April 2004
April 2004
The Department of Christian Education newsletter is published in the months of September, December, February, and April. The office is staffed from 9:00-3:00 Monday through Wednesday. Phone (717) 747-5221. FAX (717) 747-5832. E-mail: AODCE@AOL.com
The Department of Christian Education gratefully acknowledges the financial contribution of the Order of St. Ignatius which funds, in part, its operations and programs.
Sharing the Faith
Religious Education News From Around the Archdiocese
Recommended for All Church School Teachers!
Educating Ourselves and Our Children in Godliness
Initial Teacher Certification Training
Consisting of three two-hour courses:
Introduction to Teaching, Overview of Orthodoxy, Orientation to Curriculum
Participants are asked to bring a copy (student and teacher manual) of the program they are using.
The following events have been scheduled for the spring:
* April 30-May 1, Cicero, Illinois
Info/reservation: Robert Sweiss (708)945-6969
* May 14-15, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Info/reservation: Kh. Linda Funk (306)244-4009
Please phone ahead for details and reservations.
Christian Education Workshop for Parish Life Conferences 2004
"As For Me and My Household, We Shall Serve the Lord”"
What is the role of the family, parish and diocese in the salvation of the world?
Call for Ideas
What would help you raise your child Orthodox?
As we enter the 2004-2005 school year, we will be developing new programs and resources for parenting. Do you observe your child lacking in certain aspects of the faith? What would you like to see us develop to help you be successful at your job of passing on the faith? Send your ideas to the Department.
From the Director’s Desk
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
When I first took this position, I told those to whom I addressed that improving Orthodox Christian Education hinged on the curriculum, staff, and parents, and their working together. I am pleased to report that we are now ready to address the needs of parents and home.
As a parent of two young children, I have many ideas for resources that would make my job easier. I hope that in the coming months you will brainstorm with one another about your ideas and begin sending them via email or ground mail to the department. This year's Christian Education Workshop at the Parish Life Conferences will begin to explore the aspects of Orthodox Christianity that build a strong family for Christ. Come and share your ideas there as well!
Our next Orthodox Institute will feature Sr. Magdalen of Essex, England. Look for brochures to be available at your parish life conference. I would recommend her two books to any parent! If you have a parent group at your parish, these would make excellent read and discuss materials.
The teacher certification program begun this school year has been endorsed by the Orthodox Christian Education Commission. You may attend any O.C.E.C. sponsored event at parishes of other jurisidictions, and you will receive the same training and certificate as you would from our Regional Representatives and Trainers. I urge all teachers to take the six hours of coursework--thus far every evaluation has been extremely positive, even those from professional teachers! Contact the Department if your parish would like to host an event.
May God bless you as we near Pascha!
Carole A. Buleza
Department of Christian Education Regional Coordinators
The following Regional Coordinators are available for updates on trainings and other events in your region. Please contact the Department of Christian Education for more information or see the Regional Coordinators page.
Eastern: V. Rev. George Alberts
Midwest: Robert Snyder
Western: Joseph Tershay
Can-Am: Jacquelyn Fadel
Southwest: Vasiliki (Billie) Oldziey
New England: Anna Timko-Hughes
Southeast: Betty Randolph
Resource Review
Children in the Church Today
By Sr. Magdalen
St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press
Children in the Church Today is a short book filled with practical advice that was written by Sr. Magdalen. It is based on a series of informal talks given to Orthodox Christian parents at the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England. Sister Magdalen addresses various problems that parents might face, whether their children are toddlers or teenagers. She acknowledges that every family is unique, with its own special circumstances and challenges, but she offers suggestions that are applicable to any Christian family.
At the very heart of Sr. Magdalen's advice is the necessity of prayer: "In the upbringing of children, a knowledge of child psychology, or even a fine intuition about one's own children will not lead to eternal being unless we also 'invite' divine grace by prayer. We must pray in the morning, in the evening, and at any moment when we need God's will, and learn to discern the inspiration of God. By the practice of prayer we achieve our highest aim: to be saved, and to help our children reach eternal life." She is aware that in our busy lives today, most people have difficulty finding enough time to pray, so she suggests incorporating prayer throughout the day as we go about our daily activities. For example, a short prayer can be said when leaving or entering the house, on the way to work or school, while cooking dinner, and carrying on the rest of our tasks each day.
