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Starting and Maintaining a Parish Bookstore
Dr. Basile Panoutsopoulos and Ms. Lily Wong
Photograph: The Bookstore during a
community festival in New London, CT, USA.
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Introduction: |
A parish bookstore is an organization that operates in an Orthodox parish under the supervision of the parish council. It is run by a group of people that want to offer their services to the parish community and perform an educational and evangelical ministry. The bookstore will be a self supporting organization. An initial investment of $1000 to $2000 is necessary to start. Submit a request to your parish council to approve this amount in the budget or ask parishioners that will be interested to donate money. Seek out "Educational" funds available in your parish. After the budget for the bookstore has been approved, prepare a list of items to order. Ask your parish priest and other members of the parish for advice. Make sure that everybody knows that this is a new parish function and not a private operation. |
Goal: |
To enlighten and evangelize the parish community and beyond, offering an understanding of the Orthodox Christian Faith. |
Places to Advertise: |
Flyers Local Newspaper Church Bulletin Community Bulletin Parish web Page |
Operation: |
Keep the bookstore open during social activities, especially after church services. Other times, let the secretary have a copy of the key. During the yearly "Festivals" have the bookstore open and operating, preferably, in a visible area. Have a catalog available to distribute. Display your items at one or more tables. Include other educational material available. |
Items to order: |
Books
Icons
Saints
Music Tapes Compact Disks Videos
Computer Programs
The
Bible (Available in the original tongues, and in many translations)
Bibles The Orthodox Bible Study |
Orders: |
Accept orders for items you don't carry or are not currently available. Keep a notebook available to write down the orders, or a pre-printed form to complete. When you receive the item, inform the customer who ordered it, that it has arrived. |
Companies to order from: |
Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies Eastern Christian Publications Eastern Christian Supply Company HOLY TRANSFIGURATION MONASTERY Iconographers (Directory of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad) Image and Likeness ICONOGRAPHY Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Monks of the New Skete Publications "Martyrs" Publishing House, Russia Music Translations and Settings Nativity of the Theotokos Publications Nea Attiki Press, P. O. Box 34008, Bethesda, MD 20827, USA, Telephone (301) 469-4733 Russian JSC Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Saint John of Kronstdadt Press Seraphim Rose Orthodox Bookstore The St. John of Kronstadt Book Service Welcome to Mt. Sinai Orthodox Church Products
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Housing: |
If available, you can use a small space in a room at your church. If not, then you will need a storage room to put the bookcase. |
Building a Bookcase: |
Here we provide the dimensions of a bookcase you may want to build. (We built four of these bookcases. Two of them bound together at Saint Sophia Orthodox Church in New London, CT USA, and another two at Saint Spyridon Orthodox Church in Newport, RI, USA.) As an alternative you can buy two bookcases. Twice as many pieces (indicated in parentheses) of the following items are needed to form a set of two bookcases.
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Typical Order: |
Books (Historical - Introductory - Advanced) |
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Women in Church Tradition: |
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World Religions, Denominations and Cults. |
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R. Rhodes. Counterfeit Christ of the New Age Movement. G. Pappademitriou. Cults in America. David A. Reed. Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse. E. C. Gruss. Jehovah’s Witnesses on Trial: The Testimony of the Early William J. Schnell. 30 Years Watchtower Slave. L. C. Scott. Why we left Mormonism. Eight People Tell Their Stories. R. A. Morey. How to Answer a Jehovah’s Witness. B. Frederickson. How to Respond to Satanism. H.F. Beck. How to Respond to the Cults. H. Kern. How to Respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses. How to Respond to the Latter Day Saints. P. Lochhas. How to Respond to the New Age Movement. |
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Books for Children: |
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Jane Sarlas Fontana. Adventures of Spero, The Orthodox Church Mouse! Mary P. Hallick. Book of Saints C. Hodges. 32 Learning Activities for Kids 7-9 Carol Greene. 28 Bible Activities for Kids 10-12 M. Self. 202 Things to Do: Activities and Finger Fun for Children. G. and C. Stowel. Ark and the Animals. Fr. John Matusiak. Byzantine Coloring Books. (set of 4) Debbie O’Neal. Handbook for Church Nurseries. Fr. Moses Armstrong. Orthodox Christian Alphabet Colouring Book Maria Khoury. Christina Goes to Church. A Preschooler’s Introduction to Spiritual Growth . John Chryssavgis and Sophie Chryssavgis. My World my Church |
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Bibles: |
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Orthodox Bible Study |
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Tapes CDs Videos: |
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Computer Programs: |
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Bible (Available in the original tongues, and in many translations) The Story of Creation Noe's Ark |
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Orthodox Christian Calendars |
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Icon Cards |
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Image and Likeness
Iconography
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Incense Holders Incense Charcoal Christian Orthodox Key Holders Prosforo Seal |
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Icons of Saints: |
Patriarch Abraham Prophet David Prophet Elias Prophet Daniel
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Icons of Events: |
Annunciation
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Not in scale. |
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