Portland site of Department of Religious Education workshop

Matushka Alexandra Safchuk addresses teachers from several jurisdictions at Portland workshop.

PORTLAND, OR [OCA]—Saint Nicholas Church here hosted a full-day religious education workshop on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

Sponsored by the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Education [DCE], the workshop provide, as its theme indicated, “A Pan-Orthodox Vision of Christian Education.” The DCE’s Matushki Valerie Zahirsky and Alexandra Safchuk, both graduates of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, explored perceptions of the Church in the media and secular society and offered possible responses.

Matushka Valerie cited examples from several recent magazine articles that provide erroneous and harmful information about Christianity. She also discussed ways to teach Scripture, offering ways to present pertinent Bible stories to children at different age levels.

Matushka Alexandra discussed Orthodox Christian formation from a traditional standpoint and provided examples of often neglected educational resources, offering suggestions as to how existing materials can be used creatively.

DCE members are available individually or in teams to present workshops for teachers, staff and parents on a variety of themes. For additional workshop information, as well as a variety of downloadable educational resources, visit the DCE on-line at www.dce.oca.org.