St. Vladimir’s Seminary Hosts Three September Events: Readers Workshop, Movie Night & Memorial Lecture
SVOTS – 23/8/17
[SVOTS Communications / Yonkers, NY] According to a 2017 Gallup Poll, the fastest growing new “religious group” in the U.S. are the “Nones”—that is, those who checked “none of the above” when asked about their religious affiliation on a survey. They now make up nearly 25% of the U.S. population. Moreover, one-third of “Nones” never return to their former church affiliations (if ever they had any) once they leave. Instead they begin to constitute a new group, the “Dones”—done with church and done with organized religion.
To shed light upon the rationale of the “Nones” and “Dones,” St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary will be hosting “Movie Night” on Sunday, September 24, at 7 p.m., featuring the documentary, “Becoming Truly Human.” It’s the story of eight Millennials who journey from religious affiliation to non-affiliation. The movie reveals not only their discouragement with “church” but also their thirst for “spirituality,” albeit disconnected from the “God” of their youth (watch the fascinating trailer).
This informative film is just one of three September happenings at the Seminary.
A “Workshop for Readers and Musicians,” sponsored by the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, Orthodox Church in America (OCA), will be held on the seminary campus on Saturday, September 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop will address liturgical reading as a vital ministry.
Workshop participants will review the Church’s theology that guides and informs this ministry. They will also review rubrics and melodic patterns for reading, as well as methods for chanting the “Prokeimenon” and “Alleluia” in synergy with the choir. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to receive vocal coaching and practice. Workshop activities will be taught within the framework of a supportive community of fellow readers and liturgical musicians. Participants are also welcome to participate in the singing of Great Vespers at 6:30 pm in the seminary chapel.
The Very Reverend J. Sergius Halvorsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric at the Seminary and an accomplished liturgical musician, is the Instructor for the workshop. The workshop is approved for six (6) Continuing Clergy Education credits from the OCA.
To pre-register, please download and fill out the Registration Form here, and send the form to: SVS Workshop, c/o 38 Pearl Street, New Hyde Park, NY 11040 by September 4, 2017. The suggested cost of the workshop is $20, and checks should be made out to “Diocese of New York & New Jersey” and sent in with the Registration Form. Please call (516) 437–5760 with questions. Or, pre-register on the Facebook Page of the “Commission on Liturgical Music—NYNJ OCA.”
On Friday, September 15, at 7 p.m., Dr. Alice-Mary Talbot will present the 4th Annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture. Dr. Talbot is the Director Emerita of Byzantine Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, a prestigious research institute of Harvard University, located in Washington, D.C., and she is also Editor of the Byzantine Greek series, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library.
Her presentation is titled after her forthcoming book, Varieties of Monastic Experience in Byzantium, 800–1453. During her lecture she will highlight some of the findings of her research in two areas: 1) the many ways one could be a Byzantine monk, and 2) the continuing tensions in Byzantium between the eremitic (solitary living) and coenobitic (community living) forms of monasticism.
You may learn more about all three events on the Seminary’s website, here.
Contact: Deborah Belonick, Director of Communications, deborah@svots.edu
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