Articles

by Carole A. Buleza

This article is the second in a series based on Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton (Oxford University Press, 2005. The book received the 2006 Christianity and Culture Book Award.  The first article, “Christianity’s Mis-begotten Child” appeared in the March 2011 issue of The Word.

I knew that I would be writing more articles based on this book, which I consider exceptionally insightful and valuable. Soul Searching is the project report of professors at the University of North Carolina who received a grant to investigate how important faith is to American teenagers, why, and in what ways. The book received Christianity Today's 2006 Christianity and Culture book award.

The data for the report was gathered from 3,290 teenagers in the United States. The majority of the teenagers categorized themselves as Christian (82%); Protestants comprised the majority (52%) and Catholics were second (23%). The third largest category, those who considered themselves not religious, accounted for 16% of the respondents (31).

The book offers not only statistics but excerpts from the many interviews that were conducted, and the reflections of the authors. From my experience of working with teens and having two of my own, their analyses are correct, and their reflections are extremely valuable. Furthermore, they believe the beliefs held by the teenagers reflect those of the baby boomer generation, making the book valuable not only for youth ministers but also for pastors.

For the first four centuries of Christian history the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord was not a separate Church feast.

It was celebrated with Epiphany in one great feast of God’s appearance on earth in the form of the human Messiah of Israel.

The celebration of the Nativity began to be celebrated on Dec. 25 to offset the pagan festival of the "Invincible Sun" that occurred on that specific day. The Church consciously established it in an attempt to defeat the false religion of the heathens.

The Troparion of the Feast calls us to adore Christ, “the True Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi 4:2), who is Himself worshiped by all elements of nature, rather than worshiping the sun and stars. The three Wise Men or Magi (i.e. Sages) were astronomers, people who studied the stars.

The following articles are archived selections from Orthodox Family Life. The first deals with secular education in the public school setting. The second article pertains to Orthodox Home School, which is becoming increasingly popular and more common. Whether your children are part of the public school system or receiving their instruction at home, there are specific challenges unique to each setting. 

Making the Most of Your Children's Public School Education

by Ann Marie Gidus-Mecera

While the trend of many Christians today, including a growing number of Orthodox Christians, is to home school their children, many have chosen (or do so out of necessity) to educate their children through the public school systems.

Any concerned Orthodox parent is aware of the negatives attached to a public school education, and very often struggle with this on an on-going basis. While the purpose of this article is not to defend the benefits of a public school education, it will attempt to help Orthodox parents turn those negative factors into positive learning experiences.

Download the Department of Christian Education's Report to the General Assembly at the 2011 Archdiocese Convention in Chicago (PDF)

Part 3: Where Does It Take Place?

Click here to read Part 1
Click here to read Part 2

In her book Christian Education in the Small Membership Church, Karen Tye discusses the beginnings of the Sunday School, and the reasons it became relegated to formal Sunday morning classes exclusively.  In this section, she encourages us to expand our vision of Christian Education beyond the traditional Sunday morning box, to examine the one-room schoolhouse model , and the homeschooling concept of education.

The one-room school model is firmly fixed in American history, as it was the way early small communities collaborated to educate their children.   This form of education is certainly custom made for the small church school, which must of necessity have groups with a range of ages, as did the one-room schoolhouse.  In this sort of setting, older children learn while helping younger ones, and younger children have the older students as ready-made role models.  Each student learns at his own pace, and receives individual attention from the teacher, and there is very little presented in the group lesson format. 

Part 2: It's all About People!

Click here to read Part 1

In her book Christian Education in the Small Membership Church, Karen Tye reminds us that Christian education, like so many other things in life, is not primarily about programs or curriculum, it is about people.  When you are talking about a smaller church and its educational program, this is even more the case.  In a smaller church, you do not have the large numbers to draw from for participation, everyone knows everyone else, and in general, healthy interaction with the people involved becomes even more crucial.  The history of the parish comes into play, and so do the personalities of the parishioners.  Positively, in smaller programs, the talents and good will of the people are often the greatest assets of the church school.

Tye feels, along with most educators and psychologists, that there are three aspects of the human being that must be taken into account when teaching them- especially children:

Part 1:  Who Are We?

In her book Christian Education in the Small Membership Church, Karen Tye reviews the tendency of churches in America to want to “Super Size” their churches, much as we do our burger meals. She emphasizes however, that small churches are not just smaller, but also, different from their larger counterparts, and that we must realize this as we plan any programs in our churches, perhaps especially Christian Education programs. Smaller is not only different, but in some respects, better for the purposes of educating our children. While there are certainly differences between our Orthodox Churches and the Protestant ones she focuses on, most of the generalities she discusses run true for us also.

The first step in planning Christian Education programs in the smaller church, Tye says, is to evaluate what you have in your particular church.  There are certain characteristics of all small churches:

1. There’s a strong sense of community
2. It’s like a family
3. It has deep traditions
4. There is a high percentage of participation
5. The organizational structure tends to be simple in nature
6. Worship is the prime activity

While some of these characteristics may show up very strongly in one church, another may find different characteristics more true for them.  Deciding what your church “is,” involves evaluating the degree to which each is applicable in your case.

