Session 5: Being True to My/Our Story

• Lesson 5B & 5C
• Lesson Supplements
• New friends/ New Places Story

The purpose of this session is to provide participants with an understanding that though they might be the only Orthodox Christian in their school and/or town, they belong to the Church that Christ founded and the apostles spread which has hundreds of millions of members world wide.

Objectives & Goals -- by the end of this session students should be able to....

• List things we can do that as Orthodox Christians
• Explain that the Church has always been made up of people from diverse backgrounds and that we understand these differences, which is important.
• Describe the Orthodox Church as being the same all over the world, even though outward appearances and customs of churches in various parts of the world are different
• Summarize the ‘stories' we have talked about in the five sessions
• To familiarize the student with The Mission Statement of the Orthodox Church in America and how it applies to their life in the Church.
• To impart a sense of their continuing story as Orthodox Christians in North America.

(Scriptural, Liturgical, Lives of Saints, etc.):

•           Mission Statement of the Orthodox Church in America

•           Vision Statement of the Orthodox Church in America

Materials:

• Set of nesting dolls (same set that was used in first session)
• Pictures of various types of Orthodox churches showing different architectural styles (these may be found in many books--check with your pastor, parish library, or fellow parishioners)
• World map
• Board for playing Jeopardy, and categories and questions for the game (suggestions below)
• Pencils, pens, thin markers (including black), scissors, chalkboard and chalk
• Glue and glitter to decorate cut-out Orthodox church patterns (see directions and pattern attached)
• Video on vocations produced by the Orthodox Church in America (Check your parish library or purchase a copy from OCPC.)
• Tape of hymn “A New Commandment” (attached) if you prefer tape to “solo” singing
• Individual copies of “Samira’s Big Day” and “A Very Special Place” from New Friends/New Places (Constance Tarasar, Copyright 1979, Friendship Press)
• Uncle Vova’s Tree- Patricia Polacco-Putnam and Grosset Pub.1989 - (A sweet story about Russian Orthodox Christmas and Epiphany)
• materials for candle making: wax (variety of colored waxes or melt bee’s wax and color (color can be found at any craft store), wicks, small leaves and sticks to represent palm branches, sand or molds, old crock pot, and aluminum pie pans (one for each participant).

A: Younger Children

(Note: Groups with less time can skip the Jeopardy game, as well as the reading and discussion of the story entitled A Very Special Place.)

1.  Introduction: Ask students to talk about their home churches. Pose these questions, or others like them:

What color is the outside of your church? Does it have stained glass windows? Is there a dome on top? Is there a parish hall or meeting place? Is your priest married, and does he have children?Can any of you say “Christ is Risen” in a language other than English? (Demonstrate a few for them if you know some that they don’t.)

Do you know some countries other than the United States where there are Orthodox churches? (Use the world map to show students countries where Orthodox churches are--especially some countries that might surprise them, such as Australia, Japan, Indonesia, and India.)

2. Continue by showing pictures of Orthodox churches in various architectural styles. From the many differences that will be made evident in this discussion, pull out and emphasize the fact that we belong to a worldwide Church. Outwardly there are many differences, but we are one family because we all believe the same things that God has taught us about Himself. We are all Orthodox Christians.

3. As a further reinforcement of the idea that Orthodox Christians can live in very different ways and still be one Church, read with the class the story A Very Special Place (attached).

Discuss:

What is different about the monks’ lives from our lives? (They don’t have wives and children; they don’t live in neighborhoods with individual houses; they do not have jobs to make money but support themselves by work enough to feed themselves and maintain the monastery; they spend a good part of their day in prayer for all the people of the world.)

What is similar in the monks’ lives to our own? (They are Orthodox Christians and believe the same things we do; they have many of the same worship services we have, but with more added; they help the poor and welcome guests, as many of us do.)

Spend a brief moment talking about ancient Egypt, and emphasize that the Egyptians of those ancient days were the ancestors of the Orthodox today. Try to help students understand that they are part of a very ancient line of people whose faith was the Orthodox faith.

4. Ask the class, “What are some of the things we should do to be good Orthodox Christians? Thinking back over the things we have talked about together, and the things you know yourself, what do we need to do?” (Put students’ answers on the chalkboard. They will probably suggest things like praying, helping others, going to church, being kind.)

5. Pass out the cut patterns of an Orthodox Church (reminding students that this is not the only way an Orthodox church can look, as we know from the pictures we saw a little while ago.) Have each student trace and cut out two. Trace the doors, windows, and cupola on one of the pieces, using a thin black marker. Cut and fold as the diagram shows, and you will have doors and windows that open and shut. Have each student put a cross, and the name of his/her church, on the drawn-on piece. Glue just the perimeter of the un-drawn piece, and line up the drawn-on piece on top. Now the doors and windows will open onto the blank paper of the piece underneath.

Have students write some of the words on the board in the windows and doors of their churches. Then they can decorate them (tastefully, we hope) with glitter. When the churches dry, have students put them in their memory boxes.

6. Say to the students, “Jesus told us a very special way to be good Orthodox Christians. Listen to these words.” (Read the words to the Communion hymn “A New Commandment” or play the tape you have made. Emphasize that these are Jesus’ own words. Put them on the chalkboard.) Help the students learn the song, and sing it together.

7. Introduce the video on vocations by saying, “Let’s watch a video about some Orthodox Christians who are finding ways of showing love in the things they do. As we are watching, try to notice things they say they are doing. Some of them are priests, some of them are church members like you and me, some are men, some are women, some are children. But they all are trying to show love in the way they live.” Watch the video together. Afterwards, talk about some of the ways people in the video showed their love for God and for other people. See whether any of the things in the video “match” the words and phrases students suggested and which you wrote on the board.

