As part of an outreach project at Ancient Faith Ministries, I recently started a private Facebook group for Orthodox single parents. As our conversation began, it quickly became apparent that it is as hard to be a single parent in the Orthodox church as out of it. One member described the life as a kind of asceticism that’s between marriage and monasticism, with elements of both vocations but without the religious orā¦
āRead me a story, Unca Doug!ā was probably one of my first sentences, directed repeatedly to my longsuffering and beloved second cousin who visited us, while he was in seminary, when I was two. Books were a very important part of our household since my dad was a teacher. They became absolutely essential when I was in kindergarten and isolated at home with mono for several months.Ā Then I grew into aā¦
Available now for preorder is the perfect gift for your family this Lenten season: Love at Lent is a colorful box filled with activity cards to be drawn at random each day of Great Lent, designed to encourage kindness, humility, and mindfulness for the whole family during this special time in our faith.Ā Orthodox Christians are asked to fast, pray, repent, and give as we prepare for the Resurrection of our Lordā¦
The most surprising result of the week of church camp was this deepening sense of prayer.Ā My children have all grown up in the church and have been saying family prayers since they were born and attend church on a regular basis, etc., so you would think they would have a very firm grasp of what prayer is and its importance.Ā
In our digitally heavy world, where our senses are somewhat numbed by media overload, it is absolutely a breath of fresh air to read a book that is, in my opinion, a work of art that engages our imagination.
My kids especially appreciated the self-examination questions, which help with introspection and examination of conscience and focus first on love and our failures to love perfectly, rather than on sin.
We’re delighted to share this year’s edition of Fr. Jonathan Bannon’s wonderful “Journey to Pascha” chart. This chart can be used like a map of Lent, marking off the milestones along the way and providing a suggestion for personal spiritual practice for each week. Last year, the original edition of this chart traveled around the world. It was even translated into other languages. Glory to God! Fr. Jonathan came up with theā¦
Had I known, when I received it a year ago, what all Elissaās message would have entailed, Iād have said yes on the spot, without thinking about it for a few days.
When I was 25 years old, I was working full-time as a Montessori assistant in a Kindergarten classroom. During morning circle time, I would take little notes on our scrap paper about what the head teacher was sharing with the 5-7 year olds. No holds barred, this teacher, a life-long lover of learning, poured into these children rich details about complex ideas and precise nomenclature. I love the Montessori concept of theā¦
Fr. Jonathan Bannon kindly shared this infographic he created to show the elements of a traditional Easter or Pascha basket. Pascha baskets are taken to the midnight service on Holy Saturday and blessed, and their contents are enjoyed at the feast after the service. This being so, they traditional contain many delicacies that cannot be eaten during the preceding Lenten Fast.