Last Saturday we had our first Orthodox Young Adults council meeting. We made some important decisions about what OYA was about and where we wanted to go with it. We also made decisions about the main committee that is/will be under the Central Indiana Presbyters’ Council.
Here’s a list of those who participated in the meeting: Michael Karadimos, Stephanida Bauman, Anna Bauman, Carrie Lashbrook, Josh Hodges, Fr. Deacon Michael Walker, John Miller, Elena Koen, Nephon (Brian) Andrews, and myself (Hannah Miller). So when I say “we”, these people are who I mean. :)
One thing to make note of is some new wording. The main “committee” as it has been called is now named OYA Council of Indiana. It will be made up of any Orthodox young adults residing in Indiana who show the commitment to be on the council by promising to come to all the meetings. (The meetings will be bi-monthly, for the most part.) As with everything there will be exceptions, but we decided this because we want to build a solid foundation for OYA. The council will serve as the springboard for future events, follow up on them and work on relations – things like that. As of right now, our duties are being discovered as we venture on. If you would like to be on this committee, please e-mail me and let me know.
If you still want to be involved in some way in the future, there will be plenty of opportunities! We have decided to form committees for various events and activities in this way: someone from the council will head a committee for an event; anyone who wants to be on that committee can be, with the discretion of the head committee member. You do not have to be on the council to be on the committee. After the event, you have no more commitment than you choose.
We discussed who we would like to have as our spiritual advisor. We decided we want someone who feels inspired to be our spiritual advisor. We want someone with a desire to be apart of us, and also feels they have the ability to commit to it. We will, hopefully, bring this up to the Presbyters’ Council at their next meeting in early August.
However, we did decide on a patron saint! We chose St. John Maximovitch, also known as St. John of San Francisco or Shanghai or the Barefoot… He’s got a lot of names because he’s done a lot of great things in many places! There were many reasons why we chose him, one being that we were meeting on his name day, which is celebrated by both the new and old calendars. Overall, we all felt that he was the right saint to watch over us in our endeavors. So please pray to him for us.
The vision we have for OYA is not just social, but more spiritual. Also, it is not to just benefit us, but benefit all, both those in the Church and outside. We want to build community within the young adults, and all Orthodox, in Indiana, and eventually many communities throughout Indiana. We have big hopes for the future, but we are focused on now. We want to be a ministry within the Church, almost like an arm of the Church. Ultimately, we want to bring down the Holy Spirit and make the Orthodox life alive.
Those who have committed to being on the council are Stephanida, Carrie, Elena, and myself. A few others have said they will like to be a part of it until the fall or when they are able. Any of you as “members” can come to any of the meetings whenever you want. The next meeting will be Saturday, August 27. The place and time have not been set yet, but details will be available once they are. The things we will be discussing include a mission statement, a logo, and future projects.
Overall, we know that there are a lot of changes happening and that everything we’ve decided is temporary. God willing, we will continue to grow and things will need revising and adjusting. We are all open to wherever the Holy Spirit leads this group.
