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.
A Mother's Reflections on Her Son's Ordination
Fr. John Hogg's OrdinationWhen our family came to Orthodoxy nearly seven years ago, we were often asked by worried Protestants whether or not we still believed in “the Trinity.” This always dumbfounded us, until we remembered that few, if any, of these questioners had ever attended an Orthodox liturgy. How could they know? How could they know that beginning with “Blessed is the Kingdom, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the Trinity is mentioned – and worshipped – more often in a single service than occurs in a month of Sundays elsewhere. We appreciated their concern, but assured them that our beliefs about God were most definitely still Trinitarian.
This past Super Bowl Sunday, however, caused me to reflect on the phrase “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” in a new way. On that day, February 5, 2012, my son, John, was ordained a priest at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. During the Divine Liturgy, shortly after the Great Entrance, Father Steven Mathewes and Father Gregory Hogg led John in front of the altar and down into a kneeling position, presenting him as a candidate for ordination to the priesthood of the Holy Orthodox Church. Father Gregory Hogg: that would be my husband, and John’s biological father.
"Come Receive the Light" Focuses on Faith and Family
"Come Receive the Light," the flagship podcast of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), is running a series in May about Orthodox parenting. Notes Father Chris Metropulos, OCN's Executive Director, "I don't know about you but I never took a course in parenting either in high school or college but I did learn a great deal from my parents and I must confess I am learning about it every day as I watch our six children and now two grandchildren grow and mature."
The scheduled topics are:
May 4
Speaker: Dr. Philip Mamalakis
Topic: Parenting with a Purpose
This week, we begin our monthly theme of parenting with Dr. Philip Mamalakis. What is the relationship between our parenting and our faith? Dr. Mamalakis reflects on the connection between the Divine Liturgy and our everyday parenting goals, like getting kids to bed on time.
May 11
Speaker: Dr. Nick Yphantides
Topic: Fueling our Kids to Excel
When does our journey of parenting begin? Hear what Orthodox doula Maria Armstrong thinks. Plus, how can we fuel our kids to succeed in life? Dr. Nick Yphantides talks about the connection of food to our children’s physical, mental and even emotional health.
May 18
Speaker: Dr. Allena Barbato
Topic: Self-Expression and Self-Esteem
We continue our month-long look at parenting with Dr. Allena Barbato, who will offer some guidance about children and self-expression. Where should we encourage our kids to express themselves, and where do we draw the line?
May 25
Speaker: Dr. Ary Christofidis
Topic: Respect your Parents: Not Just for Kids!
Works of the Order in Action: "Give Me a Boost"
The voicemail came as our family had just arrived at a campground outside Bryce Canyon, Utah, on a dry and dusty June afternoon. After we parked, the rest of the family was in our trailer setting up, while I went outside to return the call to the Archdiocesan office. I sat on the concrete picnic table, grateful for the rusty tin roof providing shade from the scorching sun. Our family had been eagerly awaiting news of my next assignment, having completed three blessed years in residence at St. Innocent Orphanage near Tijuana, Mexico. After leaving Mexico, we traveled around the Western United States both to enjoy some family time after the move from Mexico, and to fill the time as we waited with great anticipation to hear which community in this vast Archdiocese we would next call home.
“There’s something special going on in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” Fr. George Kevorkian, Assistant to the Metropolitan, said with excitement over the phone. As I racked my brain trying to figure out if I had ever heard of Bowling Green, Kentucky, he added, “I think you may want to check it out.” He explained that there was a fairly new mission that had really impressed him, and they were hopeful that they were financially ready to support a priest. Having been given the phone number of the coordinator of the mission, in one phone call I knew Fr. George was right.
Bishop John Hosts Youth Day Event
Bishop John hosts Youth Day kids and teensBy Caitlin Rose
On March 3, 2012, many young people from the Diocese Of Worcester and New England (self-proclaimed DOWNE) gathered for a Youth Day celebration at His Grace Bishop John's house. Those who attended sat with His Grace to learn the purpose of Orthodoxy, including the three points that make us Orthodox Christians: We partake of the same Communion, we all believe the words of the Nicene Creed, and we all submit to a bishop.
