St Herman’s Youth Conference 2008 in Montreal
Expected Benefits
• To educate our Russian Orthodox youth in the fundamentals of our Faith
• To give them opportunities to participate in the Orthodox sacraments of Confession and Communion
• To give them the opportunity to meet and development friendships with other Russian Orthodox youth
• To strengthen bonds of friendship and understanding among our youth from North America and from Russia
• To build relationships between the youth and the clergy and afford opportunities for the youth to speak one-on-one with the clergy
• To hear edifying lectures on Orthodox theology, spirituality and contemporary moral issues and benefit from question-and-answer sessions with the speakers
• To be able to participate in discussions with their fellow youth, directed by the clergy and by their elected youth representatives
• To have opportunities to learn Russian Orthodox liturgical music and participate in the choir at the divine services
• To build leaders among the youth by providing them with leadership opportunities both at the Conference and in preparation for it
• To meet other youth with a hope to make lasting relationships which have in the past in many cases resulted in marriage.
Results
Education: The youth were blessed to have three fine lecturers this year. The first was Dr. John Hadzi-Nicolaou who heads the program on Orthodox Studies at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. He gave two lectures on the Church Fathers, first giving an historic overview and then emphasizing the relevance for the Church Fathers to our spiritual lives today, especially in terms of youth issues. These presentations were well received, especially by the older youth.
The second lecturer was Reader Joseph Kimball, a nurse practitioner who specializes in the field of psychiatry. He spoke on the issues of mental health and treatment from an Orthodox perspective. This lecture was very well received by all of the youth.
The final lecture addressed the calendar issue, that is, the historic, theological and scientific foundations for the use of the traditional Church calendar by the Russian Orthodox Church. Deacon Serge Arlievsky made excellent use of Powerpoint, including a good amount of humor, to engage the young people’s interest in an otherwise academic topic, demonstrating its importance and relevance in their lives. This presentation also received a lot of positive feedback from the youth in their comment sheets at the end of the conference.
Participation in the Sacraments and Choir
Every St. Herman’s Conference includes the Vigil and Divine Liturgy for St. Herman of Alaska. All of the youth attended these services and most of them made their confession and received Holy Communion. In addition, many of the youth participated in the special youth choir at these services, which included a the afternoon before the Vigil. After Divine Liturgy all of the conference-goers took a tour of Old Montreal, during which the youth choir had the opportunity to sing some of their favorite selections from the divine services inside the Roman Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral in Old Montreal. They also sang Christmas carols on the street for the passers-by. The youth in the choir were so inspired by their experiences that they took it upon themselves to make plans to make the St. Herman’s youth choir a permanent institution and get together to sing liturgical pieces at divine services and other events throughout the year.
Meeting and Developing Friendships
This year was the first year that the staff divided the youth into two groups: those under 20 years of age and those 20 and over. This was at the suggestion of the older youth. In recent years the Conference had experienced a decline in the numbers of college-aged youth. This was due to the perception that the St. Herman’s Conference was becoming more oriented toward high school students. The older youth proposed doing more to separate the two age groups as a way to attract and retain college-aged participants.
This was accomplished in two ways. First, the two age groups were lodged on different floors of the hotel and had separate hospitality rooms on those floors where they could socialize. There were also hospitality rooms on the ground floor where young people of either age group could mingle. Second, the two discussion sessions (see below) were separated by age.
The end result of these two measures was very positive. We received mostly positive feedback on this. The youth in general felt more comfortable in certain situations having peers limited to within a few years of their age. This was the case both in formal discussion sessions as well as in informal socializing. Clearly, a young teen does not always feel comfortable with folks in their mid-20’s and vice versa. In the discussion sessions this created an environment wherein the respective age groups felt freer to open up and speak freely.
At the same time, there were ample opportunities for the youth to interact between the age groups, such as during the free periods, mealtimes and the outing to Old Montreal.
As a result, both the older and the younger participants plan to return to the St. Herman’s Conference next year.
We were also hoping to have separate and simultaneous lectures for the two age groups, but this year it did not work out due to the speakers’ schedules. We do hope to implement this for the next Conference.
