Vigil

Hey everyone,

I pray you all are having a blessed Holy Week. 

I just wanted to remind you guys about the vigil tomorrow (Friday) night. Church starts at 7:00 and we will begin after everyone is gone. 

You will need a blanket and a pillow and a change of clothes for church on Saturday morning (you don't need to get dressy). We will be sleeping IN THE CHURCH so please be ready to turn off your cell phones and be respectful. 

We will have snacks, but you should eat dinner before you come. 

Hope to see you there as we guard and pray around the tomb of our Lord!

Lenten Lock-In

Hey all,

I hope you guys are enjoying your spring break!

I wanted to give you guys some info on the upcoming Lenten Lock-In we are hosting for our friends from Wichita and the Greek church. We might even have some people from Tulsa join us!

Below you will find the Flier and registration form (posted as pictures), that you can print and fill out if you didn't pick one up at church this week.

If you have questions, let me know. Get ready for a great lock-in! You don't want to miss out!

February Newscast

Valentine Dinner!

Hey guys!

I hope you are all coming to Teen Chats tonight! I've missed you!

Just a reminder that this Sunday is our Valentine Dinner. Please be at the church at 3:00 to help set up. I will have food for you! We should have plenty of time to set all the tables and get everything ready for when people arrive at 6:30. Keep in mind that we need to stay and clean up when it's over, so get your homework done early!

We are going to wear black bottoms, white tops, and solid colored neck ties. Girls too! Just borrow a tie from your dad that doesn't have a crazy pattern, and you will be fine.

If you have questions, just call me!

Oh, and the date we are volunteering at the Food Bank got switched to Tuesday the 17th from 6 to 8, so write that down!

Love you guys!

NO TEEN CHATS

Hey guys,

Hope you all are staying warm!

I just talked with Fr. Constantine, and we decided it would be best not to have Teen Chats tonight. The roads are ok now, but they might get tricky again when the sun goes down.

So, enjoy your day off of school and stay safe. God willing, I will see you all on Sunday!

Love,

Erin

P.S. Don't forget about the Valentine Dinner NEXT SUNDAY, February 8th. We will wear black bottoms and white tops with solid colored neck ties. Get ready for a good time! 

AND don't forget we are volunteering at the Food Bank on the 17th from 6 to 8.

Winter Camp! (a.k.a. "WAMP," trademark Eric Massad)

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are starting the New Year out right! I sure have missed seeing all of you!

Alright, let's get down to it. Winter Camp (a.k.a. "WAMP," trademark Eric Massad) is coming up fast. So, here's what you need to know:

1. If by some chance you haven't mailed your form to Wichita yet, DO IT NOW!

2. We will be leaving from the church at 3:00 in the afternoon on Friday, January 16th. We have a lovely charter bus that's going to take us to camp. (Side note: St. Elijah is in charge of food for the weekend. That means no one can eat anything until WE get there. That means WE can't be late. That means YOU have to be at the church at 3:00 sharp!)

3. We will return Monday, January 19th, around lunch time (12:30ish...)

4. Don't forget to pack just like you are going to camp for only a weekend. You will need bedding and towels, along with the usual toiletries and clothes. Just remember it will be cold! so bring warm clothes and your coats, hats, scarves, etc.

5. We will be having a "Blue Dance" on Sunday night. What's a blue dance, you ask? Well, it's only the most incredible kind of dance ever! Come decked out in anything and everything blue. You have to be wearing some kind of blue to get in. You could dress up as something blue or just wear a blue shirt or bracelet. It's up to you. Get creative and get ready to have fun!

6. We will have Liturgy on Sunday morning, but you don't need to bring dress clothes. We will all wear our WAMP shirts so we can take a camp picture afterwards. Just make sure you have nice jeans (no holes), or some khakis to wear with your shirt. 

If you have questions, just let me know! Can't wait!

CAMP ST. RAPHAEL WINTER CAMP! BrrrrrrrrrBOY!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

 You know what that means?

Yep. You guessed it. It's time for the SOYO Christmas Party!

We will meet at the church Saturday, December 13th at 5:00 for Vespers, then we will split up and go sing Christmas carols for

 some of our St. Elijah parishioners. Once we are done wowing them with our songs, we will meet up at the home of Craig and Nanette Abraham (6413 Beaver Creek Rd.) for dinner and our Silly Santa gift exchange. (the price limit for gifts is $10)

So bring your Silly santa gift and your singing voice to the church at 5:00, December 13th, and be ready for a good time!

And don't forget, "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"

Latest News

Something's Missing

You might be wondering where November's newscast is, or you might not. But if you have been faithfully checking this blog, desperately longing for all the latest and greatest news in the SOYO world, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. Also, I'm sorry because you are going to have to wait just a little bit longer. Can you deal?

