MGOCSM Regional Youth Conference held from Aug 19th - 21st at St. Mary's Malankara Orthodox Parish, Calgary.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5-6
MGOCSM Regional Youth Conference held from Aug 19th - 21st at St. Mary's Malankara Orthodox Parish, Calgary.
On behalf of the Northwest MGOCSM, our annual regional youth conference was hosted by the members of St. Mary's Malankara Orthodox church in Calgary, Alberta. The conference took place from August 19th - 21st at the St. Mary's parish with the presence of our beloved H.G Dr. Geevarughese Mar Yulios. Initializing the conference with his main address and lighting of the lamp ceremony, our conference was officially inaugurated. The Inauguration set an official welcome to all attendee's and our two guest speakers, beloved Rev. Dn. Gabriel Pike and Rev. Dn. Saju Varghese. Members from Edmonton, Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver and Calgary were in presence for the conference. Alongside these attendees we had members from our sister churches participate in the conference as well.
The theme of the conference was taken from Proverbs 2: 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Our guest speakers assembled four key concepts pertaining to the theme. The first two focused on Scriptures and Liturgy where Rev. Dn. Saju Varghese underlined key essentials of the Orthodox teachings. He taught us the reasoning behind our Liturgy and how it correlates to the Scriptures; detailing on how our understanding impacts our view on our faith. The third session focused on living a life trusting in God, led by Rev. Dn. Gabriel Pike. He shared and acknowledged God's work through personal experiences. He was able to engage the participants with questions and gave responses for those intrigued by his talk. Lastly, session four was comprised of teachings of our spiritual fathers and their writings. Rev. Dn. Saju Varghese briefed us on the desert fathers and where they stood in faith. He provided us with examples and stories that portrayed the length in which many of them had gone in forgoing their faith. Growing interest in many, he gave out directions for those who wished to learn more via books and articles. This was followed up with an overall summary and a question and answer session.
Aside from the sessions, the youth leaders organized activities that covered the overall theme of MGOCSM: Worship, Study and Service. For worship, Rev. Dn. Saju Varghese taught the youth our daily prayers, how they are sung and their appropriate tunes. For study, sessions were in place and activities followed up for fellowship amongst the youth. Lastly for service, charity work was organized, where used clothes were gathered and prepped for donation. The overall conference was concluded with the celebration of Holy Quarbana. Needed to say, the conference was a great success and the torch has been passed. We look forward to our upcoming gatherings, for unity and fellowship in Christ.
Humbly submitted by Jeemers Mathews