Planning an OCF Retreat for Transformation and Renewal

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2

Planning and executing a retreat for Orthodox college students is a blessed endeavor for everyone involved, but it takes prayer, time, and practical strategies to do it. The above admonition of Saint Paul to the Romans could be the goal of your OCF retreat and will keep the planning process focused and smooth.

University of Virginia OCF Retreat Fall 2012

In our current times, the university culture makes it easy for students to conform more often to the negative currents of the world than the positive ones. A consistent annual retreat is a great way to help students re-charge their lives and be with their friends in Christ. The retreat should assist college students in taking on the mind of Christ and living the “good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

On Unity: Finding Unity in Christ

This year's OCF theme is unity, centered around Psalm 132:1 (OSB),

"Behold, what is so good or so pleasant as for brothers to dwell together in unity."

This week is part two of a six part series centered around Orthodox perspectives on unity. The series will consist of reflections from student leaders and College Conference workshop speakers, leading up to College Conference at the end of December.

This is a guest post from Fr. Brendan Pelphrey, parish priest at Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Price, Utah and a workshop speaker at this year's College Conference West. Fr. Brendan is an expert on Orthodox Christian apologetics and missionary work. He has published four books and about a hundred articles, book chapters, reviews, and monographs on Christian theology, prayer, mission, world religions, and medieval studies.

There are different kinds of unity. People can tolerate one another, and so appear unified. Better, they can become friends. But far beyond these is the unity which is ours in Christ. It is the communion (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit, in the Body of Christ. It makes us truly one and transcends friendship, human love, even time and space and leads into eternity.

The Apostle Paul teaches that Christ fills all things, and in Him all things hold together (Ephesians 1:22, Colossians 1:17). Thus, communion with Christ leads to communion with all that exists. We discover this communion when, in the words of the ascetics, the mind “descends into the heart.” Here, in stillness, we draw close to God. Only then, we begin to understand our real purpose in life as God’s children, and we discover the awesome beauty and worth of everything that God has made.

How to Balance Fun & Games With the Rest of OCF Life

In my last post on the OCF blog, I wrote about how to bring more students to an OCF meeting. I touched on the importance of consistency and diversity in chapter meetings, but that's not all it takes to run a successful OCF chapter!

Once you get your OCF members in a room together for a meeting... what do you do next?

This question has plagued many the OCF group, who have experimented with everything from pizza parties & game nights to book studies & guest lectures. To some students, it seems like their chapter has the same meeting every week. For others, their chapter seems scattered and disorganized because no meeting has the same focus!

My First "World Tour" of Orthodoxy

This is a guest post from Tanya Schillawski, North American Student Leader of the 2013-2014 Student Advisory Board and a senior at Northeastern University. She got involved with OCF at school during her Freshman year, and joined the OCF Student Advisory Board in 2011. She will graduate from Northeastern University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in both Psychology and History.

I moved to Boston as a young, 18 year old freshman, eager to start at Northeastern University. I can remember my first day at my “new” church. I had plotted exactly how to get there on my map, knew precisely what "T" I needed to take—that’s Bostonian for Subway—and knew that I would arrive just in time for the Doxology before Divine Liturgy.

How to Bring More Students to an OCF Meeting

My first year as student leader of the OCF Chapter at MTSU, myself and a few friends met a couple of times a semester in my house. Three years later, we were meeting twice a week (once on campus and once our local parish) with anywhere from 10-30 students at each meeting. A few times, we even had as many as 40 students at a meeting!

Looking back on that experience, I can assure you it wasn't quick or easy to help our chapter grow so much. Along the way, I had to learn a lot about college life, campus ministry, and my own strengths & weaknesses as a leader.

The two aspects of our chapter structure that engaged students with the most success were consistency and diversity.

Have a Home-Cooked Meal With Your Orthodox College Students!

Waving to the Harvard and MIT students as they boarded the bus bringing them back to their dorms, I felt an incredible sense of joy and contentment. I had just spent the evening with a dynamic group of Orthodox college students. As Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Fellowship, what better way to welcome students to their ‘home away from home’ than to have them over for a home-cooked meal. MIT and Harvard’s OCF were the first to take me up on this invitation. So, on Thursday night, eight students not only shared a meal with my family, they touched our hearts.

Every year moms, dads, grandparents, and parishioners open their homes to college students. Thank you. You are truly ministering to our students at a time when they need us the most. My hope is this quick reflection will get others to do so as well. October is a perfect time, just as our young students are fighting homesickness, colds, and the stress of their academic load.