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Lecture 3 - Breakout Rooms

High Gain Question 1 - Red

Imagine you are a young person growing up in America whose parents were raised in Egypt. What are the three biggest challenges you would face in developing and being comfortable with your identity as an American Copt?

Challenges

  1. Peer Pressure
  2. Language as a Barrier
  3. What is Orthodox vs what is Egyptian

Solutions

  1. Establish healthy relationships with your kids
  2. Model the behavior that you want your children to have
  3. Teach that it's okay to be different; you will face persecution; and reward them when they do obey and do what they are supposed to do
High Gain Question 2 - Green

What are the three best ways to increase persistent engagement among young people in the Church?

  1. Know them; understand them - develop 1:1 relationships
  2. Engagement - get engaged with them at the same level that they are at; give them a task, responsibility or project.
  3. Help them find a purpose.
  4. Help them find their interests
High Gain Question 3 - Orange

How do the needs for relationship and and belonging among American-raised Coptic Youth differ from these needs among their Egyptian-raised parents? How are they the same?

  1. The same basic needs apply to everyone - a sense of belonging, love, acceptance
    • In Egypt, the same people at school are those at church, are those to hang out with after... in the lands of immigration, you go to school with different people than who you go to church with. 
    • It may become a matter of "who do I fit in with the most?"
    • Dual Identity Crisis: Identity at church and identity at school... leads to changing ideologies

  2. Relationships here are done more virtually (online games, snapchat, etc.) as opposed to face-to-face

  3. We have to look out for love and acceptance among everyone - even those who aren't American raised, and those who aren't Egyptian at all
High Gain Question 4 - Yellow

What are the three most important ways that the Church can help youth who move from Egypt adjust to their lives as Coptic Orthodox Christians in America

  1. Language Barrier
    • Including body language
    • Church can assist with language classes
    • We should speak to them in English and help them adjust
    • Homework help, tutoring
    • Help with job search and application

  2. Culture Shock
    • How they drive, how they deal with neighbors is very different

  3. Cliques and Groups
    • Find common interests
    • Give everyone a role or responsibility

In HE Metropolitan Youssef's book, he talks about the quadrant of "Positive/Negative Attitude to the Old/New Culture." 

  • Counseling and showing the positives of both attitudes will bring about integration
  • Sometimes parents have the opposite attitude of their children which leads to a division
  • We want to bring them both to the middle which will close that gap
  • Teach them to be integrationists
    • There are studies about the 3rd Generation being more connected to the homeland than the 2nd Generation simply because the 2nd Generation, in rebellion to their parents, 
  • Four stages 
    • Honeymoon Stage - he has a dream to leave Egypt, gets the Visa and feels that his dreams have come true. I will go to America, get a house and a car and a job
    • Hostility Stage - can't find a job, can't understand people (despite knowing some English); very challenging
    • Human Stage - if he is able to overcome hostility; now he can relax; before, if he made a mistake he would be very anxious. Now, if he makes a mistake, he is relaxed and can laugh about his mistakes
    • Home Stage - the home is not replacing Egypt, but their home is expanded to include Egypt and America (i.e. he would still say "we have in Egypt" and "we have in America")
High Gain Question 5 - Black

What are the three most important ways in which the Church can help young people cope with the increasing social and emotional pressures they face in today's society?

  1. Ground in the faith
    • Teaching kids from a young age how to love and be in the Church
    • Teaching how to love Christ and have a relationship with Him
    • Lead by example as a servant

  2. Safe environment in church
    • 1:1 relationship between servant and kids served (e.g. no judgment)
    • Hope that they can come with their mistakes
    • Continue to educate adults in the church on how to interact with the younger age group and the youth so they don't turn them off from coming to church
    • Kids to feel our love

  3. Helping to find their talents
    • Using talents during services
    • Give opportunities to serve to the youth
High Gain Questions 6 - Purple

As a Coptic youth in the United States what three factors would play the biggest role in pushing you away from the Coptic Church, either to other church communities or to being completely disengaged from any church group?

  1. Friendship
    • Feeling of belonging is very important; if you see the youth has a talent, let him grow in it and use it to serve in the Church
    • Servant should have a relationship that is always in touch with the youth; listening to their issues, trying to help them grow, helping identify their weaknesses and how to overcome them

  2. Education
    • You can present things in an educational manner - instead of "do this because the Bible says so" something along the lines of "God loves you and wants to protect you from this evil or this harm"
    • Present material in a way they understand it

  3. Addressing Cultural Issues
    • Address cultural issues not based on the culture, but based on scriptural principles
    • Don't be judgmental, but make a distinction between what is Egyptian, and what is Orthodox Christianity
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