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.
St. Katherine College Hosts President's Gala in Inaugural Year
St. Katherine College hosted the first annual President’s Gala on January 28th. Approximately 300 guests enjoyed hearing the College chorale, readings from prize-winning poet and Visiting Professor Scott Cairns, and the first public performance of a piano composition by music Instructor Nazo Zakkak. The attendees represented clergy and people from all of the Orthodox Christian traditions as well as those of other faiths. Underwriters for the event included corporations, businesses, and individuals who are committed to the vision of an Orthodox Christian college. An Ancient Faith Radio audio summary of the event is available here.
Saint Katherine College began its second year of operation on January 9, 2012. Classes resumed for 11 traditional and 4 part-time students. The first year was marked by continuing expansion of course offerings and facilities. Most students are taking courses in the College's Core Integration series, mathematics, biological science, and theology, as well as electives in areas ranging from music theory to business ethics. Recently the school was awarded competitive grants to fund original research at the College.
Classical Learning Center Doubles Enrollment Again
Anne Van Fossen, M.A., of the Classical Learning Resource Center, writes:
"For the last three years, the Classical Learning Resource Center has focused on teaching live, real-time, online classes in Classical Greek and Latin. We’ve emerged as one of the best online sources available for Latin and Greek instruction. Our student body has approximately doubled for the third year in a row and our new students are just as engaged, inquisitive, and generally delightful as those continuing from last year!
The Classical Learning Resource Center is beginning to gear up for fall of 2012. We’re planning to offer several new classes and part of the purpose of this newsletter is to see how much interest there is in these new course offerings. We’ll continue with our full program of Greek and Latin classes with Latin 4 Kids classes for elementary school and the full 4 year sequence of Latin I, II, III, IV and Greek I, II, III, IV for middle school and high school students and adults. If you haven’t taken a Greek or Latin class with the Classical Learning Resource Center yet we encourage you to begin in 2012.
CrossRoad Applications for High School Juniors and Seniors Available
Brookline, MA—Hellenic College Holy Cross, the oldest and largest Christian Orthodox institution for higher learning in North America, invites Orthodox Christian students from the United States and Canada to take part in a summer vocation exploration program that integrates faith, learning, and service. In its ninth year, the CrossRoad summer institute has proven to be a successful program preparing teens for leadership in the Church and in their communities.
One of the vibrant programs of HCHC’s Office of Vocation & Ministry (OVM), CrossRoad offers participants access to HCHC’s distinguished faculty instruction and enthusiastic graduate students who serve as staff. Since the program is on HCHC campus, participants experience the beautiful campus that is within minutes of Boston.
In addition to participating in theology classes, CrossRoad students attend Vespers each evening at neighboring parishes in the Boston area and engage in community service.
Spotlight: Special Olympics Needs Your Help!
Special Olympics Coaches at Antiochian VillageA January 12, 2012 Special Olympics update for 2011 Donations reveals that many parishes have contributed to NAC SOYO's 2012 ministry.
The first table in the Special Olympics 2011 Donations pdf shows those parishes and individuals that have contributed to NAC SOYO’s 2012 Special Olympics Ministry through the October 16, 2011 collection. We thank all of you for your generosity. Is your parish among them? Refer to this list to find out.
The second table shows those parishes that have yet to send in their contributions and we ask that you help us meet our $2,000 shortfall by sending in your contribution for the money collected, or if you did not take the requested collection, please consider a donation to help this ministry.
Do you know a young person in your parish who you think would be a particularly effective and dynamic Special Olympics Coach? Please refer them to the following application, or have them contact:
V. Rev. Dr. Joseph F. Purpura
Department of Youth Ministry
Office: 1-781-255-1757
Cell: 1-617-803-5567
e-mail: frjoseph@orthodoxyouth.com
Postmodern Young People and the Liturgy
By V. Rev. Fr. David J. Randolph
From the Word magazine, January, 2012
The term postmodern culture is used in many different ways, and cannot be grasped except in contrast to its predecessor, modernism, to which it is in reaction. Modernism displayed a high level of confidence in the abilities of humanity. Rooted in the Enlightenment, modernists attempted to rid themselves of the mystery of religion and things spiritual so as to focus purely on the empirical facts of science. Some believed that humanity could build a perfect society founded on human principles and structures. The movement was idealistic, and its breakdown was painful to the generation that experienced it.
