With the support of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, a family creative workshop and a family club were opened in the Tesovo-Netylsky settlement of the Novgorod Region.
Parishioners of the local church organize family trips to the holy places of the settlement and nearby settlements as part of the "Family Path to the Shrines" project. The collected local history data will become the basis for the creation of a travel booklet, which will be distributed in local libraries. The project became one of the winners of the grant competition for church projects to support family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, which was held by the Synodal Department for Charity.
The project is being implemented on the basis of the Church of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg in the village of Tesovo-Netylsky, Novgorod Diocese.
"The purpose of our project is to show that it is not necessary to travel far to touch a shrine," says Ekaterina Makarova, the organizer of the project. — Many shrines of the Novgorod land are well known, and some, despite the fact that they are nearby, are often ignored. Such pilgrimages, collecting facts and publishing them in a booklet will help families unite and learn more about their faith."
During the implementation of the project, the families of parishioners and local residents of the village of Tesovo-Netylsky collect local history information with a detailed description of the lost churches in the neighboring villages of Guzi and Selo Gora, as well as old photographs, memoirs of old-timers and information about the life and ministry of Metropolitan Sergius (Tikhomirov), a native of the village of Guzi, an associate of St. Nicholas of Japan. 70 people took part in the first local history trip on June 1.
The second competition of church family projects was held by the Synodal Department for Charity from April 16 to May 3. It received 53 applications from different regions of the country. After consideration by the competition committee, 24 winners were identified.