Youth and Family - Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco

I was in the car one day driving with my good buddy George Sotiras, and we were both talking about how much we loved the atmosphere of his home parish, the Nativity of Christ in Novato, California. On this particular car ride, I felt like mentioning to George how much I loved being around Fr. Costa Efstathiou- he had made an impression on me with his prayerfulness, while staying down to earth, which made me feel like I could talk to the man about anything. George agreed with me, saying, “That’s because Father Constantine’s a real guy, man.” And he was right.

Sometimes, in our Orthodox Christian faith, we feel like God is somewhere out of reach of us. When we’re in church on Sunday and trying to pray during Liturgy, we may even feel like everything going on is above us, holier than us, and doesn’t really concern us. This is not true. As Christians, we know that Christ came to us, and lived among us as one of us, and this is what we celebrate every Sunday morning- the whole community coming together and being with God. This is something all of us need to understand, regardless of how old we are. For us younger Orthodox Christians, though, it can be even harder to remember. Although the Church’s message never changes, it needs to find the language that every generation understands (and I’m not talking English or Greek). Sometimes we’re very successful, sometimes not so much.

This is what Youth and Young Adult Ministries is all about my friends. The mission of our department is to help every Greek Orthodox Church in the Metropolis of San Francisco with youth programs- Joy, Hope, GOYA, Young Adults, Dance Groups, Basketball, Altar Boys whatever it may be. The purpose of youth ministry in every church is to connect young people in our Church with God and with each other, so we can all be strong in our faith, and realize that our faith is real, very much alive, and important for our lives. God is not an abstract idea, and the Church is not something “so holy I can’t be part of it.” We are all part of the Church. Our faith needs to be real, and in a cultural language that we all understand, for all people and in every generation. That’s why when we meet someone who lives the faith, we know it. We need to learn how to be ourselves and be Orthodox Christians.

I was inspired by Fr. Costa when I met him. He’s a real guy, and from his example I feel like I can be a real guy and a Christian at the same time. Our mission as a ministry of the Metropolis is to help each and every young soul in our Church with this journey, this understanding of the faith. It is my prayer, and the prayer of Metropolitan Gerasimos and all the workers here at the Metropolis that we know this and that we help wherever we can. Just let us know.

In Christ,

Niko Bekris

Director, Youth and Young Adult Ministries