Holy Trinity Orthodox Church

STATE COLLEGE, PA — During the penultimate day of the 2012 Holy Trinity Vacation Bible School (VBS) the children got back to the roots–the roots of Jesus Christ.

Before assembling into their learning, the day started once again with a delicious and nourishing meal. Once gathered, the VBSers discovered that there is a continuous ancestral line from the forefathers of the Old Testament to the birth of Jesus, the promised Messiah. The lesson emphasized that God’s plan for salvation was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and His ancestral line was highlighted by having the students create a small “Jesse tree”.

The second instructional session of the day  focused on the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem to take part in the census as decreed by Caesar Augustus (everyone had to return to their own town to complete the census).

Joseph – the Earthly Father

Earlier this week the students participated in a learning session about Joseph.  This session was included in VBS since not much is known about him and his role in the Nativity is often overlooked.

Joseph was “of the House of David” and lived in the town of Nazareth.  Some believe that Joseph was a young man (a teenager) when Jesus was born but in the Orthodox tradition he is believed to be much more elderly.  He was betrothed to the Virgin Mary at the time that Mary conceived Jesus and is known as a just man.   Joseph was by trade a carpenter (Matthew 13:55) and is last mentioned in connection with the journey to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old. It is probable that Joseph died before Jesus entered his public ministry because only Mary was present at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, and he is not described at the crucifixion along with Mary (John 19:25). In addition, St. Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus, a duty that would have fallen to Joseph had he been alive.

The Root

Jesse was the father of King David and though we know little else about him, this fact alone is significant. In Jewish prophecy the Messiah was supposed to be descended from David, and David himself is considered as a foreshadowing of the person of Jesus Christ. And so Jesse is known as the root of this line of descent which culminates in Christ.

This significance of this family line is beautifully presented in the First Canon of the Nativity Matins: “Rod of the root of Jesse and flower that blossomed from his stem, O Christ, You have sprung from the Virgin. From the mountain overshadowed by the forest. You have come, made flesh from her that knew not wedlock, O God, Who are not formed from matter.”

As reported elsewhere in today’s VBS Daily News, the students created a “Jesse tree”.  The following ornaments were placed on their tree:

• Adam and Eve (Gen.3: 20-24)
• Noah (Gen 8:20-22)
• Abraham (Gen 15: 5-6)
• Moses (Ex. 20: 1-17)
• David (II Samuel 5: 1-5)
• Elijah (I Kings 18: 30-32)
• Jeremiah (Jeremiah 9: 7-11), branch with leafy shoot. (Isaiah 11: 1)
• Nehemiah (Neh 2: 17-18)
• John the Baptizer (John 1: 29)
• Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39-45), and
• Jesus (John 1: 1-18)

FPO – For Parents Only

Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of the VBS.  The students will be taking home their craft and perhaps some surprises.

Please take a few minutes tonight/tomorrow to discuss with your children the day/week lessons and the things we should be doing to prepare for Christmas.

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Children once again filled the Holy Trinity Parish Hall for the “over the hump day” of the local parish’s Vacation Bible School (VBS). The pace was fast and furious as the students learned about the “winter saints”.

Many students were a bit perplexed at the start of the session as to why they were studying saints since VBS is focused on the Nativity of Christ.  However, the students quickly learned that knowing about some of the winter saints helps them to understand that love for Christ led some to sacrifice their lives, and others to focus their whole lives on Him.  The saints discussed included Ss. Barbara and Herman (a local parish favorite).

Additionally, the students continued their study of prominent people associated with Nativity story.  Today the session focused on Elizabeth, Mary’s older cousin and the mother of John the Baptist.  Mary went to visit her much older cousin near Jerusalem and Bethlehem soon after she learned that she pregnant with Jesus.

Sing Unto the Lord!

Music is an important part of VBS and the students have been learning a variety of different songs and hymns related to the theme for the week.

To many, one of the most striking characteristics of Orthodox music is the fact that it’s sung without any instrumental accompaniment. In other words, we don’t use organs or pianos or guitars in our services. That’s because Christians have historically worshipped without musical instruments. Of course, there’s nothing at all wrong with organs and pianos and guitars, but none of those instruments can approach the beauty of the human voice (the greatest musical instrument given to man by God). In part, this is to manifest Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

Saints of all Kinds

St. John Kronstadt explained our relationship with saints by saying:

“We live together with them in the house of our Heavenly Father, only in different parts of it. We live in the earthly, they in the heavenly half; but we can converse with them, and they with us. God’s saints are near to the believing heart, and are ready in a moment to help those who call upon them with faith and love.”

