Tag: Interview

Getting to know you… Subdeacon Joseph Boruch

by Patti Sowpel

In this article you will have a chance to meet Subdeacon Joe Boruch. He is the tall man you see helping Father Ben on the altar. Joe grew up in Prospect, CT. He was an engineer by trade and worked for an insurance company helping corporate clients around the country with safety-related issues. Retiring recently, Joe and his wife Annie moved to the Cape full-time. They have had a home in Brewster for over 30 years.

Subdeacon Joseph Boruch was ordained to Holy Sub-Diaconate on December 13, 2020, by His Grace Bishop JOHN.

When their son Joseph was a young boy, he was an altar server at their home parish in Waterbury CT, and the priest there asked Joe to help supervise the younger children on the altar. He was tonsured as a Reader by Bishop Nikon (Blessed Memory). Joe’s humility and love of serving the Lord eventually led to being ordained a Subdeacon. Subdeacons are the highest level of the minor orders in the Orthodox Church. Their duties include caring for the altar area, coordinating the servers and their activities, training new servers, and other duties as required. As the head server, the Subdeacon assists the bishop when he is presiding. Other than a Priest or a deacon, Subdeacons are the only people allowed to touch the altar table (for cleaning, changing covers etc). As with Priests, Ordained Subdeacons cannot marry. Fortunately Joe and Annie married before he was ordained! In a church setting they are addressed by their title – for example Subdeacon Joseph. Outside of church they are usually called by just their first name i.e. Joe.

Subdeacon Joseph describes his service on the altar as ‘very rewarding’. He says one of his main responsibilities is helping keep things organized and flowing so Fr. Ben can focus on the service. His goal is to ‘time things so that the servers are waiting on the Priest, not the Priest waiting on the servers’. His dedication and selflessness are an example to the other servers and help keep the service reverent for the glory of God and the parishioners.

Subdeacon Joseph learned this at an early age. His grandparents came to the United States through New York City then Bridgeport CT. His grandmother was from Poland (Catholic) and his grandfather was from Russia (Orthodox). As a young boy Joe and his family attended church regularly, and some of his greatest memories include sharing a traditional Slavic Christmas Eve dinner and attending midnight mass afterwards. Joe’s other grandparents were both Polish and he recalls celebrating Christmas on December 25th and visiting his grandfather for Russian Christmas in January.

Joe learned from his mother the power of faith. She lost 2 babies and her husband at an early age. Through this her faith remained strong as she went on to serve as a grief counselor in her parish. Joe continues to pass along these values to his son Joseph and adored granddaughter Stella. Five years ago Joe underwent emergency open-heart surgery for a tumor. He attributes his recovery and subsequent good health to God. Each year he celebrates his ‘rebirth’ on December 28th ( the day of his surgery).

Joe met the love of his life Annie on a blind date. They were married a year later shortly after he converted to Orthodoxy from Catholicism. Annie had grown up attending The Nativity Of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church in Waterbury CT which became their own family church.

When not serving our parish as a Subdeacon, Joe enjoys boating, fishing, (especially for Bluefin Tuna), and sports car racing. He builds his own cars including engines, machining, and welding. He has used these talents to manufacture some needed items within our church.

Subdeacon Joseph’s advice is to ‘pray constantly’. The Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner” is an excellent prayer to use. “While I have not yet achieved constant prayer,” he says, “it is something that I strive for.” He also points to the importance of attending Liturgy regularly in order to receive Communion, hear the Gospel (good news), to thank God through song and prayers, and be around other Orthodox Christians. While in-person attendance may not be possible for everyone during this pandemic, Subdeacon Joseph encourages everyone who cannot come – to participate through the YouTube broadcast. 

The Barnstable Patriot: “New leadership at Cotuit church”

By Andrew Roiter
The Barnstable Patriot, posted Mar 20, 2015 at 2:00 AM

The new pastor at Saint Michael the Archangel Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cotuit has had a long journey from studying to become a Lutheran pastor in Indiana to his new role in Cotuit, but that suits Father Benjamin Kjendal just fine.

Fr. Ben Kjendal
The new pastor at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Cotuit, the Rev. Benjamin Kjendal, follows Eastern Orthodox practices.
Photo by Alan Belanich

The father of six originally studied at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was certified as a Lutheran minister. He worked in Brooklyn, New York, as a pastor in 2006, when he began to make some changes in his life.

“I realized that there is a church that continued teaching and worshiping in the way of the original Christians,” Kjendal said. This led him to convert to Antiochian Orthodox, the American branch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.

Part of what led him to this decision involved his studies at Concordia. While there he specialized in exegetical studies and history, focusing on the teachings of the early Christians. While he certainly does not regret his time as a Lutheran New leadership at Cotuit church minister, and his family remains Lutheran, he felt that the teachings of that denomination had a much more Western focus that had changed from the original teachings.

″(The Orthodox Church has) stayed constant in its teachings and worship over time,” he said. “My family still has very strong ties to (Lutheranism); I don’t hold any grudges, I think it helped bring me to where I am now.”

He added that he wasn’t the only member of his class at seminary to convert to the Orthodox Church after graduating, but as far as he’s aware he’s the only one that became an Orthodox pastor.

After his conversion, Kjendal, who grew up in Lakeville, had a couple of secular jobs, but just over two years ago he began thinking about leading a parish.

“I started talking with my bishop about becoming a pastor and shepherding a flock,” he said.

Prior to coming to Cotuit, Kjendal was working in Springfield at Saint Stephen’s Orthodox Church, but he was living in Worcester and the commute was more than an hour long.

His bishop then contacted him and told him about the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Manikas’ retirement from Saint Michael the Archangel and asked him if he would like to be pastor in Cotuit.

“In many ways it just kind of made sense,” he said. “We were welcomed with much love and open arms here.” Prior to taking the job, Kjendal met with Manikas.

“I was very impressed with him,” Manikas said. “My hope and my prayer is that Saint Michael’s will continue to grow and prosper under Father Kjendal’s leadership.”

Manikas joined the church in 2001 after moving to the Cape for his retirement, but when he and his family came across Saint Michael’s without a pastor he decided to delay retirement. During his time at the church, the parish grew from 20 families to 90.

Now, Kjendal is concerning himself with becoming a part of the community in Cotuit.

“We want to be part of the community, not just the parish but the greater community as well,” he said. “The most fundamental goal is to see us grow in our love to each other, to God and to our neighbors.”

This extends not only to the members of the Cotuit community and the Orthodox community, but all of the Christian churches in the area, and there are more than 130 churches on the Cape alone.

“I hope we can work together,” he said. ”(And) impact the communities around us.” In particular, Kjendal would like to see the number of young families attending the church increase. “I would like to see us grow in the younger families that we have,” he said. “That will certainly be a focus of mine.”

Part of joining the community, according to Kjendal, is learning how the church can best serve it. Prior to coming to the Cape, Kjendal knew about the needs of the aging population as well as the drug issues, but was surprised at the severity of the homelessness issue.

“For me, the real goal is that we are able as a community to live out our Christian lives in a way that will impact others and glorify God,” he said.

Saint Michael the Archangel Antiochian Orthodox Church is located at 62 Main Street in Cotuit. Liturgy is at 10 a.m. on Sundays, and church school begins at 9:30 a.m. For more information visit www.stmichaelcotuit.org. Services are conducted in English, but all Orthodox denominations are welcome.