Volume 2 September 23, 2007 Number 5

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OONNThis summer I was given the oppor-

tunity to join our Diocesan delega-tion to the 2nd Ecumenical

Patriarchate Youth Conference inConstantinople (located in Istanbul,Turkey). I had a lot of expectations for thistrip to Constantinople. A few of themincluded making new friends, exploring awhole new environment, and managing tonot get sick on my first flight ever. But mostsignificant of my expectations was to learnmore about Orthodoxy, and about otherswho share that faith.

As you may have guessed, all my expecta-tions were met, and a few surprises camealong the way. I made lots of new friendsfrom around the world. Some were fromCanada, and others were from England. Ieven met the two delegates from Estonia.While exploring Istanbul, we were able to goto the Grand Bazaar, which was full of col-orful shops selling everything from ceramics,to fake Coach handbags, to genuine Turkishcarpets. We also saw Hagia Sophia, the his-toric church built by the Emperor Justinian.The Patriarchate also arranged a few excur-sions for the entire group. We visited thebeautiful island of Halki, where there is amonastery and seminary. We also got to visitChora Monastery, where there are some ofthe most beautiful icons in the world, over athousand years old. However, it was easy tofeel the presence of the Islamic majority ofIstanbul. Though the government is strictlysecular, Islam is the prevalent religion.

However, I think I will most remember thepleasant astonishment at the many, manyother Orthodox Christians who came to bepart of this conference. It is easy in our dayand age to sometimes feel alone as an

Orthodox Christian. Our religion is not theone that offers its people twenty-minute ser-mons, rock bands, and Starbucks coffee.Sometimes we feel left out among ourfriends at school, because they areProtestant, Catholic, or not even Christianat all. But at this conference, it was we whowere the majority. The whole conference

room was full of Orthodox people fromaround the world. Some were from theUnited States, like us; others were fromGreece, Canada, Estonia, Syria, Hong Kong,Japan, England, France, Brazil, and twentyother nations all around the globe. However,it was not as intimidating as you wouldthink. Each of us shared one faith; each of uswished to expand our knowledge about it,and attend to the issues concerning our fel-low Orthodox Christians. Plus, we hadtranslators that made understanding the pre-sentations much easier.

The other memory that I am grateful for isour visit with Patriarch Bartholomew.Growing up, I remember hearing the priestpray for “His All-Holiness, the EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew, the Archbishop ofConstantinople”. As a child, I never reallythought of him as a real person – just a fig-ure who was in charge of the Church, whowould be very intimidating to meet.Meeting the Patriarch, in fact, was notintimidating. It was an unbelievable experi-ence – to think that this man is in charge ofOrthodoxy for so many people in the world,and in such an unwelcoming place:Istanbul, Turkey. It was obvious at once whyhe is entitled “all-holy”. However, he wasvery pleasant, and he had a good sense ofhumor.

It was with mixed feelings of excitement,anxiety, and reverence that all twelve-hun-dred of us lined up in the courtyard of thePhenar to receive our blessing from thePatriarch. I couldn’t help but feel that day, aswe made our way out of St. George’sCathedral, among all those OrthodoxChristians, that this beat Starbucks coffee bya landslide. ❈

My Trip to CMy Trip to C onstantinople onstantinople

MMaarriissaa eennjjooyyss aa ccuupp ooff tteeaa aatt aa ssiiddeewwaallkk ccaaffee..

Page 2 Daylight September 23, 2007

Another summer hascome and gone.With fall here, most

of you are probably back toschool. It could be elemen-tary school, junior high,high school or college.Some of you may have fin-ished school and are start-ing your jobs. Whateveryou’re up to now, it’s alwaysnice to look back at whatyou did over the summer

and what a busy summer itwas-especially for the youngpeople in our Diocese!There are the usual thingsthat we look forward toevery summer: theDiocesan Altar Boy retreatand Camp Nazareth. Butour youth were involved ina lot more than that. Thebeginning of the summersaw the final tally come infrom the Jr. ACRY’s Lenten

project. Needless to say, itwas a huge success. Ouryouth also took part in theSecond Youth Conferencehosted by His All-Holiness,Patriarch Bartholomew I, inConstantinople. Morerecently, in late August, thesecond annual YouthPilgrimage was held atCamp Nazareth. This his-toric event allowed our chil-dren to venerate the mirac-ulous weeping icon of St.Anna. The children alsoplanted a nine foot cross offof the Beatitude trail!

Summer may be over, butwe want to be sure we lookback and remember all ofthese great things that youdid over the summer. Overthe next couple of issues,you, the youth, will be shar-ing your thoughts and feel-ings on some of the thingsyou took part in. As always,anyone wishing to write forthe newsletter can contactme at the following address:daylight@acrod.org. Godbless you all and good luckin school! ❈

A A VVerery By Busy Susy Summer…ummer…

Every March, I look forward to one thing.No, it is not March Madness, but it isknowing that I will be receiving my staff

application from Camp Nazareth very soon. Ihave been working at the camp for five years now,and whether it is working maintenance or coun-seling, I know it is where I HAVE to be during thesummer.

Over the past year, I have not spent much timeat my home in Pittsburgh due to work or school.Being at Camp Nazareth in the summer is kind oflike being at home for me because of theOrthodox Christian environment that is estab-lished there. With great friends who work there,an outstanding director, and a program that isnothing short of phenomenal, Camp Nazareth is asecond home to me. At the end of each summer,I know I am going home to Pittsburgh, but I alsofeel like I am leaving home.

