Brookline, MA—Hellenic College Holy Cross, the oldest and largest Christian Orthodox institution for higher learning in North America, invites Orthodox Christian students from the United States and Canada to take part in a summer vocation exploration program that integrates faith, learning, and service. In its ninth year, the CrossRoad summer institute has proven to be a successful program preparing teens for leadership in the Church and in their communities.

One of the vibrant programs of HCHC’s Office of Vocation & Ministry (OVM), CrossRoad offers participants access to HCHC’s distinguished faculty instruction and enthusiastic graduate students who serve as staff. Since the program is on HCHC campus, participants experience the beautiful campus that is within minutes of Boston.

In addition to participating in theology classes, CrossRoad students attend Vespers each evening at neighboring parishes in the Boston area and engage in community service.

By V. Rev. Fr. David J. Randolph

From the Word magazine, January, 2012

The term postmodern culture is used in many different ways, and cannot be grasped except in contrast to its predecessor, modernism, to which it is in reaction. Modernism displayed a high level of confidence in the abilities of humanity. Rooted in the Enlightenment, modernists attempted to rid themselves of the mystery of religion and things spiritual so as to focus purely on the empirical facts of science. Some believed that humanity could build a perfect society founded on human principles and structures. The movement was idealistic, and its breakdown was painful to the generation that experienced it.

This reaction took different forms. For many people of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, pop culture became a kind of rebellious religiosity. Many were from broken families, and they concluded that all commitments are fragile. Some also experimented with different “spiritualities,” having a distinct distaste for “institutional religion.” Theirs was a time of political turmoil, growing up amid the anxiety of the cold war, and through the period of Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the war in Iraq. The results for many were confusion, depression, and loneliness.

Postmodernism is the cultural reaction to the perceived failures of modernism. Youth ministers today face five challenges related to the postmodern stance.

First, postmodern young people give primacy to personal experience.

Fr. Chris Metropulos, Executive Director of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), is reminding Orthodox Christians that November is themed "Morality and Popular Culture" month on OCN.

Programming on OCN's flagship program, "Come Receive the Light," features:

Twilight Saga - Launching this month's theme on morality and popular culture, we'll be looking at the popular Twilight Saga with Fr. Frank Marangos and asking about the relationship between the Church and secular media trends. Click here to listen to this program.

Video Games - This past June, on the very last day of its 2011 term, the US Supreme Court ruled that minors have a right to purchase video games that include graphic violence. Fr. Demetrios Tonias shares his thoughts on what this means for youth and parents. Click here to listen to this program.

Almost Christian - One study after another tells us that our youth are drifting away from religious traditions, but what can we do to reverse the trend? First, we’ll hear from Kenda Creasy Dean, Associate Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. What does it mean to be Almost Christian, the title of her new book? Make sure you listen to this important interview. Click here to listen to this program.

Asks Fr. Chris, "Is there a difference between being 'good' and being 'moral?' Popular culture seems to cast a wide net on what it means to be a 'good person.' It goes a step further by suggesting that some things we as Orthodox consider to be unhealthy are actually what make a person 'normal.'"

Advent Calendar: Click image for ordering informationOn November 15, many Orthodox Christian families will begin a journey to the Feast of the Nativity which is celebrated as Christmas in the US and Canada, on December 25. The Feast is preceded by a fast which, while not as strict as Lent, is observed as a kind of winter lenten season in preparation for the coming of Christ at His birth.

Christians who grew up celebrating western Christmas observed four Sunday of Advent, a period of preparation for the celebration on December 25, but Orthodox Christians commemorate the six Sundays of Advent which fall in the forty days of preparation.

The Orthodox Advent calendar is a helpful teaching tool; homemade calendars or ones ordered online can aid parents as they assist their children in preparing for the Feast of the Nativity. Doors opening each day highlight art, saints or scriptures that tell the story of the season, and kids often look forward to seeing what is behind the next door as the countdown to Christmas continues.

Creative parents can make their own calendars by following these instructions: Making a Family Orthodox Advent Calendar or for younger children, The Orthodox Advent Calendar. 

Order a ready-made Orthodox Advent calendar from Light and Life Publishing.