DMin program

On Saturday August 7th, seminarians, children, spouses, faculty and staff worked together on a campus clean up. The clean-up part of a very hot day began at 9 a.m. outside the North Dorm where a crowd gathered to collect tools and receive instructions.

The first task was laying new mulch in the playground. Everyone was involved. Some hauled mulch in wheelbarrows. Children used their wagons. Others attacked “mulch mountains” with rakes and hoes. David Wagschal, who is joining the seminary faculty to teach Church History, showed his skills on the SVOTS tractor.

While most were working in the playground, Fr. Chad Hatfield, our Chancellor and a keen gardener, was working to tidy the flowerbeds and trees in the front of the Rangos Building. Once the playground flooring was in place, the crew moved on to tidy the shoreline alongside the Lakeside married-student apartments, collecting bags full of debris.

Some enthusiastic seminarians took garbage bags down to the base of the waterfall and collected the litter that had swept down from Central Ave. through Crestwood Lake. Our Dean, Fr. John Behr, and his family collected glass, bottles, and assorted other refuse from the Seminary’s border with Scarsdale Road.

Many filled refuse bags and blistered hands later, the community happily ate vegetarian pizza together on the veranda of the Germack Building.

“I was really impressed by the commitment to the Seminary that the community showed today,” said Fr. Chad. “Just about everyone on campus showed up cheerfully and worked extremely hard.”

Job well done!

Thursday August 26th was warm but not too hot — a perfect day for a SVOTS picnic! New students, their families, some faculty and their families, with other seminarians and families already on campus enjoyed a cook-out on the porch of the Germack Building after Vespers.

Adults sat on steps, on grass, on stone walls, and ate and talked and laughed. The children were in constant motion, attracted by the brook, the ball game on the front lawn, and Professor Bouteneff’s very well-behaved dog.

SVOTS students and spouses are determined to stay active in mind and body this year. Two distinct exercise groups have already formed thanks to the enthusiasm and initiative of Mat. Ashley Foster:

Mat. Ashley has organized and hosted a women’s exercise group that will be meeting regularly during the semester. The first meeting was a resounding success with many women from the SVOTS community coming together to flex their muscles and encourage each other.

Exercise is not just for the women, however! Mat. Ashley is also starting a running group intended to nurture beginners from unathletic couch potatoes to enthused runners capable of running a 5K event. The runners will meet three times a week, beginning on Tuesday, Sept 7th.

The SVS Karate Club has been meeting weekly since Fall 2009. Most students are seminary children, but several adults have participated as well. The traditional Karate training conducted here is designed to develop positive character traits in students through working within strict guidelines while enjoying a fun atmosphere.

Students learn valuable self-defense skills; they learn to respect themselves and others, to practice self-control, and to coordinate their minds and bodies. Training gives children a sense of self-value and confidence, better health, and increases their ability to concentrate on tasks. All students are taught that the Karate techniques they learn are for self-defense purposes only, and they practice different methods to avoid physical confrontation.

A typical Saturday-morning class lasts for one hour. During the class, safety is paramount and a qualified instructor monitors the students closely. Students begin by bowing to the instructor (a traditional form of respect in martial arts training.) After calisthenics, designed to warm-up and strengthen the body, the class practices basic techniques —punches, blocks, evasive movements and kicks—while the instructor corrects each student's technique as needed. The techniques learned are then applied in practical exercises, consisting of working with a partner, practicing with hand-held foam striking targets, etc. The students frequently participate in fun activities, which help them learn the various techniques.

The instructor, third-year seminarian Fr. Michael Sakran, has trained in martial arts for 17 years, and has instructed children for 13 years.  He holds a black belt in American Open Karate, a blue belt in Northern Shaolin/Northern Praying Mantis Kung-Fu, and has trained in self-defense skills as instructed by the U.S. Marine Corps while serving honorably from 1998–2002.

Community Gathering • By Kate Behr •

Shining faces, rapt expressions, and sweet voices welcomed St. Nicholas to the annual SVOTS Church School celebration and brunch after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday December 5th. Children and adults alike shared food, carols, and a joyful sense of occasion.

Everyone contributed to the event. Parents and community members set up tables under the guidance of Parent-Co-ordinator, Bettye Malone. Families brought food and more food, until there was no room on the central table for one more dish. Whether babies, toddlers, or lofty teens, the children generated excitement and hope.

When “Oh, who loves Nicholas the saintly?” rang out, it was clear that everyone singing meant every heartfelt word.

By Peter C. Bouteneff

I didn’t know our first-year student Harrison Russin played the accordion, until he flung it out of its case and launched into a spirited set of Christmas carols at our semi-annual Talent Show. I knew that seminarians Lee and Jamey Bozeman had been accomplished Christian rock musicians and signed recording artists, but I didn’t know how good they could sound with a faculty bass player.

Our winter Talent Show provides the campus community a much-needed opportunity to relax in fellowship just before final exam week. It also gives us the chance to celebrate each other’s talents, and to discover facets of our brothers and sisters that do not come to fore in the classroom, chapel, or on field assignments!

This season, we witnessed song writing, comedic wit, a children’s choir, and more. Everyone laughed, everyone applauded in acclamation. Everyone also was reminded that as Orthodox Christians, we retain and celebrate every gift that each person brings to the church body: preaching, teaching, and service to the needy, of course; but also the beauty that we co-create with the Lord.

By Deborah (Malacky) Belonick

Squealing with delight, children at the seminary participate in one of the most anticipated events of Pascha afternoon: the annual Easter egg hunt. They scout under every bush and tree, behind every rock and lightpost, to fill their baskets with multi-colored hard boiled eggs. Gathering eggs as if they were treasured jewels, the children eagerly compare their finds—"But, we don't eat the eggs," they admit. The joy of the hunt, and the joy of the Lord, is expressed in their faces.

O who loves Nicholas the Saintly,

O who serves Nicholas the Saintly.
Him will Nicholas receive,
and give help in time of need.
Holy Father Nicholas!

With the singing of this traditional St. Nicholas hymn, the children of the Three Hierarchs Chapel's Sunday community welcomed special guest St. Nicholas for his annual visit to St. Vladimir's Seminary. As is customary, the identity of the good saint was camouflaged by his abundant white beard, but astute children perceived he bore a striking resemblance to The Rev. Dr. David Mezynski, associate dean for Student Affairs. During the celebration, grown ups and kids alike also enjoyed a potluck meal and a time of carol singing.