On Saturday, May 19, 2018 the family and friends of Joy of All Who Sorrow gathered to install a new time capsule and install a replacement date stone in the northeast corner of our building. The time capsule had been packed with many items that had been recommended by our parishioners. There were so many great suggestions and so little space in the time capsule, that we decided to try to represent the church as a snapshot in time. What would represent who we are on this day? The following items were included:

√ Letter to the Future signed by Father Stevan, Father John, Father Deacon Michael, and Mary Drippé, Parish Council President
√ Program of the May 19, 2018 event for installing new time capsule and replacement date stone.
√ Pocket size New Testament “because we don’t know whether such a precious item will still be available in 100 years”
√ The Nicene Creed
√ Joy of All Who Sorrow icon with explanation of what it means
√ Orthodox Cross
√ Prayer Rope (donated by St. Seraphim’s Bookstore)
√ A copy of our services and sacraments (tri-fold brochure in English and Russian)
√ List of members and friends of the church (based on most recent directory)
√ Sunday of Orthodoxy card listing all the Orthodox churches in Central Indiana
√ Capital Campaign material (case statement and business card with Social media addresses)
√ St. Seraphim’s Bookstore business card
√ Mother Macaria’s poem “New Myhrrbearers – Paschal Vigil, 2015 – Joy of All Who Sorrow Church, Indianapolis”
√ Receipt for St. Brigid Sisterhood’s aluminum recycling with explanation)
√ 8 Archive quality photos (a selection of our building, our cross, inside and outside our church, as well as our Annual Parish photo) donated by Mike Drippé
√ Computer Stick with various documents and videos
√ This list of contents

The letter to the future was a significant part of the contents. What did we want to say to those who, in 100 years, would open this time capsule? The following letter, signed by Fr. Stevan (Rector), Fr. John (Assistant Priest), Fr. Deacon Michael (Protodeacon), and Mary Drippé (Parish Council President):

Glory to Jesus Christ!

We hope that this letter to the future will be found by Orthodox Christians who are our descendants, both physical and spiritual – our great, great grandchildren. You are our future and hope.

Orthodox Christianity has existed since the resurrection of Christ. We expect it to continue until his return. However, we are cognizant of the fact that throughout the more than two thousand years of its existence, the church has sometimes been forced to go underground, sometimes been persecuted, and at other times been joyfully resurrected.

We pray that this message finds you faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ with an appropriate devotion to his mother, the Theotokos the Joy of All Who Sorrow, for whom our church is named. You are the inheritors of what we have inherited. As we write this, our church is in a Capital Campaign to enable us to buy this building – to give you a future. We are restoring it and doing preventive maintenance in order to hand it over to the generations to come in useable condition. It is for the next generations and for you that we are investing in this building. It is a place in which you can build and strengthen your congregation and serve your community. More importantly, it is a place where you can celebrate the Divine Liturgy and share in the Divine Grace through the Holy Mysteries.

At present the Orthodox Christian population makes up a very small percentage of the population of Indianapolis. It is our prayer that this is not the case while you read this letter. Our aim is for this church to be a downtown door to the Kingdom of Heaven. That the people of Indianapolis will respond to the Gospel preached here and the waters of baptism will overflow this beautiful edifice and go throughout the city. If this has come to pass, to God be the glory, if not may God be merciful to us and to you.

For anyone who has left the faith, we remind you of what St. Tikhon of Zadonsk said, “The compassionate God still calls to Himself all that have turned away, and He awaits them and promises them mercy.” Our prayer is that you turn back to God, considering the profound knowledge that one hundred years ago you were being prayed for!

After a short ceremony, Father Michael installed the time capsule and then the date stone was lifted into place with the aid of a forklift.

A partial gathering of Steering Committee members and Parish Council members

Back row l – r: Lori Hay, Fr. Stevan, Mike Drippé, Fr. Michael, Tristan Vance, Fr. John, Jaime Edgar, Mary Drippé

Four in front: Anna Glass, Popadia Juliana, Anya  Aslanova, Kristina Akopdzhanova

Many thanks go to Anya and her Communications Task Force, which includes Popadia Juliana, Lori Hay, and Kristina Akopdzhanova for planning the event and providing the delicious refreshments we all enjoyed after it.

Father Michael had the date stone made and prepared for and planned the installation. Theodore Nottingham videotaped the installation. The tape will come out soon as our fourth video in the series of videos we have produced as a result of a grant from Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks. Fred Soskel kindly did the photography, including the photos you are enjoying in this blog.