Did you know God gives us Something to Bring us Closer to Him?

A long time ago, the “custodian” was a helper in the household who took the kids to school to learn. Or sometimes, the “custodian” was somebody who taught the children in the house, like a tutor. He helped the young students
learn. In this epistle today, the “custodian” is the Old Testament, the part of the Bible that came before Christ was born. God gave us the Old Testament, these special books of the Bible, so that it could bring us to Christ. This “custodian” brings us to Christ, just like your bus driver brings you to school. As Christians, we know that we need the words of the Old Testament and the New Testament, because the first part brings us to Christ, and the second part tells us about Christ. Let’s thank God for our “custodian” and our real gift, our Lord, Jesus Christ!

View & Print this Week’s Children’s Word HERE.

SAINT PARASKEVI: A SPECIAL MARTYR SAINT

We celebrate St. Paraskevi of Rome today, July 26th (OC: August 8th). Do you know what a martyr is? The word “martyria” in Greek means witness, somebody who shows others something special. In our church, a martyr is somebody who showed his or her Christian faith. A martyr showed strong faith because he even died for being a Christian!

Saint Paraskevi was just a young woman, but she is a martyr saint too. She lived in Rome just 150 years after Christ was born, and at that time the rulers were very cruel to Christians. They wanted to end this faith in Jesus Christ, and they would do anything to stop it! If you read the lives of the saints, you will hear some pretty sad stories of how Christians were hurt and killed…all because they believed that our Lord, Jesus Christ is God!

We celebrate St. Paraskevi of Rome today, July 26th (OC: August 8th).

Welcome to “The Children’s Word,” a weekly ministry of the Orthodox Christian Network. Each week, Presvytera Alexandra Houck writes this little newsletter for young parishioners! You will find age-appropriate articles, stories, and activities in every edition. The newsletter is provided in PDF format so that you can easily download and print it, and share it.

Each issue includes a message on the Sunday Gospel lesson and on one of the saints for the week. You’ll also find a coloring page and other activities. It is designed for a 8.5 x 14 page, so it can be printed and folded. 


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Presvytera Alexandra Houck

Presvytera Alexandra Houck created The Children's Word bulletin so children will know they are not only welcome in church, but even more, an essential part of the Church family. She hopes the weekly bulletin will be just one more way we can make kids feel at home in church. Presvytera Alexandra is a graduate of Duke University and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Her husband, Fr. Jason Houck, is a priest at St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, MN. Presvytera Alexandra and Fr. Jason have five small children: Lydia, Paul, Silas, Philip, and Sarah. Presvytera Alexandra grew up attending Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Asheville, North Carolina with her nine siblings.

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