September 19 designated “College Student Sunday”
Since 2003, the hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas [SCOBA] have designated the Sunday following the Elevation of the Holy Cross—September 19 this year—as OCF College Student Sunday. They ask all faithful Orthodox Christians in North America to call to mind and prayer our college students.
Beginning in 1960, His Grace, Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, at the time a recent seminary graduate, became a driving force in establishing the Orthodox Campus Commission/Orthodox Christian Fellowships, which in the 1960s and 1970s saw the establishment of OCF chapters on numerous campuses and annual national college conferences in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and elsewhere. The Campus Commission also published a quarterly magazine for Orthodox college students, “Concern.”
In 2000, OCF experienced a renewal with the strong support of the various Orthodox jurisdictions in the US. Therefore, this fall marks the 50th anniversary of OCF’s establishment and the 10th anniversary of its current efforts.
Today, the Orthodox Christian Fellowship has more than 300 local chapters and a network of regional chaplains. OCF has raised hundreds of student leaders through its Student Advisory Board, created educational curriculum, increased participation in the annual college conference from 200 to 400 participants, and offered nearly 1,000 students a life-transforming experience through its alternative spring break program, “Real Break.”
Please visit www.ocf.net/css for a variety of bulletin inserts, flyers, and posters that can be used in conjunction with College Student Sunday and throughout the year. Donations to OCF, a OCF is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and the official Campus Ministry of SCOBA, may be made at
www.ocf.net/donate.