You see, there's this little thing called the SECOND ANNUAL DOWAMA SOYO BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT that is happening in less than three days, and well, things have been just a little busy around here with the bake sale ending and gearing up for the arrival of over 100 teens from across our diocese! So, come enjoy some fun, fellowship and serious competition this weekend, and then check back here next weekend for a super spiffy newscast. Sound good? Good!

Much love to you all!

Random Erin Fact #111108: I have been not so secretly listening to Christmas music for weeks now. Can you blame me? It's the most wonderful time of the year!

October Newscast

Tune in for this month's newscast:

Share the Love

Heyo!

This Sunday, October 5th, is "Bring a Friend to Sunday School" Day!

This is a perfect opportunity to have a slumber party at your house on Saturday night and bring everyone with you to church on Sunday morning. Take advantage of this, people!

Seriously though, invite your friends to come and hang out in Sunday School and then go to Liturgy. It will be a great opportunity to share your Orthodox faith with friends from other backgrounds. Plus, it will just be fun. Everyone likes to spend extra time with friends!

Frontier City

Hey all!

So, the Wichita kids are going to pile in a van to come and spend the day with us at....FRONTIER CITY!

Mark your calendars, clear your schedules and make all other necessary arrangements to join us Saturday, September 27th. Here's the scoop:

Where: We will meet up with the Ta-town crew at the church at 11:00 a.m., and grab some lunch at Taco Bell before heading to Frontier City

When: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

What you need: $15 for park admission and money for lunch....as well as a smile and all the fun/crazy energy you can find.

Questions? Call Erin, or the church office.

See you there!

Random Erin Fact #762938: I am anxiously awaiting September 25th. If you can be the first to tell me why, I will buy you ice cream...

Blog Comments

Hey All,

If you want to leave comments on the blog, you DON'T have to sign up for anything. Just click the anonymous button and then sign your name at the end of your comment.

Sorry for any confusion!

Drum Roll Please

Introducing the first ever St. Elijah SOYO newscast. Watch in awe:

A New Year

Hey all!

I wanted to wish everyone a happy school year but then I realized that would be kind of lame and mildly mean.

So, instead I would like to remind you of all the awesome things we have in store for you with SOYO. We have a new group of officers who are ready to make this year amazing, so try and brace yourselves!

Weekly activities:

• We have Open Gym once a month on Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:00. It's awesome. If you don't believe me, you should check out the video the last post. Check the calendar for dates. The next one is September 23rd!
• Also, we have Teen Chats every Wednesday from 7 to 9 in the Teen Room. You should come. You never know what will happen...
• Don't forget that Vespers is on Saturday at 5. You all love Vespers at camp so you should come and get your fix. I usually have to sit all alone, so you could come and keep me company and stop me from crying. Not that I would ever want you to feel guilty or anything, but it's only 40 minutes!
  
• Sunday School will start September 14th. Get excited.

We are working on the design for this year's t-shirt so make sure you let me or one of the other officers know what size you need. Speaking of officers, I should probably list them so you know who they are. (Drum roll, please)

• President: Natalie Homsey
• Vice-President: Petra Sweiss
• Treasurer: Eric Massad
• Secretary: Ali Rahill
• Historians: Nicole Shadid, Nathan Shadid and Amy Wallace
• Sergeant at Arms: THE Joel Jezdan
  

Feel free to contact them, or me, with any questions you have.

Have a wonderful week! Love you all!

Erin

Random Erin fact #81908: I always eat around the edge of my sandwiches and save the middle for last.

Are you game?

Kick-Off time!

Hey all,

We have a date and location for the kick-off party! It will be August 10th (that's a Sunday), at 6:00 p.m., at Tad and Debbie Shadid's house - also the home of THE Laney Wagoner. They live really close to the church, so everyone should be able to make it. Be looking for directions in the bulletin or give me a call if you have questions. It's gonna be the best non-swimming pool party ever!



Everyone needs to come because we will be having our elections for the new year! Don't miss out on a great opportunity to get involved in SOYO and/or vote for our new leaders.

Also, I thought I would get crafty and make a video to entice you to come to open gym. I will try to post it on here today.

Random Erin fact #4893: I kinda sorta despise the color pink.... yikes!

WWYDWYW???

What Will You Do With Your Wednesdays???

Don't forget teen chats every Wednesday from 7 to 9 in the teen room.

I mean, I don't want to brag or anything, but we have a pretty great time. It's kind of a big deal. I would hate for you to miss out!

Random Erin fact #72408: I have a problem with Jell-O. It's a texture thing...

Camp Pictures - as promised.

Here's a glimpse of our time at CSR. YABOY!

St. Elijah teens showed up in great numbers for both sessions. We pretty much rocked the camp!