Adult Education Opportunities

SAINT BARBARA FELLOWSHIP:   Designed to meet the needs of parishioners over the age of twenty-five, this gathering of faithful, provides parishioners with an opportunity to deepen their spiritual lives, socialize, network, and be engaged in community activities. This fellowship sponsors and participates in many different social events, seminars, retreats and community service activities.

BIBLE STUDY:  Bible Study classes are offered on a weekly basis throughout the year to provide parishioners with the opportunity to closely study the Bible and better understand its meaning.

ORTHODOX STUDY GROUP:  The Orthodox Study Group meets throughout the year to discuss different teachings of our Church by exploring the lives of Saints, our doctrines, our prayer life, the Bible and much more.

ADULT GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL:  This specifically designed program meets weekly and is offered on two learning levels, providing parishioners with an opportunity to learn the Greek Language, at a pace that is right for every participant.

GREEK COOKING CLASSES:  The Saint Barbara Ladies Philoptochos Society offers Greek cooking classes throughout the year. These classes provide a wonderful opportunity for both seasoned and novice chefs to learn how to cook traditional Greek delicacies.  Our expert instructors will lead you through a virtual pantheon of Greek culinary expression!  For more details concerning dates, times and sessions contact the Church office.

SAINT BARBARA CHURCH CHOIR & BYZANTINE CHANTERS:  The Saint Barbara Church choir is acclaimed for its excellence and dedication in chanting Orthodox Church music in a manner that enhances the liturgical experience.  Their voices, together with the voices of our chanters, add to the prayerfulness of our services as we are inspired by their love of Byzantine music.

GREEK DANCING 101:  This class focuses on a celebration of dance, and it takes place periodically throughout the year, providing instructions to adult parishioners who are interested in learning various cultural dances of Greece.

ADVANCED GREEK DANCE:  This class is scheduled to meet on a monthly basis and will provide an opportunity for those familiar with Greek Dancing to learn new dances and intricate dance steps and routines.

THE MINISTRY:  The Ministry is the church publication which is mailed to all parishioners, in a newsprint form, that delivers a message of hope to each household throughout the year.  The current edition as well as past publications many be viewed on our parish web site.

BOOK & ICON STORE:  The Book & Icon Store has an extensive selection of relevant Orthodox literature and icons for all ages which has proven to be an excellent resource for all families of the community.

CULTURAL EVENTS AND LECTURES:  The community has sponsored a variety of cultural events and lectures including several informative parent resource presentations.

FAMILY RETREATS, SEMINARS AND TEACHING LITURGY:  The Saint Barbara parish has sponsored many adult retreats featuring various guest lecturers of the Orthodox faith.

CHURCH TOURS AND LECTURES:  Father Peter and other parishioners conduct tours and lectures of the Orthodox Church both during the Odyssey Festival, and throughout the year. Our community has hosted students from Yale University and the University of New Haven, as well as providing lectures to many local High School Classes.

BYZANTINE MUSIC CLASS: (via the Internet) The Archdiocesan Department of Religious Education together with the Department of Internet Ministries have provided Orthodox Christians throughout the world with a wonderful opportunity to study and learn Byzantine Chant.  Simply go to http://chant.hchc.edu  There you will find a multimedia presentation of many hymns of the Orthodox Church.  Each hymn is presented in Byzantine and Western notation, chanted in Greek and English, by both a male and female.  In addition to the hymns, the web site also presents information regarding the major feasts of our faith, including an explanation of the Icon, theology, history, rubrics, scripture and canons concerning these feasts.  The program also includes a section instructing visitors on how to read Byzantine notation.

SAINT BARBARA PARISH WEB SITE:  www.saintbarbara.org    The parish of Saint Barbara is a pioneer in digital ministry.  As an innovator in combining ancient faith and tradition with modern age technology, the Church of Saint Barbara has been able to share the richness of our Orthodox Christian faith with not only the members of our parish community, but also with countless thousands worldwide.  The parish web site, www.saintbarbara.org, was first established in 1996, and flourishes due to the dedicated work of the Internet Committee.  Through the site’s rich offerings of news, devotional material, iconography, and multimedia, such as the live broadcast of liturgical services, it serves as a portal to visitors regarding the Orthodox faith.  As a complement to the parish’s online ministry, Father Peter has assisted other communities in starting their own web sites and has led informative seminars on digital ministry at several Clergy-Laity Congresses.  Our web site averages over 8,500 unique visitors a month; and each week, more than 450 hundred families from throughout the world join us in worship on-line.

