CLEVELAND DEANERY MEETS ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Youngstown, OH - His Grace Bishop Dr.MITROPHAN scheduled the Annual Cleveland Deanery Meeting on Christian Education to be held at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday, November 15, 2007.
Dean Very Reverend Stavrofor Janko Raljich was the host priest and warmly received the participants. Very Reverend Stavrofor Rastko Trbuhovich was the featured speaker.
Father Trbuhovich centered his talk on the development and activities of the parish summer day camp which is conducted each year at St. Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church in Lackawanna, New York.
The day camp at St.Stephen’s Church has been in existence for twenty-three years and provides Father Trbuhovich with the opportunity to have extensive personal contact with the children and youth of the parish.
Protinica Victoria Trbuhovich and Church School Director Diane Sullivan as well as church school teachers and parishioners assist in the camps operation. Each year a respective theme serves as the basis for instructional classes and activities.
Father Trbuhovich described conducting a teaching Divine Liturgy, various educational trips that have been a part of the camp and his personal delight in seeing the campers grasp thoughts that were being taught in classes.
Father Trbuhovich gave a vivid example of the personal delight he experienced when campers were able to relate the words from a camp lesson about the Holy Prophet Isaiah and the receiving of Holy Communion.
Additional active participants in the meeting included Protonamesnik Dragomir Tuba, Protonamesnik Zivojin Jakovljevic, Protonamesnik Milovan Katanic, Reverend Father Isak Kisin, Father Deacon Milan Medakovic, Church School Teachers-Steven Munich, Mile Andjelkovich, Michael Hanlon and Lori Momcilovich.
Parish Christian Education reports were given orally and submitted in writing from Ohio parishes in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, and Youngstown. Reports also were submitted from parishes in
Hermitage, Pennsylvania and Lackawanna, New York.
The Deanery Meetings have been conducted on an annual basis since 1987 and provide for the exchange of vital information on Christian education among parish priests and church school teachers. as well as the opportunity to hear a featured speaker on a relevant theme.
His Grace Bishop Dr. MITROPHAN emphasizes the importance of Christian Education in the Diocese by consistently assigning speakers, attending and scheduling the meetings
This was the first year the Deanery meeting talk focused exclusively on a particular day camp. In 1997 a Diocesan Seminar was held focusing on the development of parish day camps. The longest running day camp is at the St. Elijah Church in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
Several parishes in the Eastern Diocese now operate day camps and find them to be a very beneficial addition to the parish Christian Education program.
Information was distributed at this meeting about the Third Annual Nativity Fast Retreat to be held at St.Sava Camp-Shadeland on December 28-30, 2008.
Dean Proto Janko Raljich has participated in the Cleveland Deanery meetings since their inception. The Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Youngstown, Ohio graciously hosted this meeting.
Father Rodney Torbic