Department of Christian Education to hold regional conference in North Texas

The Department of Christian Education of the Orthodox Church in America will present a one-day conference in North Texas for teachers, parents, youth leaders, and anyone interested in Christian Education. This will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at St. Barbara Orthodox Church, 5201 Alta Mesa Blvd., Ft. Worth, TX 76133. The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. with registration, concluding at 5:00 p.m. with Great Vespers.

Entitled “In The Beginning…”, the conference will utilize the Book of Genesis as an example of what teachers and parents can do when instructing their children and Church School students of various age and grade levels. Intrigue, controversy, struggle, travel, inclement weather, construction and gardening. The Book of Genesis has it all. The Orthodox Church prescribes the reading of Genesis both in our private and in our corporate worship. The Fathers taught about it. And we must teach it also to our young and old alike; a solid foundation in scripture starts in the beginning.

Two keynote addresses will be given: the first presented by His Eminence Dmitri, Archbishop of Dallas and The South on “The Church’s Use of Scripture in Her Services”. Archbishop Dmitri is a well known author and lecturer on numerous topics on the Orthodox faith. The second address will be entitled “How Genesis Can Help Our Kids Navigate Their World” and will be presented by Matushka Valerie Zahirsky. Her talk will focus on influences from outside our Orthodox environment that challenge our youth in today’s society and how the Church and the Fathers addressed them.

Workshop topics will include: “What? Who? When?” what to teach, who to teach it to, and when to teach the subject matter; “The Welcoming Classroom” showing how to create instructional, functional, and organized classrooms; “Creative Ideas for Home and Church School” giving hands on examples of activities and resources that are available at all age levels; and “Building a Thematic Lesson on Genesis” which will show how to create a lesson plan, and why this tool is so valuable. All workshops will be lead by members of the Department of Christian Education who are all professionals in their fields of expertise. During the breaks and lunch hour additional educational materials will be available at the displays. Some materials will be available for purchase.

The cost is $15.00 per person to cover lunch, conference materials, etc. Checks payable to The Orthodox Church in America. Registration forms should be returned no later than Wed., Sept. 26th to Matushka Christine Zebrun, 6929 Winifred Drive, Ft. Worth, TX 76133. If you have questions or need overnight lodging information please call 817-346-6879 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You may also contact the Department of Christian Education at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Download flyer (Microsoft Word format)

Download schedule (Microsoft Word format)