GOYA Volleyball Sundays

Ascension 6th - 12th Graders join us for two evenings of fellowship and fun on Sunday, July 18th and Sunday, July 25th!

Contact Fr. Nick for more information: frnickm@groca.org

Schedule for 7.18 & 7.25:

5:00 PM - Check-In + Pizza Dinner

5:30 PM - Volleyball

7:00 PM - Check Out + Pick Up

Summer Youth Events

Beloved Ascension Community,

We’re excited to announce a series of in-person youth and family activities that will be offered throughout the summer in conjunction with the Metropolis of San Francisco and our sister Bay Area parishes.

The series will kick off with a GOYA event at Ascension! 

We look forward to seeing you all in-person this summer and enjoying fellowship with one another!

JUNE 26, 2021 - BAY AREA GOYA SUMMER KICK OFF

Youth grades 6-12 are welcome to join us for a fun kick off to the summer at the Ascension Cathedral in Oakland with an evening of volleyball, basketball, Greek dancing, a BBQ, and a sunset campfire from 5:30pm - 9:00pm.

JULY 10, 2021 - BAY AREA FAMILY BEACH DAY

Bring your entire family or arrange for a parish carpool and join us in Santa Cruz for a Family Beach Day of fun from 12:00pm - 5:00pm at Seacliff State Beach with beach games, swimming, a sand castle competition, surfing lessons with Fr. Milutin, and Vespers at Prophet Elias at 6:00pm.

JULY 24, 2021 - BAY AREA FAMILY DAY OF SERVICE

Join us for a Day of Service with Holy Trinity's Food Pantry from 10:30am - 2:00pm. Bring the whole family or drop off your Goyan to help organize and distribute the drive thru food distribution in collaboration with the SF Marin Food Bank. We will organize and distribute the food followed by a lunch and discussion in the community hall and finish the afternoon with a short prayer service in the church.

AUGUST 21, 2021 - BAY AREA GOYA END OF SUMMER CELEBRATION

Youth grades 6-12 are welcome to join us for a fun hike in Novato followed by a Paraklesis service and BBQ at the church that are both open to the entire family. It's the best way to celebrate the Feast of the Dormition and the end of the summer together!

Virtual Bay Area GOYA "Lock-In" 12/4 and 12/5

GOYAns and GOYA Parents,

Join us for the Virtual Bay Area GOYA "Lock-In" on Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5! Get excited for a weekend of fun virtual gatherings, and a surprise "Take-Home Kit"! This is open to all 6th - 12th graders. Please register by Sunday, November 29th!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020
7:00-8:30 PM via Zoom, VIRTUAL
-Akathist of Thanksgiving
-Cookie Decorating Contest

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2020

3:00-4:30 PM via Zoom, VIRTUAL

-Games - Family Feud or Among Us
-Discussion

To be followed by Camp-Style Vespers for St. Nicholas

WEBSITE WITH MORE INFORMATION: CLICK HERE

REGISTER: CLICK HERE

It's completely FREE! When you register you will get access to the Zoom meetings and also be registered for a take-home kit for the retreat. Please register by Sunday, November 29th!

PICK UP YOUR "TAKE-HOME KIT":

Pick up your retreat kit at Ascension Cathedral in Oakland on Wednesday, December 2nd or Thursday, December 3rd from 3-5 PM. If you can't make it, just let Anna Teodosiadis or Fr. Nick Mueller know, and we will make arrangements for you.

SIGN UP TO HELP CHANT OR READ DURING THE SERVICES:

This is optional. You can just follow along, or sign up to help chant or read.

-Akathist of Thanksgiving (Friday, Dec 4) Sign up: CLICK HERE

-Vespers of St. Nicholas (Saturday, Dec 5) Sign up: CLICK HERE

QUESTIONS? PLEASE EMAIL:

Anna Teodosiadis: anna.t@cvresurrection.org

Fr. Nick Mueller: frnickm@groca.org

MAKE A DONATION:
We ask that you prayerfully consider a donation to our Church. Donations can be made via Venmo @ascension-cathedral or via check. Please note GOYA Lock-In in your donation. Thank you, be well and God bless you and your family.

Youth Ministry Announcement

Beloved Parents and Families,

Christ is in our midst!

This year has presented a number of unprecedented challenges for our families, and, particularly, our families’ relationship with our Church. For many of us, we never would have expected to find ourselves sheltering-in-place for such a long duration, or facilitating distance our child's distance learning in the 2020-2021 school year. Furthermore, many of the iconic, mainstay events and ministries, central to the life of our community, have not been viable due to current local and state health guidelines. We mourn that loss, and we look forward to the moment we will be able to be reunited as a community. Until that time, it is incumbent on all of us to find a path forward.

This fall we have an opportunity to work towards developing the life of the Church in our homes. As a community, we will be facilitating a number of online ministries for our youth and young adults. This email is all about those ministries! These ministries are an opportunity for your child to remain close to the Church, continue to develop a relationship with Christ, and with their peers. Parents, these ministries will not find their fullest expression and impact without your guidance and support.

Ascension Youth Ministry

Our youth will be meeting by age range. Each of the following ministries have their own page on our website with all the information you will need to get your child or teen started. Please register your children for each ministry so that we can admit you to our Zoom meetings and reach out to you directly.

Sunday School
1st - 3rd Grade

JOY
4th - 6th Grade

Jr GOYA
7th - 8th Grade

GOYA
9th - 12th Grade

This year our GOYA will be broken out into a Jr. GOYA and GOYA. This is because our high school GOYA members will have a special age-appropriate program called the Relationship Project. This special ministry will help us address pressing and important topics for our teens like relationships, our relationship with God and identity.

The Relationship Project

Parents: your high school GOYAn will need workbooks to participate in the Relationship Project. You can purchase the workbooks here. There will also be an informational meeting on the Relationship Project through the Metropolis of San Francisco's Family Wellness Ministry on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7 PM. Parents please register for this meeting by clicking on the giant button below. Contact Fr. Nick if you have any questions!

Young Adult and Parent Ministries

We also want to be a source of support for you and will be continuing several adult ministries and launching new ones. We have a new Young Adult ministry for those that have graduated high school and gone on to work or to continuing education. This group will meet the 4th Sunday of the month at 6 PM. Our first meeting is this Sunday, September 20th. If you are a young adult interested in attending--reach out to Fr. Nick! We've already got a great group who will be meeting!

One particular ministry we would like to invite our parents  to be involved in is our Foundations for a Faithful Home reading group. This reading group will focus on the life of our Faith in our homes. To frame our conversation will read a discuss a chapter from Blueprints for the Little Church: Creating and Orthodox Home.

We will meet on Mondays beginning October 5th at 6 PM. We hope that this ministry will be an opportunity to discuss how we can practically develop the life of the Faith in our homes, and discuss challenges that we are facing as families. We hope that you can join us!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns or challenges that you are facing. No doubt this has been a unique year, with many unprecedented changes. Please know that we are here to help, assist you and are praying for you.

In Christ's service and yours,

Fr. Tom Zaferes and Fr. Nick Mueller