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Let Your Light So Shine
Session III: Light in Action: Evangelism the Orthodox Way

“The parish is not your universe. Rather, the universe is your parish” – Fr. Luke Veronis

Goals:

To instill within participants the need for evangelism on the personal/local level.
To educate young people on the evangelistic history and nature of the Orthodox Church.
To educate youth on mission work going on today in their diocese, Church, and/or the world.

Objectives:

To define Orthodox evangelism as spreading the Gospel through example and education.
To study the life of a saint and articulate how he/she evangelized.
To identify strategies for evangelism in the local context: “What can we do here?”
To identify what mission work is going on now in their deanery, diocese, the OCA, OCMC or IOCC.
To recall stories from someone involved in mission work.

Useful Texts
Links to Selected Lives of Saints

Texts about St Seraphim of Sarov:
“St Seraphim the monk considered prayer to be the prime exploit and means for the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. "Every good deed, done on account of Christ, bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit, but... prayer most of all beareth the Holy Spirit, and it is most convenient of all for each to improve."
“The Monk Seraphim advised during the time of Divine-services to stand in the temple now with eyes closed, and then to turn one's gaze upon an image or burning candle and ponder this thought -- that it would suggest the fine comparison of human life with a waxen candle.”
"Acquire peace, and around thee a thousand wilt be saved."

For a thorough abbreviated version of the life of St. Seraphim go to:
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/July/Jul-19.html#seraphim and
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/January/Jan-02.html#2

Links to Selected Lives of Saints
Righteous Philaret the Merciful
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/December/Dec-01.html
St Anthony the Great
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/January/Jan-17.html
St Martin the Merciful
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/february/feb-13.html#martin
St John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/November/Nov-12.html
Holy Righteous Child Artemii of Verkol'sk
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/June/Jun-23.html#5

Links to Lives of North American Saints
St Herman of Alaska
http://oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/St-Herman-Alaska/HermanBio.htm
St Jacob
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/St-Jacob/Life-of-St-Jacob-Alaska.htm
St Alexander Hotovitsky, the New Martyr
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/st-alexander-hotovitzky/life-of-st-alexander.html
St Alexis of Wilkes-Barre
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/St-Alexis-Toth/index.htm
St Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/St-Raphael-Hawaweeny/Life-and-Conduct.html
St Innocent, Apostle to America
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/St-Innocent/Life-of-St-Innocent-MP.html
St Tikhon, Enlightener of North America
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/OCA/Life-of-St-Tikhon.html

Materials

Copies of My World is My Parish: Life Diagram Worksheet
Printouts of lives of saints
Copies of Living Examples Worksheet

Activities:

Activity #1: The World as Our Parish Talk
In a previous session we heard “You are the light of the world.” The question is, “how do you define your world?”

Pass out The Universe is My Parish: Life Diagram Worksheet.

If this diagram represented your world, where would you put yourself in it? (The center, the outside, the top, the bottom?)
Who else would be in the diagram and where would they be? (Family, God, friends, society, school…)
Does each circle represent anything to you? What types of people are in which rings? How do they relate to each other?

There is no right answer to this diagram but the honest one—how do you really define your world and who else is in it? After discussion, break into small groups.

Discussion:

Ask people to share how they laid out their diagram. Compare and contrast the various ways people filled it in. What was common among them? What were some unique ideas?
See if the group can agree on a unified vision of the world using the diagram. Discuss why or why not.
If we are called to be the light of the world, and this is our world, how might we shine our light in each of those circles?
In what ways can we make a difference or an impact in the different levels of our world? Brainstorm ways of making a difference for each ring. Return to the main group and share brainstorm ideas.

When we consider our world and how we can impact it we are talking about Christian evangelism. Evangelism means bearing witness to the good news of Jesus Christ, that He rose from the dead and gives us life. But it also means bearing witness to the light of Christ through our actions in many ways.

How can we bear witness in our immediate lives among family and friends? (Talk to them about our retreat, our experience in church, invite them along, pray for them, etc.)
In our local community? (Help our parish, get involved in charitable activity, be unafraid to live out and witness to our faith in school, in sports, with friends, etc.)
In our country or across the globe? (Support the Church’s mission communities, go on a mission or service project trip, etc.)

One of the most famous sayings of St Seraphim of Sarov is "Acquire peace, and around you a thousand will be saved."

Discussion

What do you think he meant by this?
Why is this not a selfish saying?

Activity #2: Evangelism By Example: The Saints
The Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians wrote, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess. 2:8).

The Gospel of Christ has spread throughout the world not only because of all the books and talks that have been written and/or given about it, but mostly because of the example of the lives of faithful Christians over the past 2000 years. Over time some of these faithful people are established as examples of how to live a Christian life and are glorified by the Church as saints. These are people who let their light shine, spread the Gospel of Christ through the example of their lives, and continue to witness to the Christian life to us today.

Share the life of a saint to whom you have a special devotion and explain how this saint encourages you with your faith.

Hand out copies of the lives of the saints along with the Living Examples Worksheet.
Give participants 10 minutes to read the life of a saint and fill in the worksheet. When everyone is finished, ask people to share with the group what they read and what they put on their worksheet.

Each of us receives the same baptism and the same Body and Blood of Christ as the saints received. We belong to the same Church and hear the same message as those very first people who first heard, “Christ is Risen.” As we were given the chance to live in this world as a member of Christ, like the saints we are a reflection of the true light above. If we believe in Him and love Him in our hearts so much that we are moved to love and help others, He will fill us with the Holy Spirit, and we will be blessed with more light and become empowered with the strength and joy of God’s love that shines so bright no darkness can overcome it.

Activity #3: Orthodox Evangelism in Action Today
This activity allows you to customize the retreat based on your resources or local interests. Choose 1 or 2 activities from the list below. If at all possible, use the Guest Speaker option with someone who has done missionary work and can tell stories of their experience.

Guest Speaker: Talk with a person or priest who has been on a mission trip. What challenges did he/she have to overcome? What did he/she worry about at the beginning? What lessons did he/she learn?
OCMC/ IOCC: There are numerous video and other resources available from these international Orthodox organizations involved in missionary/ charitable work, including programs involving youth—for them, by them, with them.
Mission Liturgy: Have a priest come in to show participants what they would have to do for Liturgy if they didn’t have their church and everything in it. What would be required to hold a liturgy? What sources of support are available? Develop a checklist of requirements (Example “starter kits” are available.)
Mission Practice: Attempt a small-scale mission project locally. Using limited resources, reach out to the community, especially to peers, and help it to grow as a practice run at missions work.
Fundraiser Plan: Help plan a fundraiser for Missions. Each group can make up its own event. Then let the group as a whole decide which to do together. Whether or not the groups carry it out can be the basis for a further youth/deanery event.

Journal Reflection

If Orthodox Evangelism takes place through education and example, to what would people say my life witnesses? When people look at my life, what impression would they receive about my goals and priorities?
Describe what you think St Seraphim was referring to when he encouraged Motovilov to acquire peace.

Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry
Orthodox Church in America
PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791
http://yya.oca.org
yyacm@oca.org

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