Glory to God for all things! This past weekend, ROYA held its annual Youth Congress at the Valley of the Mother of God Retreat Center in Orangeville, Ontario. The Congress began on Friday, October 11th 2019 and closed on Monday October 14th 2019. We were blessed to have in our midst His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicolae, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, and our Keynote Speaker Father Nikolai Sahkarov from Essex, UK.
We opened the Congress weekend with some team building activities and prompts to get to know one another better. We are very grateful to all the individuals who volunteered to carpool our representatives from the airport and made sure everyone was taken care of.
Saturday began with a short presentation from the ROYA board introducing who we are as an organization, what we stand for, and what our mission is. Twenty of the thirty representatives hadn’t heard of ROYA until the Congress. The presentation was followed by our first conference with Fr. Nikolai Sakharov on the theology of Father Sophrony of Essex.
In the afternoon we had the first session of the Congress Meeting, during which each representative reported on the current state of the youth work in their parish. We discussed how many members were in each parish, what kinds of activities occurred, and the challenges we face in local chapters. In the evening, we reconvened for the second session of the Congress Meeting. During this session, the ROYA board presented on their activities, current state of affairs, and the challenges we are facing on a Metropolia/continental level. Representatives brainstormed strategies and new solutions were constructed to help remedy many of the difficulties stacked against us. A plan of action was constructed for the coming months. Additionally, an appeal was made for involvement in the two committees that were instated this year, the Events Committee and the Media Committee.
Sunday, the youth participated in the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Cross Monastery in Mono, Ontario. We were overwhelmed by the warm and hospitable welcome we received in the community and remained with them for a meal together. Upon returning to our retreat center, Father Nikolai held his second conference on preparation for marriage. Many questions were answered and the youth were grateful for the opportunity to glean wisdom on this, often sensitive/shy topic. The day ended with a festive bonfire accompanied by s’mores, Romanian patriotic and folk music, and traditional dance! It was a joyous and wholesome evening under the stars.
On the last day of our gathering, we held Divine Liturgy in the morning to honor St. Parascheva of Iasi. The youth led the choir and we wrapped up the Congress weekend with a final lunch together. We reluctantly gathering our luggage and said our “see you soon’s.” We were sorry that our time together ended so soon but were enthusiastic to depart as new ambassadors in Christ’s work with the youth. We hope to see all our representatives again in two months’ time at the annual Winter Camp in Allegan, Michigan. This year’s dates are December 26th, 2019 to January 1st, 2020. Glory to God in all things!
Ana Radu
