Craft Blankets for Charity

If you and your kids/teens are looking for a great hands-on project to occupy a weekend, consider making these very easy fleece blankets. They're a fantastic service project to pass out to homeless folks along the streets as the temperature drops, or donate to another charity of your choice, and the best part is that we get to be creative doing it!

Here are a few easy steps to follow with no sewing required!

• Visit the fabric store with your kids/teens to pick out and purchase fleece. You can vary the design by picking two different colors or patterns. The size of your blanket is up to you.

• To begin, cut two pieces of fleece material, exactly the same size.

• Lay your two pieces of fleece out on a table, back to back.

• At each corner, cut out a four inch square from the edge.

• Next, cut fringes around the entire outer edge of the fabric that are four inches long, one inch wide. You can 'eye-ball' this or use a yardstick for help.

• When you are finished, start at one corner and begin to tie the fringe of the two layers together in a double knot until completing the entire blanket.

* TIP: For a two-colored blanket alternate your knots by passing one fringe under and over, then reverse it for the next knot.

This project can be paired up with an Orthodox lesson as well. We made red & orange blankets to accompany the story of the 3 Holy Youths in the fire; Shadrach, Mishach, and Abendago. When it came time to donate them, our group decided to send them to the Orthodox fire victims in Greece.

To tailor your blankets for a worldwide cause, visit www.iocc.org http://www.orthodoxyouthoutreach.net/ or www.ocmc.org for ideas.

Can anyone crafty out there suggest a way to add-on a Cross, Icon, or Orthodox decal?

St Basil: At a Time of Need

Ayios Vasilios bears a title that few Saints share with him. He is known as "Saint Basil the Great." Some attribute this title to him because he organized cenobitic monasticism, or because he was a truly convicted bishop who preached thunderous sermons throughout Caesarea to defend Orthodoxy against the heresy of the Arians. Below, however, I share why he is considered "Great" in my mind.

Two things convicted the heart of St Basil during his formative years. The first was when his younger brother  Naucratius, died, and then second was the influence of his elder sister Macrina, whose rock-like faith led her to join a community of religious women who served the poor, owned no personal items, slept on the ground, ate only enough to sustain them, and lived completely for God. 

Saint Basil followed this example and experienced himself the ascetic life, before being ordained and recruited to defend the Church.

He went on to address the rich "who let their wheat rot, while men die of hunger" during a time of great famine and natural disasters in this way. He said,

"You refuse to give under the pretext that you haven't got enough for your own requirements. But while your tongue excuses, your hand condemns- that ring on your finger silently declares you to be a liar! How many debtors could be released from prison with one of those rings! How many ill-clad people could be clothed from only one of your wardrobes? And yet you turn the poor away empty-handed."

 Saint Basil spared no one....he said

"You are poor? But there are others poorer than you. You have enough to keep you alive for ten days - but this man has only enough for one...Don't be afraid to give away that little that you have. Don't put your interests before the common need. Give your last loaf to the beggar at the door, and trust in the goodness of God."

To inspire us all, here is a miracle story that follows the advice of Ayios Vasilios told by the humble priest Father Stephanos K. Anagnostopoulos and abbreviated from his book.*

On March 24, 1942 an aunt of mine lived in the city of Drama in Northern Greece with her five children. Then they were under Bulgarian occupation, and in a state of deprivation, disease and famine that reached dreadful proportions. Her husband had been killed, and there remained only a very small amount of olive oil and a handful of corn flour.

On this the eve of the Anunciation, her eyes fell on the snuffed out vigil lamp which hanged in front of the icon stand. She was in a dilemma: Should the oil be given to the hungry children or remain in the icon stand with the icon of the Annunciation? With a sense of determination she made the sign of the Cross and told the All-Holy Mother of God:

"My all-Holy Mother! I shall light the vigil lamp because the day which is breaking is of great significance to our faith; however, You take care and feed my children."

