Orthodox Young Adult Book Club continues in 2013

Young Adult Ministries of Greater Houston is hosting its 3rd installment of our Orthodox Young Adult Book Club. Join us on Wednesday evenings (beginning January 23) at St George Antiochian Orthodox Church at 7:00p (Daily Vespers at 6:30p).

We will set up a "hosting" schedule at our first gathering for the remainder of our sessions. The book selection is The Beginnings of a Life of Prayer by Archimandrite Irenei. You can read his Bio HERE. This work is available in our St George Bookstore for $12.00 per copy. Please confirm with Paul Fuller of your participation, so we know how many books we need for the group.

Below is the book description from the backcover:

"The beginnings of prayer arise from the longing of the heart to know God, to rest in Him Who showed His love upon the precious Cross, to abide in the fullness of communion with Him. In the present book - a primer on prayer - Archimandrite Irenei first prepares the ground by helping us to count the cost (Luke 14:28) of our lives as Christians, to take stock of the spiritual struggle we must undertake if we are to ascend toward God in prayer. Then, based on a sober appraisal of our lowly condition and of the worldly and demonic influences that assail us, he helps us to adorn our inward beings as temples of prayer.

With an eye ever on the practical application of Orthodox Christian teaching to the spiritual life, the author raises our minds and hearts to a greater awareness of the holiness and majesty of God, and at the same time of the potential for us - unworthy though we are - to enter into intimate communion with Him. This awareness inspires us to explore with the author the depths of prayer, and to strive more fervently toward eternal life in Christ - the end for which we have been created."

Book Club Discussion Schedule (Wednesday evenings at 7p):

*January 23:  Introduction & The Call of Christ toward Self-Examination [pp. 7-19]
*January 30:  Attending to our Struggles [pp. 20-35]
*February 6:   Attending to our Struggles (continue) & The Transformative Power of the Attentive Heart [pp. 35-54]
*February 13:  The Beginnings of Prayer [pp. 57-70]
*February 20:  A Century of Prayer & Watchfulness [pp. 71-92]   
*February 27:  Second Century on Prayer – On the Preparation of the Mind & Heart [pp. 93-109]
*March 6:  A Second Century on Prayer & A Postscript – Prayer & the Cross [pp. 109-122]

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

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.



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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

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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