If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Have you ever had to say “no” to something? Maybe you can think of a time when you really wanted to do something, but you knew you shouldn’t. So, you said, “no.” In today’s Gospel reading, we hear how part of being a Christian is saying “no” to things. The Gospel reads, “The Lord said, ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Do you know what it means to “deny yourself”? Well, it means that sometimes we don’t get to do what we want. Sometimes we don’t eat what we want. Sometimes we don’t say what we want to. When we “deny ourselves,”
we are saying “no” to something.

SAINT GIDEON: A JUDGE OF ISRAEL

We celebrate Saint Gideon on Saturday, Sept. 26th (OC: Oct. 9th).

Do you ever listen to candidates before a big vote? In the United States, we hear our candidates for president telling everybody why they are the best for the job. They want to prove why they should win the election! But this week, we celebrate the nameday of somebody who became a great leader, but he wasn’t so sure he was right for the job!

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

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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