GOYA


This ministry creates an environment for high schoolers to deeply engage in their Orthodox Faith, and inspires them through discussions, service projects, activities, and fellowship to incorporate those teachings into their daily lives. Meeting them at a pivotal point in our children’s lives, this ministry helps them take ownership of their faith as they move closer to college and adulthood.  

GOYA meets weekly at the church on Monday evenings from 7:30 - 9 p.m. from September through May.  The theme for this year is “The Lord Always Before Me.”  See our 2024/25 schedule below! We welcome and encourage our high school youth to join us! 

 

2025 Spring Calendar

Contact Pastoral Assistant John Anton for more information at janton@ascensiongoc.com.

ASCENSION and METROPOLIS
UPCOMING & PAST YOUTH EVENTS

 

  • GRADUATE SUNDAY TAKES PLACE IN JUNE EACH YEAR
    Ascension’s annual graduate tribute will take place in 2025 following Liturgy on Sunday, June 15th and will honor graduates of Middle School, High School, College, Graduate and Post-Graduate programs. Please email the following information no later than Friday, May 24th to suzannesaric@ascensiongoc.com: Name(s) of your graduate(s); parent’s names; school from which they are graduating; full name/location/major of school they plan to attend; university or post-graduate degree earned (and if applicable, post-baccalaureate program if they're going on); and, most importantly, a photo (.jpg portrait/headshot). We look forward to recognizing and honoring our graduates at the conclusion of the June 15th Divine Liturgy!
  • 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.
  • FANARI:   FALL, WINTER, LENTEN & SUMMER camps are 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!  There are also opportunities to join the Leadership Team and/or be a counselor.  Read more at the Fanari Website and see graphic below.

  • 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!  The 2025 Summer Camp Registration opens March 10. Five sessions will be offered this summer: June 15 – 21; June 22–June 28; June 29 –July 5; July 6 –July 12; and July 13– July 19, 2025.

  • FANARI Staff applications opened on February 10, 2025, and close April 28.  All counselors must be at least 18 years old and be roughly one year past their date of high school graduation (ex. after freshman year of college).  Apply HERE.

    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

    CLICK HERE for more information!

  • METROPOLIS OF CHICAGO SEEKING COUNSELORS & LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBERS:  To learn more about the Fanari Leadership Team and Lighthouse Counselor Applications within the Metropolis of Chicago, click HERE.  

  • LIGHTHOUSE FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS: Lighthouse is a week-long summer camp ministry for Orthodox high school seniors offered by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, administered by Orthodox clergy and laypeople who work with campers to prepare them in a Christ-centered way for the social, emotional, practical, and spiritual challenges they will face in college.  This summer, it will take place Saturday, June 21 - Saturday, June 28, 2025.  Lighthouse registration for HS Seniors will open on March 10, 2025 at noon.
  • Fanari Camp FACEBOOK Page and Instagram

  • IONIAN VILLAGE announced the dates for the Summer 2025 programs: Session One: June 22 – July 11, 2025; and Session Two: July 20 – August 8, 2025. Registration opens on February 4, 2025. Ionian Village is the international camping ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America located in Peloponnesus, Greece. Each 20-day session is open to young people who will have completed grades 9 through 12. For more information, visit www.ionianvillage.org/

  • CROSSROAD SUMMER INSTITUTE PROGRAM
    Are you an 11th or 12th grader looking ahead to the summer?  Learn more today about the CrossRoad Institute Summer Program, a 10-day academic institute made just for you! Travel to Boston, New York, or Southern California to connect with other Orthodox Christians as you prepare to make big life decisions and start new adventures. Applications for its ten-day summer institute are due on February 18, 2025.  Learn more at www.CrossRoadInstitute.org, or call 617-850-1310 .

  • SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
    Visit the Young Adults webpage and scroll to the bottom for information about local and national scholarship programs.  Here are a few scholarships applicable to High School students:

  • FAITH ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE for graduating high school seniors.

