Your Questions, Answered: Getting Involved in the Community

Your Questions, Answered: Getting Involved in the Community

by | Oct 23, 2015 | Student Reflection

A question we’ve received from students is, how do we get more involved in the community as an OCF? I’m not sure if this is referring to the Orthodox community, the campus community, or the general community so I’m going to answer all three.

The Orthodox Community

Integrating yourself and your OCF into your local Orthodox community is crucial. They can provide you with resources and networking opportunities, as well as be a support system for you and your chapter.

  • Go to church. Seriously, that’s the best way to get to know the other Orthodox people near you. People in the parish will recognize your face and start getting to know you. Stick around for coffee hour afterward, and say hi to someone new.IMG_6034
  • Actively engage in your church. Sing in the choir, chant, read the Epistle, pass the tray, teach church school, serve in the altar, or host coffee hour. Communal prayer and worship is huge in the Orthodox world, so join in!
  • Find an Orthodox charity. See if there’s a REAL weekend going on nearby, or something with FOCUS or IOCC. It’s a ready made way to meet the local ‘Dox. If not, see if there’s something your chapter can do remotely, like making hygiene kits to send to disaster areas.
  • Go to College Conference or on a Real Break trip. This the most sure fire way to meet other Orthodox students like you from across the nation.

The Campus Community

  • Host an event. Ask your Spiritual Advisor or another Orthodox speaker to give a lecture or lead a discussion on campus. Invite other faith-based groups and your friends.
  • Participate in Day of Light. Set up a table in a high traffic area on campus and invite students to light candles in honor of a loved one.
  • Rock some OCF swag around campus. People will see “Orthodox Christian Fellowship” on your t-shrirt or lanyard and ask, “Hey, what’s that?” Check out our e-store.
  • Invite your friends or classmates to an OCF meeting or social event. “Come and see” is the simple and easy motto we have for spreading our faith.FullSizeRender

The General Community

  • Volunteer. Rally your chapter together and head out to a soup kitchen or to pick up garbage. It’ll be a great bonding experience and extend the name of OCF past the bounds of a college campus.
  • Go to a sporting event together. More often than not, if you register as a group you get a shoutout on the scoreboard or in the program. And also, the group discount.
Back to Basics – Four Fundamentals

Back to Basics – Four Fundamentals

by | Aug 31, 2015 | Student Reflection

The school year is off to a fresh start and so is the OCF year! While planning your year, it’s important not to forget about the four pillars of OCF. Here are some suggestions for ways to incorporate all elements of OCF so you can have a blessed, fruitful year.

Red OCF Banner

Fellowship

  • Hold an off-campus potluck dinner.
  • Go to your school’s sporting events together.
  • During midterms or finals week, have a study party…and don’t forget the snacks!
  • Organize a friendly game of Capture the Flag or Ultimate Frisbee.
  • Go out for Sunday brunch together after Liturgy.

Education

  • Invite a guest speaker. See if there are any priests in your surrounding area who don’t regularly come to OCF, a professor from your school, or a member of the parish you attend.
  • Watch a Christian movie, listen to an Ancient Faith Radio podcast, or read an article and have a discussion afterward.
  • Play a game of “Stump the Priest” with your spiritual advisor  – everyone comes up with their toughest theological questions for the priest until he can’t answer one!
  • Pick a book to read together. Each week one person reads a chapter, summarizes it for the group, and leads a discussion.

Service

  • During your normal meeting time, bake cookies or write cards to send to nursing homes, hospitals, or soldiers.
  • Take a Saturday afternoon to volunteer together at a soup kitchen or nursing home.
  • Volunteer as a group with one of the service clubs on campus.
  • Host a bake sale on campus and donate the proceeds to charity.

Worship

  • Learn a new hymn together – maybe in a chanting style different from your own.
  • Make prayer ropes.
  • Have Forgiveness Sunday vespers together before Lent starts.
  • Hold a Paraklesis service as part of Day of Light.
  • Participate in Day of Prayer.