Under the auspices of His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak, the Educational Programs Committee hosted its annual Sunday School Teachers’ Retreat at the Mor Aphrem Center from October 10-12, 2025. Sunday School Teachers from across the Archdiocese gathered for a weekend of spiritual growth and fellowship. The weekend was centered around the theme “Nurturing Faith in a Secular World.”
The program began with evening prayers on Friday, The night continued with a workshop by Dr. Amanda Freeman on “Individualizing Supports for Children with Special Needs.” The evening continued with an inspiring testimony by Rev. Fr. Joseph Shammas. Saturday consisted of three workshops. The first workshop of Saturday was delivered by Rev. Fr. Imad Al-Banna, the parish Priest of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Michigan. His lecture focused on the theme of the weekend, followed by Q&A.
The second, was Sahar Kellow, parishioner and teacher at Holy Sophia University, gave a wonderful lecture on “Keeping Our Children in Church in a Secular World” paired with a sharing exercise for all attendees. All church members then participated in a “Share and Tell,” followed by the final workshop of the day, delivered by His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak highlighting “Teaching Children to Stand Firm in Christ.” Each workshop included a presentation followed by group discussions, where teachers could learn from each other while answering discussion questions. The weekend concluded on Sunday morning with the Holy Liturgy offered by His Eminence at St. Mark’s Cathedral.
