College Ministry

Generous Grant Supports OCF Programming

Fishers, IN – November 11, 2009

Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) continues to receive funding from the Lilly Endowment in support of its Just Love service learning programs, having recently been awarded a matching grant of $35,000. The grant comes as part of the Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (PETV).

In the past year, OCF has been able to add several new service learning programs due to the support of the Lilly Endowment. One of these programs, Just Love, is an inner-city immersion program designed to allow students to spend a day serving the poor of their city, learn about the complexity of poverty and the challenges facing the poor, and how we are called as Christians to respond.

Another new program these funds will go to support is the Pilgrimage for Justice. This yearly event brings students together from throughout North America to experience and reflect upon some of the harsh realities of injustice in our world today such as human trafficking and homelessness. The very first Pilgrimage was held in June of this year and incorporated simulated activities, reflective exercises, and prayer to challenge students to live out the Gospel each day of their lives.

OCF Launches Improved Podcast

SYOSSET, NY [OCA-Youth] -- Jonathan Bush of Saint Anne Mission, Knoxville, TN, a student at the University of Tennessee, and Andrew Boyd, a first year student at Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY and a member of Saint Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Church, Clinton, CT, were the driving force behind a revamped ministry of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship -- the OCF podcast.

Featuring music, interviews, and other recorded presentations, the OCF podcast helps keep Orthodox Christian students connected to the Church.

The first episode of the podcast discusses the transition to college life and features clips of an interview with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah and an excerpt from a sermon by the Rev. Stephen Freeman, rector of Saint Anne's.

The podcast may be downloaded here. http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/ocf/transitions_and_new_beginnings

The revamped podcast is the product of the recent New Media in College Ministry workshop hosted in Chicago in August 2009 by the Orthodox Church in America's Department of Youth, Young Adults and Campus Ministry, which cooperates closely with OCF. [Read about the workshop here.]

The OCF podcast is a free ministry of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, the official campus ministry of the Standing conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas [SCOBA]. For more information please contact Jonathan Bush at ocfpodcaster@gmail.com or Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak at jmatusiak@oca.org.

FOCUS sponsors Youth Equipped to Serve (YES) Weekend in Kansas City

September 29th, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This past weekend, a team of 20 youth participated in FOCUS North America’s YES Program (formerly known as OYO), serving our most needy neighbors in Kansas City.

They arrived from parishes in Wichita, KS, Oklahoma City, OK, and Kansas City, eager to be used by God to meet the fundamental needs of His people. They did not expect, however, that they would receive much more from the experience than they would give. After three intense days, the youth gained a new perspective on the poor and homeless: they came expecting to serve them, but, instead, found their own lives forever changed by the encounter.

“They are just like us,” one participant said. Another said, “I don’t know how anyone can come on a FOCUS North America YES trip and not be changed.”

Living out Matthew 25, the youth engaged in several social action projects throughout the weekend. They served and ate dinner with many homeless and working poor in the city, listening to their stories and enjoying fellowship with them. They distributed clothing to mothers who had no means to clothe their children. They walked around the famous outdoor Country Club Plaza in Kansas City with newly opened eyes, looking beyond the glamour to perceive and meet the needs of the homeless on the streets. But, as the youth realized, they themselves were fed and clothed by the face-to-face encounter with real living icons of Christ, with the poor of the city. As one participant said, “They really open themselves to you; they’ll sit and talk to you forever, when most people in school will never give their time to you like that.”

Registration Begins for OCF College Conference 2009 on September 20th

Fishers, IN – September 16, 2009

Registration for 2009 College Conference opens Sunday, September 20^thand runs through December 1^st. “Building Community” (II Corinthians 13:14) is the chosen theme for this year’s conference. Identical conferences will run simultaneously from December 27-31 in two locations: the Antiochian Village in Bolivar, Pennsylvania and the Diakonia Center in Salem, South Carolina.

OCF is honored this year to announce that His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah will be the keynote speaker at the Antiochian Village. Additionally, The Very Reverend Father Jon Braun will be delivering the keynote addresses at the Diakonia Center.

Registration is $325 for students and $375 for alumni. Included in the registration fee are transformative keynote addresses and inspiring workshops, social events, a dinner/dance, memories and friendships that will last a lifetime as well as lodging and meals.

Space is limited so register early. Some scholarships are available. Please visit www.ocf.net or call 1-800-919-1623 for more information.

For additional information contact:

Kelli Phillips

Program Director,
Orthodox Christian Fellowship
kelli@ocf.net
www.ocf.net

College Student Sunday + September 20, 2009

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
“Keeping our College Students Connected to the Church”
OCF COLLEGE STUDENT SUNDAY 2009

A discussion of College Student Sunday on the OCN Now podcast

Fishers, IN – September 16, 2009

Since 2003, the Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) have designated the Sunday following the Elevation of the Holy Cross as OCF College Student Sunday. They ask all faithful Orthodox Christians in North America to call to mind and prayer our college students. We invite you to read the 2009 SCOBA College Student Sunday Encyclical at www.ocf.net/css.

OCF’s mission is to help Our Youth discover that it is communion with God, through life in the Church, which gives real meaning and significance to life.

Orthodox Christian Fellowship is Our Campus Ministry. It exists to come alongside families and parishes to provide solutions. OCF provides curricula, educational DVDs, service learning encounters and an interactive website that help our students apply their faith in their daily lives. On a program level, OCF offers large-scale, transformative opportunities annually, such as College Conference and Real Break.

Currently, we have 270 local college/university chapters in the United States and Canada. Together these individual chapters represent the backbone of the OCF ministry and Our Future of the Orthodox Church in North America.