  • John G Adinamis Memorial Scholarship:
    Memory Eternal Funeral Directors awards two $1,000 scholarships annually in honor of John G. Adinamis, supporting students who exemplify high character, academic success, and a commitment to service. Apply for the 2025 JGA Memorial Scholarship by May 30, 2025, at https://jgamemorial.org/#54223bc6-6bcd-45d0-b87a-7f92e905ca4a.

  • AHEPA OFFERS LOCAL AND NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP opportunities for current high school seniors and college/graduate students.  Applications open in the fall and typically stay open until mid to late March.  For more information, visit: https://ahepadistrict13.org/district-13-education-scholarship (LOCAL PROGRAM) and/or https://ahepa.org/education/ (NATIONAL PROGRAM)

  • AHEPA LOCAL SPORTS AWARD BANQUET & SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: The 13th District of AHEPA sponsors an annual Sports Award Banquet which honors Greek American and AHEPA family high school and college athletes who have played any sport on their high school or college teams. HS Seniors may also apply for a scholarship. The awards Banquet typically takes place in June at Fountain Blue Banquets. Applications are due in May. Please visit https://ahepadistrict13.org/athletics/Current-Sports-Award-Packet.pdf for more information.

    AHEPA Athletics NATIONAL Scholarship Application AHEPA has a proud history of awarding scholarships to a number of deserving scholar-athletes competing at the high school and college levels. These scholarships are funded through the generosity of Ahepan(s) and or their families, often in honor of an active and committed Brother or in the memory of a deceased Brother. The grants recognize and reward the accomplishments, academic and athletic, of young Greek Americans who will be the community’s future leader(s)! An applicant must be nominated by a member of the AHEPA family.  Applications are typically due in March or April of each year.    CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MOST RECENT 2024 PROGRAM. 

  • Y2AM Ministry At Home Resources   Check this wonderful resource out!

  • GOA Center for Family Care Comfort Food for Families

  • SUMMER PROGRAMS
  • ORATORICAL FESTIVAL
    CLICK HERE for information on Ascension's Parish Oratorical Festival program and to view a summary of our 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 will take 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.
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PAST & ANNUAL EVENTS


  • YOUTH SUNDAY 2025 SLIDE SHOW - HIGHLIGHTS THROUGHOUT 2024


  • YOUTH SUNDAY was held on February 2, 2025 and was a fun and memorable day in the life of our Ascension Parish as we celebrated and honored our parish youth. What a joy it was to see our young people serve as chanters, acolytes, readers, greeters, ushers, and servers! We express our heartfelt gratitude to each of them and pray for our Lord to continue to guide them as they journey to His Kingdom. A special thank you also to Dina Boufis Papas and Gus’ Grille in Lake Bluff for the delicious food they served during Coffee Fellowship. Enjoy our youth ministries 2024 photo slideshow featured at the link above. 
  • COLLEGE CARE PACKAGES
    GOYANs and Jr. GOYANs look forward to this tradition of assembling college care packages for college freshmen each year in the Fall from our parish. This long-standing tradition at Ascension lets our freshmen know we're thinking of them when they're away from home!    For more information, please reach out to Pastoral Assistant and Youth Director, John Anton @ janton@ascensiongoc.com | 847.482.1200, x4.

  • HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS’ RETREAT was held November 22-24th at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center.  Cost is $250/camper.  The goal of the retreat is to connect to Christ, build relationships with friends and mentors, and learn how our faith can help navigate our life.  Click HERE for more information.
           
 

  • DIVE FOR THE CROSS In 2024, our annual Dive for the Cross Event took place on January 21 at the Wheeling Park District indoor pool.  See photos HERE.  In 2023, we held the event 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.

  • YOUTH SUNDAY 2022, 2023:  Witness the exuberance our youth brings to Ascension's Parish life by watching a video presented at our 2023 celebration which highlights our 2022 youth programs and events HERE.  See photos of the 2023 Youth Sunday HERE.  The 2022 Youth Slide show is available for viewing HERE.