Saint Michael Romanian Orthodox Church
Southbridge, MA
Young Adult Retreat
Spring Edition 2024
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: May 31, 2024 - June 2, 2024
Address: 16 Romanian Ave, Southbridge, MA
Pricing Varies - See below
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For More Information: Call us at 508-909-6607
Young Adult Retreat Summer Edition Schedule
Friday - May 31st:
5:00 pm -5:30 pm - Registration
5:30 pm - 6:15 pm - Dinner
6:15 pm - Opening and welcome words - Fr. John Downie
6:30 pm- 7:30 pm - Lecture: Emotion. A great servant but a horrible master? What are our feelings for? - Fr. Turbo Qualls
7:30 pm - 7:45 pm - Break
7:45 pm - 8:30 pm Q&A Session
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm - Break and preparation of the Bon Fire
9:00 pm - 10:00 pm - YAR music talent show (instruments: guitar, flute, drums, piano, etc)
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Saturday, June 1st:
8:30 am - 10:00 am - Divine Liturgy
10:00 am - 10:30 am - Breakfast
10:30 am-11:30 am Lecture/Speaker event (open to All): The Call of the Shepherd: Finding the Hidden Heart in Confession.
11:30 am - 11:45 am - Break
11:45 am - 12:45 pm Q&A Session
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - Lunch **After Lunch, the program will continue only for Young adults.
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Prayer ropes workshop - Instructor: Joshua Seigler
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Sports/Social interactions
5:00 pm - Vespers
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Movie Night & Pop Corn!
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Sunday, June 2nd
9:00 am - Matins
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
11:45 am fr. Turbo's sermon
12:15 pm Coffee hours for all & Cookout for YAR
3:00 pm Summary & End of Retreat
Entire YAR Summer Edition: $100
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2 Lectures with Fr. Turbo
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2 Q&A sessions
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4-6 Meals
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Surprise movie premiere *including Zoom with Movie Director
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Music contest
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Loads of fun!
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Speaker Event: $65
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1 Lecture with Fr. Turbo
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1 Q& A session
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2 Meals
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Family surprise movie premiere on Zoom with the Movie Director
Meet our Speakers!
Down below is more information about our speakers!
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.
Workshops &
Activities
We will have the following Workshops & Activities:
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​Komboskini (Prayer Rope) 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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