Tuesday, August 14, 2018

“Who Is Teaching Our Children” webinar upcoming

CHICAGO, IL (OCA-DMW) — His Grace, Bishop Paul invites the faithful of the Diocese of the Midwest to join him for the second in his series of interactive live stream webinars on Family Life at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, August 21, 2018.

Bishop Paul will explore the timely theme, “Who Is Teaching Our Children,” and he will field questions and answers from participants throughout the interactive webinar.

“The live, online meeting will offer an opportunity for parents, grandparents, godparents and teachers to pose their questions to Bishop Paul,” said Priest Jacob Van Sickle, a member of the Orthodox Family Life web team. “The Question and Answer Session is part of the broader initiative described on the diocese’s new Orthodox Family Life website, which made its debut in April 2018.”

Register now to participate in the webinar and to receive weekly website updates.

The Orthodox Family Life site offers a detailed, ongoing account of Bishop Paul’s vision with regard to the centrality of the family in the life of the Church. The site features weekly reflections by Bishop Paul on a variety of related themes, reader questions and comments, and a growing collection of writings by noted guest authors.

“Weekly updates in the form of reflections by Bishop Paul and guest contributors will continue to amplify the site’s offerings in the months and years ahead,” added Father Jacob. “We hope that many in our diocese — and beyond — will take advantage of the August 21 webinar and the ever-expanding contents on the Orthodox Family Life website.”

5 comments:

  1. Between the verbiage and the poster, you would think one would have a clue as to what this is all about. Between the provocative "Who Teaches Our Children" and the vague sentence "Bishop Paul’s vision with regard to the centrality of the family in the life of the Church." I admit I am at a loss however.

    As someone who thinks Rod Dreher got more right than wrong in his book The Benedict Option, I would be interested in what I think this effort/website & organization/Bishop Paul are shooting for here.

    On the other hand, if they can't communicate better than this I have reservations that they are the folks to lead...

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  2. Better question:What are my children being taught? The who should always be the parents as primary.

    As one who (25 years ago) got a personal telephone call from the head of the education department at my Archdiocese on a Saturday morning to tell me my wife and I (or any parent) were totally incompetent to teach anything to our own child especially on matters of the faith I am suspicious of any top down approach.

    Now if they would ask one question: What can we do to help and support your efforts to tradition the faith to your children? I would listen to that.

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    1. "Now if they would ask one question: What can we do to help and support your efforts to tradition the faith to your children? I would listen to that. "

      Yep, and this is one of Rod's (and by implication others such as Fr. Stephen Freeman) central points: Secularism has so infected, formed and shaped, and otherwise replaced a Christian mind about God, man, and creation *within our very own "Orthodox" parishes* that you as a believer or parent simply can not take for granted the Christianity of those who would teach/catechize.

      Perhaps this is what the provocative "Who Teaches Our Children" is referencing?

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  3. There are several questions more, of "what" is taught, "who" teaches, and, not least,
    "how" it is taught. Elder St. Porphyrios says to be an Orthodox Christian one must be a "poet" in a broad but unmistakable sense; it is not a stretch at all the adapt this to be particularly an Orthodox teacher, one must first be a "poet", that is, poetic. Virtually all our teaching is liturgical, in the services, that is, which are of course literary, poetic, spirit. Nothing will kill any subject in the curriculum faster than presenting them exclusively in the rational deductive method, with corresponding evaluation methods, which now dominates even the arts. One example: biology is the study of living things not dissection; and not matter such a cells that require a microscope to see before first knowing the names of trees, flowers, plants, and soils in the wholeness. Seems to me those with understandable complaints about even the invitation to such a webinar would do well to attend and post their thoughts at that time. God bless.

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    1. Good point James. St. Porphyrios is such a treasure is he not?

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