We have officially kicked off our rejuvenated Youth Programs with a bang! In October, we hosted a wide array of events focused from kids and teens to young adults and helped fundraise for worthy, local causes. Following our first event at the end of September, the Eternal Flame Falls Adventure Hike, we were also able to establish a strong collaborative drive from our sister churches, specifically Buffalo which delivered a big turnout. Moving forward, we aim to make Rochester a central destination for further events, uniting our children and teens throughout Western New York.
Children & Pre-Teens
As mentioned in last month’s article, one of our big focuses has been to build and support programming for our younger children with an aim to strengthen our future Teen and Young Adult groups. Many times, these younger children have been overlooked in favor of teen programming leaving only Sunday School and Greek School to pick up the slack. Our Summer Vacation Bible School event proved that we have many children ready for activity. Thus, in October, we held our annual Blessing of the Animals and Trunk or Treat events to continue this path and we are looking forward to our first ever Seneca Park ZooMobile event in November.
Teen Ministry / GOYA
As we continue to try and grow our Teen Ministry, we have met many scheduling conflicts and obstacles; yet, this month’s event proved a massive step in the right direction with the success of our Escape from Rochester! Escape Room event which saw a great turnout. We elected our GOYA president and strengthened parental involvement. Looking forward to November, we hope to have an even greater turnout with our Lasertron Pizza Party event which should include groups from our sister churches joining in the fun!
Young Adult
In October, we launched the first monthly Young Adult Meet-Up program at Mullers Cider House. The aim of this program is to set up casual meetups and activities every month for our young adults and couples to help solidify community and the future of our parish. These meetups may include dinner and/or drinks at local venues, activities such as axe-throwing and bowling, and may even grow to more organized trips and destinations in the future. In November, we’ll be visiting Rochester’s first craft brewery, Rohrbach.
Additionally, by the time you read this, ENA will have held their second annual Oxi Day Dance with the goal of raising funds for our new young Mother’s Room. I’m sure it was a great success and thank you to all who participated.
Outreach
Also in October, we held the first of what we aim to be a monthly outreach and charity program. The goal is to bring together all our ministries, such as ENA, Philoptochos, Sunday School, and Greek School, to sponsor a different charity or fundraising drive each month. This month, we participated in the AFSP Out of the Darkness Rochester NY Walk and raised approximately $2,000 towards the cause. Next month, we will be joining the East Ave Grocery Run to help raise money for Foodlink.
Upcoming November Events
November 4th – East Avenue Grocery Run (all ages – register on our website to join)
November 5th – Seneca Park ZooMobile (all ages)
November 8th – Young Adult Meet-Up: Rohrbach Brewing Co. (21+)
November 12th & 19th – Christmas Pageant Practice
November 17th – LASERTRON and Pizza Party! (ages 12-18 Teen Ministry / GOYA event)