Other topics include the responsibility to set a good example in the way we lead our lives, and the need to raise children in a home filled with love and respect for one another. While attending church services is very important, she recognizes the delicate balance that must be maintained between the spiritual and material worlds: "Children should not be over-burdened by …being taken to every church service because the parents would like to attend. We would not wish our children to give in to laziness about attending church, but if they see church as a boring obligation, they are likely to revolt against it."
She also discusses such issues as leisure time, social life, and leading a Christian life in the teen years. Although one might assume that Sister Magdalen would think of amusements and social life as irrelevant, she states, "If we neglect this vital aspect of our life our children will either drift with the world's current, or feel stifled and rebel."
I highly recommend this book to all parents. You will find a wealth of guidance and inspiration as you meet the daunting challenges of today's society and engage in the difficult task of raising Christian children to adulthood.
Rosemary Shumski, Administrative Assistant, Department of Christian Education
Orthodox Institute 2004
Keynote Speaker:
Sr. Magdalen of England
We are very pleased that Sr. Magdalen of England has agreed to be the keynote speaker at our next Orthodox Institute. She will be addressing the difficult issues children raise in regard to the faith, and will also give guidance on how to find peace through contemplative prayer.
Resource Review
Conversations with Children: Communicating our Faith
by Sister Magdalen
Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Essex, England
"Conversations with Children" is a wonderful guide to teaching and parenting. While giving no pat answers, because there are none, we are given examples of various ways to convey our Faith to our children with wisdom, grace, love, and humility. It is easy to see why Sr. Magdalen's Sunday School is so successful from the free and easy exchange between her and the children. Her love and respect for the children is evident as she listens and learns from them.
Divided into three chapters, "Conversations" can be read in order or not. Each chapter has an introduction, a chapter summary with sub-categories in-between. Throughout, Sr. Magdalen uses the conversations as examples of successful and not so successful lessons. She quotes heavily from Saint Silouan the Athonite, Archimandrite Sophrony, Holy Scripture and the Church Fathers. She sets the example for us as a teacher who is continually learning and growing. Most importantly she instructs us to pray for guidance. ". . . we can pray: "Teach me what I should say and how I should speak. If it be thy will that I make no answer, inspire me to keep silent in a spirit of peace that causeth neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow." Archimandrite Sophrony.
From these conversations we see that every teaching situation is different as every child's journey is different. Our roles as teachers and parents are to guide our children along the path to God to become "eternal persons". We do this by being role models (imperfect, but striving to do better) for the children to follow. As Sr. Magdalen points out, " . . . children must know us as real people, not merely as educators . . . If teachers are themselves grateful children of our Heavenly Father, their children will learn from this attitude more than from anything else." Elsewhere she says, "Those who speak most effectively are those whose life reflects what they teach . . ."
Never should we force our children to fit into a mold which we have created. She quotes from St. Maximus: "The mystery of salvation belongs to those who choose it, not to those who are compelled by force." They must find their way and come willingly and lovingly to God. Our role is to be there for them with God-inspired love.
Vasiliki Oldziey, Southwest Regional Coordinator
Orthodox Institute 2004, November 4-7, Antiochian Village
(Workshops begin on Thursday evening, and conclude on Saturday evening)
What did Christ save us from?
By Carole A. Buleza
On a Sunday morning a few years ago, we were getting ready to visit an Orthodox Church in the region. "Where are we going?" my daughter asked.
"To Christ our Saviour Church," I replied.
After a moment she inquired, "Mom, what's a savior?"
"A savior is someone who saves people."
"What did Christ save us from?" she asked, puzzled.
