From Metropolitan Moses Beloved Christians: I greet you all in anticipation of the New Year that begins on September 1st according to the ecclesiastical calendar. Soon thereafter we will begin yet another year of our local Church School. At this time, I would like to thank those who worked so hard to make last year’s Church School a success and I encourage everyone to consider what they can do to help with the education of our children. Imparting the timeless truths of Christianity is the greatest gift one can give to a child. I ask all parents to consider the following prophetic words found in the book of Deuteronomy: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. (Deut 6:4-8) The Lord God, through the mouth of the Prophet Moses, did not command the Israelites to send their children to Temple school or synagogue school, but rather to teach their children within their house, and while they sat down, and walked in the way, and at all times. The responsibility before God to teach children of the things of God clearly belongs to the parents. Yet, it is also our responsibility to assist you. With that in mind, I wish to share with you some new developments for the local Church School program in the Metropolis of Toronto for 2014 that we hope will bring greater benefit to all families. After a delay of one year we will soon be ready to provide an online educational resource - “Living Water” - that we hope will bring benefit not only to local families in Toronto, but also to everyone in our Church in North America. Father Panagiotes has graciously allowed us to use the teaching materials that he has developed over the years and posted in PDF format for easy download. The online material will include class lessons and also guidelines for the teacher. There will also be an online forum for parents to receive guidance in how to present the material to their child. We live in a secular society that constantly bombards a child with various worldviews and ideas that are repugnant to Christianity. One and a half hours a week is not enough to combat this. The purpose of the “Living Water” online resource is to help church school teachers and to better equip parents to instruct their children. Parents will have an easy way to keep up to date with their child’s lessons and have the ability to prepare their child for the next lesson and/or review the past lesson so that it makes a greater impression on the child. If a child misses a Church School lesson, the parents can go through that lesson with the child so that he/she does not fall behind. I have asked Soteri Pantioras, headmaster of the Saint Nektarios Church School, to assume the position of Headmaster of what can now be called the Metropolis of Toronto Church School. In thi s capacity he will support our Toronto parish church schools and will interact with those who administer the “Living Water” web site in order to fine tune that resource for our Metropolis and the Church in North America. Fr. Sergius has prepared a survey for your Parish. With your responses, Fr. Sergius will decide how/if a Church School program could be enacted within the parish. The Diocese is prepared to assist your Church School. I exhort you all to support a Church School at St. Joseph Church. Please enroll your children and take advantage of the classroom and online resources that the Diocese of Toronto will provide. May you teach your children diligently, as the Lord commands. +Moses of Toronto
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 01:59:14 +0000
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