Each year that I have worked at Camp Nazarethhas been better than the last. Each staff memberthat is employed there is there for a specific reason.It could be because they work hard on mainte-nance. It could be their talents in the kitchen. Itcould be because they enjoy working with chil-dren. Although these seem like three entirely dif-ferent things, the staff ’s goal as a whole can be

summed up in our them from this past summer:“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1Corinthians 10:31) We are all there so we can doGod’s work. Working at Camp allows me to putGod first while making everlasting friendships andgetting paid as a wonderful bonus.

After working there all summer for five summersnow, I find myself missing this extraordinary place

more and more. This summer was the best one Ihave ever had at camp. Having just graduatedfrom college and preparing to go into the workforce, I have to ask myself one question every sum-mer: “How can I make sure I am back at CampNazareth this summer?” If you are looking for anamazing experience, then maybe you should askyourself the same thing. ❈

RReflections on Ceflections on Camp Namp Nazarazareth eth FROM A VETERAN STAFF MEMBER

by Kris Carlisle

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September 23, 2007 Daylight Page 3

Special Thanks!This issue of the Daylight newsletter was sponsored by the NationalACRY. We thank them for their support of our efforts. If you areinterested in sponsoring an issue of the Daylight, please contact eitherFr. Matthew Moriak, the editor of Daylight, or Fr. Andrew Fetchina,Youth Apostolate Director. Thank you for your support!

Fr. Matthew Moriak: (908)725-3385 daylight@acrod.org

Fr. Andrew Fetchina: (732)382-8844 frandrew@comcast.net

This summer, the theme at Camp Nazarethwas the following quote from St. Paul’sfirst letter to the Corinthians: “Whatever

you do, do all to the glory of God.” Keeping thatthem in mind, it was very appropriate that thesummer activities at the Camp came to end withus having the opportunity to venerate a miracu-lous weeping icon of St. Anna, the mother of theTheotokos and the Grandmother of Christ Afterall, St. Anna and her husband, St. Joachim, areperfect examples of people who did all for theglory of God.

Joachim and Anna had reached an old age with-out having any children. Despite not having chil-dren, they never once blamed God. They contin-ued to live as holy a life as they could, and con-tinued to pray to God that He would bless themwith a child. They even promised that if they hada child, they would dedicate the child’s life toGod! God did answer their prayer, and miracu-lously, Anna conceived in her old age and gavebirth to Mary, the Mother of God.

Joachim and Anna kept their promise and whenMary was only three years old, they brought herto the temple, where Mary would live until thetime the angel Gabriel told her that she wouldgive birth to Christ.

Joachim and Anna kept God in mind in every-thing they did, to the point that they offered theironly daughter to Him in thanksgiving for theblessings they had received. This is something weshould always keep in mind. Always be aware ofGod’s presence in your life, in good times andbad. We should think about the things God bless-es us with each and every day, and remember tooffer back to God of ourselves, just like Joachimand Anna did. In this way we truly will be doing“all for the Glory of God.”

Joachim and Anna’s feast day is celebrated onSeptember 9th on the New Calendar andSeptember 22nd on the Old Calendar. If you lis-ten closely to the priest at the end of the Liturgy,he always remembers the “holy, righteous ances-tors of God, Joachim and Anna!” ❈

CAMP REFLECTION

When I felt the end of Julydrawing near, I knew itwas time to hop on that

familiar school bus brimming withthe other Johnstown Deanerycampers eager to begin their campingweek. Writing this now, I smile as Ithink how accustomed to that day’sactivities I have become through myeight years of attending CampNazareth. But while I can expect tosee the friendly faces of Mr. DonKoval, his daughter Helen, and ourbus driver, every year I find myselfgreeted by the fresh countenances ofnew campers and missing the olderfun-loving ones who have graduated.

However, when we arrived at thecamp, I was reminded that thoughthis constant rotation of people hasalways been and will always occur,the fundamental feeling of CampNazareth, its staff, and attendees con-

tinues.

When I was little I took it to be merely the bliss of being surrounded bythe beautiful camp and the fun of fellow Orthodox Christians. As I matured,however, I began to notice something more spiritual and attributed my lovefor the camp to its religious core. This year though, a few things struck me.First of all, the people. We constantly hear how the faith will bring individ-uals with nothing in common together at this home away from home. Andwhile this may be true, I found that every person I met did in fact, have onestriking similarity as a result of their shared faith: a good heart. Of coursethey showed it in a variety of ways, some more veiled then others: patiencewith younger family members, an eagerness to please, an assurance inmorals, or humility. However displayed, the presence of these core values wasultimately indisputable, intensifying bonds quicker than ever possible in lifeoutside of the camp where these qualities in people have all but disappeared.

But as I look at the staff and clergy returning every year, I realize they holdan even deeper understanding of the camp that perhaps one day I will be ableto grasp. As one grows through stages in their faith, each individual redis-covers every year the benefits of Camp Nazareth, whether it be to them a get-away, a familiarity, or an opportunity to kindle or strengthen friendship.Whatever the case, it has always been to me a place of growth, both as a per-son and as an Orthodox Christian. ❈

Page 4 Daylight September 23, 2007

SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNA: Doing ALL to the Glory of God!

LANSFORD, PA - Holding the icon of the Dormition of the Birth-giver ofGod for veneration are Matthew (left) and Mark (right) Kokinda of St.Nicholas Church of Lansford, PA.

by

Maryann Kokus