Church school is off to a wonderful start! We have 40 children registered this year. We are hoping that the bonds that our children make in church school will help to reinforce our goal of creating a strong church family. As our children grow older they will have spent time working with one another on different projects and sharing knowledge and experience. They become friends and when they miss church they miss their friends. They share a special bond because they learn that they are God’s children and so are sisters and brothers in Christ.

This year there are several projects that can make our year special. A goal for this year is to have each child submit a project to the Creative Arts Festival. This year’s theme is “…Building up the Body of Christ; until we all come to the unity of the faith.” Parents should encourage their children to participate. The website for the Archdiocese is found at www.antiochian.org/. Lesson plans for each grade are located within the Department of Christian Education. The projects must be completed by March so the deadline for submission in April can be met.

We are also planning to have a Nativity Pageant on December 17th during Social hour. I would like to hear from any parents who might want to help with music or costumes.

The church School is in need of several volunteers to act as substitutes especially in the kindergarten/first grade classes. If you are interested, please call Barbara Kounelias at 258-4737 or e-mail her at bkounelias@austin.rr.com.

Thanks to all of you for giving Church School time with our beautiful children. We hope that they gather knowledge as well as love and security from their experiences.

October
8th – NO CHURCH SCHOOL due to Mediterranean Festival
20th-21st – DOWAMA Fall Gathering & Mini-Orthodox Institute for Church School Teachers & Directors at St. Elijah in OKC–chance to take Teacher Training Workshops, I & II.
November
2-5 - Orthodox Institute for Church School teachers & Directors at The Antiochian Village
26th – NO CHURCH SCHOOL – Thanksgiving weekend
December
There will be a Nativity Pageant on Sunday, December 17th during the social hour. We will collect toys for Blue Santa and canned goods for the Capital Area Food Bank.