LIVE INTERNET SERVICES:  Since 2001, individuals with access to the Internet have been able to receive live audio and video broadcasts of the Divine Liturgy and other liturgical services from Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Orange, Connecticut. These live broadcasts are an attempt to minister to those who, for good reason, are unable to attend Church services, on a regular basis. 
This ministry offers them the opportunity to experience the prayer cycle of the Orthodox Church and prayerfully attending the services.  As a reminder, attending the services via cyberspace should be seen as a vehicle is to enhance the participation of the faithful in their local community.  You can access the broadcast link by visiting our web site: www.saintbarbara.org

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN NETWORK:  OCN is a  national, media witness for the Orthodox Christian Church in North America. OCN produces high-quality programs on the world wide web that are available  24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Current programs offered by OCN include:
The Ark: A 24/7 Internet radio station with contemporary Orthodox music and teaching programs with some of the best Orthodox speakers in North America.
The Rudder: A 24/7 Internet radio station with traditional Orthodox chant from around the world and the same teaching programs and special features as the Ark.
For more information see their web site: http://myocn.net

ANCIENT FAITH RADIO: Ancient  Faith Radio seeks to deepen and enrich the faith of Orthodox Christians around the world by streaming audio programming and on-demand podcasts. They feature liturgical music from a variety of Orthodox traditions, as well as prayers, readings, lectures, and interviews.  Ancient Faith Radio is a division of Conciliar Media Ministries, which operates under the auspices of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. However, it is a pan-Orthodox ministry and thus serves and supports all jurisdictions.
For more information visit their web site at: http://ancientfaith.com

SUMMER INSTITUTE:  The Department of Religious Education and the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians host a bi-annual retreat on the ground of Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.  The summer institute provides a retreat from the demands of daily life and allows participants to spend time sharing fresh ideas and the latest insights for handing forward the Orthodox Faith and Tradition to young people. The Summer Institute, provides learning opportunities on two tracks. One is designed for Sunday church school teachers and supervisors, youth ministers, and anyone interested in teaching the faith. The second track is designed for Church musicians, choir directors and singers, youth choir leaders, or anyone interested in creating opportunities for young people to learn the musical heritage of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Topics of this past summers gathering included: “Living on the Logosphere,” “Understanding Byzantine Liturgy,” “Teenagers and the Internet: What Teachers and Parents Should Know,” and “Building Faith + Summer Fun = Vacation Church School,” “’Ortho-Crafts,” Desert Wisdom for City Dwellers,”  “Storytelling Through Art,” and  “St. Maximos the Confessor and the Role of the Teacher,” and “Organizing for Youth Involvement in Church Music.”

Outreach Opportunities

MISSIONS CENTER:  The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) is the official international missions agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA). Its goal is to help fulfill the Great Commission of Christ (Matthew 28:16). OCMC strives to establish vibrant Eucharistic communities throughout the world, develop and support indigenous church leaders, and strengthen the infrastructure of their churches.
OCMC has been sanctioned by SCOBA to help the faithful of North America  proclaim the fullness of the Orthodox Christian Faith with the world. Each year hundreds of Orthodox Christians answer the call to make disciples of all nations through one of OCMC’s many initiatives which include: Missionary Service, Orthodox Mission Teams, Support a Mission Priest (SAMP) Program, the Agape Canister Program and the OCMC Ambassador Program.  For a full listing of the planned trips for this year please visit their web site at http://www.ocmc.org

IOCC: The International Orthodox Christian Charities offers emergency relief and development programs to those in need worldwide, without discrimination, and strengthens the capacity of the Orthodox Church to respond.  IOCC offers many programs and strives to develop in all Orthodox Christians a commitment to philanthropy and global cooperative involvement in the work of the Orthodox Church.  For more information visit their web site: http://www.iocc.org

PROJECT MEXICO: Since 1988, Project Mexico has been involving young people in the alleviation of suffering by building homes for Mexico’s poor. Hundreds of homes have been built for needy families with the help of nearly 10,000 volunteers. In 1996 their outreach program expanded through the opening of St. Innocent Orthodox Orphanage in Tijuana which provides a home for teenage boys who live on the streets or who have been put out of other orphanages.  For more information or to volunteer or create a mission team to participate in Project Mexico speak with Father Peter or visit their web site: http://projectmexico.org