11/19/2025
On November 8, 2025, Detroit FOCUS held their first ever One Day Conference. We had a wonderful guest speaker, Fr. Silouan Cohen of the OCA church from Baton Rouge, LA. Father guided us through the theme of the conference, which was “Steering Through Sorrow: Navigating Grief, Healing and Hope in Orthodox Tradition”. His personal life experiences of grief through the loss of his oldest daughter to leukemia, was a powerful testimony in reminding us God is always with us in every storm. Many participants shared that the sessions were emotional and inspiring, especially about a topic that is not discussed as often. We also got to enjoy two workshops led by Kochamma Mrs. Lijin Thomas and Mrs. Santha Varghese, who shared with us practical ways to navigate grief in the community and within ourselves.
Thank you to all who attended the conference! Thank you to the hard working committee who helped plan the conference. And a special thanks to the MGOCSM members who provided childcare so many parents could participate in the conference. We hope to see many more at our future FOCUS events.
