Father Christopher and Jennifer Moore visited St. Stephen the First Martyr Orthodox Church Wednesday to share their experiences as missionaries.
The Moores are commissioned by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, an international organization promoting the Orthodox doctrine.
They joined the canonical Orthodox Church in the early 2000s.
After evening prayers, the Moores talked with church members about their lives in Ulsan, South Korea. They shared pictures and answered many questions.
The local church invited the Moores as a way to support orthdox missionaries around the world.
“It is always a special occasion to have a guest here, especially someone who is spending their lives in another country and can come and speak about their experience,” said Joel Weir, the priest of the St. Stephen Church. He personally knows the Moores and has a long relationship with them. “Since they were back in the States this summer, we decided to have them.”
Christopher grew up in Fort Wayne. He has visited Crawfordsville and Weir several times before. He also taught saxophone for several years at Wabash College.
Christopher did not grow up in the Orthodox church, but grew up in a Protestant Evangelical Church. Since he was a child, he had a dream that he wanted to share about Christ and His love to different people around the world.
Although he was not sure about his future when he was in a seminary, he finally decided to become a pastor. “That is something that God has been working in my life in small steps at a time,” Christopher said.
He has traveled around the world a lot in both short-term and long-term stints. Before arriving in South Korea, he visited Albania, Ukraine and Mongolia. He believes that by traveling he is helping communities in need of a priest or helping communities establish a new church.
Christopher was not surprised that he was going to South Korea.
“What I am called to do as a Christian is to share about Christ,” he said.
He and his wife were welcomed by South Korean people. He did not face any religious obstacles.
“Korean people seem to be very open about religion,” he said. “It is neat to see that very open environment.”
However, Christopher struggled to adapt to the new environment.
He said the Korean language was difficult to learn. However, he never gave up.
“Sometimes I do not understand why they do it in certain ways, but I also say, ‘I am gonna learn,’” he said.
The Moores will return to South Korea next week.
“I just hope to be able to grow in love, and I think it has to happen, largely through growing my ability to learn the language and culture,” Christopher said.
For more information about the Moores or to offer donations, visit https://secure.ocmc.org/site/SPageNavigator/Missionaries/Moore%20Family/MooreMissionaryFamily.html.
For more information about the St. Stephen Church, visit https://www.sstfm.org or connect with them via Facebook.
