Session 6: Our Family Helps the Church Grow
The purpose of this
session is to show how
the Church grew from Alaska to include all of North America.
Objectives:
By the end
of this session participants will be able to . . .
1.
List immigration
and missionary efforts as different ways the Church has grown in North America
2.
List reasons
why Orthodox Christians came to this country.
3.
Relate the lives
of Ss. Tikhon, Alexis, and Raphael with the different ways
the Church grew in North America.
4.
Explain briefly
how their parish was established.
5.
Explain how
their family has helped the Church in North America grow.
Useful
Texts for Leader Reflection/Preparation
(Scriptural,
Liturgical, Lives of Saints, etc):
Lives
of St. Tikhon, St.Alexis Toth, and St. Raphael Hawaweeney
All
available in Portraits of America Saints compiled and edited
by Father George A. Gray and Jan V. Bear available from the Diocese of
the West, 650 Micheltorena Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026.
Materials:
Photocopies
of family/parish pictures, documents, completed parent questionnaires
A
& B: Younger Children and Pre-teens
1.
Opening Prayer.
2.
Opening discussion: Begin by stating: “Not long after the Church was established
in Alaska, many people began to come to America from other countries. Many
of them came from the countries we visited. They began parishes all across
the United States and Canada. There were many priests who came to serve in
these new churches. Many of your grandparents and great grandparents helped
to start churches.”
Looking
through the parent questionnaires and the information students gathered from
various people in the parish, share some of the results, especially as it
relates to the starting of parishes, involvement in the Church, etc..
Continue
by asking each student to show his or her family picture and to talk about
the people in it. If your parish has historical materials in which some of
the students’ relatives are pictured, share these and discuss them also. Offer
a brief description of the history of your parish. (Ask your parish priest,
founding members, or descendants of founding members for help with this.)
After every student has spoken, create a display with the photo copies of
pictures, memorabilia, etc. This should be done in a very visible place where
everyone can view the display.
Note: In every parish there
are unique situations which cannot be put into a standardized lesson plan. For
example, you may have parishioners who were founders of the parish. It would
be good to have one or more of them visit for this session and to talk about
their experiences. They should be invited to bring memorabilia- old photos,
anniversary books, old icons, etc. - with them which reflect the parish’s earlier
years. Be creative here. Don’t rely solely on this lesson plan.
3. Optional Activity Our
Parish, Our History: A Play - Tell students that they are going to use all
the information they gathered to prepare a play on the history of the parish
to perform for everyone in the parish. Teachers should select 4 or 5 main events
in the history of the parish and draw up a list of characters. Assign parts
so that every student participates in some way. Younger children can have simpler
parts.
Each
scene should be developed. Draft a simple narrator’s script. Then, using this
script as a basis, the students act out each scene. Have students develop their
speaking parts as they practice or the entire thing can be done as a pantomime.
You may need to schedule additional times to practice and prepare.
Plan
the “opening night” for a time everyone can attend. Have refreshments available
for after the show.
Closing
Prayer
C:
Teens
1.-2.
3.
North American Orthodox Jeopardy Game
Pass
out the lives of Ss. Tikhon, Alexis Toth, and Raphael Hawaweeney and have participants
get into two groups. Tell participants they have 10 minutes to read through
the lives of the above saints to study for the game.
After 10 minutes collect all papers. Teams flip a coin to see who goes
first. The first person chooses a category and point value. For example, St.
Alexis for 200 points. They are then presented with a fact (i.e., the state
in which St. Alexis died and was canonized). They “answer” the fact in the form
of a question (i.e., What is Pennsylvania?). If they don’t know the correct
answer the other team gets to guess. Teams may quietly discuss the question.
The team with the most points wins.
The
below questions are presented as one example. Feel free to come up with your
own questions.
St.
Alexis
100
15,000 of them were received into the Orthodox Faith by St. Alexis. [Who
are the Uniates?]
200
He told St. Alexis that he didn’t like “his kind of priest.” [Who is
Bishop Ireland?]
300
Place where St. Alexis first served before going to Wilkes-Barre, PA.
[What is Minneapolis?]
400
Name of Book St. Alexis wrote to encourage people to become Orthodox.
[What is Where to Seek the Truth?]
500
Years that St. Alexis worked to convert people to Orthodox Christianity.
[What is 1891-1909?]
St.
Raphael
100
Place where St. Raphael was originally buried. [What is St. Nicholas
Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY?]
200
Where St. Raphael was born. [What is Damascus, Syria?]
300
St. Raphael’s first parish
assignment. [What is the Antiochian Patriarchal Embassy in Moscow, Russia?]
400
Name of Saint who consecrated St. Raphael a bishop. [Who is St. Tikhon?]
500
Nationality of Orthodox Church to which St. Raphael was assigned. [What
is Russian?]
St.
Tikhon
100
Location of first Orthodox seminary established by St. Tikhon. [What
is Minneapolis, MN?]
200
St. Tikhon moved the headquarters
of the Church from here to New York. [What is San Francisco?]
300
Name and location of the first North American monastery St. Tikhon founded.
[What is St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, PA?]
400
In order to maintain unity between parishes of different ethnic backgrounds,
St. Tikhon published this woman’s English translation of Orthodox services.
[Who is Mrs. Isabell Hapgood?]
500
One of the nine years St. Tikhon was bishop in North America. [What is
1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, or 1907?]
4.
Conclude by saying, “There are so many people we need to thank for our Church
in North America. There are saints as well as countless faithful that heard
the Good News and wanted it to grow here in North America. Some lived two hundred
years ago. Others are right here with us now working hard so that everyone on
this continent will know the truth about the Good
News of Jesus Christ.”
