Alyssa Kyritsis has returned home to the Metropolis of Pittsburgh. The Canonsburg native has assumed the duties of Youth Director for the Metropolis following Rhea Ballas’s 15 years in the position.
Kyritsis attended the University of Connecticut then went on to earn her Masters of Divinity from HC/HC in 2014. She spent the previous six and a half years as a pastoral assistant at St. John the Divine GOC in Jacksonville, FL.
Kyritsis returns to the metropolis married – her husband, Nick, works in Internet Ministries for the Archdiocese – and the mother of Nicholas, age 2, and with another child due Dec. 6 (the feast day of St. Nicholas, no less).
“Growing up, I was active in youth ministries at All Saints but I had stopped going to church while I was at UConn,” said Kyritsis, who earned her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Studies. “And though I didn’t attend church, I was connected to camp the whole time – but I felt like a hypocrite. That’s when I went to seminary and knew I wanted to run a camp or be a youth director.
“And the time I spent at St. John in Jacksonville working with Fr. Nicholas (Louh), has prepared me for this role in the Metropolis of Pittsburgh. I’m excited to meet as many people and visit as many parishes as possible.”
Her goal is to visit every parish in the metropolis within two years to serve as a bridge between the metropolis and parishes and to be a resource to youth ministry leaders. “I want to be someone people can call on and to create an atmosphere where all of us in youth ministry help each other,” added Kyritsis.
Coming into the position of Metropolis Youth Director, Kyritsis says her goals are two-fold:
• Church begins at home and she would like to see children and parents attend catechism together. “Salvation can’t rest solely with clergy and youth ministry leaders” she said.
• Helping children find their niche to get them involved in some aspect of worship. “I hope to get kids plugged in to where their interests are. Let’s find out what they love and get them active – that’s especially true with teens,” Kyritsis concluded.
And, in what should surprise no one, Kyritsis wants the children of the metropolis involved in camps – whether it’s Camp Nazareth, Ionian Village or Antiochian Village – because she has seen first-hand how camp deepens faith and creates lifelong friendships.
