FOCUS North America has announced the launch of a new website and video for its youth-based domestic outreach program “Youth Equipped to Serve” (YES). The website can be found at http://www.yesnorthamerica.org/  The video can be found at www.yesnorthamerica.org/yesvideo.

"We are so excited for you to get to know the YES Program through our new website and YES video! Read testimonies from students, view videos that they made and hear firsthand how God is working in the lives of the youth that become His hands and feet in service to the poor," said Katrina Bitar, FOCUS North America YES Program Director.

Feedback from student participants has been enthusiastic.

“The website is fantastic and lively. The new YES video does an excellent job showing the many encounters that happen on a YES trip.” - Peyton Powers

“The website is awesome! The bright colors are great and show how fun these trips are. The video perfectly captured our trip!” - Grace Farha

FOCUS North America believes that engaging all of the faithful, especially our youth, in the Gospel work of serving the poor in our own communities is essential in keeping the youth faithful to Christ and active in the Church for a lifetime. The YES Program has dramatically influenced the spiritual lives of its hundreds of participants. For more information on the YES program or to schedule a trip, visit: www.FOCUSNorthAmerica.org/YES.

FOCUS North America and its programs are committed to serve those in need, support Orthodox Christian social action ministries and supply parishes and others with the education, resources and training to initiate social action ministries in their own communities. In all of this, FOCUS North America continues its work in Restoring Living Icons.

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"):

Material for the 2010 Festivals is now available online at www.antiochian.org/festivals. The 2010 Festivals theme is "The earth is the Lord's, and its fullness, the world and all who dwell therein" (Psalm 23 [24]:1). Please visit the festivals page to find the 2010 Bible Bowl & Oratorical Festival brochure, an array of Sunday School materials, a recording of the Creative Festivals Hymn and several versions of this year's logo. All these materials may be downloaded for use in your own parish.

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.

St. George Church of Boston announces the immediate opening for a Parish Youth Director. The Youth Director at St. George Parish is a full-time, salaried staff person responsible for the overall development and implementation of a comprehensive program designed to meet the needs of our children and young adults. The program will address the spiritual, educational, emotional and social needs of young people being nurtured in the Orthodox Christian Faith.  Our goal is to offer a sound religious oriented foundation for our children that promotes the Christian values of worship, fellowship, service and witness.

For more information, contact Fr. Timothy Ferguson at 617-323-0323, or go to:

http://www.stgeorgeofboston.org/news/special/announcements/youthdir.html

August 6, 2009– Kansas City, MO

FOCUS North America is excited to announce the extension of its domestic outreach to the poor by receiving the highly acclaimed “Orthodox Youth Outreach” (OYO) program from the Antiochian Archdiocese Department of Youth Ministry and Teen SOYO. Added to FOCUS North America’s diverse ongoing operations and partner ministries, the addition of the OYO program strengthens its domestic ministry to the homeless and hopeless by involving youth in urban service learning opportunities and social action leadership training.

“FOCUS North America, its Board of Directors and Staff are honored to receive OYO as part of its ongoing operations, extending and maximizing our programs to minister to the poor and raise up the next generation of Orthodox Christian servant-leaders in North America,” said Fr. Justin Mathews, Executive Director and CEO of FOCUS North America.

At the 2009 Archdiocese Convention in Palm Desert, attendees were treated to the excellent speeches prepared by the diocesan oratorical festival winners. An expert panel of judges deliberated before choosing the grand prize winner for the Senior Division, Joel Schaefer.

Click here to read or hear Joel Schaefer's winning speech.

Click here for an interview with Joel Schaefer. For more audio from the 2009 Oratorical Festival, please visit Ancient Faith Radio.

The Oratorical Festival is a program sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine. It was designed to serve as an avenue for our youth to learn, enhance and share the knowledge of their faith based on a given topic by giving an oration. For some youth, it is a door into the life of the Church, and for others, it is an expression of their continuing experience of Christ and His Church.

Click here to listen to the presentation from Dept. Chair V. Rev. Joseph Purpura and Teen SOYO President Amanda June Sahawneh at the general assembly of the 2009 Archdiocese Convention.

More audio from the 2009 Convention is available from Ancient Faith Radio.

Fr. Joseph Purpura, Youth Director of the Antiochian Archdiocese, has provided the following PDF presentation for the edification of youth and youth workers of the Archdiocese. It covers:

• The Why, What, and How of Orthodox Youth Ministry
• Youth Ministry Programs (as found in the Antiochian Archdiocese as an example)
• Dynamics of Group Ministry

Katrina Bitar, a past SOYO member, SOYO officer, Parish Youth Director, and recent graduate of St. Vladimir's Seminary, was appointed, with the blessing of Metropolitan PHILIP, by the Department of Youth Ministry, effective May 17, 2009, as the new Executive Director of OYO - Orthodox Youth Outreach. OYO is a ministry of NAC Teen SOYO. Katrina comes to this ministry with much youth and OYO experience. Katrina writes:

"I believe in the power of this ministry because I, myself, am a product of this program. I participated in the very first OYO trip. I plan to continue to serve Orthodox Christian young people through not only leading short-term mission trips, but also helping parishes to establish consistent commitments to serving the poor and needy in their local communities.