by Cecilia, SEM Intern
When people would ask me the classic question, “How was your summer?” I found it an understatement to merely reply, “good.” This past summer, I jumped on nearly every opportunity available to me—all which enriched my spiritual, social, and family life in a unique way. I want to share some of my fruitful experiences with you to give ideas for your upcoming summer. When considering summer plans, trying to find a balance between service, family time, fun, and spiritual growth can be very difficult. Hopefully my experiences will give you some ideas for your summer itinerary!
I started my summer on a five-week trip to Romania with my father, where we spent two weeks at my grandmother’s apartment (finishing up work and school) before departing on our three-week pilgrimage across the country! This time with my father and grandmother was invaluable, and any pilgrimage trips available to you, I would earnestly recommend taking. You don’t need to go as far as Romania to visit monasteries and other holy places of our faith! See what is within a reasonable driving distance from you.
Soon after coming back to the US, I spent two weeks of my summer at Antiochian Village (AV) Camp, which I found both exciting and (to be honest) a little exhausting. There are hundreds of kids who attend each session, which makes for an either extremely exciting environment, or an overstimulating one, depending on your personality. There are smaller Orthodox camps similar to AV around the country if you are interested in a smaller, more local setting! For a comprehensive list, visit this site.
At AV, developing relationships with Orthodox counselors and campers was incredible. Although the (sometimes rambunctious) environment was difficult to be a part of—especially immediately following my peaceful Romanian pilgrimage!—I found beauty in intimate friendships, raw and vulnerable conversations, laughter, and other joys of camp. AV and other Orthodox camps are very good for reigniting interest in the Church, as the day is structured around services and prayer. Camp is helpful to those who want to start or improve on incorporating prayer into their daily routine, as it forms wonderful habits. Camp can be a very beautiful experience, especially for those needing a spiritual rejuvenation or wanting to form friendships with other Orthodox peers.
Following AV Camp, I attended the Parish Life Conference for my diocese, where I cheered my parish on in the Bible Bowl and gave an oration for the Regional Oratorical Festival. This was a wonderful opportunity for public speaking, as my speech was given to an audience of clergy & laypeople. The annual topics for the oratorical festivals are always so edifying: they give teens an opportunity to explore and familiarize themselves with the Church fathers and scriptural commentary. (This year’s theme for the Antiochian archdiocese comes from Luke 1:38: “Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’”) The oratorical festival and its equivalents across jurisdictions provide youth with the opportunity to write and present a spiritual oration that they are passionate about. Look to see what your diocese offers, or see if you can be involved with another diocese’s program!
My next event of the summer was the Youth Music Ministry (YMM) program at the annual Sacred Music Institute (SMI), which was also held at the Antiochian Village Conference Center. In this program, teens with varying levels of musical knowledge come together to sing and learn about Western and Byzantine musical traditions alike. We practiced a few challenging pieces of music, such as Chesnokov’s Salvation is Created, Rachmaninov’s Rejoice, O Virgin, and Nazo Zakkak’s Awed by the Beauty. This was a wonderful experience, and I would recommend it to anyone. If you are a teen in the Antiochian Archdiocese, you receive a full scholarship the first year you attend the SMI, leaving no financial barriers to prevent you from participating in the sacred music of our Church!
Directly after this, I attended Iconography Camp, which runs during one week of the third session of AV summer camp. This camp admits fourteen teens, who each complete an icon within the week of camp. NO experience in iconography (or any art) is necessary to come! There is so much that you can learn in one week of studying and working on iconography. Due to the small number of teen attendees, the camp experience is very intimate, allowing you to grow close to your peers through working on a holy task together. This camp is a great springboard into more serious iconography. I know several teens who have attended this camp and have continued to pursue iconography, even being commissioned! If there are any iconography workshops around you this summer, I recommend going. If you decide to go to camp or a workshop, see if your parish’s teen fund can sponsor you and partially cover your expenses.
