Our Mission in the Church
We, the youth and young adults of the 12th All-American Council [1999], in order to help realize "Our Dream for the Church" as presented at the 11th All-American Council, have committed ourselves to the following:
- We pledge to be parishioners of the Orthodox Church who know and are prepared to explain our faith by gathering at retreats each year, meeting with other Orthodox youth across North America, reading the Bible on a regular basis, and having the courage to ask the clergy to help us understand the meanings of our traditions.
- We will welcome newcomers and converts to the Church by volunteering as greeters in our parishes, and by publicizing our Church in local newspapers, Chambers of commerce, and local cable channels. We will reach out to the youth who visit our parishes by offering discussion groups for them.
- We will reach out to our communities by hosting parish open houses, orientations, festivals, and picnics, and by participating in local outreach programs such as soup kitchens, building projects, hospital visits, and neighborhood cleanups.
- We will support and encourage our parishes to be communities where laity and clergy work together within their own church and among area churches. We will plan and run inter-Orthodox events such as picnics, dinners, retreats, and camps.
- We will also become more involved and help to increase the number of international youth exchanges such as those offered by Syndesmos.
- We
call on all the youth of the Orthodox Church to join us in these actions to
help realize our Dream.