The saints of the Church have various titles with which they are commemorated. Some of these titles include:

• Enlightener of…: the saint who first brought the faith to a people or region, or who did major work of evangelization there .
• Great-martyr: one who was martyred for the faith and suffered torture
• Venerable: a monastic saint
• Merciful: one known for charitable work, especially toward the poor
• Wonderworker: a saint renowned for performing miracles, also called “miracle-worker”
• Confessor: one who has suffered for the faith but not martyred outright
• Passion-bearer: one who faced his death in a Christ-like manner
• Fool-for-Christ: a saint known for his apparent, yet holy insanity
• Protomartyr: the first martyr in a given region
• Unmercenary: a saint who refused to take payment for healing.

Joseph’s Role in the Nativity — St. Nicholas’ Love Revealed

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Although the skies were gray today, the Holy Trinity Vacation Bible School (VBS) kids were shining bright as the second day of VBS concluded. Tuesday’s lessons focused on two important men of the Church: Joseph and St. Nicholas.

Today the students learned that although the Scriptures do not tell us much about Joseph they do show his greatness in God’s eyes. They also discussed that Joseph came from the royal lineage of King David.

When discussing St. Nicholas, the students learned that through his example God teaches us not to look for praise, or to do things with receiving praise in mind. Rather, do them because you love God and other people. Additionally, the VBSers discussed that when Jesus speaks about God rewarding us, He means that God responds to our love with His Love, just as people respond to others’ love with their own love.

The Star of Bethlehem

In the Orthodox Church, the Star of Bethlehem is not interpreted as an astronomical event, but rather as a supernatural occurrence, whereby an angel was sent by God to lead the Magi to the Christ Child (see how this is illustrated in the Nativity Troparion!).

The Star of Bethlehem is often depicted in Orthodox icons not as golden, but as a dark aureola (a circle of light), a semicircle at the top of the icon, indicating the Uncreated Light of Divine Grace, with a ray pointing to “the place where the young child lay” (Matt. 2:9). Sometimes the faint image of an angel is drawn inside the aureola.

This week the students will be creating their own star to remind them of the light which to Magi followed to find Christ.

St. Nicholas — Nearly Everyone’s Patron Saint

In addition to children, sailors, and prisoners, many others have laid claim to St. Nicholas as patron. This list includes bakers, bankers, pirates, businessmen, teachers, shoe shiners, and candle makers (and there are many, many more!). Why did some of these groups become identified with the beloved saint? Though usually traced to one of the stories or legends, some are primarily geographical, such as the cloth trade which was strong in parts of Europe and where many churches were named to St. Nicholas.

Some unlikely groups, like thieves, are in his patronage–not because he helps them steal, but because he helps them repent and change. One of the most commonly seen, though not necessarily understood, is the pawnbrokers’ symbol of three gold balls. Pawnbrokers and bankers both regarded St. Nicholas as their patron and took his gold balls as their own symbol to represent redeeming something of value as St. Nicholas had used the three bags of gold to redeem the lives of three young women.

VBS is offered free of charge as a service to the State College community. All children entering pre-K through sixth grade are welcome. Registrations are accepted at the door.

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Without seemingly missing a bear from their regular school day routine, the children of the State College area reported today for the first day of the annual Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Vacation Bible School (VBS). This year there is a different twist to the traditional VBS since it is being conducted in the evening (5:15 p.m. check-in and ending at 8 p.m.) Because of the new starting time, the students will be served a delicious a kid-friendly supper so they will be well nourished and ready to learn.

The theme for this year is, “From Heaven to Bethlehem” with the students studying the Nativity season. This theme was selected as it will provide the students some time to really focus on this blessed season without all of the distractions usually found in December (e.g., shopping, parties, commercials tugging at the kids’ hearts and minds).