After iconography camp, I left for West Virginia. My parish’s teen group joined another parish from Connecticut on a mission trip to Appalachia. This program was called Orthodox Youth Mission Team (OYMT), under the broader organization called Appalachia Service Project (ASP). ASP is a protestant organization, but because our group was exclusively Orthodox, we were able to pray our Orthodox prayers each morning and evening. This mission trip was best described to me as “starting where summer camp ends,” in that it shifts the focus from trying to find how you can have a good time, and points the focus on others. There was no space on this trip to focus on myself, which was both challenging and extremely formative. It was about working to better someone else’s home and engaging with the homeowners to share the joy of Christ. Unlike some missionary groups, our goal was not to preach to them with a program or even with words, but rather through our actions: our goal was to serve as fellow neighbors in Christ. Our hope was that through our actions, the light of Christ would illuminate the hearts of the homeowners. I also picked up a LOT of construction skills and experience on the mission trip, which has benefited me greatly.
On the final morning of the mission trip, we drove back north to Antiochian Village Conference Center, where I performed my oration at the National Oratorical Festival as I was the regional winner. I performed my oration in front of two patriarchs, which, although nerve wracking, was an edifying experience. I placed second on the national level. It was a great opportunity to practice my oration again and apply the feedback which had been given to me at the regional level. I find myself much more comfortable with public speaking now than I did before the summer.
Directly after the Oratorical Festival, I attended SOYO Leadership Training, as earlier that year I was accepted as a member of the Teen SOYO Eastern Region Diocese board. From Friday to Wednesday, the board members of dioceses from all over North America learned from youth and spiritual advisors. We discussed upcoming plans and goals for the year on the deanery, regional, and national levels. This experience pushed me outside my comfort zone for sure, as it was almost a week of being with an entirely new group of people and being challenged in my leadership skills. However, I learned so much and came out of it more fit for my role as the board’s secretary. I recommended this opportunity to anyone who wishes to serve the teens of his or her diocese in an intimate and impactful fashion. If you are part of the Antiochian Archdiocese, ask your youth advisor or check your diocese’s website/social media to see if they are accepting applications for the upcoming year. If you are outside of the Antiochian archdiocese, see if your archdiocese does something similar with their teen ministry. Or, to start, see how you can help your teen group on a parish level!
A few days after this, I went to AV (yes, again) to participate as a SOYO Coach at Special Olympics Pennsylvania Multi-Sport Training Camp. This might have been my favorite activity of the summer. This camp strives to give athletes with intellectual disabilities a chance to compete in their specialized sport (and try new sports!) throughout the week. Before the athletes arrived, the teens spent two days preparing for the camp to begin: we were educated in safety, regulations, expectations, sports rules/gameplay, and more. When the athletes arrived on Sunday, I was immediately filled with joy. Several of them ran up to me saying how much they had missed me, though I had never met them before. There were so many hugs and joyful faces; I could tell that these athletes looked forward to Sports Camp throughout the entire year.
Going into the week, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know how I would function in this environment or what I could get out of the experience. But I learned so much from these athletes and found myself continually humbled throughout the week. The athletes had such a pure, selfless disposition, of which I was always in awe. I was there to serve them, but found myself more often than not served by them. This program also gave me an opportunity to form close bonds with the other teen volunteers, as we were sharing a common beautiful experience. We were given a lot of responsibility and freedom, and that is what allowed for such a selfless ministry to form.
But I must mention that it was a very tiring experience. The volunteers had to be “on” for almost the whole day and we were often outside, active in the sun for hours. The curfew for teens tended to be late (around eleven or midnight), and the mornings started early, so I was not getting as much sleep as I probably needed.
So, I ended my summer exhausted and with a fever, but I don’t regret any of it! These experiences were some of the most rewarding ones of which I have been privileged to be a part. I earnestly hope that you will consider some of them for your upcoming summer—though perhaps you won’t choose quite as many as I did!