She took the very little oil and lit the vigil lamp. Its joyous light illuminated the shabby home and her heart was filled with serenity. This sense of peace accompanied them in their nightly prayer, their sleep, and throughout that unforgettable night.

The next day, after the Divine Liturgy, my aunt opened the kitchen cupboard in order to get the meager flour and she remained speechless. What did she see? The "oilcan" filled with oil all the way to the top, as well as two bagfuls of flour and spaghetti!

The woman made the sign of the Cross many times, praising and thanking God and the Theotokos for this great miracle, but she did not say a word to anyone."

+ + +
 
Life & Quotes of St Basil from **Evloyeite!  A Pilgrim's Guide to Greece; Mother Nektaria McLees. St Nicholas Press, 2002 available here**

Miracle taken from **Experience duringt he Divine Liturgy: Protopresbyter Stephanos K. Anagnostopoulos. Piraeus 2008. Available for purchase in Greek and English here  **

BINGO for Great Lent

Introducing a fun way to get your youth involved in service projects. On this BINGO card are listed 20 ideas for Great Lent that will enhance your spiritual journey to Pascha. Mix up the squares and distribute, or have each child draw from a bag to play. There are various ways to adjust this game, but the main idea is to establish 5 goals with your children to accomplish over the period of 40 plus days.

Here is the file posted on Scribd. If you would like the Word document to mix up the squares for different BINGO cards, just email me at eleniemarie@gmail.com.

Ask the students to complete their BINGO boards through activities outside of church, in daily life, and return their completed sheet to you for a "spiritual prize" I like to give Orthodox CD's, books, magnets, etc

Have fun, and please share other ideas for the squares by posting a comment.

Orthodox Outreach

Every Orthodox Christian must visit this link - then get to work for Christ!
FOCUSNorthAmerica.org

What an absolute blessings to see Orthodox Christians working together for the homeless, the orphaned, and those in need. If we're not involved, we should be.

Graveyard Cleanup

Most American cemeteries have maintenance workers, but I've been thinking that this would make a fantastic service project. Take your kids, your teens, or your youth group and go spend the afternoon amongst the tombs!(Especially if you know where many fellow Orthodox faithful are buried)Did you know the early Christians celebrated the Divine Liturgy underground with the bodies of the reposed alongside the worshipers.(catacombs) Can you imagine that!

Prayer for those fallen asleep is an ancient tradition of the Church. Since we believe that life continues after death, we say the members of the Church that have reposed maintain spiritual communication with those of us that remain on earth. As St Paul says in Romans 14:7-8, "Whether we live or die we belong to the Lord."

* Pick a Saturday or Sunday
* Copy prayers of Memorial Service
* Pack rakes,shovels,flowers,garbage bags
* Select an area of the graveyard to tidy up
* Spend time reading the tombstones
* Read the Trisagion prayers for the person buried there
* Teach the following (taken from a text by New Skete, Mt Athos)

The one, holy, and universal Church is divided into two parts: the Church Triumphant and the Church Militant. To the Church Triumphant belong all those who ended their struggle in earthly life victoriously; they await their crown of righteousness (the Saints). To the Church Militant belong all those still struggling on earth against sin in order to attain perfection.(saints, with a lowercase "s") It is by the love of Christ, which is eternal, that we are bound to one another as His creation.

St John Chrysostom stated, "Let us help these souls as much as we can, and offer them a small assistance. We ourselves should pray and we should ask others to pray for them. We offer charitable acts together with supplications for those departed so that they may receive consolation. For, if Job's children were cleansed by their father's sacrifice, then why doubt that the dead do not gain benefit from our prayers and charity?"

Lastly, if time permits, consider discussing the significance of Kollyva, the traditional mixture of boiled wheat and fruits which dates back to the 4th century and is usually offered on 40-Day and One Year Memorials. Get your hands dirty preparing this tasty treat if you can and end the day with this quote from St Simeon of Thessaloniki,

"The kernels of wheat and fruits of the earth show that human beings are also seeds. When they are cast down on the ground they want, with the power of God, to rise up again like grain, and after they manage to sprout up, then full grown and alive, they want to be offered to Christ. For just as what is now a seed will be buried in the earth and after that will germinate and come to fruition and bear forth its ample fruit, so too a human being that is now delivered to the earth on account of death wants to rise up again."

