Teen SOYO: On the Level by Mary Pier (Apr. ’02)
Lots of us look forward to the day when we’ll be 16, because then we’ll be able to drive. And some of us look forward to being 21, because among other thing we’ll officially be adults and not little kids anymore. However, before we reach those milestones in our lives, we’ll turn 13. Not only will we be teenagers, but we’ll be able to participate in Teen SOYO, one of the most happening things around. It’s a door to a whole new social life and age of responsibility. At first it is all about hanging out with the older teens in your church, and feeling important and responsible when you attend the meetings. Eventually over the years, you develop insoluble bonds of friendship and occasionally get to travel to exotic places (without your parents) like Delegates Meetings and Conventions, where you chill with these friends in fabulous hotels. It’s the life.
However, if we dig below the surface, there is a whole lot more to SOYO than meets the eye. The perks of hanging out with friends are just the marshmallows in your bowl of Lucky Charms. They may be sweet and tasty, but there is a lot more “stuff” in it that makes it “magically delicious.”
What is SOYO? SOYO stands for Society of Orthodox Youth Organizations. It’s a youth group. Kids from the ages of 13 to 19 comprise its membership. Some teens even take leadership roles and help direct SOYO’s actions, whether it be in their local chapter or in the national organization. SOYO’s mission statement encompasses four main goals: worship, witness, service, and fellowship.
Worship means just what is says. SOYO encourages teens to attend and involve themselves in the church’s services, Sacraments, and to participate in “Holy Tradition.” This includes but is not limited to praying together, attending retreats, visiting monasteries, holding Holy Vigil, participating in Bible studies or even giving a sermon!
Witness encompasses showing to the world that you are a Christian to others, not necessarily by words, but by your actions. These actions focus mainly on charity and community service outside of your parish. This could be anything from helping out at the local food pantry to visiting a nursing home.
Service is a parallel concept to witness. It includes what witness omits: service within the parish. This includes singing in the choir, serving on the altar, making holy bread, and sponsoring coffee hour. We are given “gifts” and “talents.” Service challenges us to put them to work in our parish.
Lastly, and the most enjoyable aspect of SOYO, is fellowship. Fellowship is “just chillin’ ”— doing things as a SOYO purely for some good ol’ Christian fun. Going skiing, holding dances, haflis, seeing plays and movies together, even supporting other teen SOYO members in sporting events. The Trinity shows perfect love in community. When we gather in His Name and share love and community, we emulate the life of the Holy Trinity. With this definition, EVERYTHING that we do in SOYO is fellowship. Whether we attend a retreat (worship), visit a nursing home (witness), sing in the choir (service), or go skiing, if we do it together as a community then we are in fellowship.
So now we know what SOYO is and does, but how does the individual fit into the puzzle? You can participate in SOYO on so many levels: your home parish (chapter), regionally, or on the national level. In your home parish you can stay active and participate in the events that your chapter holds. The more the merrier! If you are more of an ambitious person and like responsibility, you could take a leadership position as President, Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer. These people plan and carry out all the activities within the chapter. They are also responsible for communicating to the region their activities and for completing assigned projects that the region, as a whole, has decided to do.
All the local chapters combined in a certain area make up a region. In a region, there is also an executive board consisting of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and in addition, committee chairs. These people organize all of the projects that the local chapters in the region take on together. They are also responsible for letting the National Board know what the regional activities are, and for informing the local chapters of national projects.
The national level also has a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Its members are composed of the regional boards and presidents. Since it is very large, the national Teen SOYO is often responsible for sponsoring huge projects such as the Special Olympics Training Camp at the Antiochian Village.
So now we know what SOYO is and how we can play our part, but why? What can we gain from this experience? I’ve been a part of SOYO for some time now, and there is no way I can fully comprehend all the ways it has affected me and made me the person that I am today. I started to be involved in SOYO at a relatively young age. I served my first year as Treasurer, and then three more years as President of my local chapter. The more time I spent working in SOYO, the more I wanted to do. I gradually took up regional committee chairs and am currently the Vice-President of the Eastern Region. I felt and continue to feel encouraged to make a difference, whether it be in my parish, community, or region. When I participate in SOYO, I feel good about what I am doing. However, the effect that SOYO has had on me is even greater. The more time I spend in SOYO, the more I feel myself growing closer and more connected to the Church. It is almost as if I have developed a separate life from the real world. SOYO creates an environment where we can separate ourselves from a temptationfilled world and live in a loving Christian setting. Only through SOYO do we stand in an empty church, enveloped in darkness, smelling the sweet flowers, reading the Scripture by the tomb of Christ with our fellow SOYO members. And maybe we’ll crack a smile as our partner stumbles over the names in the genealogy of Christ, but for the most part, we are overwhelmed with amazement at partaking in the scene which inexplicably puts us so at peace. Through SOYO, we meet some of the greatest friends we will ever know. They are Orthodox friends and the fact that they are involved in SOYO already says something about what their life is about. We can tell them anything, even things that we can’t tell our best friend from school. The amazing thing is they always seem to understand, and they always seem to find the words that make it all make sense. This environment is totally unique and attainable if you give your all to SOYO and hold nothing back.
Lastly, SOYO is not the last stop for us on the train of life. SOYO merely takes us to the first waystation in our Church life. We merely switch trains for a different destination of service. I think that my friend Tom Wilhem got it all when he said: “SOYO is for us to see, and be seen.” He meant that SOYO is just the first stepping-stone. Eventually we are going to get older, and then what happens? Do we stop being involved in the Church? Does our role end there? No. SOYO is for us to see and get a taste for what is to come. Maybe you will be the next Sunday School Teacher or Choir Director in your church. You might become the next member of the Parish Council, The Fellowship of St. John the Divine, The Order of St. Ignatius, or the Antiochian Women. Maybe you’ll be drawn to the priesthood or monastic life. In turn, we are still seen by our community and our ability is manifested to them. When we eventually do outgrow SOYO (which is inevitable) and transfer to another role in the Church, our capabilities are already known and have been tested. Not only are others aware of what we can do, but we have also proved to ourselves that we have a lot that we can offer to the Church.
In closing, SOYO is awesome. It is not us as individuals, but us as a community that makes SOYO possible. Through SOYO you’ll meet the most amazing and life-long friends. It will become an essential part to developing your faith and role in the Church. So get involved in SOYO, go to the haflis, the ski trips, the retreats, the community service projects, and chill with your friends while you are still young. Consider taking a more active and involved role in your SOYO, and you will find yourself rewarded on more levels than you could have ever imagined.