Vacation Church School will run this year from July 31 to August 1 from 9:30 AM until noon, and then on Wednesday, August 2 we will have a VCS potluck/picnic/party at 5:00, before Paraklesis. Please return the registration form by Sunday, July 23, and be looking for more exciting details coming soon! Please see Kh. Alyssa if you have any questions, and remember to invite your friends, neighbors, grandchildren, and godchildren!
Category: News
PLC 2023 Competitions
Our youth did an outstanding job at the diocesan competitions at this year’s PLC! The theme for 2023 has been, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). Our youth participated in the Creative Arts Festival, the Bible Bowl, and the Oratorical Festival. Their hard work and dedication to learning and sharing the faith is inspirational. Here is a recap of the festivals and competitions:
Creative Arts Festival:
There were 50 creative festival entries (112 students) from seven of our twelve Church Schools throughout the region. The judging took place at St. John of Damascus Church and each entry was rated on four criteria: adherence to the theme, craftsmanship, composition and creativity. We had three volunteer judges – a clergy member, a marketing/communications specialist, and a project manager/choir director.
Judging categories were Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The breakdown of awards were 9 Gold,12 Silver, and 29 Bronze.
St. Michael submitted 12 entries that were created by the youth in our Saint Michael Homeschool Community. Six entries received silver awards, 5 entries received bronze, and Benji’s was not given a score because of his age.
Be sure to see these projects on display at the church and ask the children about them!
Bible Bowl:
Our teen team consisting of Erika, Mary, and Nicholas Kjendal, with Alison Irving as an alternate, once again won the regional Bible Bowl competition and will be heading to Phoenix, AZ at the end of July to compete with teams from around the country. Our pre-teen team (Sophia Chatelain, Paul Irving, Max Stewart, and Peter Kjendal) also did a phenomenal job, placing THIRD in the competition against the other teen teams and even a team of adults! Many, many thanks to their coaches, Ned and Kristin Chatelain, and their faithful manager/mascot Sam Chatelain for pouring so much love, time, and enthusiasm into our youth!
Oratorical Festival:
Anders Kjendal won the senior division of the regional Oratorical Festival and will also be traveling to Phoenix to compete with the winning orators from around the country.
Diocesan Scholarship:
Additionally, Erika Kjendal won a diocesan scholarship, awarded to outstanding high school graduates, that was presented to her at the PLC.
Saint Michael has had at least one winning orator every year we have had a competitor. Our Bible Bowl teams have been winning since our debut in 2016. Many people asked, “How do they keep winning? What are you doing?” The answer is not easy to articulate in a sentence or two, but if you come to any of the services at St. Michael throughout the week and notice that there are usually as many, if not more, youth than adults present, the answers to what sets our youth apart begin to be made clear.
Donations for A Baby Center, Hyannis, and ZOE House, OH
Throughout the months of June and July 2023, we will be collecting NEW or VERY GENTLY USED children’s books (appropriate for newborns through age 4) to donate to A Baby Center in Hyannis. Please consider donating Orthodox Christian children’s books and help plant seeds of faith in our community! Please see Kh. Alyssa with any questions.
Also, from now until July 9, 2023, we will be collecting new or gently used and clean items that will be delivered by some of our youth to ZOE House in Ohio. Please see Kh. Alyssa with any questions. Items being collected include:
- Baby clothes (up to 2T)
- Diapers (sizes newborn to 6)
- Blankets
- Maternity clothes
Easter Meals 2023
Thanks to a great effort by our amazing outreach team, led by Kh Alyssa.
An Easter ham and a $25 grocery store card are being donated to 30 families through Faith Family Kitchen in Hyannis. The need is great but God is greater!
Monetary donations are still being accepted. God bless you and keep you strong as we make our final approach to the Resurrection! Blessed upcoming Holy Week!!!
Teen SOYO Mission Month
Help us raise money for our mission trip to Mexico by partaking in our activities this month!
- Talent Auction will be running all month! Some of the talents offered are landscaping, prepared meals, babysitting, photography / family portraits, and house cleaning.
- We will have two raffle baskets, one for lent and one for Pascha, which you be able to buy tickets for during the whole month of March. The Lenten raffle basket ticket will be drawn on April 1. The Pascha raffle basket ticket will be drawn on Pascha night!
- Postponed – Last but not least, we will be streaming ‘Man of God’ on March 18th after Vespers. Pasta and popcorn will be served! A suggested donation of $15 is much appreciated.
Thank you!
St. Michael Pascha Card 2023
The Pascha Card order form has been mailed out. If you would like your name on St. Michael Pascha Card, please fill out the form and return it by April 9, 2023.
A portion of the proceeds of this year’s Pascha card will be going to Archdiocese 2023 Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. We thank you for your continued generosity. You can also download Pascha Card 2023 Order Form.
His Eminence Metropolitan Saba
Dearly beloved in Christ,
Over the last two days, our father in Christ his Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, and all the East has met with the Holy Synod of Antioch to elect the next Metropolitan of our beloved Archdiocese. After a special convention in January, our Archdiocese sent over three names to the Holy Synod that they might consider especially in their deliberations: Metropolitan Saba, Bishop John, and Bishop Nicholas. The Holy Synod has elected Metropolitan Saba to be our next Metropolitan. May it be blessed!
Great strength to you all as we approach the beginning of the Great Fast. May we all be encouraged and strengthened by our next chief shepherd of North America.
Peace and joy in Christ.
Fr. Benjamin Kjendal
Letter of Metropolitan Saba to Antiochian Archdiocese
Christmas Meals 2022
Now that Thanksgiving meals have been delivered, it is time to start working on our Christmas meal delivery! We will be donating hams, a grocery store gift card, and a tin of (HOMEMADE!) cookies to families in need this Christmas. Please consider making a monetary donation to help cover the cost of the hams and the grocery store gift cards. Also, we need about 250 DOZEN cookies to fill the cookie tins. That might sound like a lot, but each year we have managed to fill the tins to overflowing. Please bring all cookie donations to church by Sunday, December 18. We will be packaging the cookies during coffee hour.
Thank you, in advance, for helping to bring the Light of Christ to struggling families this Christmas!
St. Michael Newsletter, September 2022
- A Message from Fr. Ben Kjendal
- A Quote from a Saint
- On Service
- Special Fundraising Appeal
- Choir Corner
- YMM (Youth Music Ministry) 2022
- The Unexpected Gift
- Outreach
- Teen SOYO
- Recipe Box
The Annunciation & Fish Feast 2022
We will be having Liturgy for the Feast of the Annunciation on Friday 3/25 at 6:00 PM (Orthros at 5:00). Following Liturgy, we will be having our annual Fish Feast to benefit ZOE House, a pan-Orthodox crisis pregnancy support center in Ohio. Please let Kh. Alyssa know you will be coming to the dinner.