For Christ is the resurrection, the life, and the repose of all, and to Him do we ascribe glory, together with the beginningless Father, and the all-holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

The Jesus Prayer

I am convinced that our kids and teens need to hear this prayer more than any other. It's called the Jesus Prayer and whenever we use it, we call upon Christ as the Holy Scripture says, keeping Him on our minds, in our hearts, and on our lips with every minute of the day. This short but powerful prayer sanctifies whatever task we are doing!

Fold the laundry ... and say this prayer

Drive to the grocery store ... and say this prayer

Say it in any language, say it in short or long form...

but whatever you do, keep praying and let your kids hear you!

The Jesus Prayer has even been put to a simple melody in order to sing it. I have heard it in two different forms, and love both! It's great to use on long car trips, because everyone can participate. Take turns offering the first name of someone you'd like to sing the Jesus Prayer for, then complete the song on their behalf.

We say, "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on ______, your servant."

Sometimes we include all the poor, the hungry, the orphaned, the priests, all monks and nuns, those with a handicap, etc. Before you know it, you and your family will have prayed for the sanctification of the whole world!

"Indeed, our true task is always the same and is always accomplished in the same way: to call upon our Lord Jesus Christ with a burning heart so that His holy name intercedes for us." -

-Hesychios the Priest: On Personal Holiness

St John the Almsgiver:For the Thanksgiving Holiday

Upcoming Lesson for November 12 :
Turning Our Attention Towards Others for Thanksgiving this Year

St. John was born in Cyprus in the year 560. His father, whose name was Epiphanus, was the ruler of the country.When John grew up, he married and had children. But his children died. And then, when his wife also died, he was left alone and suffered very much. Then John began to direct his life more towards that of a monk. He practiced all the Christian virtues through his great love for God. St. John had a special love for all men who were poor, and for strangers. He gave them everything that they had need of! The people elected John to be the Patriarch of Alexandria during the time that Heracles was the Emperor. As a Patriarch of he Church, St. John's preaching was like a brightly burning candle, a light which shone into the world. St. John built a special hospital and house for strangers and for poor people, supporting these places from his own riches. He gave of his mercy, not only to the faithful of his flock, but also to those who were not faithful of the Church. Because of this, the people called him "The Merciful One.”

St. John lived as Patriarch until he was very old. When he died, the people whom he loved so much cried for him, and buried his body with great honor.

We celebrate his feast on November 12.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Click and Print St John's Icon to Color
2. Practice the Vocab
3. Complete the Word Scramble
4. Make a Visit to Someone in Need This Month, Consider bringing a homemade treat!


Vocabulary

* Alms: Works of mercy or monetary gifts given to help the poor. All through the Bible, God's people are called to help those less fortunate than themselves (see Matt 25: 31-46).

* Almsgiver: A person who gives money or other donations to the poor or needy

* Charity: [a] the love of God for humanity, or a love of one's fellow human beings, [b] an act of goodwill or affection, [c] a voluntary giving of money or other help to those in need. Sharing with the poor. Often the translation of AGAPE or the love that God has for humanity. The act of love, the by product of which is material giving.

* Saint: A person who has loved God when alive, who worked at being like god, and because of his/her humility and holiness, God has set that person apart from others and works through that person still today.

* Sympathy: To share a feeling with the one who is in sorrow, sadness, suffering, has troubles.

* Vision: [a] something seen not by normal sight; [b] in a dream or supernaturally revealed as to a prophet; [c] a representation of a person or thing of a spiritual nature seen under divine influence.

May the life of St John be an example for our children and families as we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, and direct our attention towards others.

This lesson has been expanded from the Saints Alive curriculum