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The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries serves as a resource for
sustaining and enhancing ministry to children and young adults
throughout the Metropolis. By offering Metropolis-wide events and
programs, as well as, supporting local parish efforts the Office works
to help our Orthodox young people form personal relationships with Jesus
Christ.
Please feel free to contact the Director,
Father Paul Zaharas (or read his
biography), with any questions you may have.
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***The 2008 session of
Camp Emmanuel will be held at Manzano Mountain Retreat, near Albuquerque, New
Mexico, June 22 through June 28, 2008. Save the date!
... more information ...
***Ionian Village, the
Archdiocese summer camp program in Greece, is now accepting staff applications.
... more information ...
***The 2008
Basketball Tournament was held January 18-21, 2008, hosted by Houston's
Annunciation Cathedral parish.
... see photos ...
***The 2007
Metropolis of Denver Clergy/Laity Assembly held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma saw
the official launch of the Youth and Young Adult Ministries Endowment
Fund.
Learn below how you can participate in this most important endeavor.
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Youth and Young Adult Ministries Endowment Fund
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For many of us religious education is Sunday Church School — it's more
than that. It's when we attend the Divine Liturgy and pray together
in Church — it's more than that. It's when we help a child light a
candle in Church — it's more than that. It's when you pray before a
meal — it's more than that. It's when we read our Bible or attend Bible
class — it's more than that. It's when we teach Sunday Church School to
help young people grow in their Faith — it's more than that. It's when
we participate in the Sacraments — it's more than that. Religious
Education is all of those things and more. It's really about getting to
know the Person of Christ and following His commands. "It's when all of
us come together as one, becoming and functioning as the Body of Christ."
... more information ...
... contact Ms. Irene Cassis, Metropolis
Religious Education Coordinator ...
... go to the
Archdiocese religious education site ...
... parish religious education coordinator registration
card ...
... recommended
publications and music CDs for teachers ...
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Camp Emmanuel is a Summer camping program for boys and girls, ages 11-14 (juniors)
and 15-18 (seniors). Various camp and retreat centers around the Metropolis have
housed for the program. The past several years the Manzano Mountain Retreat near
Albuquerque, New Mexico has been our venue.
more information about Camp
Emmanuel ...
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GOYA Basketball Tournament
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The annual Basketball Tournament has become the most-attended event in the
Metropolis of Denver, and is held over the Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend.
Almost 700 participants, plus coaches, chaperones, and parents gathered in
Denver Colorado for the 2007 Tournament. The 2008 Tournament will be hosted
by the Annunciation Cathedral in Houston, Texas.
more information about the
Basketball Tournament ...
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Metropolis Oratorical Festival
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The Saint John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival provides Greek Orthodox teenagers the
opportunity to write and talk about their faith. The Oratorical Festival has two divisions:
junior (ages 11-14) and senior (ages 15-18). The top speakers at the parish festivals are
eligible to participate in the Metropolis Festival. In turn, the top Metropolis speakers then
participate at the Archdiocese level.
more information about the
Oratorical Festival ...
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Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF)
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The Orthodox Christian Fellowship is a ministry
to Orthodox students on college campuses under the Standing Conference of Canonical
Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). The
office in Boston, MA has a full-time staff to guide and support local OCF chapters
through communication with the larger Orthodox Community, access to National Programs,
and development of resources for Orthodox college students and those interested in Orthodoxy.
more information about
OCF ...
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HOPE
(Holy Orthodox Primary Education)—grades K–3. This
ministry lays very basic foundations of instruction and introduces
children to the Orthodox faith during their primary formative years.
JOY
(Junior Orthodox Youth)—grades 4–6. This ministry builds
on the foundations begun in the HOPE ministry and continues to introduce
basic teachings of the Orthodox Church as young people approach
adolescence.
GOYA
(Greek Orthodox Youth of America)—grades 6–12. This
ministry focuses on helping adolescents incorporate their Orthodox faith
into every day life as they continue to formulate their own personal
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Young adult ministry assists individuals in the transition from academic pursuits
to mainstream life. This ministry also encourages individuals to assume active
roles within their parishes. The Young Adult League (YAL) schedules retreats and other
activities for individuals and groups.
more information about young
adult ministries ...
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Youth Worker Training Seminars
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The Metropolis Director of Youth ministries presents these seminars to parish
youth workers—Sunday School teachers, GOYA advisors, etc. Contact the
Youth Office to schedule one in your parish!
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The Metropolis Youth Director serves with the directors from other Metropolises
on the
Archdiocese Youth Ministry Team. This board works to coordinate ministry
efforts throughout the Archdiocese, as well as, to create resources for use in the
parishes of the Archdiocese. The Metropolis Youth Ministry Team is an advisory
board which assists the Metropolis Office in creating and implementing the ministries
of the Metropolis. Board members are appointed by Metropolitan Isaiah to a two-year term.
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We’d like to put up a page with questions and answers regarding our youth
programs, the Orthodox faith, school—whatever is of interest to the members of
GOYA and YAL.
Please send questions to
denveryouth@goarch.org and we’ll do our best to answer
them for you. Thanks!
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Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?…Feed My
sheep. (John 21:17)
With these words our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ instructed the
Apostle Peter in the way he should express his love toward Him. As
Orthodox Christians we too are instructed by Christ to love Him by
feeding His sheep and sharing with others the Good News that has been
passed down to us throughout the generations. It is our sacred duty to
offer spiritual food to the members of Christ’s flock, which will
edify them and assist them in their journey toward Him.
A major focus in our efforts of sharing the saving message of Jesus
Christ is the great number of young people in our Orthodox Church. Our
society today is becoming increasingly secularized and void of moral
direction. With our children facing countless harmful influences each
and every day, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to
incorporate them into the Body of Christ, His holy Church. We read in
Proverbs, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is
old he will not depart from it (22:6). Now is the time that we must
take advantage of the opportunity to impact the lives of young Orthodox
Christians so that they may become, and remain active sacramental
members of the Church, and through this, attain the reward of eternal
life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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