“This message is for you if you have teenagers, are related to teenagers, know teenagers, or have any influence, whatsoever, on…teenagers.” – Fr. Anthony Savas
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
While it’s true that I have often used Scriptural verses or writings of the Fathers as opening quotes to each of my pastoral messages, it is equally true that nobody will ever quote me in print unless I do it myself. So, there you go.
Actually, I wanted to capture, as quickly as possible, the attention of parents, grandparents, godparents, and influential adults in the lives of our St. Anna youth. With the Fast having commenced just this week, my heart is directed towards our young people, praying that the purpose, lessons and opportunities of Great Lent are relevant in their lives.
Not that I am demanding monastic expectations from your kids, or mine, but I feel that the overall importance of the disciplines that can only be acquired through ascetic struggle are slipping away and falling into disuse.
It’s hard enough that we live in a world that does not know the simplest meaning of Lenten practices. Our daughter’s Senior Prom is on…get this…Holy Saturday evening. Is Easter thought of so casually that a school in our “local religious environment” can schedule a dance on the eve of, and ultimately reaching into the celebration of the Resurrection? Of course, that question is rhetorical – for we sadly know the answer.
Do our kids make any attempt at fasting, increased prayer or generous acts during these weeks that lead up to the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord. Are we teaching them the value of such practices in our homes. As adults, are we taking the responsibility to be positive examples in this sacred arena?
This much I know; no matter what we teach our kids, and no matter how much they are told by other adult figures in their lives, the benefit of peer-inspiration and accountability is irreplaceable in our kid’s spiritual development. This is why we take every opportunity to bring our kids together for retreats and camps. So, let’s talk about upcoming retreats and camps!
This Sunday, following the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, you will have the opportunity to sign up your GOYANs for our annual Lenten Retreat to take place during the weekend of the 17th-19th of March. We are bringing in a dynamic youth worker from Holy Cross Seminary to lead our discussions, and our young people will remain in Heber, UT, on the Third Sunday of Lent to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, together as a gathering of Orthodox Christian kids who share a common Faith and follow common practices. Practices the world sees as silly, irrelevant, archaic and rusty.
If we don’t want our children to adapt a similar outlook on sacredness, spiritual disciplines and holiness, we best take every opportunity to let them grow in their Orthodox Christian walk. And to be sure, they’ll have a great time doing so.
If you have children between 6th and 12th Grades, see Kim Mallas after the Liturgy and sign them up!
Once we have traversed the course of the Fast and have entered into Holy Week, please make plans to have your children attend our Annual Holy Friday Retreat. Our Sunday School has planned a fantastic, fun-filled and spiritually beneficial program for our kids.
This year, we will be pre-registering our kids for the Holy Friday Retreat, due to the quality of the program and the necessary preparations for the craft (it’s a really awesome craft, by the way). Look for the Registration Form in the next Bulletin and sign up your kids!
And lastly, and most importantly, our Archdiocese Summer Camping programs are more exciting than ever. Thousands of young people gather in their respective Metropolis Camps during the summer months to reintroduce themselves to Christ, and to their peers in the most dynamic of ways.
Camp Emmanuel, Summer Camp for the Metropolis of Denver, is one of the most established and well-run programs in the Archdiocese. Within the month of June, there are two sessions; one for high school students and the second for junior high students, in the beautiful mountains of New Mexico. I will be traveling and attending camp with our Junior GOYANs to Camp Emmanuel.
There is no better way to inspire our children into plentiful lives in Christ than camping programs. In the coming weeks, we will be reaching out to all households with junior and senior high school students and informing them of the benefits of Camp Emmanuel, and camping in general. Please visit the following link to get current in all information regarding Camp Emmanuel 2017.
May the good Lord Who guides us in our Lenten journeys, and Who lifts up the children in His special, loving care, continue to encourage our youth in the ways of the Kingdom. And may they continue to love, serve, worship and honor His holy Name.