Building Leaders
Last year we decided to have the youth themselves more directly involved in the planning, decision-making and operation of the Conference. To this end we had the youth elect four youth representatives, two male and two female, to serve two-year terms. The very act of giving the young people the opportunity to select their own leadership gave them a sense of empowerment and taking responsibility for their Conference. And the representatives they chose have proven to be not only mature and pious Orthodox believers, but also self-motivated and full of great ideas.
One of the youth representatives took it upon himself to send out a mailing to all the parishes in the Eastern USA and Eastern Canada, informing them of the Conference and urging their youth, especially the college-aged youth, to attend. Another youth representative took it upon himself to design a beautiful poster for the Conference which was also mailed to all the parishes.
Throughout the course of the year, the four youth representatives participated in the conference calls with the St. Herman’s Executive Committee (SHEC). They had a wide array of ideas for particular activities at this year’s conference, as well as for improving its overall structure. For example, it was their idea to incorporate caroling into the outing to Old Montreal. They also proposed dividing the discussion sessions by age and volunteered to lead these sessions themselves. (See below for the evaluation of the discussion sessions.)
The youth representatives also took it upon themselves, with the blessing of the conference administrator, to hold a voluntary session during a scheduled free period where the youth could discuss projects for the coming year. Tables were set up for discussing topics such as: ideas for next year’s St. Herman’s Conference, ongoing activities of the youth choir, signing up for the St. Herman’s Facebook page, service projects during the year, and a pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery. Even though this activity was completely voluntary, the youth displayed great enthusiasm and the tables were crowded and abuzz with young people. The youth representatives showed great leadership and initiative in organizing this successful activity which will have a positive effect throughout the coming year.
Discussion Sessions and Interaction with Clergy
St. Herman’s has a strong tradition of having numerous priests and deacons attending and actively engaging with the youth in both formal and informal settings. This year was no exception. In addition to the clergy who have been regular staff members at St. Herman’s, this year we enjoyed the presence and assistance of a priest attending for the first time.
In past years the clergy have led the discussion sessions with the youth. This took two forms: First, panel discussions with the clergy at a head table facing the youth. The bishop who serves on the feast day is usually present for the panel discussions, and matushki are also encouraged to participate. The youth could then submit questions to the clergy either verbally or in writing, if they wished to be anonymous. Second, the clergy would organize discussion groups among the youth, sometimes dividing them according to age and/or sex.
This year we let the youth representatives take charge of leading the discussion sessions. Clergy were present at the session in a supervisory role and as resources, but the youth leaders were given the responsibility of actually directing the sessions. Once the youth were divided into two rooms according to age, two of the youth leaders took charge of each group. The youth in each room were divided into smaller groups of about a half-dozen and given their choice of one of four topics to discuss among themselves. The small groups then came back together and shared their discussions with the whole group. The clergy were available to answer questions and to keep the discussion on track, but otherwise the direction of the discussions was left to the youth representatives. These discussions went very well. It was a different dynamic from past years where it tended to become another lecture directed at the youth rather than the youth interacting with each other.
Clergy were also available in informal settings throughout the conference, and there were many fruitful and interesting discussions, some of them quite lengthy. The youth also had opportunities to interact with the priests during the Vigil at confession.
Even though it was not scheduled, after the banquet on the feast day Bishop Gabriel organized an impromptu panel discussion between the clergy and the youth. As in previous years, this was a success, with the young people posing serious and thoughtful questions.
Relations with Youth in Russia
A number of our youth in the Diaspora took part in a pilgrimage to Russia in 2008 where they had opportunities to interact with Orthodox youth in the homeland. The executive committee invited some of the youth who had gone on the pilgrimage to share their experiences with the St. Herman’s Conference. Four of these youth put together an excellent Powerpoint presentation which was very well received. Not only did our youth have the opportunity to see photos of important pilgrimage sites, but the presentation also gave them a greater sense of being connected with their fellow youth in Russia. This was also another instance of the youth instructing one another, rather than just hearing from the clergy, which contributes to their gaining a sense of ownership of and responsibility for the conference.
