By Mindi Popovich-Schneider, Assistant (Saint Emmelia Ministries)
In March 2020, I (like most people) was restless. Very rarely did I leave my one-bedroom apartment where I lived alone with my cat. On top of that, I had recently moved to a new state and hadn’t had much time to make new friends before the first round of lockdowns started. I missed attending services at my local parishes, but more than that, I missed my previous parish, which I considered my “home.”
I was also struggling with my job as a Children’s Librarian: I felt keenly the tension between my personal beliefs and the profession’s ethical standards. Overall, the time was ripe to consider what I wanted for my life. So I pulled out a blank notebook and began writing. On one page, I wrote that I wanted to work for the church in some capacity beyond volunteering for parish ministries. I didn’t really know what that might look like–maybe marrying a seminarian or becoming a monastic? I wrote down a few more daydreams (such as “learn to make macarons” and “publish a book”) and put the book away, whispering the prayer of the Theotokos: “Let it be done unto me according to Your will.”
At the time, I would never have imagined that God would answer that prayer in the form of Saint Emmelia Ministries, but less than a year later, I found myself back in my beloved PA, working alongside Fr. Noah, Fr. David, and our incredible team of volunteers to finish planning the 2021 Online Conference. Because Fr. Noah was the priest of my “home” parish, I had known about Saint Emmelia Ministries for a while. I had also known that I was really passionate about serving homeschool families in my work as a librarian. But who could have foreseen all the necessary circumstances–Fr. David needing to step back, my returning to PA in need of a job–would fall together at just the right time to allow me to serve the Church and homeschool families? Well, God, of course.
In the past two years since joining Saint Emmelia Ministries, I have had the privilege of watching it grow, often despite my inadvertent interference! In two years, we’ve expanded our online programs (Dad Gab, a second Moms’ Tea, Teen Poetry Night/Book Club, the St. Macrina Lecture Series), added to our personnel (the Spiritual Advisors Board and Teen Intern Program), and found new ways of supporting homeschool families (Scholarships & Grants). At the same time, Fr. Noah and I are eagerly looking ahead to everything in store for Saint Emmelia Ministries, like the expansion of our Curriculum Garden, an Alumni Association, and additional regional conferences.
All this, yet we constantly discover new needs to be met and new ways to connect with Orthodox homeschool families–not just in North America, but across the world. I’ve spoken to families in Australia, Romania, Italy, Ecuador, and the UK, just to name a few! There is so much work left to be done.
So, that brings me to why we are here right now. We hope that this blog will continue the work of Saint Emmelia Ministries by inspiring, equipping, uniting, and educating all Orthodox homeschool families. Here, you will find essays on parenting, faith, and pedagogy, alongside practical topics, like book reviews and news stories about homeschooling. Through the words of our writers, we hope that you will be strengthened in the blessed and all-important work you have undertaken in educating your children. I’m grateful that Christ has provided this opportunity to journey alongside you and your families as we discover all the wonderful things that He has in store for Saint Emmelia Ministries and our families. (Who knows? Maybe I’ll somehow even learn to make macarons!)
In Christ,
Mindi