His Grace also informed the youth that his job is to keep his diocese united and to keep it Orthodox. By submitting to him, the members of the Diocese of Worcester are united to one another, and the Diocese is connected to others in the Archdiocese through Metropolitan Philip, to whom all Antiochian Orthodox bishops in America have submitted. His Grace then emphasized the importance of reaching out to American Orthodox Churches outside the Antiochian Archdiocese. The Greeks, the Russians, and all others hold the exact same beliefs as we do. We can commune in their churches as they can in ours. In today's society, it is important that we remain united with our sister churches and do not allow cultural differences to hold us back from mingling. If we visit other churches and socialize outside the Antiochian Archdiocese, we will strengthen the bonds between the Orthodox Churches in America and throughout the world.
Classical Learning Resource Center Open for Fall Students
Bonners Ferry, Idaho (CLRC)
Anne Van Fossen writes: "Enrollment is now open for the fall session of the Classical Learning Resource Center! CLRC online classes are live, interactive, and available to anyone with internet access. You’ll find detailed course descriptions, faculty bios, class schedules, and more on the Classical Learning Resource Center website. We’ve expanded our Classical Greek and Latin program with more Latin 4 Kids classes and more advanced classes for middle school, high school, and adults. We’ve also added three new classes in Literature and Composition. Also, when you register you’ll find that we’ve installed a robust Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) system on our website to streamline your registration process and improve student experience on our site.
We’ve had several requests for writing classes so I am thrilled to announce that we are adding Kiernan Schroeder, a talented and enthusiastic literature and composition teacher, to the CLRC faculty. If you haven’t done so already, take a look at her course offerings on our webpage at both the high school and middle school levels. She is offering an Introduction to Literature and Composition class for middle school and early high school students in which students will be exposed to authors like Dickens, Shakespeare, and Robert Louis Stevenson and receive instruction in the fundamentals of structure and style for argumentative writing.
Works of the Order in Action: Learning Christian Living through the Orthodox Camping Experience
Over the next few months, young people will be registering for one of the eight summer camps in our Archdiocese. If you know any of these young people who have been to camp before, you know that they have started their countdowns to the first day of camp. They spend hours on Skype and Facebook talking to their camp friends throughout the Archdiocese, and they go into a post-camp depression when they return home from camp.
So what is it about the camp experience that makes our young people love it so much? Certainly, there are many things that contribute to it: the friends, the activities, the counselors and staff, and being in the outdoors, to name a few. The thing that makes camp so special, however, is the camp environment, which presents a living experience of the Orthodox faith. In 1978, the Archdiocese purchased the Antiochian Village, and His Eminence Metropolitan Philip appointed the Archmandrite Fr. John Namie (+ 2001) of blessed memory as the first Camp Director. Thanks to the vision and leadership of these two great men, this mission of presenting a living experience of the Orthodox faith in the camp setting has become the standard at all of our camp programs in the Antiochian Archdiocese.
When asked by Constantine Nasr in 1998 why campers come to camp, Fr. John Namie responded,
[Christian living–] that’s why people come here: to learn Christian living by doing it. It’s the best way to learn. The best way to learn is by doing things. When you come to the Village, you get to do everything in a Christian fashion. You get to love each other, and that means that you get to share with each other your life.… We get to pray, both privately and in church. We learn church hymns, we have a good time at our meals, and we play a lot and play hard. It’s great to be at camp. It’s one of the greatest experiences that a young person can have.
Donate U.S. Airways Miles to Antiochian Youth Ministry
Donate your U.S. Airways Miles to the Department of Youth Ministry! Donated miles facilitate travel for our Archdiocese youth workers, Teen SOYO officers and others. The cost to donate miles is your miles plus $0.01 per mile donated and a processing fee. Or you can donate money towards travel using the donate button located at the top right of our Department of Youth and Teen SOYO pages. If you want the miles to go towards Teen SOYO officers, Advisors, or Youth Director Travel, simply state so in the personal massage field of your donation.
Donate your miles at www1.usairwaysgiftregistry.com/deptofyouth. To learn other ways you can support Antiochian youth ministry, please visit our Youth Ministry Donations page.
Family Activities for the Lenten Journey
by Shelley Pituch
One idea that leads and guides our family during the Lenten season is the use of our Lenten coin box. Around the start of the Great Fast, we bring home our Lenten coin boxes from church. Throughout the season, we are to give alms to the poor and needy by putting coins into the box. After celebrating the Feast of Pascha, we return our filled coin boxes to church, who then distributes the money to those in need.
