The Antiochian Archdiocese theme for 2025-2026 youth activities is The Book of Exodus. We’ve developed a series of lesson plans that explores that theme through a different discipline. In this lesson, we will be looking at various visual depictions of Moses, both in the setting of a sacred space and outside of the church building.
Saint Emmelia Ministries is blessed to have a board of wise, loving Spiritual Advisors who help run our regional conferences and online events, provide guidance to local homeschoolers, and guide the vision & work of the ministry. Alongside them are their wives, who work tirelessly to support their husbands’ work, on top of educating their children. In this series, we are honored to introduce you to these exceptional women.
Saint Emmelia Ministries is blessed to have a board of wise, loving Spiritual Advisors who help run our regional conferences and online events, provide guidance to local homeschoolers, and guide the vision & work of the ministry. Alongside them are their wives, who work tirelessly to support their husbands’ work, on top of educating their children. In this series, we are honored to introduce you to these exceptional women.
Saint Emmelia Ministries is blessed to have a board of wise, loving Spiritual Advisors who help run our regional conferences and online events, provide guidance to local homeschoolers, and guide the vision & work of the ministry. Alongside them are their wives, who work tirelessly to support their husbands’ work, on top of educating their children. In this series, we are honored to introduce you to these exceptional women.
Saint Emmelia Ministries is blessed to have a board of wise, loving Spiritual Advisors who help run our regional conferences and online events, provide guidance to local homeschoolers, and guide the vision & work of the ministry. Alongside them are their wives, who work tirelessly to support their husbands’ work, on top of educating their children. In this series, we are honored to introduce you to these exceptional women.
Saint Emmelia Ministries is blessed to have a board of wise, loving Spiritual Advisors who help run our regional conferences and online events, provide guidance to local homeschoolers, and guide the vision & work of the ministry. Alongside them are their wives, who work tirelessly to support their husbands’ work, on top of educating their children. In this series, we are honored to introduce you to these exceptional women.
Saint Emmelia Ministries is blessed to have a board of wise, loving Spiritual Advisors who help run our regional conferences and online events, provide guidance to local homeschoolers, and guide the vision & work of the ministry. Alongside them are their wives, who work tirelessly to support their husbands’ work, on top of educating their children. In this series, we are honored to introduce you to these exceptional women. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kh. Anna Phelps.
Everyone has standards and beliefs. These influence their judgment on what they will accept from the culture. An example is the music one decides to listen to. In seventh grade, the popular music culture began to peak my interest, and I was captivated by the various tunes. Though I was skeptical of some lyrics, I unfortunately placed my concerns aside to enjoy the catchy tunes. I came to realize the themes in many popular songs contradict the Christian ideal. I learned I must use discernment in choosing the music I listen to.
“Oh, I guess that won’t matter, since you’ll be at the Saint Emmelia conference,” I said, looking at the little square on my screen that housed Fr. Noah’s face. We were heading towards hour two of a ministry meeting for our parish, working out logistics for an upcoming project.
“Well…we might be having the conference here…” Fr. Noah replied, his voice as calm as ever. I laughed, not realizing that he was serious and that hours later, I’d be frantically sending emails to our parishioners, looking for accommodations for 30 Saint Emmelia families.
Ah yes, fall. Us students’ favorite time of year. Right around August/September, we are all starting up school again (or maybe you’re taking a gap year, or you’ve graduated. If so, congrats!). If you’ve had a busy summer like me, then you might feel as if the months flew by way too quickly, and school can’t possibly be starting again so soon. Yet here we are, about to jump into a world of books, lectures, homework, and more! It can seem pretty daunting, I know. However, with the right mindset and God’s Grace, it can be accomplished fairly easily!
It seems a bit silly for me, of all people, to be writing this blog post. After all, I am not, by nature, a particularly “still” person. I struggle with fairly severe anxiety, and my mind tends to wander towards current or potential projects whenever I’m faced with a task that seems mundane. On the other hand, that means that I have had to think a lot about ways to achieve even the tiniest bit of stillness.
Ah, curriculum. How on earth do we fit in all the sundry bits of knowledge that we want our children to learn? History, math, geography, biology…and most important of all, our faith! It can feel like there simply aren’t enough minutes in the day to fit in all the information that we need to transmit.
When I first started homeschooling, I was frustrated that I didn’t have access to as many service and leadership opportunities as public-schoolers. I felt that my resume was lacking compared to theirs; the clubs, service opportunities, and honor societies which public schools offered seemed to be impossible to be part of as a homeschooler. However, I have come to find that within my church, diocese, and community, there are a myriad of truly rewarding opportunities in which to serve and lead. My resume is now jam-packed with lists of activities and initiatives I have undertaken. If you’re struggling to build up your resume, I hope these ideas will help you:
At any stage of life–high school, college–finishing the school year can feel overwhelming with the demands of education, family, friends, social life, and our faith. Balancing these aspects can be challenging, but with thoughtful strategies, you can manage your time effectively and stay motivated. Here are some tips on time management, balancing responsibilities, staying motivated, and the importance of exercise and the outdoors! I believe that with balance we can bring ourselves more peace in life.
It is a truth (nearly) universally acknowledged that homeschoolers stuck in the deep midwinter must be in want of an outlet for their energy. Add on the swift approach of Lent, and accomplishing anything–let alone productive schoolwork–seems like a far-off dream! Here are some ideas for EASY activities that might help make your lessons more joyful as you get through the winter slump.
I spent five weeks in Romania this past summer, visiting family members whom I had not seen for years. Naturally, everyone asked me what I planned to study after high school, to which I would reply, “English and the Classics.” Judging by their knitted brows and expressions of pity, I guessed that they were less than satisfied with my answer. Desperately trying to find a hope for my future, they would question, “You’re not interested in math?” I would laugh and brush it off, but I truly began to pity those deprived of the love of classical literature.
For many homeschooled students, the prospect of college after high school is one shrouded in doubt, anxiety, and very realistic financial concerns. The potential culture shock inherent in going from being a teenager on the somewhat-sheltered scale to becoming a college student is a bit scary. But more important is the knowledge that most four-year universities will require you to shell out ridiculous amounts of money for basic courses like English and Biology, even if they haven’t got any direct relevance to your major. In this article, I will expound upon the possibilities open to homeschoolers for obtaining college credit while still in high school and give some advice based on my personal college-in-highschool experience.
How often do we feel overwhelmed in life? Not only by the endless tasks, obligations, and even things we love to do, but by how our world seems to be full of things that could be done better? Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is the pro-life movement. I recently found out several women in my life are pregnant, and it fills my heart with so much joy! However, it seems almost daily I am bombarded with heartbreaking news from those who don’t support life in the womb. So my question stands: how can we do this better? How can I support the life of babies (while still being a few years from having a family of my own) and inspire others to do the same?
Since you’re reading this, you probably know something about our work at Saint Emmelia Ministries, whether it’s our conferences, online discussion groups, or the Saint Macrina Lecture Series. But here are five more resources you might not know about!
