Weekly Update - February 18
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PEACE AND GRACE!
Jonah’s Fast (Feb 18-21), followed by Jonah’s Feast (Feb 22) - read more about it here.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Fasting is a weapon the Prophets have used, for Moses, Elijah, David, Ezra and Nehemia have all fasted. Even the Gentiles fasted, entreating the mercy of God, like the inhabitants of Nineveh, who fasted and the Lord did cast His wrath away from them”.
+H.H. Pope Kyrillos VI
SERVICES & EVENTS THIS WEEK
Tuesday:
Jonah’s Fast Liturgy: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (Fr. George and Himanout)
Wednesday:
Jonah’s Fast Liturgy: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (Fr. George and Himanout)
FOCUS San Diego: 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday:
Jonah’s Feast Liturgy: 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. (Fr. George and Himanout)
Saturday:
High School Girls’ Day “Owning your Faith”: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (St. John Orthodox Church)
Educational Liturgy for children and families: 9:00 a.m.
Vespers: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday:
Divine Liturgy: 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (Fr. George Awad)
“Parenting toward the Kingdom” with Dr. Philip Mamalakis: 12:00 p.m. (St. Gregory American Coptic Church)
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS DAY
PARENTING TOWARD THE KINGDOM
Dr. Philip Mamalakis, author of the Orthodox parenting book "Parenting Toward the Kingdom," will be a guest speaker at St. Gregory American Coptic Orthodox Church in Anaheim, CA on Sunday, February 24 after liturgy to discuss how to raise our children with Orthodox Christian principles! How can we help them succeed? How can we raise them to love the church? How do we deal with discipline? You will NOT want to miss this special event!
WE NEED YOUR HELP FOR EHAB’S ORDINATION
Please save the date for the ordination of Ehab to deacon at St. Paul American Coptic Orthodox Church on March 2, as well as the ordination to priest at St. Basil on March 3. We anticipate at least 200 people in attendance for the ordination, including 3 bishops. We need everyone’s help to make this event a success! We will collect donations and get catered Mediterranean food, a cake, and drinks. The estimated cost is ~$1500. Please give whatever you are able to. It will be much appreciated. There is a box, labeled "Agape meal" near the coffee on Sundays or you can give your donation to Silvia Guirguis or Erene Hanna. Alternatively you can also Paypal Silvia at sam_guirguis@yahoo.com. Additionally, we will need help to clean and prepare the church prior to the event. We will be texting out a link to help sign up for assisting this effort.
TRUE PHYSICIAN MINISTRY TRAINING
Under the auspices of His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion and His Grace Bishop Abraham, the Department of Diakonia is offering a one day training for those who desire to serve the sick. Attendees will earn a certificate of completion at the end of the training.
March 16th at Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in Santa Ana, CA
April 6th at St. Mary and St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in Northridge, CA
April 13th at St. Maurice Coptic Orthodox Church in Pomona, CA
Each training day will begin with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. and will end at 6:00 p.m. For more information and registration, click here.
Under the auspices of His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion, the Graduates and Young Professionals (GYP) committee cordially invites you to the 10th Annual Lenten Retreat on April 5-7. 2019. This year we are blessed to have Fr. Antony Paul, of the Saint Paul Brotherhood to lead us in a spiritual discussion on “Discipleship”
Don’t miss out on the opportunity for spiritual contemplation, growth, and fellowship.
Register TODAY to reserve your spot HERE
Registration Deadlines are:
Early Bird $175 -February 18, 2019 (President’s Day Special Price!)
Regular $195 – March 10, 2019
Late $220 – March 24, 2019
We are looking forward to benefiting spiritually together and enjoying Christ in fellowship with one another.
HELP WITH AMAZON SMILE
If you are looking into other ways to support our church, the AmazonSmile Foundation offers an easy way to give while browsing the Amazon shop. It will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases, at no cost to you. To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com (you may want to add a bookmark to make it easier to return). You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the product detail pages. If you already own an Amazon account you can use the same account for AmazonSmile. On your first visit, please select “Saint Basil American Coptic Orthodox Church” as your charity of choice. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make will result in a donation for our church. Thank you so much for your love and support.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, VISITATIONS & CONFESSIONS
Please let us know if you have any upcoming important events for us to share with our fellow congregants. Special events are best shared amongst our family, and we encourage you to share your special news with us.
FOOD & CLEAN-UP
Since we’ve experienced low sign-up rates for our weekly agape meal, we are trying a new approach. A sign-up sheet will be hung on the fridge in the food hall every Sunday. We ask all families, if you can, to stop by the fridge and sign up to bring an item for the following week. Thank you to all who have contributed and helped make the agape meal a special time for everyone. We need as many volunteers as possible to keep the church clean on Sundays after the Divine Liturgy. Please consider this important expression of stewards