Youth and Family
The Antiochian Archdiocese is home to a range of ministries laboring for the sake of our youth and our families. Although all of these programs together encompass a broad range of activity and age groups, all share the same goal: to encourage full participation in the life of the Church through worship, witness, service, and fellowship. All of these ministries are looking for ways to help Orthodox parents navigate the challenging parenting climate of today. This page compiles all of the departments serving kids and parents, and provides a roadmap for Antiochian Christians who are looking for resources and support within our Archdiocese. Are we missing something important? Is there a book, an article, a camp, a youth activity that should be here? Email us at editor@antiochian.org with input and suggestions.
Raising Godly Children (Bishop THOMAS)
These notes are from a presentation by His Grace Bishop THOMAS at Orthodox Institute 2009, Antiochian Village Heritage and Learning Center, Bolivar, Pa., November 5-8, 2009. Download a printer-friendly version.
Parents, take the initiative to find out what your children are learning in Church School. Build upon the weekly lessons at home with supplemental teaching.
Register for Winter Camp at Antiochian Village
The days are becoming chilly at the Village and the nights are downright cold. That can only mean one thing - Winter Camp must be around the corner. We have two sessions of Winter Camp planned for young people in grades 7 through 12 on the observances of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend (Jan. 15-18) and Presidents weekend (Feb. 12-15). There are two ways to register: online or mail-in paper forms. If you register online, you will need to download and mail the Medical and Snow-tubing forms. We are also accepting Winter Camp Staff applications. Our tentative theme for both sessions of Winter Camp is "The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make." Don't wait another day, register today! Check back soon for more details and visit our Winter Camp page for additional information.
Orthodox Christian Camp & Youth Worker Conference + January 28-30, 2010
January 28-30, 2010 + Silver Spring, MD
Click here for more information
Download event flyer (PDF)
Camp directors, youth workers, administrators, cabin staff and youth advisors from all SCOBA jurisdictions are welcome! Featured keynote speaker will be His Grace Bishop DANIEL of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.
The 2010 Orthodox Christian Camp and Youth Worker Conference will be held January 28-30, 2010 in Silver Springs, MD (30 minutes from Washington, DC) and hosted by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. This year's theme is "Communicating the Gospel in the 21st Century." We invite all youth workers, church school teachers, camp directors, camp staff, and anyone interested in working with youth to attend this annual conference.
Christian Education Department Launches New and Improved Web Resources
The Antiochian Archdiocese’s Christian Education Director Carole Buleza, department web editor Timm Wenger, and the team at antiochian.org, have redesigned and significantly improved the department’s popular web pages this fall. At www.antiochian.org/christianeducation, browsers can find resources for parents, Sunday School teachers and directors, youth workers and homeschoolers. Curriculum is readily available, and a special section created for small church schools helps instructors in communities where resources are limited. The Department of Christian Education now has a Facebook presence as well, and teachers can log in by clicking the Facebook button for that purpose posted on the web page’s right-hand column.
October 2009: Archdiocese Youth Month
Convention SOYO Leadership Training 2009October is the month to introduce teens to the many opportunities to minister in the Church, including such activities as reading the Epistle, taking the collections, chanting, singing in the Choir, helping in the Church School, and giving sermons approved by the priest. While we want teens always to be active in the services of the Church, October has been set aside in particular to recognize our teens and to give them more opportunities to serve.
One way our teens can get involved is by being encouraged to participate in the Creative Festivals, and the Bible Bowl and Oratorical Festival in 2010. This year’s theme revolves around ecology, and its central Scripture is: “The earth is the Lord’s and its fullness. The world and all who dwell therein.” God created all; all that is in that world, in the air, on the land, and in the sea; and the people of God. Complete topics, rules, and a recommended reading list are available online at: http://www.antiochian.org/festivals.
Please visit our Youth and Family page, and more links follow (click "Read More"):
Jason Barker Launches OrthodoxResource.com
OrthodoxResource.com is not only the online home for the Orthodox Life Tips podcast, but it is also the central gathering place for all the podcasts, studies and other resources created by Jason for different Orthodox groups, including Antiochian Archdiocese youth programs, Ancient Faith Radio, and Orthodox Christian Network, as well as articles he writes specially for OrthodoxResource.com.
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.”
