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There is a new website dedicated to offering excellent line-art icons and developing an on-going collection of Orthodox clip-art which makes for terrific icons to color with children. It is called the  "Orthodox Illustration Project" and can be found online here: http://www.orthodoxartsjournal.org/announcing-the-orthodox-illustration-project/ Keep the colored icons of your budding iconographers in a nice keepsake folder or photo album and display the Saint on his/her feastday in a prominent place in your home throughout the year. We have a simple 8x10 frame that our family rotates daily with the Synaxarion of the Church. Before you know it, you might have half the year complete in images! Remember not to dispose of icons, blessed or not, into the garbage. Let's teach our youth together to respect these holy images, which should be burned and the ashes buried. Pictured to the right are the icons of the Holy Mandili, a Church, and Saints George & Demetrios

This September, for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, I share with you this image of the largest fragment of the True Cross of Christ in existence. It is a special treasure of the Xeropotamou Monastery on Mount Athos, in Greece.* In honor of the feast, let's ask our kids, why the Cross is so very important to us as Christians?Why do the enemies of Christ, the demons, cringe at this sign? After reading a bit from Elder Cleopa, I am reminded of an event in the Old Testament... Read out loud together Numbers chapter 21. "The LORD said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.' So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived." Numbers 21:8-9 The faithful of that generation were offered a sign of hope, and for us today as Christians, we too are given a means for our salvation. For the New Testament fulfillment of this ...

If you are looking for ideas for Holy Week in your parish, here are two of my favorites. 1) HOLY FIRE IN JERUSALEM Gather a collection of videos of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.  That miracle is one many of our kids have never heard.. and the miracle continues each year! On the Eve of the Resurrection, inside the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem, the Holy Fire descends on the Patriarch of Jerusalem from within the Holy Sepulcher and believers pass the light around to all the faithful, who usually hold 33 candles bound together, to signify the 33 years of Christ's ministry on the Earth. The fire is miraculously given but also miraculous in nature, because it does not burn, just as Moses and the Burning bush. Believers have proved this by passing their hands through the fire, beards and faces...as many photos show. It's color is different than normal too, with more of a white-blue hue. The Holy Fire also bounces around like no light show ever manipulated by machines! Pilgrims ...

For all you creative folks out there, consider putting your talents to use to create a Holy Week Scrapbook for your family or parish. Fill it with fun icons, Scripture verses, symbols, various languages, or photos as the week progresses. Use this as a learning tool, or a memory keepsake for 2014.. Here are a few suggested "call outs" to use with the icons: Entry into Jerusalem: Can you find Zaccheus? Why is Christ seated side-ways on the donkey? Did you know in colder countries the faithful use pussy willows instead of palm branches? Washing the Disciples' Feet: How many disciples were present? Who asks Jesus to wash his whole body? What is so special about feet? Mystical Supper: Can you find St John resting on the bosom of Christ? How about Judas? He's usually the only one reaching for the food and is shown in profile, which signifies his two-faced betrayal. Christ on the Cross: What were the last words of our Lord? Can you find the blood and the water that spilled ...

This is a favorite project of ours for Sunday of Orthodoxy during Great Lent. It is particularly relevant, as many parishes join together, across canonical jurisdictions, to co-celebrate the Divine Liturgy, sometimes in many languages. As a global Orthodox project, I recorded fellow classmates from an Orthodox seminary chanting "Lord Have Mercy" in their native languages. With a large map, I ask the children to identify the country of origin and language for each track... together we try to learn 10 new languages! You can also quiz them with the handout, to see if they can match up the language with the countries. Also Click here for an International Vespers Service (Swahili) Bwana Hurumia (Albanian) Meshiro o Zot (Arabic) Yarrub Burham (Kenyan) Mwanthani Igua Tha (Greek) Kurie Eleison (Slavonic/Russian) Ghospodi Pomiliu (Spanish) Senor Ten Piedad  (Romanian) Doam Neme Lueshte (German) Herr, erbarme dich (English) Lord have mercy

One small way of making the Sacrament of Confession real for kids, is by having them feel the weight of our own sinfulness! (This was tested on teens and proved to be powerful). Without giving away the punchline, ask your kids to pair up (girls with girls, boys with boys)having one hold the other in a piggy-back fashion. Read out loud together a spiritual text on Confession or story from a Saint's life for approx. 5-10 minutes. Check in often with the child bearing the weight- ask him/her how they're feeling....how much longer do they think they can go on.... is the weight getting lighter or heavier as they get tired? (For younger children, use a backpack and heavy items that are labeled with example sins. Discuss each sin as it is placed inside) Finally, read out loud the "Prayer of Absolution" that the priest reads at the end of the Sacrament of Confession, and allow the kids to take their seats... thus releasing their burden . Introduce the idea that the weight we...

Learning to Count: The Orthodox Numbers For children learning to count, or even teens who need a good challenge, this activity opens our eyes to the many ways our Lord sanctifies numbers. This idea was inspired by an Orthodox Saint who during his martyrdom, brought to mind something holy for each horrible act against him. While they cut off each toe or finger, he praised God according to the number, finding a way to glorify our Creator. Can anyone help me remember this Saint's name? Here's how the activity works: Begin by explaining that as the adult or leader, you will call one number at a time, and ask for your children/teens to respond with a correlating event from the Bible, a Saints life, or element from our faith. You can go in order, or be more spontaneous. However, don't move on until your group has thought of everything it can for that number! Here are a few examples... 1 - One God, One Church, One Faith, One Messiah, One leper healed who thanked God, Prayers of...