Fellowship Groups

SOYO is an organization for teenagers.  Its aim is to help us grow stronger in our faith and develop life long relationships with other teens in the parish, in sister churches, and throughout the diocese.

SOYO’s motto is, Living the Orthodox Faith in Christ through Worship, Witness, Service and Fellowship.

Our activities include monthly Teen Vespers followed by pizza night and Ask Abouna (Ask the Priest.) During Youth Month (October), we serve as ushers, tray passers, and epistle readers.  We attend retreats and conferences, compete in sports tournaments, Bible Bowl and oratorical contests, sponsor an orphan overseas,  Christmas carol our shut-ins, and do annual service projects.

Every teen is welcome and encouraged to join SOYO.  Meetings are held in the Teen Room on the first Sunday of each month, followed by either a social or service activity.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES:

Saturday, September 23: We will attend Great Vespers together starting at 5 PM and then head to the LaFranboise’s home for dinner and a bonfire with s’mores!

Grand Rapids Orthodox Christian Young Adults is a Pan-Orthodox group welcoming all young adults interested in the Orthodox Faith to join together for worship, fellowship, service, and education. We meet about once a month, and upcoming events are posted on the GROCYA Facebook page.

We plan really fun fundraisers and activities like a Go Blue! Go Green! competition, softball games between our sister Orthodox parishes, picnics in the park, volunteering with our teen group on service projects, mentoring them, and raising funds for them, and holding pre-lent and pre-advent dinners together before the Great Fasts.

We hope all young adults, college age and up, will join us as we forge special relationships with each other, meant to last a lifetime, one Orthodox Christian to the next.

All women 18 and older are called upon to form the Sisterhood of St. Nicholas.  We’re girlfriends to each other, willing to work side by side to serve our parish in the spirit of Christ.   We go on retreats together, have a book club, invite one another to our homes, teach each other how to cook our Middle Eastern community dinners, hold sales and fundraisers for our church, and support causes for our archdiocese.

There is much to be said about the Women of St. Nicholas.  We get it done, whatever it takes.

The leader of our archdiocese, Metropolitan Joseph, remarked about the role of women from the beginning of Christianity:  “When everyone left our Lord Jesus Christ alone on the cross, the women were there. Can you see how important the women are? You are the myrrhbearing women!”

Come join your sisters, Women of St. Nicholas, the first Sunday of every month.

Baby Shower 

On behalf of everyone who attended the baby shower last Sunday, we would like to thank once again, Amy, Alex and Lindsey for their planning, our “mixologists” for their wonderful cocktails and their good natured rivalry, everyone who brought the delicious appetizers and desserts. You are a talented group!  On behalf of those  who “shop” at the Catholic Charities Baby pantry we would like to thank everyone for  their generous donations. You have made a difference on the life of a small child and the mother who is trying to care for them.

O.K. MAMA ACTIVITIES:

Please join us for our Mom & Kids Mornings from 9:30-11:00 AM at St. Nicholas.

October 3: Topic- Fall.  We will celebrate fall with a playdate at Robinette’s Apple Orchard. We can pick apples, enjoy a corn maze, view some animals, take a hayride, and of course eat some doughnuts!

October 17: Topic- Patron Saints.  We will be talking about the meaning of a patron saint and sharing stories of our specific patron saints. Please bring your child’s patron saint icon (if you have one) for show & tell! We’ll also have snack & play time.

Please join us for our Mom’s Night Out from 7:30-9:00 PM.

October 9: Topic– Cooking & Baking.  Details forthcoming!

October 13: Topic– Ask Abouna.  Join us with your questions about the faith! Fr. Michael & Fr. John will be meeting us at Bar Divani for a time of great spiritual conversation.

Calling the men of St. Nicholas.  It’s time to form the Band of Brothers-in-Christ.  We’ve been elbow-to-elbow for years, working on countless projects at St. Nicholas, but now let’s get shoulder-to-shoulder and have our own fellowship.  And no, we don’t mean just on the golf course, although we’ve done a good job holding many a fundraiser and fun-raiser on the links, haven’t we?

The goal of the Men’s Group is to create a stronger bond between us and challenge each other to go deep with our faith.  How much do we guys talk about that sort of thing?  Not! The clock’s runnin’ down…what’s the call gonna be?

We are the generation that links the past to the future.  We are the pathway between what was and what can be.  We call ourselves the forerunners, for we are now the first generation and we are going ahead to pave the way in this new initiative at St. Nicholas.  We’re connecting with others of a certain age in a changing phase of life.  We’re intentional about our faith and the profoundness of it.  We’re also intentional about the depth of our relationships in fellowship with one another.  We forerunners are forming a partnership to explore exciting adventures together and risk trying new things.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

On Thursday, September 21, we will be carpooling from the church at 1 PM and heading to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park.  It is 80 acres of many wild and tame animals with a train ride through the park  to view these beautiful creatures.  The cost is only $9 and will be purchased at the Park. Those of you who wish to drive, the address is 8313 Pratt Lake SE, Alto, MI 49302, (616) 868-6711. Take a look at their website to see what is in store for us–it is amazing how many different kinds of animals are there.  Eat lunch before you come.  See Nora or Eileen with questions.