Arms Open Wide

There is a Canadian ministry, Christian Horizons,  that works together with a Russian Orthodox parish, the Church of St. Nicolas in Lebazhye, Russia, to provide a summer camp for children with disabilities.

Here is the websites of Christian Horizons: http://www.christian-horizons.org/photogallery1.html and the Church of St. Nicholas in Lebazhye: : http://www.st-nicola.orthodoxy.ru/index.html  (*for English version click on the underlined title at the bottom of the page) There’s really not a lot of detail on the camp, but one can look around at Christian Horizons, which is not, except perhaps in Lebazhye, Orthodox Christian. But there is a very profound statement on the Church site concerning the camp:

At any time, in any social atmosphere, there exists the problem of a “transitional age”. Our program’s activities are directed toward social rehabilitative assistance for young people who have intellectual developmental disabilities. For this category of people, social adaptation issues are most challenging. What will their fate be after leaving the orphanage at the ages of 18-25? Statistics show that about 90% of such young people fall victim to alcoholism, drug addiction, or lead otherwise unethical lives. Without a religious-moral foundation, such youth spend all their energy “finding themselves” on other foundations.

Improvement in the spiritual and social-moral climate and quality of life in institutions for those with mental disabilities is bound with correct religious-ethical training. This means investment of positive Christian input in the early development of residents of the orphanage, not only temporarily or externally, but in answer to the deepest yearnings of the resident’s spirit. The sensation of belonging to the Church is more important than the feeling of belonging to a family. A family can disintegrate, but the Church - cannot. Aware of oneself as a member of the Church, the resident will never feel lonely in the world, or homeless: he is aware of himself as resting in Christ’s hand, in the hand of God. The strengthening of a such spiritual consciousness in a child is the most important task of religious-ethical training. http://www.st-nicola.orthodoxy.ru/English/frame.html

There is definitely much more to this ministry than a fun summer camp. The goal is to give orphans a home, an eternal home, through the Church, and to strive to provide them every opportunity to be adopted by our heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.