After responding, I mused over the fact that she had sung the Paschal troparion by heart for several years. She had attended church school regularly. I tried hard to remember when I knew the answer to that question, and decided I definitely knew it by age seven. I believe now that she didn't know the answer because "savior," and "salvation" are not so widely understood as when I was young and most people believed in sin. Kenneth Woodward lamented this state of our society, in a recent review of "The Passion." To make a point about western Christians who have forsaken the cross, he quoted H. Richard Neibuhr: "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment though the ministrations of a Christ without a cross."
It is not difficult to fall into that way of thinking. Our ancestors no doubt thought more about salvation than we did, especially if they were poor or oppressed. Today we enjoy so much material prosperity that it is easy to get lulled into thinking we have few needs, and only ourselves to thank for what we have.
In the Old Testament there are many stories of salvation. God saved Noah and his family. God saved His people from slavery in Egypt. God saved Daniel in the Lion's Den. Our Holy Saturday Vespers service is filled with the stories of God's mighty acts of salvation. They remind us that our God is a God of salvation-of life. They set the stage, so to speak, for the definitive act of salvation, Christ's death and resurrection, to be experienced that night.
Of all the Old Testament stories of salvation, the Passover and the Exodus, is the most significant, and Moses is the most important person. After the Pharaoh had repeatedly gone back on his promises to release the Hebrews, God told the people what to do. A lamb was to be slaughtered and hyssop dipped in its blood. The lintel and doorposts were to be sprinkled with the blood. "You shall observe this as a perpetual ordinance," said the Lord, "for yourselves and your descendants . . . When your children ask you, 'What does this rite of yours mean?' You shall reply, "This is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses'" (Exodus12:24, 26-27). And so it happened. The Lord slew every first-born in the land of Egypt.
The Passover ("pesach" in Hebrew) for the Jewish people set the stage for Christ, the "New Moses." The New Moses shed his own blood, not just for the Jews, but for all people, that we may pass from death to new life. "Pascha" is taken from the word, "pesach." Jesus has saved us from eternal death. Jesus has saved us for eternal life. We who are baptized have passed over from death to life.
Orthodox Christianity has kept salvation at the forefront. For us, life is about salvation-consider how many times in the Divine Liturgy we say the words "save, Savior, salvation?" Yet, how often do we reflect on our need to be saved? We say, "Lord, have mercy" during the litanies, but do we realize that without God's mercy we don't stand a chance of eternal life?
At Forgiveness Vespers my seven-year old son hesitated when it came time for the prostrations, despite the fact that he had done them for years. "What are we doing?" he asked.
"A prostration," I answered. "Jesus is our savior. He saved us from eternal death. He is our Lord and Master. We are showing with our bodies that we are His servants; this is what a servant might do in front of a king," I explained not quite so articulately in between all the going downs and getting ups. That evening, I told both children that we would be fasting. My first-grade son, finally eating lunch at school, has developed a love of corndogs. He wasn't happy to learn they were on the "no" list.
"We fast to remind ourselves that our lives depend on God, not food," I explained. He still grumbled. When they told me they were invited up the street Friday for a play date, I told them we would be attending services every Friday during Lent. Having been lax about this over the years, due in part to children who did not do well at evening services, I could understand their amazed looks.
"The Lenten services let us spend more time with God," I explained. "We need quiet time to think about how we've sinned, and to ask God to have mercy on us. Jesus has brought us from death to life eternal. He alone is our Lord and Savior. We need time to grow closer to God."
Would I say the word "salvation" to my children except for their protests in regard to Lent? Probably not. Will they hear it in the media or in school? Definitely not. Is it really necessary for them to know that life is first and foremost about salvation? Yes, even at a young age.
Let us meditate often in these days, on what salvation means to us, so that we are ready when the questions come. To paraphrase from the Lord's command to the Israelites after the Passover ". . . On this day you shall explain to your son, "This is because of what the Lord did for me when I was still a slave to sin and death." (Exodus 13:8)
105 Leader Heights Road
Suite 130
York, PA 17403
Office: (717) 747-5221
E-mail: AODCE@aol.com
Fax: (717) 747-5832
The office is staffed from 9:00-3:00 Monday through Wednesday.