Because of the feast of the Nativity does not stand alone, the students will be exploring the following topics:

• Nativity Fast — In preparation for the Feast of the Nativity, the Church offers us a season, a time, to prepare–the Nativity Fast.
• Ancestors of Jesus — these lessons tell students about the ancestors and genealogy of Jesus Chrust and showing students how the Old Testament prepared people over millennia for the coming of the promised Savior
• Celebration of “winter” Saints — The Nativity season also brings us celebrations of several inspiring saints including Ss. Nicholas, Romanos, Herman, and Barbara.
• Key persons and places — a study on Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, the manger (cave), and the lands around Bethlehem.

Students Learn About “Preparing” for Christmas

All good things come in due time and today the students focused on the necessity for preparation (and waiting!) for the birth of Christ. The preparation is the Nativity Fast, or Nativity Lent, known to many in the West as Advent.

Additionally, the students learned about Mary’s young life, her tome, and the very place where the Archangel Gabriel announced to her that she would become the mother of Jesus — our Savior.

This Week’s “Theme” Song

The students will begin each day with the singing of the Nativity troparion (a troparion is a thematic hymn that conveys the meaning of the day or feast). This peeve of liturgical poetry is sung at nearly every services and is the “thread” that links the different services on a particular day. (If you don’t know the Nativity troparion, just ask a kid.)

FPO — For Parents Only

• VBS will conclude each day with some fun activity at Holmes-Foster Park (unless it is raining.)
• On Wednesday, our VBS will begin at 5 p.m. (check-in) with dinner shortly thereafter. Our students will be attending Vespers on this day.

Relationship building, teamwork, and fun are hallmarks of Holy Trinity’s annual Vacation Bible School.

The days immediately preceding Christmas are busy days. Extensive preparations are made in our homes and in our churches for a worthy celebration of our Lord’s Nativity and most people feel at Christmastime some mellowing of heart, some meaning in every Godly act. Yet powerful forces contend against the meaning of Christmas.

Commercialism often clouds the sky that should be radiant only with the glory divine. To many children, Santa Claus, who comes where we are and brings what we want, is a more vivid reality than a baby born in a manger a long time ago. As for their parents, weary shopping trips and the prob¬lem of thinking up something to give at a permissible cost to somebody who already has everything keep them from pondering much on the real meaning of the feast.

The symbols and the legends, the music and the poetry, the colors and traditions, the gifts and the bills we associate with the season, but are these all that Christmas means? Men, women, and children search for meaning. We must not dodge the question as it relates to Christmas.

Children will join together to learn about the Incarnation of Christ and how His Nativity transforms their lives.

The coming of God to man for healing and salvation, an event we celebrate at Christmas, means so much that the whole great drama of Christian redemption takes its rise from it. Jesus entered the arena of human conflict (“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”). He came, not under sponsorship of men, but at the behest of the Father. Throughout His earthly days, He pointed the way for men to go — summoning them to the Kingdom in a spirit of forgiving and redeeming. Jesus’ life was the demonstration of a God-oriented life, and He makes this life available to us. For all who look into His face and see there the face of God, life can never be the same again. We are redeemed from the burden of sins that would break us if they were not forgiven. We are saved from a meaningless existence and redeemed from bewilderment.

VBS is offered free of charge as a service to the State College community. All children entering pre-K through sixth grade are welcome. Register now!

With the coming of Christ, we are given the promise of a continuing and sustaining power. In all of our haste and obsession to find the short-cuts, we have abbreviated the angels’ song. We have left off the first part — “Glory to God in the highest” — but it hasn’t worked. We’ve tried to solve our problems ourselves, all the while ignoring man’s relation to God. We are created to be children of God. If we will not live as children of a heavenly Father, we are not likely to live as brothers to each other. The old saying is true: we must put God at the center of life or life will be off-center. We must remember God’s love, or there will be no current of warmth and good in our relationships. The birth of Jesus tells us that we must first look up to a higher world before we can look out on a better one.

With these things in mind, the theme our Vacation Bible School (VBS) is “From Heaven to Bethlehem” where our children will study the Nativity of Christ. Although, we always try to “fit” in the real meaning and joy Christmas for our children during the season we are often overcome by the distractions mentioned above. By studying the Nativity in the summer, there will be dedicated time (away from the distractions) to understand how we prepare for the feast, to explore Christ’s genealogy, to learn about the winter saints, and of course study of the Feast itself. Additionally, there will lessons about Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and the journey Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem.

The Vacation Bible School, which will be conducted in the evening (5:15 PM to ~ 8:15 PM) includes a dinner and is open to all children from Pre-K through rising sixth graders.