any other amount you can spare.

But if you are worried about postal delays, please donate online securely here. Any gift will be doubled by matching funds until we reach $25,000!