Another Blog

Hello, all!

Christ is Born!

I wanted to let you know that I started a secondary blog as sort of a companion blog to this one. This blog operates more as a vehicle for announcements, resources, and other kinds of updates regarding youth ministry within the Deanery. The second blog operates more as a venue for my own personal reflection and thoughts as they flow out of being involved in this work.

Please join me in my thoughts and discussion at my secondary blog, which I have titled, Sobornost.

Feel free to comment as you wish and to bring up other things and help me in my own thinking.

I look forward to continuing the conversation at Sobornost!

In Christ,
Christian

St. Luke/St. Mark Retreat PSA

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Follow the SoCalYouthMinistry YouTube Page!!!

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON FRIDAY’S YOUTH RETREAT!

Hello, all!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

This coming Friday, St. Luke’s at St. Mark’s SOYOs are hosting the first mini-retreat in our deanery. It should be a fabulous time.

Registration begins at 9:15AM, and since this is a “Lock-in” type event, the gates will be shut shortly after 10:00AM, so please, BE ON TIME.

This is a youth event, so parents are asked to stay at home until 4:00PM, at which time the doors will be opened again, and parents may participate in the Vespers service and embrace the opportunity for Confession, which we will be offering to all participating teens.

IMPORTANT NOTE

A consent form for this retreat can be found HERE. It is necessary that it be signed by a legal guardian as well as the participating teen.

It will be a terrific day, and I look forward to seeing you all there!

In Christ,
Christian

Note:
If the above format for the permission slip is not friendly to your computer, try this one: You’re Welcome. 🙂

Blessed Feast!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

May the Lord bless you and your families today on the Feast of his Nativity!

Merry Christmas!

Resource Review: “Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy” by Fr Andrew Stephen Damick

After a good couple of months of reading Fr Andrew Stephen Damick’s text, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Exploring Belief Systems Through the Lens of the Ancient Christian Faith, I finally finished it. The reading was informative but a bit dense. This is not because the information was incredibly difficult to sort through, but because Damick tends to spend a lot of time repeating himself, which can get a little boring. This is not necessarily a problem with the text, nor is it a critique of his writing; it is simply to say that the nature of this work is one that actually seems to call for a fair amount of repetition. That said, for the Orthodox Christian (youth worker or non) who wishes to know more about other religious traditions, I recommend this text with some reservation. My reservation, however, is primarily due to how zealous Orthodox readers might perceive Fr Andrew’s text. For now, I turn to the strengths and my reasons for this book’s recommendation.

Upcoming Youth Retreat: Growing in the Image and Likeness of Christ

Hello, all!

On Friday, December 30, St. Luke and St. Mark will be hosting a mini-retreat at St. Luke Church in Garden Grove. The theme of the retreat is “Growing in the Image and Likeness of Christ: Yours, Mine, and Ours,” and it will include several speakers, one of whom is myself. The other two are the priests of St Luke and St Mark, Fr Michael Tassos and Fr Michael Laffoon, respectively.

The retreat should be a fabulous time that is full of food, fun, and fellowship.

The cost is a suggested donation of $10, which is a pretty good deal, I’d say!

All of Southern California is invited, of course, and I hope that as many of you as possible can come!

Please spread the word to the teens at your church, and save the date!

CHECK OUT THE EVENT FLYER!

Check out the event page on Facebook!