Especially for Directors

Heaven and earth meet in the Church through the Divine Liturgy. The newest full-color zine from the Greek Department of Religious Education begins with a brief history of worship in the Orthodox Church and then details each section of the Divine Liturgy.

Orthodox Institute 2009 will be held November 5-8, 2009, at Antiochian Village, Ligonier, Pa. This year’s theme is Beyond the Classroom. We are pleased to present two keynote speakers: His Grace, Bishop THOMAS, Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic, and Paul Finley, Executive Director of Antiochian Village.

We've put together a comprehensive guide of many curriculum options for those who work with teens.

1. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has published the first of three VCS programs: The Twelve Great Feastdays, available only in print. It is designed for five half-day sessions for ages 5-11, but includes suggestions for adapting it to different schedules and ages. It is available for purchase at 800-566-1088. 

2. The Hub describes many details, such as choosing a theme, daily schedule, choir rehearsal, and more.

FREE DOWNLOAD! Modules of 1-2 lessons for 3-4 different age groups. Some of the lessons are based on the Orthodox Church in America’s Youth theme of the year, such as Champions of the Faith. Other topics are suitable for seasonable emphases such as stewardship, charity, and missions, and may work for retreat settings.  

FREE DOWNLOAD! FOCUS is a series of modules of 5-6 lessons for 5 different age groups. Topics covered are the Journey to Pascha, the growth of Orthodox Christianity in North America, the Theotokos, and the Nativity season.

Here are some plays that are heavier on narration than on dialogue, which is easier for young children. Older students may enjoy the book (#4), which has more dialogue/memorizing lines.

1. The Trial of Jesus – an enactment of Jesus’ trial; includes two scenes and narration. Role-playing like

this could be easily adapted for any topic. 

2. A collection of plays written and produced by local parishes.

3. Christmas plays (click on Resources – Christmas Plays)

4. Playing It up for Christmas – a book of 5 Christmas plays.

Visit the Orthodox Church in America's Department of Christian Education website at www.dce.oca.org.

Resources include:

• Complete (FOCUS) Units. There are five units: Monasticism, Journey to Pascha, The Nativity Season, My Orthodox Family, and The Theotokos. The units consist of of 5-8 lessons written at five levels, preschool-adult.
• Mini Units. There are 15 multi-leveled units of 1-2 lessons, including Mission, Repentance, and Champions of Faith.
• Teacher Resources. In this category there are 182 articles, handouts, music, bible stories, tools, and activities.

Phyllis Meshel Onest, M.Div., the Director of Religious Education for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh, has compiled an exhaustive resource list for both church school and home use at www.phyllisonest.com.

• Sources of books, icons, tapes, magazines
• Home Schooling Resources
• Websites at Your Fingertips
• Church School Director Resources
• Church School Teacher's Notebook
• Great Lessons Need These….!
• Jr. & Sr. High Resources
• Parents & Families Resources
• Pre-School Resources
• Small Church School Resources 

Children's Orthodox Christian School Bulletin. St. Nicholas Orthodox Parochial School, Inc., Tarpon Springs, Florida, publishes the Children's Orthodox Christian School Bulletin weekly from September through June of each year. The bulletin is a copyrighted piece which is distributed electronically to approximately 1,000 individuals and organizations in the United States, Canada and the Far East.

The Department of Christian Education coordinates the Art, Poetry, Creative Writing and Photography festivals.

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.

Graduation Day- we look forward to it with great anticipation. It’s a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood. This rite of passage maybe true for Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Most great teachers will tell you that the schooling received prior to graduation is only a preparation for “learning to learn” and a lifetime of learning. And so it must be with Christian education.

A number of years ago, I received an interesting call from a concerned parishioner.  The previous week’s bulletin had run an announcement that Church School registration would begin soon, and that parents or grandparents of all children ages four and up should register their children.

The tithing theme for 2009-2010 is To Tithe Is To Show That We Care for the Church. On this web page you will find a set of parish posters, Teacher Notes, Student Booklets, and other materials.