Youth Month
October is Youth Month
Our Teen president gave the following sermon on Sunday, October 3.
Good morning, everyone. Worship, Witness, Service, and Fellowship. These are the four themes for which Teen SOYO stands. October is youth month, and the members of our Teen SOYO group will be actively practicing these themes throughout our parish. We will be reading the weekly epistles and sermons, collecting trays, and ushering. We will also be showing our support for those who are in need by hosting our annual Special Olympics Luncheon this month. It is important for us to carry out these topics not only within our church, but outside of it as well. It says in Matthew Chapter 4, verse 10: “You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only you shall serve…” What does it mean to worship? Love, praise, honor and respect are a few things that come to mind. These sentiments may apply to many things or people in our lives, yet our esteem for God is incomparable. There is nothing on this earth that we worship but for God Himself. We should thus be consistent and passionate in our devotion to Him and show Him the utmost reverence in our daily lives by following His Word and will. Even our liturgical hymns express the importance of worship and love as heard in fifth tone of the Troparion of the Resurrection, which states, “Let all us believers give praise and worship to the Word.” The most obvious examples of our veneration to God are through prayer, serving in the altar, singing in the choir, and teaching Sunday School to spread God’s wisdom. When we think of the word witness, we think of it in judicial terms – perhaps something we’ve seen on the evening news. However, in terms of our faith, the act of witnessing is far greater than that. When we witness, we are openly showing our faith in God and in His way of life. Traditionally speaking, witnessing is seen as something done by martyrs, yet it could be as simple as letting someone know you’re an Orthodox Christian when asked what religion you follow. By doing so, we are proclaiming the divinity of Christ because “he who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.” (First Epistle of John Chapter 5, verse 10) Only having knowledge of God is not sufficient to become a good Christian; one must exercise what they have learned through Christ by serving Him -- as affirmed by James in his epistle, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (Chapter 2, verse 26). We serve others not only because we love them but because we love God. Most importantly, by helping others, we are actually serving God. We find this in the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus foresees how God will make the final judgment -- “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Chapter 25, verse 40) We as teens take this to heart when we plan our activities, which include feeding the homeless, supporting charitable organizations, visiting the sick and the elderly during the holiday season, and even providing a good example for the children of our parish. None of the above themes could be executed without the final one – fellowship. Strength is in numbers, and with our peers by our side, we are able to accomplish the will of God and celebrate His liturgy, which literally means “the work of the people.” We have the fortunate opportunity to unite as one in our common faith in the house of God. Being an age-specific group, us Teen SOYO members share similar obstacles and experiences as we have grown and matured, which has strengthened our bonds of friendship, both spiritually and socially. It is thus important for us to maintain and expand our group so that others may undergo what we have already and continue to be privileged to experience. If you are or know any teens, please join us in our resolve to live in Christ’s name. Thank you. The following sermon was given on Sunday, October 10, by one of the Teens of the parish.
Good morning. When I first read this past year’s Parish Life Conference theme, I did not fully comprehend its meaning until I began to relate it to my own life. Up until a couple of years ago, my family and I never attended church except for a few occasions. During these times, my siblings and I would always be extremely bored, counting down the minutes until Divine Liturgy would end and the after church luncheons would begin. Fish on Palm Sunday, meats on Easter for the end of Lent, turkey and ham on Christmas were the only things on our minds as the priest chanted the Sunday hymns. Nothing really captured us into wanting to attend church every week until one Sunday a few of the teens decided to introduce themselves to our family. They told us about Teen SOYO and invited my sister and me to their next meeting, and we soon saw the great humanitarian projects and spiritual events in which these children were involved. My sister and I finally overcame our first impression of church as a boring way to spend an hour and began realizing the true purpose of going to service. We even encouraged my brother to become an altar boy, and attending church became a weekly family event; we all were becoming more active Christians. The culmination of my understanding occurred when I received the sacrament of confession for the first time and felt the divine purity of a clean conscience. I thus became closer to God because I asked for forgiveness and was blessed by the Holy Spirit. It was at that point that I understood how much I had been missing. In the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10 verse 14, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them for such is the An application of this theme is infant baptism. In Mark 1:4, we learn that John the Baptist came baptizing for repentance and the remission of sins. Following the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus, the role of baptism became far greater. John the Baptist prophesied this in Mark 1:8 “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,” with He referring to Christ himself. Whereas the purpose of John’s baptism was for simple atonement, the