With the blessing of Bishop Peter of Cleveland the annual diocesan St. Herman of Alaska Youth Conference will be held in Houston, TX from December 24-26, 2011. The conference is sponsored by the Youth Department of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America and hosted by the St. Jonah of Manchuria parish (www.saintjonah.org). Age limits for the conference are 15-20 years old. The conference will include lectures by distinguished speakers focusing on living a Christian life in our times, small group discussions, Divine Services for the feast of St. Herman of Alaska, social activities, and more! Registration and other information will be posted soon and sent to all diocesan clergymen for distribution to the youth of their parishes. Due to the difficult economic times and the fact that many youth will have to travel a great distance to the conference, the diocese is committed to keeping the registration fee to $100 or less. Those who are in a position to help the diocese subsidize the registration fee are urged to make donations through the St. John Kochurov Society (www.chicagodiocese.org/stjohnsociety.html). Those who desire to attend the conference but are unable to afford to do so due to financial hardship are urged to contact the Diocesan office (dcma.rocor@gmail.com) at the earliest opportunity. Travel from the northern part of the diocese is being organized by Priest Daniel Marshall (frdanielm@yahoo.com). Those planning to attend from the north are urged to contact Fr. Daniel as soon as possible to facilitate group travel and minimize travel expense