FAITH and JOY
As Ascension's K-5 ministry, FAITH/JOY (Junior Orthodox Youth) provides the opportunity for children to begin building friendships with others their age within the parish community while also learning the tenets of their faith and growing in their love for Christ and His Church. Each meeting will explore different topics and consist of a lesson on our faith, a craft, a snack and fun fellowship time. The ministry meets twice each month, usually on a Friday evening at 6:30 - 7 p.m., unless otherwise indicated. We also hold several special events and participate in various service projects throughout the year. This year's theme is The Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Friendships formed in youth groups have a tendency to last a lifetime. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to meet new families and friends and participate in the life of the Church! For more information, contact faithjoyascension@gmail.com.
Note: Since Faith/JOY meets on Friday evenings, the snacks that we offer will always be fast-worthy for our children. Although your home fasting rules may be different, we encourage our children to begin learning about fast days, even from now.
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER AND/OR HOST A SNACK
Contact Pastoral Assistant John Anton at janton@ascensiongoc.com for more information.
ASCENSION and METROPOLIS
PAST, PRESENT & UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS
YOUTH SUNDAY 2025 SLIDE SHOW - HIGHLIGHTS THROUGHOUT 2024
- JR. OLYMPICS takes place each year at Saints Constantine & Helen Church, Palos Hills, with a full offering of more than 15 competitive events for youth between 7-18 years old. Team Ascension participated in the 43rd Annual Metropolis of Chicago Jr. Olympics, over Memorial Day weekend, May 25-26. See photos HERE! Visit our Jr. Olympics webpage.
- ORATORICAL FESTIVAL
CLICK HERE for information on Ascension's Parish Oratorical Festival program. Express Your Faith! Represent your Parish! Do you like to write? Draw? Chant? Present your point in front of an audience? Don’t miss the opportunity to show your God-given talents as a writer, speaker, artist and vocalist by participating in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. If you are in 4th – 12th grade, you are encouraged to participate in this program, which gives you the opportunity to reflect upon and express what your faith means to you. Ascension's Parish level Oratorical Festival will take place in 2025 on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 in the Anagnos Fellowship Hall following 9th Hour & Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. Stay tuned for more information on the 2025 themes and the submission deadline. Submissions that advance from the Junior and Senior Divisions (grades 7-12) will present at the Metropolis Oratorical Festival on Bright Saturday. More details can be found on the Oratorical webpage HERE, or by contacting Pastoral Assistant John Anton @ janton@ascensiongoc.com. - FANARI CAMPS: FALL, WINTER, LENTEN: Offered by the Metropolis of Chicago these camps take place at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center in Kansasville, WI for 5th - 12th graders and activities include: Worship, Orthodox Life, Fun activities like Olympics, tubing, and much more! Visit the Fanari website for more information on upcoming events.
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FANARI SUMMER CAMP Fanari Summer Camp is the Metropolis of Chicago summer camping ministry, available for rising 6th grade through rising 12th grade campers. The Summer camp program has four individual sessions each year, running from mid-June through mid-July. Each year, 150-160 campers join each week of Fanari Summer Camp for growth in their faith & friendships, while having a ton of fun along the way. Some of our most enjoyable activities include: Worship, Orthodox Life & Bible Study, Boating & Swimming, Summer Olympics, dances, field trips, and much more!
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2025 SESSIONS
Registration for Summer Camp typically opens in March
Session 1: Sunday, June 15 – Saturday, June 21, 2025
Session 2: Sunday, June 22 – Saturday, June 28, 2025
Session 3: Sunday, June 29 – Saturday, July 5, 2025
Session 4: Sunday, July 6 – Saturday, July 12, 2025
Session 5: Sunday, July 13 – Saturday, July 19, 2025
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CLICK HERE for more information!
Fanari is looking for wonderful young adults to join the Leadership Team! To learn more and apply, click here -
- Fanari Camp FACEBOOK Page and Instagram
- Y2AM Ministry At Home Resources Check this wonderful resource out!
- GOA Center for Family Care Comfort Food for Families
- SUMMER PROGRAMS
PAST EVENTS
- CLICK HERE for information on Ascension's Parish Oratorical Festival program and to view a summary of the 2025 Parish Oratorical Festival. Express Your Faith! Represent your Parish! Do you like to write? Draw? Chant? Present your point in front of an audience? Don’t miss the opportunity to show your God-given talents as a writer, speaker, artist and vocalist by participating in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. If you are in 4th – 12th grade, you are encouraged to participate in this program, which gives you the opportunity to reflect upon and express what your faith means to you. Ascension's Parish level Oratorical Festival took place in 2025 on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 in the Anagnos Fellowship Hall following 9th Hour & Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. Submissions that advance from the Junior and Senior Divisions (grades 7-12) will present at the Metropolis Oratorical Festival on Bright Saturday. More details can be found on the Oratorical webpage HERE, or by contacting our Oratorical chairpersons, Zoe Maglaras & Nectaria Zouras @ oratorical@ascensiongoc.com.
- YOUTH SUNDAY A much-loved tradition in our Parish, Youth Sunday is held every year to honor and celebrate our youth and the vibrancy they bring to our community through our many ministries. Youth serve in many capacity in church during Youth Sunday, and there's an extended celebratory fellowship hour in their honor. Witness the exuberance our youth brings to Ascension's Parish life by watching a video presented during our 2024 fellowship celebration HERE. Photos from Youth Sunday 2024 can be seen HERE.
Youth Sunday Slide Show
- YOUTH LENTEN RETREAT: The Youth Lenten retreat for K-5th graders took place on Friday, April 26th, 2024. The theme was "Lazarus, Come Out" with lessons, crafts and lazarakia baking! See photos HERE.
Sunday, January 15, 2023: DIVE FOR THE CROSS OUR ANNUAL DIVE FOR THE CROSS EVENT took place on Sunday, January 15th from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the Highland Park Rec Center Pool for K-12th Graders. See photos HERE.
- Sunday, February 5, 2023: YOUTH SUNDAY A much-loved tradition in our Parish is our annual Youth Sunday celebration, a day to honor our youth. On Sunday, February 5, 2023 we celebrated and honored the important role our children play int his parish. Witness the exuberance our youth brings to Ascension's Parish life by watching a video presented this year during our fellowship celebration HERE.
See photos of this year's Youth SundayHERE.
View Photos from Youth Sunday 2023
View our Slide Show highlighting Youth Events throughout 2022