With Love in Christ,
Fr. Anthony
Remember that this Sunday is the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Bring your favorite icons from home for your children to process, and you to lift up.
Then join us for Pan-Orthodox Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers at 6:00 pm with our sister Orthodox communities.
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This morning I had a wonderful experience, in that I was invited to offer the Invocation at the Senate Chamber of the Utah State Capitol. Driving up State Street to the massive building, a source of great municipal pride in our state, I had forgotten just how large it is. The last time I remember being inside the Capitol was at a high school dance that took place under the rotunda.
That was a long time ago.
Driving up to the building, climbing up those massive stairs, feeling strained to pull open the heavy, bronze doors, and walking into the vast, beautiful space was a wonderful reminder of the grandeur that is required of public monuments, civic spaces and official structures. If the buildings are tall, spacious, elaborate, gilded and fortified, then the governments they house must, in turn, be stable, grounded and powerful.
To be sure, the Utah State Capitol Building is impressive and beautiful. So many buildings, now, and in history evoke similar feelings of awe as one would approach. I’ve had similar experiences as I climbed the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, waited in line to enter the vast entrance (still to me, the Cathedral) of Aghia Sophia in (while we’re at it, Constantinople) Istanbul, our Nation’s Capital in Washington D.C., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Louvre Museum in Paris.
For different reasons, and under different circumstances, approaching these places was just as marvelous as entering them. All impressive. All hallowed. All beautiful.
But all…just buildings.
The Parthenon, to prove the point I’m about to make, isn’t even a building anymore – just ruins of what was once a building.
St. Paul, in the above mentioned verse, reminds us, as Christ Himself spoke of, that as important as buildings and structures, and temples and churches may be, the real Temple of God is in the creation of the person. When Christ said that he would destroy the Temple (His Crucifixion) and raise it up, again, in three days (His Resurrection), He was not speaking of the Temple in Jerusalem. He was referencing Himself. Attached to that concept is St. Paul’s affirmation that the person means more to God than the building. The worshipper, not the place of worship is paramount to Him.
We need those places more than He does.
Today, I walked up to, and into an impressive, secular building. In the past, I have approached and entered inspiring houses of worship. But on this day, as we contemplate the Temple as the person, not a building, I call upon our parish to accomplish something of great worth.
We need to build something.
No, I am not speaking of building a church dedicated to St. Anna. That will come in its own time, on another day.
We need to build a home in Mexico. We have been called to participate in the home building initiative of Project Mexico. Under the prayerful guidance of our own Fr. Nicholas Andruchow, Project Mexico is a pan-Orthodox ministry in Tijuana, Mexico, concentrated on building homes for the poor. Faithful parishioners from throughout the world take week-long missionary trips to Project Mexico and participate in the construction of humble structures, arguably, more lovely than any State Capitol, so that those in need can attain shelter, protection, dignity and safety. In their own words,
“Since 1988, Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage has been building secure, safe and weather-tight homes for some of the most impoverished families in northern Mexico. Built strictly by volunteer labor, these homes provide families economic security and hope for a brighter future. While serving these families, the volunteers discover that they have been transformed. Through their service to others, they realize that they have received much more than they had given. To date, we have hosted well over 11,000 volunteers on our 16-acre ranch as we continue to humbly bear the burdens of others in the name of Christ.”
St. Anna’s is currently scheduled to lead a trip to Project Mexico, August 16th-August 23rd, 2017. We have spots for approximately 15 people. We are currently looking for a chairman to champion this venture and help us to organize, plan, and embark!
If you are interested in leading this amazing opportunity, please contact me at franthony@stannagocutah.org. Walking into vast buildings, gazing up, looking around, soaking it all in is an exhilarating experience. However, “recognizing the least of our brethren” as God’s holy Temple, and erecting a small, one-room brick box that will protect his family, is something that is truly impressive. Actually, impressive. Perhaps, even, to God.
With Love in He Who is the Builder of the House,
Fr. Anthony
