Church School Theme

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas
Greek Orthodox
Church School

A Choir of Saints

September 2006

Dear St. Nicholas Parents and Students,

Growing up Roman Catholic, I spent much time in our parish church. As a child, I enjoyed the beauty of these churches. If you visit a Catholic church, you will see that it may contain several full length statues, usually made from white marble and a very large crucifix in the middle of the altar. Every Catholic Church has the Stations of the Cross surrounding its interior walls. These pictures detail Christ’s journey from his arrest to his burial. This leaves very little room for anything else.

The first time I walked into our church, I looked at all the icons on the walls. I recognized them as saints, but unable to read Greek, I didn’t know their names or histories. What I did know was how loved and protected I felt.

Several years later, Fr. Alex put words to my feelings. During one of his sermons, he spoke to us about the saints, the Church Triumphant. He explained how they are up in the risers rooting for us, the Church Militant, to keep “fighting the good fight.” He told us how the saints cheer for us when we make the right decision to stay close to God and how they intercede for us when we don’t.

Each Saint has his or her own apolitiklion or hymn. These hymns are written to honor the saints, but more importantly they give us hope. The hymns remind us that like us, the saints were human. They were ordinary men, women, sometimes children who made extraordinary choices in their lives. The hymns teach us what it takes to become a saint. We sing a hymn to St. Nicholas every Sunday.

“An example of the Faith and life of humility, as a teacher of abstinence you did inspire and lead your flock and through your truthfulness of your deeds were exalted by greatness through your humility uplifting all and by poverty gaining wealth.”

This hymn instructs us that True Faith makes us humble. It teaches us that an excess of material goods is not as important as our spiritual life and good deeds. And most important as the leaders of our homes we, ourselves, must be true followers of these thoughts to teach our children our faith.

Saints are so important to us that we are usually named after a saint and we give our children a Saint’s name. We continue to celebrate that saint every year on their feast day. We call that our Name Day. Every Orthodox person celebrates their name day, but not always in the same way. Traditions vary depending on what country they come from. Most Orthodox Christians in America try to attend Liturgy, if it is served. They may invite friends and family to their home on their name day and serve sweets and coffee. This custom is also done in Greece.

In Eritrea, they prepare food and feed less fortunate people on their name day. In Serbia the family does not always celebrate their individual name day, instead they have a family saint they commemorate. They make bread and kolyva. The family priest comes to their home and performs a service that is like a 'paraklisis' and then also a memorial service. They will commemorate those living in their family and also those who have passed away (fallen asleep). Then they will celebrate after with a meal with family and friends. This is usually done at the oldest living male’s house.

In Russia, a female named Maria will not choose a feast day commemorating the Theotokos. Those days are reserved only for Panayia. Instead, they will celebrate St. Mary of Egypt or another St. Mary. For males, they will not select a name commemorating Christ.

This year the Church School has chosen the theme “A Choir of Saints”. A special thank you goes to Fr. John. To help us in this endeavor, he donated his collection of icons. Because of this donation we were able to create an iconostasis in every classroom. Now our children are surrounded by icons in their homes, in church and in their classrooms.

We have also adopted a new program called “Name Day Grams”. Working with you, the parents, and the classroom teachers, your child will get a personalized Icon card with a picture of his or her saint and some candy. Starting in October the students will receive a Name Day Gram if they celebrated their name day that week. We will start slowly and begin to include all the months we may have missed during the summer and school year. No child will be overlooked. If they do not have a specific name day we will include them on All Saint’s Day during the year.

Also starting in October every Sunday the students will hear the story of a Saint that was commemorated during the week.

We are very excited about this year and its wonderful to see everyone and to welcome you back!

Remember Church School Open Houses begin October 1 starting with Pre-school. Check the schedule posted on the school wall for your child’s date. We will also mail you a notice as your child’s open house draws near.

See you on Sundays!

The Church School Council

The Church School of Saint Nicholas strives to teach our children the Orthodox faith: understanding of our history, basic beliefs, active participation in liturgy, and Christian living.

The largest Church School in the San Francisco Diocese, our staff of 55 teachers, aides, council and support people serves 450+ young people, toddlers of 18 months through high school seniors. Using the curriculum of the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church School staff strives to improve its knowledge and skills through workshops, retreats, and conferences.

The success of the Church School depends on us all, and through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, we have been blessed with the loyal support of our priest, our parents, and the congregation at large.