Orthodox Young Adult Book Club

For those interested, we've started an Orthodox Young Adult Book Club in Houston; this program is being hosted by Young Adult Ministries of Greater Houston. We are beginning this summer, Monday, June 11 at 7:00p at St George Antiochian Orthodox Church to receive our copies (graciously provided by St George Church), discuss the schedule, meeting locations, and a brief introduction of the book.

The concept is pretty basic, but I'm very excited about the prospects for this type of program. It takes a great deal of commitment (we plan to meet weekly) to discuss our book. Although, young adults are certainly busy with work, school, and family, we think its extremely important to take time to focus on our Faith. In addition to participating in the liturgical life of our parish communities throughout Greater Houston, as well as service projects and fellowship dinners, our Young Adult Ministries (YAM) group has decided to come together to learn more through reading a book and having discussions on the subjects described in that book. 

Our first book choice for our Book Club is the classic work by Fr Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World. This book is one of my all-time favorites (I've read it quite a few times and always find inspiration from it). I hope that those joining us will enjoy the weekly reading "assignments," as well as our sessions together discussing its depth of knowledge and wisdom shared by its author, Fr Alexander. In my opinion, its subject is a useful "tool" to contemplate the beauty of the liturgical experience and its necessity in our daily struggles towards living a life worthy of Christ and His Kingdom.



Image Source

This work focuses primarily on the Eucharist, our participation in the Life of the Church, in the hope of showing the importance of our relationship with God through the fellowship of communicants and sharing the gospel with those who have yet to find the true meaning of their existence. It is certainly a must read and I look forward to our fruitful discussion sessions.

Fr Alexander Schmemann (+1983) during Divine Liturgy

Image Source

Book Club Discussion Schedule (Tenative):

Monday, June 11:  Introduction
Monday, June 18:  Chapter 1
Monday, July 2:     Chapter 2
Monday, July 9:     Chapters 3 & 4
Monday, July 16:   Chapters 5 & 6
Monday, July 23:   Chapter 7 & Appendices 1 & 2

For more information, please contact Paul Fuller, Youth & Young Adult Director of St George (paulf518@yahoo.com) and visit our Facebook Group: "Young Adult Ministries in Houston TX."

- A Day in the Life of the Youth Director