Some years ago when I was the Eastern Region Teen SOYO spiritual advisor, I was asked to put together a Teen Retreat Manual that could be used by Church School Teachers as well as SOYO members to hold retreats for their teens which were based on Moral Issues. The Eastern Region Teens at that time chose the topics they wanted covered in the manual. This manual became a how-to manual for setting up retreats as well as outlines for talks during those retreats. That manual was later published by the Antiochian Archdiocese of Christian Education and sold through the bookstore.

Today the Orthodox Christian Education Commission (OCEC) is conducting teacher training programs for our Church School teachers throughout the US and Canada. In the second set of Teacher Trainings, we cover moral issues. At the Orthodox Institute held each November at the Antiochian Village, I have been asked to address moral issues once again. From those talks and discussions and in the preparation of materials used for the OCEC manual, The Way, The Truth, and The Life, I put together the following booklet that I have used in workshops, Teen classes and retreats.

As I was asked to prepare the material for this July posting, I wanted to share this material with our readers. I have run it off as a booklet and given it to our teens to read. This can be done a week in advance, or, since it is short and concise, it can even be given to the teens at a retreat or conference to read the night before the discussion is held. It is by no means an exhaustive work on moral issues, but I think it touches on and introduces ideas for discussion.

I hope you find it useful in your ministry with our children.

In Christ, 

V. Rev. Fr. George Alberts

It’s so easy to get caught up in our vacation plans and grow lazy in our church attendance and spiritual life during the summer months.  As the following story reveals, God never goes on vacation and we shouldn’t find excuses to take a vacation from church.  How can we continue on our journey with Christ during the summer months?  Try implementing some of the ideas below and use them for inspiration in finding additional ways to keep your family close to Christ! 

This article is adapted from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Center for Family Care at www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/family

Where does God go for summer vacation? A little girl I know pondered that same question not too long ago. Sarah loved Sunday School; she went every Sunday. She liked being in church with her parents… but when summer came- it would all end!

Why wasn't there church? Why wasn't there any Sunday School? Where did her friends go? She really was concerned. She wondered why the choir stopped singing on Sundays. Even worse, she wondered why there wasn't church in the summer… when in actuality, her parents would just stop going to church in the summer!

The summer was their "time off". Time to lounge in the sun. Time to plan family vacations and weekends away. It was time to concentrate on rest and relaxation. But for Sarah, it was strange not to go to church, see her friends, or be with God.

On the day that her family piled into the station wagon to visit their grandmother, Sarah asked her mother, "Mom, where does God go for summer vacation? "

Her mother chuckled at the question, and told her God doesn’t go on vacation.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great king over all the earth.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.   (Ps. 95: 3-7)

There is nothing that our great God has created in heaven and earth that does not have its purpose.  He gave us the four seasons; one for planting; one for growing; a season to reap the harvest and a season for the earth to rest and be ready for renewal. 

He gave us the sun to warm us and light for the labor of our day.  He gave us the moon and the stars in the evening to soften the darkness we need to rest from our labors. 

He gave us the animals to help us in our labors.  He gave us the plants for food and to bring beauty to our lives.

We are the breath of God, created in His image.

Children are never too young to be brought to Church for services. The sooner we introduce them to the Church, her services, and her wisdom, the sooner we begin the process of "becoming" an Orthodox Christian. In order for Orthodoxy to make sense, our children need to experience all that the Church offers.

Make it part of this year's Lenten commitment to attend more services, or attend more often. When Holy Week comes, block out all other activities. Make it a point to attend every service you can with your children. Be creative so that you can keep little ones directed and occupied. Locate service books for children who can read. Explain what's going to happen. Talk about what Holy Week and Pascha were like when you were growing up.

The following article is taken from the Orthodox Family Life Archives:
http://www.theologic.com/oflweb/lentpask/share.htm

Ways to Share Great Lent and Pascha with Your Child

By Carole A. Buleza, Director

I am not alone in thinking there is something very wrong with Christianity today. A particularly salient symptom is the phrase, “It doesn’t matter the church you go to, we all worship the same God.” The disorder has been named “relativism,” but I believe I have found the true diagnosis: moralistic therapeutic deism.

I came across the phrase “moralistic therapeutic deism,” or “MTD,” in the middle of Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton (Oxford University Press, 2005). The book is the research report of professors at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. By way of forms, phone calls, and personal interviews, they surveyed 3,290 teenagers from around the United States to find out how important their faith was to them, why, and in what ways. The book contains stories as well as data, and received Christianity Today’s 2006 Christianity and Culture Book Award–-well-deserved.

Beloved in Christ,

Greetings in the name of our incarnate God and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ!

