Revelations v1.1 - December 2005

 
Revelations
 The Fellowship of St. John the Divine  Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1, December 2005
Inside this issue:
  • + Message from the President
  • + Fall delegates’ meetings
  • + Soccer tournament recap
  • + YAL Youth Retreat 2005
  • + Prayer requests
Message From the President
 
Beloved in Christ,
 
Greetings in this Most Holy Season of Advent, as we await the Nativity of our Lord!
You’re receiving, the first issue of REVELATIONS: the monthly newsletter of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine of our Diocese. In our search for an appropriate name, we got inspired by the apocalyptic book of the evangelist and patron of our Fellowship. Normally this spot will not be reserved for my introductions, but rather to the words of wisdom of our Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Paul, for your edification.
 
The purpose of the newsletter is to communicate information about the progress of the different programs our fellowship runs, and to highlight local fellowship activity happening in your local parish. Our hope is that it will serve you as a companion in your service unto the Lord.
 
As I leave you with the opening verse from the Gospel according to St. John, I ask you for your continuous prayers for this ministry, that our word may always be pleasing to God the Word; to whom be Glory, forever.
 
In Christ,
Nicolas Ellaham
 
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” [John 1,1]

Delegates’ Meetings
 
The Fall delegates’ meetings took place in Ottawa on October 29, 2005. Here is a summary of the important proceedings. Follow this link to read about it in more detail and download a copy of the meeting minutes which will be available soon.
 - Service of Parakleisis offered for the Health of His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP
 - Organizations’ meetings
 - The election of a new treasurer for the Fellowship
 - Parish Life Conference planning
 - General Session led by Elder Ephraim Kiriakos visiting from St. Michael’s Monastery, Lebanon
 

Annual Diocesan Soccer tournament
 
Our fearless teams hit the pitch in Ottawa on Labour Day weekend for the 5th annual soccer tournament. A big thanks to our Brothers and Sisters from St. Elias, Ottawa for organizing the tournament this year and congratulations to the Strikers of St. George, Montreal for bringing home the cup. Caroline el-Chaar provides you with the highlights.
 

YAL Youth Retreat
 
The Young adults of the Antiochian Archdiocese joined our Brothers and Sisters of the Greek Ardiocese in September for a weekend of spiritual growth. The retreat took place at Holy Cross in Brookline, Massachusetts. Read Ramia Ibrahim’s reflections.
 

Prayer Request
 
A message from Ina O’Dell, President of the Antiochian women of the East: I just got this message this morning (Mon. Nov. 7) from a Khouria friend .  "We just got sad news last night from Bishop Thomas. He asked that I pass it along to all of the clergy wives to whom I have email access, so I send this to you.  Kh. Joanne Abdulah has ovarian cancer.  Please keep her in you prayers.  I don’t have any information regarding the status of her particular diagnosis but I do know that this kind of cancer is a particularly tough challenge. Please keep her in your prayers." Kh.Joanne and her hubby Fr. John are the co-editors of the Antiochian Archdiocese magazine, The Word.  Their parish is the cathedral of St. George in Oakland, PA, (Pittsburgh, Metro area).  They are wonderful folks who raised a two fine sons and then started again by adopting a young girl from Guatemala who is now in her teens. Both Fr. & Joanne are clinical Psychologists as well as clergy so lead very, very busy lives and this will be a great challenge to them and us who rely on them.
 
We request your prayers for Eleanor Kinan, our Creative Arts Festivals Coordinator. Eleanor was recently hospitalized in intensive care for blood clots in her lungs and one of her main arteries. Thank God she was caught on time and is now recovering. We pray that the Lord will keep her safe and grant her many years. 
 

If you would like to submit news about your parish, an update about a program you're coordinating, or share prayer requests, please send me your text by the 25th of each month so I can include it in the next issue of the newsletter.
 
Check out the new and improved Fellowship website for updates at
Tom Saba, Newsletter Editor