St. Nektarios Discussion
Recorded on March, 24th 2022
Discussion Participants
Fr. James King
Lina Nunu
Rev. Fr. Dr. James D. King was born to Rev. Fr. Dr. James E. and Margaret King in Lincoln, Nebraska. Fr. James grew up in Santa Barbara, California and embraced the Orthodox Christian faith, along with his family, as part of the Evangelical Orthodox Christian movement in the 1970’s, as detailed in the book Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith by Peter Gillquist. In 1987, as part of that movement, Fr. James and his entire family were received into the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese by His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP Saliba, of thrice-blessed memory.
In 1993, Fr. James officially began God’s ministry in youth work as the Assistant Director of the Antiochian Village. While at the Village, he met Audrey, whom he would later marry. Fr. James received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska, his Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, and his Doctor of Ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
In 1997, immediately after graduation from Holy Cross, Fr. James moved to Livonia, Michigan with his wife and began working as the Youth Director at St. Mary Orthodox Church under the direction of Fr. George Shalhoub. Fr. James and Audrey had two children, while in Livonia, and moved to Santa Barbara, CA in 2002, where they had their third child. In California, Fr. James worked for the national office of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) and at The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2006, Fr. James returned to Livonia at the request of Fr. George to take on a new responsibility, the Director of Youth and Outreach Ministry. On Father’s Day, June 17, 2007, Fr. James was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by his Eminence Metropolitan George Abou Zakhem of Homs, Syria, and to the Holy Priesthood on December 19, 2011 by His Grace Bishop Thomas Joseph. Fr. James continues to serve the community of the Basilica of St. Mary. He has started many ministry programs, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens, and has found unlimited ways for all parishioners to engage in the spiritual life of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Lina Ghawi Nunu is a mother of three beautiful kids: Nicholas (15), Michael (3), and Maryanna (1). She is the wife Dr. Osama Nunu who is also active in the Church and conducts Bible studies, teaches Sunday School, and recently earned his Masters in Theology.
She is a pharmacist who studied in Jordan and got licensed and worked in the United States in pharmacies such as Walgreens, Henry Ford, and other retail independent pharmacies. At the moment, she is a full-time mom serving God. In her prayers, she prays to God to open for her doors to serve Him. From her first prayers, new doors keep opening for her to do so.
One of the many doors that opened to serve God is talking about the lives of saints. It started when her husband asked her to talk about Saint Nektarios as part of the Bible study he conducts every Thursday. From that time, she's been talking about the saints every Thursday.
Among the many other doors that opened for her: writing spiritual reflections that she posts on her Facebook page and in two other religious groups and writing prayers.