YOUTH CAMP AND CONFERENCE -
7-10 DECEMBER
We are reaching the final stages of planning for the Archdiocesan
Youth Conference at the beginning of the school holidays, and we
are appealing for help from all members of the Mission Committee,
and anyone else concerned about youth and mission. We need YOUR
help to encourage the youth of your parish to attend, and to let
us know in good time that they want to attend.
We hope to have young people from every parish in the
Archdiocese. One of the concerns that has been expressed by
Orthodox youth is the difficulty of being Orthodox in a
pluralistic society where Orthodox Christians are a tiny
minority. Most of our young people have friends who are not
Orthodox, and move in social circles where Orthodox Christianity
is not understood or has never been heard of. This puts pressure
on our youth, but it also gives them an opportunity for mission.
So an important aim of the conference is for our Orthodox young
people to see that they are not alone: scattered among the
parishes they may be few, but brought together, in one place, it
may be possible to feel, even if only for a few days, what it is
like to live in an Orthodox environment, with other Orthodox
people.
On youth day (16 June) the youth also told us some of their
concerns, and topics they would like to discuss in future con-
ferences. We won't be able to deal with all of them in one
conference, but we hope to deal with some, and to cover others in
later youth conferences.
* Being Orthodox in a pluralist society
* Orthodox marriage, sexual morality, HIV/Aids
* Moral regeneration, crime and corruption
* Drugs and alcohol abuse
* Poverty, unemployment, racism in church and society
At the moment we urgently need to know who is coming, and to have
application forms by 30 November at the latest, especially from
those who need a subsidy for the conference fee of R100.00. His
Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim will be going overseas on 3
December, and will therefore need to approve all applications for
subsidies by 1 December at the latest. It would help if those who
can afford the full conference fee could add some extra, to help
subsidise those who cannot afford it.
One reason we need to know who is coming is to know the average
age of participants, so we can plan the level of input. The age
range is 15-30, but if necessary we will plan separate activities
for those at the younger end.
We also need recommendations on who can speak on these topics,
and would welcome the help of mission committee members who can
do this.
The daily programme will be:
06:00 - First Hour
06:30 - Breakfast, washing up etc.
09:00 - Third Hour
09:30 - Lecture on theme
10:30 - Tea
11:00 - Discussion and questions on theme
12:00 - Sixth hour
12:30 - Lunch, washing up, free time
15:00 - Ninth Hour
15:30 - Lecture on theme or other activity
16:30 - Tea
17:00 - Discussion and on theme
18:00 - Vespers
18:30 - Supper, washing up
19:30 - General discussion, games, singing practice etc.
21:30 - Compline
This will be the same on Friday and Saturday
On Sunday there will be a different programme, with the Divine
Liturgy, and we hope that His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros will
be present.
The conference information sheet and application form is attached in
both MS Word and PDF format. You can print these out to distribute to
young people in your parish, and forward them to others.
For more information, questions, comments, suggestions etc, please
also check the following web page:
Tribe.net
Orthodox Youth Conference 7-10 December 2006
At St Nektarius & St Nicholas Monastery site Leeuwenkloof
The conference will be for Orthodox young people aged 15-30 from all parishes.
We will be camping at the St Nektarius monastery site, and "
roughing it?, so you will need to bring blankets or sleeping bag.
The conference
will deal with issues facing Orthodox youth in South Africa today, with
lectures, discussion and a regular programme of worship.
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