new baptism served not only as spiritual cleansing but to also forge a personal connection to Jesus. As a result this is a vital sacrament in the life of a Christian. It would be devastating to deny someone from being blessed in Christ’s name, if they were worthy of it. Some might argue that it is critical for a child to develop their own moral understanding, but with Christ on their side, not only is this guaranteed, but with each decision that they make, they will be guided by the Holy Spirit and will have the knowledge that they are living in Orthodoxy. In essence, they will be right before they have the chance to be wrong. Infant baptism is sanctioned by the Gospels since Christ Himself said that "whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" (Mark 10:15). Luckily for me, I returned to the church at a young enough age so that I can further my knowledge of the path to Christ and that I might receive the Thank you. Delivered in church by one of our younger teens on Special Olympics Awareness Day October 17, 2004 . Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Today, throughout our archdiocese, the North American Council (NAC) of Teen SOYO is sponsoring the 25th Annual Special Olympics Awareness Day. For two and one half decades, we, the teens of our Archdiocese, have hosted a week-long camp at the Antiochian Village for Pennsylvania Special Olympics athletes to continue their training. Our camp offers a unique experience for the athletes, their coaches and members of Teen SOYO to appreciate God's many blessings. Each year our Teen SOYO coaches arrive at camp expecting to impact the lives of these very special athletes, and ultimately, we are the ones who walk away changed and more enlightened. Each year NAC Teen SOYO covers the cost of the camp, approximately $40,000, through the generosity of you, our fellow parishioners. Through the years we have hosted more than 3,000 athletes and coaches. Approximately 500 of our teens have had the rare experience of participating as a coach or volunteer at the camp. This past year we had a little more than 200 participants at camp. The athletes trained in basketball, softball, soccer, track and field, volleyball, swimming, golf, tennis,and bocce. The evening programs included a trip to Idlewild Park, a talent show, movie night -- complete with popcorn and a farewell dance. It was a week to remember for everyone. The youth of our Archdiocese through the Special Olympics Camp realize the platform of ourYouth ministry of "Living the Orthodox Faith in Jesus Christ through Worship, Witness, Service and Fellowship." As volunteers, representing our entire Archdiocese, we offer ourselves in service to make this week an unforgettable one for the athletes. We are very blessed to have the opportunity to serve, pray and play with these special athletes. Today, we ask for your prayers and your financial assistance to enable us to sponsor the 25th Annual Special Olympics Sports Camp next summer. Your generosity has enabled us to continue this very worthwhile ministry. Lives have been changed, both for the athletes and many of our teens. We, the teens of our Archdiocese, thank God for your ongoing support and the opportunity for us to serve others through the NAC Teen SOYO Special Olympics Camp. As an expression of our gratitude, we have an icon of our Lord at His birth for you today. Thank you for your support of the 25 Annual Special Olympics Camp. May God bless you and all of our participants of the Special Olympics Camp at the Antiochian Village. An Evening with the Teens - 10/23/04 . . . 10/24/04 Epistle Reading Kid's Sermon- Don't Worship Idles - Commandment #2 - Especially Little Horses . . .
In this gospel, Jesus makes the choice that the man he helps should remain in his own community to spread the good news rather than have him be a follower like the other disciples. The choice He makes shows He has a heart for mankind. In Luke 8:26-39, Jesus sails to the Gadarenes. There, he meets a man from the city who is possessed by demons and has been for a long time. He had no clothes on and did not live in a house, but near the tombs. When he meets Jesus he asks not to be hurt and Jesus commands the spirits to come out of the man. Jesus asks the man for a name and he answers Legion because of the demons in his body. The demons begged Jesus not to force them into the abyss, but rather into the bodies of the herd of swine nearby. The swine were considered unclean by the Jews. So Jesus permits the demons and they embody the swine that then go running down the steep slope into a lake and drown. So the man is healed but the owners of the pigs are mad because their pigs have drowned. The formerly possesed man is so grateful of what Jesus has done for him so he wants to travel and be a follower of Jesus, but Jesus tells him "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." So the man went away to proclaim to others the good news of what great and wonderful things Jesus has done for him. In the story, Jesus was concerned about healing the demon-possessed man and telling him to spread the great things God has done in his own neighborhood. He did not want him to join Jesus as a travelling disicple but to stay in his own community. When Jesus tells the man to spread the good news of what God has done for him, it shows that Jesus loves mankind. Jesus wants the man to spread the faith and tell others to believe. Jesus can free us of our own demons such as the feeling of guilt, mistakes and hatred for others. Ask and you shall receive. We can ask for forgiveness from our friends, family and others. When we humble ourselves, we cleanse our sins. We can be freed from our own demons inside through confession, praying, having faith and conveying to others the message that Jesus is truly great. So remember, no matter how bad the things we do are, whether by word or by deed, Jesus loves us all the same as long as we love Him and spread the good news.
Our Teens collected $681 for Special Olympics. Thank you!
The Epistle Reading
Kid's Sermon
Collection
The Sunday Sermon