The Sunday School welcomes children as young as 3 years old and offers classes from pre-school through high school.
The aim of the Sunday School program is to teach our children how to live their Orthodox faith. By teaching them about the life of Christ, using Illustrated handouts of the each Sunday's Gospel, we give them the foundation to live Christian lives, to go out into the world and share their faith and do good works.
The Sunday School exists within the church not apart from it. As well as classroom learning, the goal is to instill in young Orthodox Christians the concept and experience of worship within the context of the liturgical year of the Church. From the offering given in the Narthex, the lighting of candles, veneration of icons, to worshiping; all these actions and more are to be experienced by the youth. Parents are the youth’s first teacher, their primary influence. It is only fitting and right that they should learn the worship experience with their parents. Through weekly participation in Divine Service, families will come to understand the commitment and dedication necessary to be followers of Christ and His teachings.
| 10:00am | Divine Liturgy - Families worship together. Parents are stongly encouraged to arrive at or before the start of the Divine Liturgy. |
| ~11:15am | Holy Communion - Church School Students and their teachers follow newly baptized babies and proceed directly to their classrooms. |
| Noon - 12:15pm | Classes are dismissed at different times. Parents are asked to wait until class has been dismissed before calling for children. Sometimes a student needs to be released prior to dismissal. To avoid lesson disruption, he or she should come to class with a parental note indicating the time and reason for early release. |
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The purpose of Orthodox Christian Education is to help build up the Church, the Body of Christ, by nurturing every person in the life of personal communion with the Holy Trinity (theosis), and thus, through this ministry, to bear joyful witness to God's loving and redeeming work in the world. The Orthodox Christian Education aims at the communication of the content of Christian truth in the context of concrete Christian living: believing, praying, worshipping, learning, applying, growing, sharing, serving and witnessing. We accomplish these goals by providing age appropriate curriculum and faithful and enthusiastic individuals to teach our students. Therefore, the mission of our Sunday Church School program is based on an approach which prepares the students with the principles of the Orthodox Faith, encouraging them to grow in God’s service. Our program builds a solid foundation for the children of our community through exemplary lessons in the teaching and the Worship Practices of the Greek Orthodox Christian Faith, using the fundamental tools of: |
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Worship |
Participating in community worship and private prayer |
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Community |
Sharing in the total life of the church |
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Discipleship |
Learning how to follow Jesus Christ and His Gospel Message |
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Service |
Serving the needs of others in and around the community |
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Witness |
Fulfilling Christ’s mission in the world |
Through these intertwined tools we hope each child has received not only the communication of Christian truth called Orthodoxia, but also a formation of Christian Character by living a lifestyle representative of our Christian Faith called Orthopraxia, Orthodoxy in day to day practice in life.
Please return this form to the Sunday School mailbox in the conference room or e-mail the information to mclaypoole19@aol.com or cleopatrazp@aol.com. You may also mail to: St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 8306 NC Highway 751, Durham, NC 27713 C/O Youth Activities Registration
Please complete one form per child
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Guardian Angel
O Angel of God, my holy Guardian given to me from Heaven, protect and enlighten me this day, give me strength to overcome temptations, and save me from all evil. Teach me to do what is right, and guide me in the steps of Christ, my Savior. |  |
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. | |
A Table Grace
O heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fills all things. Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One. |
