2023 Week 36| Church Weekly News, Sept 9 - Sept 16
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2023 Church Egyptian Festival
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We would love to hear back from you, how was the Egyptian Festival in your opinion, and how can we make it better next year? Please take a few minutes to complete this survey.
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The Coptic New Year is the very first calendar ever known by a man on planet Earth! It goes back to 4241 BC. The word "Nayrouz" is of Coptic origin. The stem is niiaro-oo meaning: "the rivers." The suffix "ouz" is Greek, thus, the word "Niiaroouz." Mid-September is usually when the waters of the Nile River rise, so the prayers are lifted to God for the rising of the waters of the rivers for irrigation and ask for His blessings at the beginning (crown) of the Coptic Calendar year. When the Persians ruled Egypt from 525-405 BC, they adopted the word and incorporated it into their language and took it to mean "the beginning of their Persian year," and called it "Nayrouz." The word "Nayrouz" in Persian, means "the new year."
On celebrating this feast three things are stirred in our minds.
- Honoring the millions of martyrs who sacrificed their lives as sacrifices of love for our Lord who sacrificed Himself on our behalf.
- Joyfully celebrating the beginning of the Coptic New Year.
- Expressing our flamed eagerness for the last advent of Christ. Through the last two weeks before the feast the readings of the liturgies of the Eucharist concentrate on the Parousia of Christ.
I asked myself; What is the relation between honoring the martyrs, the celebration of the new year, and the Parousia of the Lord?
The Opened Gates of Paradise
As I started to speak to our kids in the Church about El-Nayrouz I asked,?Is there a sun in Paradise??
Truly the Sun of Righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the ever-shining Sun. There is no place for sunset in Paradise; there is no night, no days, no weeks, no months, no seasons, and no years. But we attain a unique day without night, an everlasting day. In it, we receive the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness that reflects on our souls and our risen bodies.
Through the celebration of the Feast of Nayrouz, we start a new Coptic year. At the same time, we declare our eagerness to share with the martyrs, a new Day which they attain in Paradise. They have the experience of brightness, through which the brightness of the glory of Christ shines on them; they have no need of a sun nor a moon. There is no room for various seasons nor for night and day. They do not need food. In the Feast of El-Nayrouz, we are longing for the eternal life.
In the feast of El-Nayrouz, we behold the opened gates of Paradise. We see our Christ coming to carry us on the clouds, together with those who already entered Paradise. All of us will enjoy the divine throne in heaven.
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The New Church Project
Fundraising Campaign
Through the grace of God and the intercessions of the Theotokos St. Mary, and your generous donations, during her feast of St. Mary we received a great start to our fundraising campaign, but we still have a way to go. May the Lord bless and reward all.
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Schedule for this Week
Variable Meetings:
- House on the Rock family meeting is alternating Saturday after the liturgy and then Sunday of the following week at 6:00 PM
- St. Rebecca's ladies' meeting is held on the first and third Saturdays at 5:00 PM
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