Revelations v1.6 - May 2006 | Antiochian.org Orthodox Church

	Revelations The Fellowship of St. John the Divine Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 6, May 2006
Inside this issue: + Paschal Message + Inaugural Fellowship Retreat + Important Parish Life Conference info + Food for the Hungry People Reminder + Mission to Alaska + Camp Transfiguration: the light on the mountain + People and Places
Brothers and sisters in Christ Christ is Risen The great ‘Great Lenten’ journey blessed hearts, minds and bodies, families, parishes and communities. Thanks be to God for this time of elevated spiritual awareness and growth. Many of you sought counsel from and were guided by your spiritual fathers during the recent Great Lenten walk of faith. What a joy it is indeed to have the privilege of keeping the rule of our spiritual Fathers! In many parishes, times of confession and spiritual counsel significantly drop-off after Holy Pascha. I pray that we will remain faithful to seek and heed the spiritual counsel of those who oversee our souls not only during times of intensified fasting, almsgiving, prayer and worship but throughout the year. In the letter to the Hebrews we read: “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” (Hebrews 12: 7-8) The Lord gives His children spiritual fathers who love, guide and nudge … even chasten us. St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite counsels that if we keep the rule of our Spiritual Father, we show that we are truly repenting and that we are a genuine child of God and of the Holy Church, which designated this chastisement. If, on the contrary, we violate the rule of our Spiritual Father, it is a sign that our repentance is not true, but false. It is a sign that we are not a genuine child of God and of the Church. So, may the joy of Pascha continue in your hearts as you carry on the spiritual struggle of faith. May the transforming process into the image of our Lord be maintained. And, may the loving instruction, the rule of our Spiritual Fathers, not wane one iota … for Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Your servant in the Lord, Father Paul
The First Annual Diocesan Young Adults Retreat LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!!! Theme: “Hearts Afire: the Joyfulness of Pentecost” Location: St. George Church, Montréal, Québec (555 Jean Talon St. East) Speaker: Father Maxym Lysack from Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church, Ottawa, Ontario When: May 12-14, 2006 Click on the poster to enlarge and here for more information regarding registration.
*Important Parish Life Conference Info* General Info This year’s Parish Life Conference will be held in Toronto, Ontario by St. George Church from June 29 to July 2, 2006. A Message from the Creative Arts Coordinator To: Church School Directors Since the PLC is not until the end of June, over the Canada Day weekend, I am setting the deadline for Monday, May 22nd. That should give everyone, including me, enough time to get everything done. Please send your entries via Express Delivery to: Eleanor Kinan 1115 Vanderbilt Ave Niagara Falls, NY 14305-1645 (716) 285-1912 Res. (716) 435-7124 Cell Please send them out in enough time for me to receive them no later than May 22nd. You might want to set your own deadline for at least 1 week earlier so that you can check to make sure all entries meet the guidelines. The guidelines for our diocese can be found on the Archdiocese web site at www.antiochian.org but every church should have a manual on file. Please make sure, when the students turn in their photography entries, that they are the ones who took the pictures and are not in the photo. We cannot accept digital photos since the guidelines also state that the photos must be developed in a conventional manner. If you have any questions, please get in touch with me as soon as possible. This year, I cannot extend the deadline for anyone as there is much to do on my end. Make sure everything is turned in to you on time so you don't disappoint your students by not having their works entered for judging due to tardiness. If you are not the Church School Director for your parish, please print this letter and make sure it goes to the right people. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Your sister in Christ, Eleanor Kinan Festivals Coordinator Oratorical Festival Greetings in the Name of our Lord! I just wanted to let you know that we have recently upgraded the Oratorical Festival page of the Archdiocese website! Please check out www.antiochian.org/oratorical. It contains the Conference Theme and a wealth of resources for our diocesan coordinators to equip our youth to participate in the Festivals in all the Parish Life Conferences. As NAC Coordinator, I'll be the webmaster for the Oratorical page. Within the coming weeks, we aim to post more "Recommended Readings" to help our teen participants research the topic so they can give the best orations possible. However, we only have ONE Recommended Reading right now, so I can use your help. If you know of any books, articles, or resources to add to this list pertaining to the Conference Theme (Joel 2:28), please forward that information to me. I'll then run it by Fr. Joseph Purpura for approval and posting. Please do visit the site, and tell your teens to do the same! Please encourage your youth in your parishes to get involved with the Oratorical Festival. This is the perfect week to do just that, because most of our teens will be in church every night for the Holy Week services. I wish you a joyous Pascha! In Christ, Peter Samore
*Food for the Hungry People* Just a friendly reminder to please return your contributions to Food for the Hungry People to Robin Nicholas as soon as possible.
*Mission to Alaska* The NAC Fellowship of St. John the Divine is organizing a mission trip to the Kodiak region of Alaska this summer. For those with a sense of adventure, click on the picture for more info.
*Camp Transfiguration: the light on the mountain* This will mark the 4th year of Camp Transfiguration, an Antiochian Orthodox Christian camp in Quebec. This camp is designed to enrich our young peoples’ lives through daily teaching, praying, appreciation of nature and fellowship with fellow Orthodox Christians. There are very few experiences a child can have that will give him/her such a direct and thorough exposure to Orthodoxy. This year, the camp will take place at Camp Tamaracouta, a boy scout-run facility, during the week of July 30-August 5, 2006. Please consider sending your children/godchildren/nieces and nephews to this camp. Also, the camp will only be as effective as the volunteers, staff and counselors that run it. That means you! Once again, click on the camp icon to learn more about the camp, see pictures from previous years and find out how you can get involved.
*People and Places* This is a new section to REVELATIONS. It is reserved to highlight great achievements of our fellow parishoners. Mark Kinan, a member of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Oakland, PA and son of Eleanor Kinan, our Creative Arts Coordinator, was recently featured in a Pittsburgh newspaper for his contribution to Byzantine Iconography.
If you would like to submit news about your parish, an update about a program you're coordinating, or share prayer requests, please send me your text by the 25th of each month so I can include it in the next issue of the newsletter. See archived issues of REVELATIONS
Tom Saba, Newsletter Editor