St. Luke's Orthodox School Of The Seventy: Can You Learn On Your Own?
By Else Tennessen
It’s never too late to start learning about the Orthodox faith, even if you’ve been Orthodox your whole life. If you don’t have time for the classroom, you can still learn on your own!
Enter St. Luke’s Orthodox School of the Seventy.
In this self-paced, adult Orthodox education program, there is no classroom or meeting at St. Luke Church. You choose what you want to learn, and when and where you want to learn it: after work each day, on your lunch hour, when your kids are at school, or when you are sitting waiting in a doctor’s office. If you can carry a book around, anywhere can be your classroom. And you can take as long as you like to complete your “lessons.”
Here’s what you can learn about: apologetics, asceticism, catechism, Orthodox views on contemporary issues, evangelism, feasts, liturgy, missions, philanthropy, and much more. New topics are added monthly.
Most of the School’s activity is centered on book reading. You choose a book, complete a worksheet about it, and turn the worksheet in. After this “homework” is reviewed by the School Director, you are awarded “credits” based on the length and difficulty of the book. Every time you accumulate 25 credits, you receive a certificate of achievement. At the end of the school year, the student with the most credits receives the School prize; for 2009, the prize is a large Russian icon of Christ.
In addition to book reading, other activities, such as lecture attendance, DVD watching, online courses and more can be completed for credits.
The School is staged from a bulletin board in Fellowship Hall or from a Web site online at www.70school.blogspot.com. All the information you need—enrollment forms, worksheets, reading lists, activity listings and more—is posted on the board or on the Web for your convenience.
Lent is a perfect time to concentrate more on spiritual knowledge and enrichment. The School is the perfect venue to help you in that effort. Won’t you check out the School today? Enroll now, and learn about the wonder and treasure of our Faith.
Questions? Contact Else Tennessen at else10@gmail.com or call her at 708-301-3453. She can help you enroll, choose a book, or recommend an activity to get you started.