As we turn our thoughts once more to the birth into this world of the God-man Jesus, let us consider what God has given us to witness. While His conception at the Annunciation to the Virgin was in secret, His birth reveals Him openly. And what is revealed?

It is that our God, the Maker of all things, eternal, invisible, untouchable and incomprehensible to mortal man has now become one of us, a member of the human race. He retains His eternality while stepping into time. He remains the invisible God while becoming visible. He is beyond touching yet is now touchable. And though His essence as God is forever incomprehensible to us, in His incarnation as man, He has become truly knowable.

Greetings in the name of Our Lord,

I finished reading the book Soul Searching recently and believe that it has a great deal to say to those involved with the catechesis of children and youth. The authors, Christian Smith and Melissa Lundquist Denton, conducted a research project to find out about the religious and spiritual lives of today’s youth. The subject of my essay “Christianity’s Mis-begotten Child” is one of several topics treated in the book. Although the researchers surveyed mainly Protestant youth, the results are important to us too, as we live in a predominantly Protestant culture. My title ties the secularization of Christmas to the beliefs expressed by the majority of youth surveyed.

One major finding of the researchers was that today’s Christians are very inarticulate about their faith.

Ontario Training InstituteDon't miss these training events this fall:

October 2, 2010, at St. Philip Church, 15804 – 98 Street, Edmonton, AB. Contact Nellie Salloum at njsalloum@yahoo.com. 

     Go HERE for the Priest's Letter; Go HERE for the flyer; Registration information and details HERE.

October 9, 2010, Christ the Saviour Church, 5501 Old Locust Lane, Harrisburg, PA 17109. Contact Myra Kovalak, mekovalak@gmail.com.

     Go HERE for the flyer; Registration information and details HERE.

October 23, 2010 at the “Orthodox Institute Ontario,” St. George Church, Richmond Hill. Contact Joanieunis@hotmail.com.

     Go HERE for the flyer; Registration information and details HERE.

Some of the busiest people in Antiochian parishes currently, are teachers and church school directors preparing to kick off the 2010/2011 Sunday School year. Supporting all of this activity is the Department of Christian Education, headed by experienced educator Carole Buleza. Antiochian.org was able to catch up with Carole and find out about how her department is making a difference in the lives of teachers and children in parishes all across the country. Last summer in a groundbreaking presentation at the Clergy Symposium at Antiochian Village, Carole outlined "a new way thinking about Orthodox catechesis." 

1. Can you articulate for us your philosophy of Orthodox Christian Education, as it has developed over your years of experience?

My philosophy of successful Orthodox Christian Education developed first of all from my childhood. I was raised in a home where Sunday was for church and visiting, the holy days meant going to church, and the very special holy days involved special meals. I saw my mother pray the Divine Liturgy when she could not make it to church, and my dad read the Bible.

By Carole A. Buleza, Director, Department of Christian Education

A few weeks ago I taught our parish high school students. When in the course of our discussion I asked what happens when we die, according to our faith, they were silent. I was puzzled.

My puzzlement was due to the fact that these students had all been taught in 8th grade from the textbook, The Way, The Truth, and The Life, which contains the basic tenets, prayers, and practices of our faith. During the course, the students take four exams, covering 100 questions, which are called educational standards. These were determined by the members of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission. They had all passed the course. So, why were they vague on my question, which is one of the standards?

We are thrilled to have the continuing support of the hierarchs of Northern California for the continuing education we offer in the form of mini Orthodox Institutes. The three hierarchs, Bishop Joseph, Bishop Benjamin, and Metropolitan Gerasimos have encouraged training on a pan-Orthodox level, and are fully supportive of the ministry of Orthodox Christian Education. Their words lift us up, and we are honored to join them in the common goal of passing on the faith. Here is the letter read at the September event in San Francisco.

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. 

Mark your calendars for next year's Conference: March 31-April 3, 2011.

Icon used by permission of www.comeandseeicons.com

"Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy." - St Theophan the Recluse

“Of all holy works, the education of children is the most holy.” - St. Theophan the Recluse

“Father, please talk to my son, I don't know what to do....” I have heard this before but this was different this conversation renewed my perception of education.... The Teenager was feeling sheltered and struggling to be kind to his parents in the midst of the transition to college and adulthood.

In the Orthodox Church, there are a lot of customs and traditions that are important parts of our worship. Some are cultural; some are pious customs. Some are essential; some are not. From time-to-time, we need to address some of these various etiquette issues to inform our communities how we can best understand each other and work together to worship the all-holy Trinity.

My son Timothy, you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived.

Much of the Southeast suffered an ice storm this past December. The southeast does not ‘do’ ice or snow very well. We spent four days without power. The evening of the third day (Saturday) we went to stay with parishioners who had had their power restored. As we sat around the dining table. Ali (a bright eleven year old) asked the question.

Orthodox parents are given by God the responsibility of raising their children as 0rthodox Christians.  This task to be sure, is a difficult one.  Parents must make a commitment not only to become active in the Church but also make one to the religious education of their children.