On Sunday, May 12, 2019, His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, Metropolitan of the Northeast American Diocese, officially released the 2019 OVBS materials including Books. The release ceremony was held after the Divine Liturgy at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church - 4136 Hulmeville Road Bensalem, PA 19020. The humble ceremony was attended by the Vicar of the church, Rev. Fr. Shibu Venad Mathai, several Sunday School Board Members, OVBS Committee Members and the Parishioners.
Our Diocesan Metropolitan, His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholovos and the OVBS Director, Dr. Mini George spoke on the special occasion, especially the ministry to our young children. The theme of this year’s OVBS is “Choose Good” based on St. Luke 10:42. Theme based Text Books, Songs and Arts & Crafts lessons were prepared and T- Shirts were designed specifically for the Northeast American Diocese by a group of talented youth and Clergy of the Diocese.
A music Album with 14 OVBS songs and an USB were released. The songs were orchestrated by Mr. Joseph Pappan and sung by a group of talented Sunday School Children from across the Diocese. A Training Camp is scheduled to be held on June 8, 2019 at St. John Orthodox Church - 331 Blaisdell Road Orangeburg, NY 10962 from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM for all the OVBS Teachers and volunteers.
All the new books, songs and arts & crafts works will be introduced to those in attendance. A three minutes promotional video with a glimpse of the action songs and the materials will also be introduced. The video is intended to be circulated among all the Sunday School Children and their parents as a tool to motivate the children to attend the OVBS this year.
Also, at this meeting, the OVBS materials, as per prior order, will be distributed to the different OVBS units in the Diocese. Dr. Mini George and the OVBS Secretary Mrs. Chinnu Varghese, together with a dedicated Committee consisting of 18 members including our Diocesan Clergy, are working prayerfully and diligently for the success of OVBS 2019, through our Diocese.