06/08/2026
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
With the help of God, the Blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Mark, and the strong support of parents and youth ministry workers in the Dioceses of Philadelphia-Eastern Pennsylvania and Vilnius-Lithuania, we are close as never before to being able to take a group of 10-12 teenagers and young adults on a camp exchange to Ignalina, Lithuania and Pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain Grabarka in Poland, giving our young people a unique opportunity to experience Orthodox Christianity as it is practiced in the "old country" and to connect with their peers on the far side of the ocean. Unfortunately, most of our teenagers and counselors are not able to fully fund their travel without external support, we have not been able to receive a grant that we had been anticipating, and world events have driven up fuel costs significantly since we began planning the trip last fall, making both flights and transportation on the ground more expensive than originally hoped for (a round-trip ticket that would have cost less than $570 last summer now goes for more than $800).
Brothers and sisters, please consider donating to our project at the link below. With just a few thousand dollars raised, we will be able to give our young people a trip of a lifetime to reinvigorate their faith, strengthen the Orthodox Church in America's connection with sister churches, and show the vibrant colors of American Orthodoxy to our brothers and sisters in the old world.
With Deepest Love in Christ,
Matthew Fleishman.
