by Michelle Jannakos & Leslee Abud
 | Maintain close ties with godparents and godchildren
| Celebrate the anniversary of your baptism
| Celebrate names days
| Learn the story of your namesake's life
| Celebrate a family patron saint day (Serbian Slava)
| Celebrate the Feast Days: here are eight ways!
| Minimize secular views of holidays (say "Christ is Born"
instead of "Merry Xmas" or "Happy Holidays")
| Make your own Lenten and Advent calendars
| Have everyone participate in home blessing
| Have icons in each room (with patron saint in each bedroom)
| Create an icon corner for prayers Remember the Hours of prayer
each day
| Be consistent in prayers before and after meals
| Create a prayer bulletin board for special needs, which includes
names and pictures of the sick and the departed
| Make a photo prayer list (pictures and names of family members
to help them visualize for whom they're praying)
| Observe fasting days and seasons
| Use money saved from meat, candy, or other treats to give
to charity
| Adopt a project at Church, ongoing or special (Prosphora,
cleaning, groundskeeping)
| Adopt a grandparent (visit and get to know a shut-in or nursing
home resident)
| Sponsor a needy child
| Work on a charitable project
| Teach the Jesus prayer
| Read the Bible together
| Memorize verses from Scripture: post a verse on a 5 x 7 index
card to be learned on a daily or weekly basis
| Be involved in Church School lessons (review text and study
materials)
| Participate and learn about all the different Church services
(Vespers, Matins, Presanctified, Holy Week)
| Encourage participation during services: for example, listening
for special words or hymns during Liturgy
| Discuss and go to confession regularly
| Ask forgiveness of each other Invite neighbors and friends
to Church
| Receive communion together
| Use "traveling time" to/from Church to discuss readings,
sermons, and lessons
| Hold regular fun "family nights"
| Talk about world events in terms of the Church's teachings
| Establish family entertainment standards (TV, music)
| Sing Church songs (Troparia; O Lord, Save Thy People!)
| |
This activities list is summarized from two presentations given at the Eastern Orthodox Catechetical Conference, August 1990.
© 1996 by the original author(s) and Orthodox Family Life.