Saint Michael Romanian Orthodox Church
Southbridge, MA
Young Adult Retreat FALL 2023
Young Adult Retreat Mission
Our mission is to create the right environment and foundation for the Pan-Orthodox young adults, where they can rediscover the authentic Orthodox spirit, receive the right teachings, and revive the old ethnic traditions, build a sound fellowship, and support each other during these difficult times.
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Young Adult Retreat Vision
The future of the Orthodox Church is not about adapting to the times and being cool; it is about being authentic, living in truth and love, and becoming the temple of the Holy Spirit. Without the right teaching, inspiration, support, and communion with other orthodox Christians our young adults will be confused, weak, and lost. This will impact the whole Orthodox Church in her assembly and jeopardize her future.
SAVE THE DATE
Date: September 22, 2023 - September 24, 2023
Address: 16 Romanian Ave, Southbridge, MA
Price: $95 per person (Financial assistance is available on request)
Ages: 17 - 39
For More Information: Call us at 508-909-6607
Young Adult Retreat Fall Edition Schedule
Friday, September 22nd:
5:00pm Welcome & Registration
5:30 - 6:30pm Ice Breaker exercise & Dinner
6:30pm – 8:30pm Workshop & open discussion: Femininity vs. Masculinity. Guests on zoom: Fr. Turbo Qualls and Cyprian (Vin) Armani
8:30pm - 10:00pm – Bone Fire
Saturday, September 23rd:
8:30am - 10:00 am Divine Liturgy
10:00 am - 11:00 am - Breakfast
11:00am - 12:30pm - Zoom with Fr. Josiah Trenham - God's purpose for marriage
12:30pm - 1:30pm Lunch
1:30pm - 3:00pm My journey from Protestantism to the Orthodox Church and from a Rock Band to the Holy Altar. Speaker fr. John Downie
3:00pm - 5:00pm Komboskini (prayer rope) workshop
5:00pm - 6:00pm Dinner
7:00pm - 9:30pm Vigil for St. Silouan
Sunday, September 24th
9:00am Matins
10:00am Divine Liturgy
12:00pm Coffee hours - cookout & traditional dances
2:00pm - Conclusion of the YAR
Recordings
Meet our Speakers!
Down below is more information about our speakers!
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ZOOM Speaker:
Father Josiah Trenham
Father Josiah Trenham was ordained an Orthodox priest in 1993, and has pastored St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, Ca. since 1998. Father has a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Durham, England, and taught theology and history at the university level from 2004-2017 after which time he turned his attention to the development of his digital platforms. He has published numerous articles and two books, and lectures widely on many theological topics.
He is the founder and director of Patristic Nectar Publications, has more than 800 homilies on his audio-podcast The Arena and YouTube channel Patristic Nectar Films. He serves as Chaplain both to the national ministry Orthodox Christians for Life, and to the K-12 St. Andrew Academy. Father Josiah has been married for 34 years, and has ten children and four grandchildren.
Parish Priest/ Host/Speaker:
Fr. John Downie
Fr. John Downie converted to Orthodoxy after many years of searching out various Orthodox faithful, nuns, monks and priests, meanwhile reading the writings of the ancient and modern Holy Fathers. The unceasing questions during this period of his life were, “what happened to the unity of the Church? And, what happened to the Holy Spirit?”
After several years of regular attendance at various Orthodox Churches in the United States, he spent a year and a half at Koutloumousiou Orthodox Monastery in Mount Athos Greece, to become more familiar with Orthodox Spirituality. The questions he had were resolved there and he was baptized Orthodox in 2001. Then he began his Theological Studies at the University in Bucharest and graduated in 2006.
He finished a master in Biblical Studies in 2008. He received his Ph.D. in Theology - The relation between Father and the Son in the Gospel of St. John - in 2018 at the same institution having Professor Dr. Fr. Constantin Coman as his research coordinator. All of the studies were completed in the Romanian language.
Fr. John and his family lived in Romania for 15 years, eight of which he served as an associate priest at the St. Nicholas University Chapel of Bucharest under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Vasile Gavrila. He moved back un US where he is the Parish Priest for the Holy Archangel Michael Church since 2016.
Guest Speaker:
Fr. Turbo Qualls
Fr. Turbo is the rector at St. Mary of Egypt, Serbian Orthodox Church in Kansas City Missouri, where he lives with his wife Juliana and their 8 children.
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Fr. Turbo is also a retired professional tattoo artist. Having studied iconography within the Prosopone school of Iconography and most notably under the contemporary master iconographer, Fr. Stamatis Skliris of Athens, Fr. Turbo further augmented his education and skill in iconography by completing the Antiochian House of studies course in theology, with an emphasis in Iconology.
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Fr. Turbo is also the former Dean of Chapters for the national chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black. He has lectured in various parts of the United States in regard to the work of evangelization and cultural outreach within the United States. As a former youth minister within the evangelical church, Fr. Turbo has dedicated much of his life and work to the pragmatic and tangible articulation of Orthodox spirituality to both young people and spiritual seekers.
Guest Speaker:
Cyprian (Vin) Armani
Cyprian is a husband and father of two living on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. He is a convert to Orthodox Christianity.
Cyprian is a professional engineer, author, and educator who previously had a career in the entertainment industry.
Workshops &
Activities
We will have the following Workshops & Activities:
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Open Discussion about Feminitiy VS Masculinity
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Topics will be included are Cultural Construct, Orthodox Perspective, and Roles in an Orthodox Marriage.​
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​Komboskini Workshop​
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Lectures with Q&As
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Bonfire
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Dancing
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So.Much.Fun!
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