St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church School & Youth Programs

A well informed Christian is a spiritually committed Christian.

Our Church School Mission

Christian education for our children is an essential ministry in the Church. The whole body of the Church participates in this ministry through the adequate provision of personal, spiritual, and financial resources.

Jesus makes it clear. He wants children to come and know Him. For us to hinder this process is a grave offense.

“But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.’” -Mark 10: 14

The central aim of Christian education is to evoke and nurture faith in Jesus Christ. The whole range of Orthodox educational materials—books, films, Bible Studies, lives of saints, discussion of Christian values—becomes effective only when they communicate the love and spirit of Christ.

Our Church School Program

St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church has been blessed to have many children present in the church as well as many talented and compassionate volunteer teachers. We understand that education and upbringing in the Orthodox faith is our greatest gift to our children.

General Classroom Structure

Currently our Church School Program is divided into the four following classes:

Preschool/Kindergarten (4-5 year old)
Lower Elementary (6, 7 & 8 year olds)
Upper Elementary (9 & 10 year olds)
Middle School (11 & 12 year olds)
High School (13-18 year olds)

Classroom sizes vary from year to year. Once the church expansion is finished we are looking forward to getting back into a regular classroom routine. Currently, High School classes are meeting following Divine Liturgy in the middle classroom. Our younger kids will still work on their take home lessons until we return to new sanctuary space.

Curriculum Themes for the 2023-2024 School Year

Every year our devoted teachers develop thematic curriculum plans that focus on a different aspect of our Orthodox faith, with lessons that are geared toward the learning level of the students in the classroom.

Pre-School, Elementary, Middle School—Old Testament: The Preschool, Elementary and Middle School classes typically follow the same curriculum theme. Children will be able to make connections between what they are learning in class and what they see and do in church.

High School—Contemporary Moral and Modern Issues: For the 2023-24 school year, the High School students, under the guidance of our staff and Fr. Gabriel, will participate in conversations on issues they face in their daily lives and how the church responds to these issues. Students took part in a poll asking what they would like to address when it comes to moral issues living in the world.

St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Youth (SMMOY): The SMMOY is the teen youth group that gets together monthly for fellowship, education and service.

Our Church School Volunteers

Along with St. Mary Magdalene’s many children, we are also blessed with a wonderful group of volunteers assisting in the Church School Program. They are a highly qualified team coming from diverse professional backgrounds and educations. Above all, they are dedicated to the continued growth and education of our young Church members. All Church School Volunteers are background checked per the OCA and Bulgarian Diocese guidelines.

Meet our Volunteers!

Julie Jonascu

Pre-School & Kindergarten

Katherine Schutt

Pre-School & Kindergarten

Reader Christopher Ballnik

Lower Elementary

Subdeacon Andrew & Meghan Durand

High School

Helpers & Substitutes

Cindy Chiatalas
Julie Yonan
John Wolf
Kristin Wolf
Tammy Arnes
Matushka Laura Bilas

Youth Almsgiving

Our parish youth partners with the Foster Closet of Mid-Michigan for almsgiving throughout the year. The Foster Closet of Mid-Michigan allows foster parent to “shop” cost free for children that come into their care. The closet will provide foster children with new & like-new clothing and other items that they may not have when moving to a new foster home. Each child is given a new pair of pajamas, new socks/underwear, and outfit (if available) on their first visit to the closet. We also support our foster families with diapers, pull ups, wipes, and formula as available to remove some of their financial strain. Children are able to “shop” for an unlimited number of like-new items at no cost. The goal of the resource closet is to build up the children and allow them to pick items for themselves.

This organization allows our youth to give of themselves to children their age that are in need.

Nativity Almsgiving:

Our parish youth are asked to bring St. Nicholas (on St. Nicholas Day Celebration) a new unwrapped toy for him to deliver to the foster closet. This year students should bring in their toy on December 10, 2023.

Paschal Almsgiving:

This year’s collectin will be a cereal drive to benefit our local food bank. Breakfast cereal is a big gap of donated items to the food bank. This item is not only missed by children and their families it is also a meal that requires no cooking appliances and can be made by the children.

We will also be sending Resurrection Cards to the students at The Orthodox School of Bethany in Palestine.

Throughout the Year:

All year the children are able to bring in items to give to their teachers to support the foster closet, not just during the assigned periods of Nativity and Great Lent. We also encourage the donation of NEW unopened socks & underwear.

Our parish also continually collects children sized (and adult sized) glasses for those in need.

Youth are also able to give of their talents though our parish choir, bell ringers, altar servers, library helpers and much MUCH more!