{"id":1188,"date":"2009-01-19T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-19T14:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/blessing-the-river.html"},"modified":"2009-01-19T14:35:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-19T14:35:00","slug":"blessing-the-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/blessing-the-river.html","title":{"rendered":"Blessing the river"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Our Byzantine brothers and sisters gathered recently in snowy Pennsylvania to continue a winter tradition<\/a>: <\/p>\n

On a frigid, snowy Sunday afternoon, congregants and clergy from five local Byzantine churches celebrated their faith atop Veterans Memorial Bridge, singing a prayer as a priest cast a cross of ice onto the frozen Susquehanna River below.<\/p>\n

Police closed a west-bound lane of the bridge so the approximately 60-or-so faithful could process safely through the snow and slush from Water Street to a point near the center of the bridge for the sixth annual Blessing of the Susquehanna River.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, we commemorate the Gospel story of Jesus\u2019 baptism in the River Jordan. \u2026 When we bless the water, as a symbol of purity and purification, we recall our own baptism as well,\u201d said the Rev. Glenn Davidowich, of St. Mary\u2019s Protection, Kingston, and St. John the Baptist, Wilkes-Barre Township.<\/p>\n

Also participating were the Rev. Scott Boghossian, of St. Michael the Archangel, Pittston, and St. Nicholas, Swoyersville; the Rev. James Hayer, of St. Mary\u2019s Assumption, Wilkes-Barre; Deacons Basil Soroka and Edward Frey, of St. Mary\u2019s Assumption; and Deacon Lawrence Worlinsky of St. Nicholas.<\/p>\n

Davidowich said the late Rev. Theodore Krepp initiated the tradition locally in 2004 \u201cas a way of bringing the area Byzantine Catholic churches together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blessing the community water supply on the feast of Theophany \u2013 the Baptism of Christ \u2013 is an old tradition in Eastern Europe. A wooden cross is typically used.<\/p>\n

This year, St. Michael the Archangel parishioner Darren Fetch sculpted a cross from ice that Davidowich joked was fish-friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also very \u2018cycle-of-life\u2019 \u2013 water to ice, ice to water. Every time we pass over the bridges, people could say, wow, there\u2019s a reminiscence that water makes us holy, water purifies us. It\u2019s kind of cool,\u201d Davidowich said.<\/p>\n

Joseph Putprush, a cantor at St. Mary\u2019s Protection, said \u201cit\u2019s nice for the parishes to get together for a blessing of the river so there\u2019s no other floods\u201d \u2013 a common annual supplication.<\/p>\n

D.J. Partash, 26 and a member of St. Mary\u2019s Assumption, said she attended with her daughters, Amberlyn, 7, and Kasilyn, 5, \u201cbecause God sent Jesus for us. He\u2019s there for us, we\u2019re here for him.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The link explains that there were warm refreshments after. Thank God.<\/p>\n

Photo: The Rev. Glenn Davidowich, pastor of St. Mary\u2019s Protection in Kingston and St. John the Baptist in Wilkes-Barre Township, casts a cross made of ice over the railing of Veterans Memorial Bridge in Wilkes-Barre. Photo by PETE G. WILCOX\/THE TIMES LEADER <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Byzantine brothers and sisters gathered recently in snowy Pennsylvania to continue a winter tradition: On a frigid, snowy Sunday afternoon, congregants and clergy from five local Byzantine churches celebrated their faith atop Veterans Memorial Bridge, singing a prayer as a priest cast a cross of ice onto the frozen Susquehanna River below. Police closed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,19,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-churches","category-links-r-us","category-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nBlessing the river - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/blessing-the-river.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blessing the river - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our Byzantine brothers and sisters gathered recently in snowy Pennsylvania to continue a winter tradition: On a frigid, snowy Sunday afternoon, congregants and clergy from five local Byzantine churches celebrated their faith atop Veterans Memorial Bridge, singing a prayer as a priest cast a cross of ice onto the frozen Susquehanna River below. 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