This reaction took different forms. For many people of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, pop culture became a kind of rebellious religiosity. Many were from broken families, and they concluded that all commitments are fragile. Some also experimented with different “spiritualities,” having a distinct distaste for “institutional religion.” Theirs was a time of political turmoil, growing up amid the anxiety of the cold war, and through the period of Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the war in Iraq. The results for many were confusion, depression, and loneliness.
Postmodernism is the cultural reaction to the perceived failures of modernism. Youth ministers today face five challenges related to the postmodern stance.
First, postmodern young people give primacy to personal experience.
Scholarships Are Still Available for 2011 College Conference
Scholarships are still available for the 2011 College Conferences. Interested students are urged to apply during the on-line registration process at events.ocf.net. Please note that the deadline for the early-bird discount rate is Dec 15, 2011. The conferences will be held during Christmas Break in the following three locations. Each will center on Orthodox Christian Fellowship's (OCF) theme - "Raise Me Above This World's Confusion."
College Conference West
St. Nicholas Ranch - Dunlap, Calif.
December 27-30, 2011
Earlybird rate until Dec. 15: $215 - Regular: $240
Keynote speaker - Fr. Josiah Trenham, Pastor of St. Andrew Orthodox Church, Riverside, Calif.
College Conference East
Antiochian Village - Bolivar, Pa.
December 28-31, 2011
Earlybird rate until Dec. 15: $240 - Regular: $265
Keynote speaker - His Grace Bishop Michael Dahulich, Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York & New Jersey in the Orthodox Church in America
College Conference South
Diakonia Center - Salem, S.C.
December 28-31, 2011
Earlybird rate until Dec. 15: $210 - Regular: $235
Keynote speaker - Fr. Michael Nasser, Pastor of Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission in Bowling Green, Ky.
Spotlight: OCN's November Theme is Morality and Popular Culture
Fr. Chris Metropulos, Executive Director of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), is reminding Orthodox Christians that November is themed "Morality and Popular Culture" month on OCN.
Programming on OCN's flagship program, "Come Receive the Light," features:
Twilight Saga - Launching this month's theme on morality and popular culture, we'll be looking at the popular Twilight Saga with Fr. Frank Marangos and asking about the relationship between the Church and secular media trends. Click here to listen to this program.
Video Games - This past June, on the very last day of its 2011 term, the US Supreme Court ruled that minors have a right to purchase video games that include graphic violence. Fr. Demetrios Tonias shares his thoughts on what this means for youth and parents. Click here to listen to this program.
Almost Christian - One study after another tells us that our youth are drifting away from religious traditions, but what can we do to reverse the trend? First, we’ll hear from Kenda Creasy Dean, Associate Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. What does it mean to be Almost Christian, the title of her new book? Make sure you listen to this important interview. Click here to listen to this program.
Asks Fr. Chris, "Is there a difference between being 'good' and being 'moral?' Popular culture seems to cast a wide net on what it means to be a 'good person.' It goes a step further by suggesting that some things we as Orthodox consider to be unhealthy are actually what make a person 'normal.'"
Liturgical Music Workshop for Youth, Dec. 18-21
From Sunday, December 18 through Wednesday, December 21, St. Vladimir's Seminary (SVS) will be offering high school and college students an opportunity to spend four days on its Crestwood, NY campus, learning and directing liturgical music and meeting and worshipping with young men and women from across North America. Attendees will also enjoy a trip to New York City to ice skate on the famous rinks of the Big Apple, and will form a chorus to sing Christmas Carols in the neighborhood surrounding SVS.
Instructors for the workshop are Professor David Drillock, SVS' Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Music, and Dr. Nicholas Reeves, the Seminary's current Assistant Professor of Liturgical Music. Workshop organizer, Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, Director of Alumni Relations and Recruitment, notes, "We hope to provide a workshop with diverse influence and instruction, including Byzantine chant."
For more information, contact Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, at jmatusiak@svots.edu, or 914-318-7505.
The cost of the workshop will be $180, all inclusive. Register here.
