Keep the Summer Connection Active Webinar:

On May 20, 2020, the Dept. of Religious Education, in cooperation with the Dept. of Stewardship, Outreach, and Evangelism, hosted a webinar called “Keep the Summer Connection Active,” where presenters Angeliki Constantine from the DRE and Natalia Tzobanaki & Despina Lachanaris from Orthodox Pebbles spoke about tips and strategies for ending the Church School year virtually and how to hold virtual summer programs.

• View the webinar video 
• “End of the School Year: Bringing our Sunday Church School and Youth Ministries to a Close” slideshow from Angeliki Constantine’s presentation
• “Online Vacation Church School Ideas” slideshow from Orthodox Pebbles’ presentation 

Wrapping up the year:

Things you can do:

• Have your parish priest announce the name of each student at the end of Divine Liturgy on your parish’s live-stream video
• Send care packages to each student with items for the summer
• Have teachers hand-write personal cards for each of their students
• Mail gifts and Sunday Church School certificates to each student
• Send care packages complete with items to help them grow in their faith over the summer
• Keep in touch virtually by having group zoom calls once a month during the summer
• Have virtual game nights to help everyone stay connected
• Start a virtual countdown for the start of Sunday Church school and GOYA in the fall

Honoring graduates:

Things you can do to honor your parish graduates:

• Yard signs
• Distance parking lot parades for the grads
• Grads can wear caps and gowns and participate in a virtual Sunday Church school graduation open to the whole parish
• Create an “adopt a grad” program and have godparents or parishioners sign-up to send or drop off grad care packages
• Deliver care packages with gifts for the grads to take with them to their next destination (e.g., Bibles, Holy Week books, prayer books)
• Create a video and photo montage to be “viewed” together as a parish
• Can be played at the end of a live-streamed service
• Can be viewed together as a Facebook “viewing party” on the parish page
• Using the parish’s social media accounts, create posts highlighting each graduate

Read the DRE’s blog post “That's a Wrap! Celebrating the Sunday Church School Year” by Angeliki Constantine

Vacation Church School:

• Virtual vacation Church school ideas from Orthodox Pebbles 
• Tips on adapting parts of the DRE’s 3 volumes of VCS, “The Twelve Great Feasts” by Barbara Harris, Laura Morton and Rhonda Webb, for use on a digital platform.
  • Purchase on orthodoxmarketplace.com to prep for this summer:
    • The Twelve Great Feasts, vol. I: Traveling on the Ark of Salvation: Feasts of the Theotokos
      • This volume is no longer in print, but is available for download. 
      • Craft item to purchase for this volume
    • The Twelve Great Feasts, vol. II: Behold the Light 
    • The Twelve Great Feasts, vol III: Going for the Gold 

Summer reading list:

Meet the saints, revisit the roots of our faith, or shore up your spiritual life during these quieter months, in small groups or individually

Preschool

• Goodnight Jesus Author: Angela Isaacs, Illustrator: Nicholas Malara
• H is for Holy: An Orthodox Christian Alphabet Book Author: Nika Boyd, Illustrator: Heather Hayward
• What is an Icon? Author: St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery
• Beautiful Things: An Orthodox Coloring Book Illustrator: Megan Elizabeth Gilbert

Elementary

• Everything Tells Us About God Author: Katherine Bolger Hyde, Illustrator: Livia Coloji
• Christina Goes to Church Author: Maria Khoury, Illustrator: Antonia Marshall
• Christina Learns the Sacraments Author: Maria Khoury, Illustrator: Antonia Marshall
• Shepherding Sam Author: Melinda Johnson
• The Silent Way: Eleni Looks at Jealousy Author: Jeanette Aydlette and Marilyn Rouvelas
• The Silent Way: Peter Clashes with Anger Author: Jeanette Aydlette and Marilyn Rouvelas

Middle school

• Special Agents of Christ Author: Compiled by Annalisa Boyd
• Icon: A Novel Author: Georgia Briggs
• A Year of Every Tuesday Author: Grace Brooks
• Queen Abigail the Wise Author: Grace Brooks
• Vanessa the Wonder-worker Author: Grace Brooks

High school

• Women of God by Frieda Upson
• The Way of the Pilgrim Author: Helen Bacovcin, trans.
• Hear Me: A Prayerbook for Orthodox Teens Author: Annalisa Boyd
• Contemporary Moral Issues Author: Stanley S. Harakas
• The Orthodox Church: 455 Questions and Answers Author: Stanley Samuel Harakas

Adult

• Discovering God through the Daily Practice of His Presence Author: Fr. Anthony Coniaris
• Food, Faith and Fasting: A Sacred Journey to Better Health Author: Rita Madden
• Prosphoros and Artos Author: Dimitra Stavrou-Michalski
• God and You: Person to Person: Developing a Daily Personal Relationship with Jesus Author: Fr. Anthony Coniaris
• Making God Real in the Orthodox Christian Home Author: Fr. Anthony Coniaris
• Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life Author: Fr. Anthony Coniaris
• Tools for Theosis: Becoming God-like in Christ Author: Fr. Anthony Coniaris
• Bartholomew: Apostle and Visionary Author: John Chryssavgis
• Celebration of Faith, Vol III: The Virgin Mary Author: Fr. Alexander Schmemann
• Following Egeria: A Visit to the Holy Land Author: Fr. Lawrence Farley
• Go Forth: Stories of Mission and Evangelism in Albania Author: Fr. Luke Veronis
• The Fathers Interpret Author: Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis