CIX! Glory be to Jesus Christ! It's that time of year again: Advent/St. Philip's Fast is almost upon us!
Once again, we're beginning to prepare for Christmas, which means we've got a bunch of things coming up in the next few weeks for youth ministry:
Urgent Business: Praznyk & St. Nicholas Play
Praznyk is just a few short weeks away, on December 9, which means it's time to prepare for our annual St. Nicholas play! This year the play will be for Junior Youth and Bozhi Dity, with the teens helping out in various ways. Because there are so few Sundays left before Praznyk, the only day it looks like we could have a rehearsal is after church on Sunday, December 2. Lunch will be provided. I'm still working on prepping the script, so once it's done I can send that around. For now, if you can let me know whether your children will be participating by this Sunday, November 18, that would be great!
Junior Youth: November 23, 2018
The next Junior Youth event is coming up in a little over a week, on Friday, November 23 at 6:30pm. Joyce Chrunik-Rudiak will be coming in to teach how to make playdough and wheat Hedgehogs that we will be using for centrepieces for Praznyk (they can take them home after Praznyk). We will also be decorating St. Nicholas cookies that the kids can take home to eat on St. Nicholas Day! Kids in Grades 3-7 are welcome to attend. Please RSVP by this Sunday, November 18th.
This Thursday: Beers & Qs
Just a reminder that young adults are invited for Beers & Qs this Thursday, November 15, at 7pm. The topic of discussion will be "Moral Issues of the Catholic Church." If you haven't RSVPed, please email stnicksyouthyeg@gmail.com.
Woven for Teen Girls: Postponed to New Year
We've had to postpone Woven until the New Year. Check back for more info or follow us on Instagram to stay in touch: @stnickyouth
Last Week in Bozhi Dity...
Last week in Bozhi Dity, the children learned that St. Philip's Fast/Advent is coming up this week. It's a time of preparation for Jesus' birth at Christmas. In order to be ready to meet Jesus at Christmas, we have to prepare ourselves. The way we do this is by becoming better friends with Jesus, and better friends to other people. St. Philip did this by spreading Jesus' message to others. For the craft, the children made little puppets using the icon of St. Philip.
To make your own St. Philip puppet, click on the icon below, cut out, and paste onto a popsicle stick!
For the parents:
Wanted: Help with Praznyk:
Parents, we need volunteers to put together the St. Nicholas treat bags for Praznyk this year. I will have all the supplies ready for you. We can get this done on Sunday, December 2, when the children are having their St. Nicholas play rehearsal that afternoon. Let me know if you can help!
St. Philip's Fast This Week!
As mentioned above, St. Philip's Fast begins this week on November 15. This is great time to focus a little more on our relationships with Jesus as we prepare to meet him. Here are some simple things you can do at home with your family: DO SOME READING AS A FAMILY Whether it's doing a Bible reflection at the dinner table, or a faith-based bedtime story, adding a little bit of reading as a family can help open your hearts to Jesus. Check out the Book of Christmas Virtues, by Chicken Soup for the Soul. The book is split into 6 sections, perfect for our Advent season. Click on the link to find all the stories online. Orthodox Mom also has an Advent Study that might be of interest, and it's fairly inexpensive to download the materials. LISTEN TO A PODCAST There are so many short podcasts online about the Nativity. You can listen to them as a family and then talk about what you heard. Run a search on Ancient Faith Ministries for an Eastern perspective on this preparatory time. One podcast episode I recommend is "The Nativity Fast" on the Raising Saints podcast. WATCH A MOVIE/TV SHOW The Edmonton Eparchial Library has a lot of great resources, including a bunch of videos. Head down to the Pastoral Centre and ask Bernie what she might recommend. TRY A NEW FOOD St. Philip's Fast is just that... a fast! Make a plan to try some new, veggie options for Fridays (and even Wednesdays) this Advent. Once again, Orthodox Mom has a bunch of great recipes on her website. While you're at the Pastoral Centre, you can pick up a copy of Our Celebrations/Наші Свята, a cookbook by Mary Kuschnir from Toronto, that has loads of fast-friendly meals (seriously, there are so many things in this cookbook I hadn't ever heard of but are so delicious)! These are just some ideas to get you thinking about how to prepare for Christmas this year. Try one or all, and have fun!
For other upcoming events, check out our calendar!
Thank you so much for your continued support for youth ministry and religious education. Have a great rest of your week and I look forward to seeing you at Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Joyanne :D