“Go tell your mother. We’re celebrating the liturgy right now.”
That’s what Fr. Adam Sexton, pastor of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, said to his son this Sunday morning after he came into the holy place while his father stood at the altar and told him that the family home was on fire.
Those who know me personally know that I am not really one for publicly promoting various “causes” with which I have no direct personal involvement. There are simply too many good ones, and there are also simply too many useless ones. That said, here is a cause for which I am indeed soliciting your help, and it is because I do indeed have a personal involvement.
Fr. Adam was my friend in seminary—indeed, he was the friend of everyone in the seminary, and how could he not be? Once in a while, you meet someone whose love, generosity and joy bubble out of him like a perpetual waterfall, and Fr. Adam is one of those rare people. He is a man who pours himself out for others and always has a twinkle in his eye while he does it. His joy and laughter are infectious, and he is always ready to give everything he has to anyone who asks him.
And of course he is quite clearly the kind of priest who continues to give his worship to God even though his own house is on fire. We’re not supposed to stop for anything, you know, but it’s rare that that tradition actually gets tested.
His daily life is one of giving. He is a father to eight children, and not all of them are the biological offspring of his marriage—some of them were simply others’ children who had a need, and he opened up his family to them and made them his own. It didn’t matter what it cost. It didn’t matter that he started having to drive an oversized, multi-passenger van. It’s just who he is.
He also serves as the chaplain for his town’s fire department. So you can imagine what must have been in their hearts as they answered the call for one of their own. No one was hurt, thank God.
So I am asking that you give to this now-homeless family of God according to your ability and according to how God purposes in your heart. Our alma mater, St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, has set up a fund to assist them in this exceptionally difficult time.
You can send checks (annotated with “Sexton Relief Fund”) to:
- St. Tikhon’s Seminary
P.O. Box 130
South Canaan, PA 18459
St. Tikhon’s is a fully registered non-profit, so I imagine donations made to this cause will indeed be tax-deductible. Of course, that shouldn’t matter at all, really.
May God bless your generosity and return it to you a hundredfold.
Update: Here’s another news article with some more excellent quotes showing just the sort of man Fr. Adam is and the kind of family he has. My favorite one is how he informed the people in the church: “I told them, ‘If you aren’t aware of it already, the ruckus outside is the rectory burning down.’ I said, ‘Have no fear, we are safe. Pray for my dear friends, the firefighters who are putting themselves in grievous danger because they love me,’” said the Rev. Sexton, the chaplain and a volunteer firefighter for the Nanticoke Fire Department.
The article also includes other donation methods:
Monetary donations may be sent to the Father Adam Sexton Fire Fund, c/o Vantage Trust Federal Credit Union, 158 S. Market St., Nanticoke, PA 18634.
Clothing, toys and other household items may be dropped off at Nanticoke Fire Headquarters, 2 E. Ridge St., Nanticoke, PA 18634. Those with questions may call fire headquarters at 570-735-5860.
Update: The OCA’s Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (to which Fr. Adam’s parish belongs) has also established a fund to offer assistance both to the Sexton family and also to the parish (which owns the rectory that burned).
Update: There is now a website specifically dedicated to assisting the Sextons, organized by a family friend.
Wow, what a true test! Correct me if I’m wrong, but regarding the ‘we’re not supposed to stop for anything’: I was under the impression that this holds true only after the Consecration takes place? Thanks.
I hadn’t heard that. I just obey the bishop.
very wise.
What an amazing story about an amazing man. Thank you for posting.
What an amazing priest. I pray he gets the money that he and his family really need!
Doesn’t he have insurance?
Honestly, I don’t know.
But there are nevertheless a lot of immediate needs.
I suppose, even if he does, even if all financial costs are covered to the last penny, the love extended by those who reach out will help to heal in community, the damage that isn’t financial.
This troubles me. An excellent example of the lack of the Feminine Divine in religious institutions. Wonder what might have been the reaction if Mom were celebrating the liturgy and told her son to go have Dad deal with the fire. “Callous mother let’s house and children go up in smoke while Dad fights the flames.”
Really, this comment is essentially a non sequitur. Fr. Adam wasn’t telling his wife to go fight the fire.
In any event, it seems that the substance of this complaint is merely that the priest here is a man, which is utterly irrelevant to this story.
As for the “Feminine Divine” in Orthodox Christianity specifically (I don’t know what “religious institutions” actually means; that could be anything from your local all-female coven or ancient pagan priestess cult to the Catholic Charities place down the road), we do not believe that God has a sex, so, again, this is irrelevant.
I generally allow only one off-topic comment per issue, so please take note that this discussion is best had elsewhere—indeed, there are many places online to have it.
Anyway, doesn’t it strike you as peculiarly crass to complain about the sex of a cleric whose house just burned down?
Father Andrew, quick question, should our checks be made out directly to Father Adam or to St. Tikhon’s Seminary? I’ve not been in the habit of writing many checks this past decade, so I just want to make sure it gets to him and his family as directly and easily as possible. Thanks!
If giving through St. Tikhon’s, the check would be made out to the seminary.
(Also reload this post for an update on alternative donation options.)
As a fire chaplain, myself, I was deeply moved by this story.
Abbot Tryphon
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
Vashon Island, WA
http://www.vashonmonks.com
Is there any means of donating via an online source or is it mail in donations only?
I really don’t know. Perhaps you could call the respective institutions to ask.
Fr. Andrew,
Father Adam has a Facebook page. If anyone is “friends” with him, they can access information that is being posted by a local friend regarding coordination of a website blog, and online giving. She is trying to get Father and Matushka to list items that are of immediate need for them and their 8 children, however trying to get this very non-material family to list material needs has been very difficult, as I am sure you can imagine. Thank you for posting how people can help through St. Tikhon’s Seminary.
It’s possible a gift card to the local grocery store would be helpful so they don’t have to spend a ton going out (dinner out for TEN!!). Or there might be other household items they can pick up. This place is about a 10 minute drive from the church, and you can order online: http://www.weismarkets.com/online-shopping/gift-cards/
Yes, there is a Paypal account being set up by our mutual friend Becky Flynn to set up a fund to replace their dry good food stores, which they lost. As soon as I have more details from Becky, I will let you know how you can contribute.
But here are the essentials
“Prior to the fire, I (Becky) had been in touch with a phenomenal natural foods company that sells organic items, and many other items, not labeled organic, but farmed using traditional, and sustainable methods. I told them all about the Sextons, (how they live simply, have adopted some amazing kiddos, etc.,) and this company offered a generous price cut on their food goods, and shipping. These are prices that are better than grocery stores, Costco, etc., The caveat, and why I hope you all will donate to the food fund, is that the more food we order, the lower the price will be. This is a one-time offer, and I would love to get these prices as low as possible, including shipping $1.15, per pound, or under $1 per pound, would be awesome.
This will save the Sextons more money later when they don’t have to pay (normal) higher prices. The prices on these items, even if they were not organic, etc., are a tremendous deal. This a wonderful opportunity for us to band together with buying power, and buy the Sextons a lot of nutritionally dense, power foods, that will help them in their day to day. These items are guaranteed to remain nutritionally vital, and edible, for 3 years from the date the Sextons receive them.”
Beautiful expression of trusting in our Holy Father:) Would that we can all become so trusting.
Contribution is on its way, and I also sent a link to this post to my Facebook account. Remember, it’s not just the family’s immediate needs that need to be covered; they also have to rebuild the rectory. Yikes.
Each member of this wonderful household lost their personal libraries, too. As they wrap their arms around each other, they probably do not feel they have lost anything.