From July 12-14 St. Herman Seminary hosted the orientation session of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center's (OCMC) mission team to Old Harbor, coordinated by Presbytera Renee Ritsi of OCMC and team leader Fr. Anthony Salzman. This team will minister at the Family Camp in Old Harbor on Kodiak Island for the next 10 days. The members of the team--including 3 children and 2 young adults--learned about the history of the Church in Alaska, the background of the village of Old Harbor, the Orthodox tradition of missions, and prepared both themselves and their curriculum "Christ in the Eucharist, Truly a Subsistence Food." Among the purposes of the Family Camp in Old Harbor is to rebuild cultural
identity, teach traditional ways of living to the youth, and celebrate local subsistence ways.
The team came to Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak and venerated the relics of St. Herman.
There's a lot to learn in orientation!
Some of the younger members of the team take a break and play basketball
The team prepared their meals in the seminary refectory
Presbytera Renee spent time helping the team prepare meals when not leading orientation sessions.
Fr. Anthony helps coordinate the team's shopping for supplies to take to Old Harbor.
The team even prepared a special meal for the seminary community!
Fr. Anthony is ready to go!
Fr. Paisius from St. Innocent's Academy takes the team to the airport.
Three Saints Church in Old Harbor, where the team will minister, was founded in 1784.