Ask, “Can vacuuming a rug be a way of showing love for God?” (Let students answer. Guide their discussion along these lines: Yes, it can. To keep the church clean by vacuuming its rug is one way that we show we ‘love the beauty of God’s house”, which the priest mentions at the end of the Liturgy. To keep a house tidy by vacuuming it, so that it’s pleasant and healthy for your family to live in, shows love for them--and we love God by really loving each other.)

8.         Take a break to let students stretch; serve a snack if you wish to.

9.         Review the sessions you have had together by bringing out the nesting doll and taking it apart again. (Look back at the discussion suggestions for the first session to guide this discussion.) Summarize with these ideas in your own words:

(with the smallest doll): “We first looked at your story--your family, things that have happened to your family members, some of the things that make you who you are in your family.” (with the second doll): “Next we saw how you and all Orthodox Christians are part of the long story of God’s love for His people. Way back in the time of the Exodus, your ancestors were feeling God’s love as He saved them from slavery and from the soldiers of the Pharaoh. Today people in our churches still feel and experience that same God’s love.”

(with the third doll): “We talked about how God had so much love for us that finally, long after the Exodus and many of the events we read about in the Old Testament, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be with us and save us. We talked about some ways that your life is like Jesus’ life. We talked about how only Jesus Christ can save us. We talked about how the Church calls us to thank God all the time for this wonderful gift.”

(with the fourth doll): “Remember how we acted out the stories of Jesus’s apostles. They were called by Him to learn how to show His love to all the people in the world. They were sent out to do that, and we are apostles too. By the way we live we can show God’s love to all the people we know.”

(with the final doll, and the others inside): “And last we talked about being members of one Church, all over the world. We all worship and love God. We all try to do what God wants us to do. That way, we are complete and real people. We are real and complete Orthodox Christians, just as this doll is real and complete with all the other stories inside. We are never alone, because we have each other. Most important, we have God. And now you will go out and make the story of the rest of your life. I hope you will put God at the center of your story, and make it one that is full of love and joy.”

8. Use most of the remaining time to play Jeopardy. Make up some categories that will review information from the sessions (such as Bible, People, and Events.) Make others just fun categories having to do with the setting in which these sessions have taken place. If you are not familiar with the Jeopardy format, it should be easy to find a school teacher who is, since this format is widely used in our schools. Have this person, or someone familiar with the TV show, help you make up categories and questions.

Have teams choose only one “captain” who can give answers, so that if children are leaving at different times things will not be disrupted too much.

B: Pre-teens

Begin the session with a prayer.

2. Ask if anyone can name Orthodox Churches other than the Orthodox Church in America. List these on a sheet of butcher paper. Discuss the word jurisdiction (same faith, different bishops).

3. Tell them we are going to spend some time geting to know the stories of some children from various Orthodox backgrounds. Introduce the stories found in New Friends/New Places, and Uncle Vovo. Explain what they are going to be reading.

NOTE: If the group is small, you may want to have children (volunteers onlyl) read aloud, while others follow along. The best practice is to have the children break into smaller groups of no more than four to five, and have them take turns with the reading. If someone is really adverse to reading aloud, he/she should not be forced. Just allow this child to sit and listen.

4. After the stories are read this is a good time to share any stories that the children might have, especially those who are converts to the Orthodox Church. Ask participants why we had them read the stories. If they are still in groups (or one large group) have them come up with 3 reasons why we might have included these stories in the lesson. The teacher should be prompting with questions during this time. Ex. “What was one new thing that you learned about....? How could you identify with the child in this story?” etc.

Note: If the group is large, you can also give each group a different story, and then have the children share their knowledge, after they have become experts on their subject. Feel free to use whatever format works for your group, and to use whatever method best matches your time constraints).

Suggested Activity

5. Candle Making. As you make candles insert the small leaves and branches into wax. Tell participants this is to symbolize the leaves and branches waved by the crowd during Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

6. Read from I Corinthians 1: 10-17. Explain that while we may. belong to different parishes or different jurisdictions we share the same faith. This was a very important issue in the early church and can still be today. We do not belong to Fr. John’s Church, or Bp. THOMAS’s Church. Christ is the head of the Orthodox Church. He brings us all together. The Holy Tradition of the Church (to which we all belong) is the ongoing life of the people of God. Living up to this in our own parishes and homes is our challenge.

7. Review how our own church communities, and our stewardship to the church is like that of the early church. What did people do in the early church? Is it very different from what we do in the church today?

8. Read The Mission Statement of the Orthodox Church in America. Talk about the words that may be difficult (autocephalous, preach, utilize) and tie them, into the things that we have discussed. Apostles, jurisdictions, sacraments, languages.

Discuss how the children see the mission of the Church. How do they help realize that mission? How do our differences and similarities as individuals enhance that mission? How can we prevent our differences from hurting us and thereby hurting the Church.

9. Read The Vision Statement of the Orthodox Church in America. Explain that it was generated by the youth at the last All-American Council in Chicago. Make sure that they understand ihat what they do impacts the life of the Church. Ask about their impressions of the statement.

Suggested activities:

10. Discuss ways to continue that learning, becoming pen pals, exchanging photos, e-mail groups, visiting web-sites, attending Diocesan Assemblies, retreats, camps, etc.

11. Create a list of ways we help to realize the mission of the Church. Make sure that they are concrete. Be sure to include praying for one another, working to understand one another, etc. It might be good to have them write some of these ideas on the back of copies of The Mission Statement.

12. Pass out copies of participant list.

Closing Activities

13. Have them write in their journals their next chapter as Orthodox Christians in their home, school, church and community.

14. Take apart the puzzle and have everyone take home their piece.

Gather together everyone’s things to take home.

15.       End with prayer.