• To educate our Russian Orthodox youth in the fundamentals of our Faith
• To give them opportunities to participate in the Orthodox sacraments of Confession and Communion
• To give them the opportunity to meet and development friendships with other Russian Orthodox youth
• To strengthen bonds of friendship and understanding among our youth from North America and from Russia
• To build relationships between the youth and the clergy and afford opportunities for the youth to speak one-on-one with the clergy
• To hear edifying lectures on Orthodox theology, spirituality and contemporary moral issues and benefit from question-and-answer sessions with the speakers
• To be able to participate in discussions with their fellow youth, directed by the clergy and by their elected youth representatives
• To have opportunities to learn Russian Orthodox liturgical music and participate in the choir at the divine services
• To build leaders among the youth by providing them with leadership opportunities both at the Conference and in preparation for it
• To meet other youth with a hope to make lasting relationships which have in the past in many cases resulted in marriage.
Results
Education: The youth were blessed to have three fine lecturers this year. The first was Dr. John Hadzi-Nicolaou who heads the program on Orthodox Studies at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. He gave two lectures on the Church Fathers, first giving an historic overview and then emphasizing the relevance for the Church Fathers to our spiritual lives today, especially in terms of youth issues. These presentations were well received, especially by the older youth.
The second lecturer was Reader Joseph Kimball, a nurse practitioner who specializes in the field of psychiatry. He spoke on the issues of mental health and treatment from an Orthodox perspective. This lecture was very well received by all of the youth.
The final lecture addressed the calendar issue, that is, the historic, theological and scientific foundations for the use of the traditional Church calendar by the Russian Orthodox Church. Deacon Serge Arlievsky made excellent use of Powerpoint, including a good amount of humor, to engage the young people’s interest in an otherwise academic topic, demonstrating its importance and relevance in their lives. This presentation also received a lot of positive feedback from the youth in their comment sheets at the end of the conference.
Participation in the Sacraments and Choir
Every St. Herman’s Conference includes the Vigil and Divine Liturgy for St. Herman of Alaska. All of the youth attended these services and most of them made their confession and received Holy Communion. In addition, many of the youth participated in the special youth choir at these services, which included a the afternoon before the Vigil. After Divine Liturgy all of the conference-goers took a tour of Old Montreal, during which the youth choir had the opportunity to sing some of their favorite selections from the divine services inside the Roman Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral in Old Montreal. They also sang Christmas carols on the street for the passers-by. The youth in the choir were so inspired by their experiences that they took it upon themselves to make plans to make the St. Herman’s youth choir a permanent institution and get together to sing liturgical pieces at divine services and other events throughout the year.
Meeting and Developing Friendships
This year was the first year that the staff divided the youth into two groups: those under 20 years of age and those 20 and over. This was at the suggestion of the older youth. In recent years the Conference had experienced a decline in the numbers of college-aged youth. This was due to the perception that the St. Herman’s Conference was becoming more oriented toward high school students. The older youth proposed doing more to separate the two age groups as a way to attract and retain college-aged participants.
This was accomplished in two ways. First, the two age groups were lodged on different floors of the hotel and had separate hospitality rooms on those floors where they could socialize. There were also hospitality rooms on the ground floor where young people of either age group could mingle. Second, the two discussion sessions (see below) were separated by age.
The end result of these two measures was very positive. We received mostly positive feedback on this. The youth in general felt more comfortable in certain situations having peers limited to within a few years of their age. This was the case both in formal discussion sessions as well as in informal socializing. Clearly, a young teen does not always feel comfortable with folks in their mid-20’s and vice versa. In the discussion sessions this created an environment wherein the respective age groups felt freer to open up and speak freely.
At the same time, there were ample opportunities for the youth to interact between the age groups, such as during the free periods, mealtimes and the outing to Old Montreal.
As a result, both the older and the younger participants plan to return to the St. Herman’s Conference next year.
We were also hoping to have separate and simultaneous lectures for the two age groups, but this year it did not work out due to the speakers’ schedules. We do hope to implement this for the next Conference.
Building Leaders
Last year we decided to have the youth themselves more directly involved in the planning, decision-making and operation of the Conference. To this end we had the youth elect four youth representatives, two male and two female, to serve two-year terms. The very act of giving the young people the opportunity to select their own leadership gave them a sense of empowerment and taking responsibility for their Conference. And the representatives they chose have proven to be not only mature and pious Orthodox believers, but also self-motivated and full of great ideas.
One of the youth representatives took it upon himself to send out a mailing to all the parishes in the Eastern USA and Eastern Canada, informing them of the Conference and urging their youth, especially the college-aged youth, to attend. Another youth representative took it upon himself to design a beautiful poster for the Conference which was also mailed to all the parishes.
Throughout the course of the year, the four youth representatives participated in the conference calls with the St. Herman’s Executive Committee (SHEC). They had a wide array of ideas for particular activities at this year’s conference, as well as for improving its overall structure. For example, it was their idea to incorporate caroling into the outing to Old Montreal. They also proposed dividing the discussion sessions by age and volunteered to lead these sessions themselves. (See below for the evaluation of the discussion sessions.)
The youth representatives also took it upon themselves, with the blessing of the conference administrator, to hold a voluntary session during a scheduled free period where the youth could discuss projects for the coming year. Tables were set up for discussing topics such as: ideas for next year’s St. Herman’s Conference, ongoing activities of the youth choir, signing up for the St. Herman’s Facebook page, service projects during the year, and a pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery. Even though this activity was completely voluntary, the youth displayed great enthusiasm and the tables were crowded and abuzz with young people. The youth representatives showed great leadership and initiative in organizing this successful activity which will have a positive effect throughout the coming year.
Discussion Sessions and Interaction with Clergy
St. Herman’s has a strong tradition of having numerous priests and deacons attending and actively engaging with the youth in both formal and informal settings. This year was no exception. In addition to the clergy who have been regular staff members at St. Herman’s, this year we enjoyed the presence and assistance of a priest attending for the first time.
In past years the clergy have led the discussion sessions with the youth. This took two forms: First, panel discussions with the clergy at a head table facing the youth. The bishop who serves on the feast day is usually present for the panel discussions, and matushki are also encouraged to participate. The youth could then submit questions to the clergy either verbally or in writing, if they wished to be anonymous. Second, the clergy would organize discussion groups among the youth, sometimes dividing them according to age and/or sex.
This year we let the youth representatives take charge of leading the discussion sessions. Clergy were present at the session in a supervisory role and as resources, but the youth leaders were given the responsibility of actually directing the sessions. Once the youth were divided into two rooms according to age, two of the youth leaders took charge of each group. The youth in each room were divided into smaller groups of about a half-dozen and given their choice of one of four topics to discuss among themselves. The small groups then came back together and shared their discussions with the whole group. The clergy were available to answer questions and to keep the discussion on track, but otherwise the direction of the discussions was left to the youth representatives. These discussions went very well. It was a different dynamic from past years where it tended to become another lecture directed at the youth rather than the youth interacting with each other.
Clergy were also available in informal settings throughout the conference, and there were many fruitful and interesting discussions, some of them quite lengthy. The youth also had opportunities to interact with the priests during the Vigil at confession.
Even though it was not scheduled, after the banquet on the feast day Bishop Gabriel organized an impromptu panel discussion between the clergy and the youth. As in previous years, this was a success, with the young people posing serious and thoughtful questions.
Relations with Youth in Russia
A number of our youth in the Diaspora took part in a pilgrimage to Russia in 2008 where they had opportunities to interact with Orthodox youth in the homeland. The executive committee invited some of the youth who had gone on the pilgrimage to share their experiences with the St. Herman’s Conference. Four of these youth put together an excellent Powerpoint presentation which was very well received. Not only did our youth have the opportunity to see photos of important pilgrimage sites, but the presentation also gave them a greater sense of being connected with their fellow youth in Russia. This was also another instance of the youth instructing one another, rather than just hearing from the clergy, which contributes to their gaining a sense of ownership of and responsibility for the conference.
