January 25, 2012 was as warm as a Spring day in Cairo. But will Egypt’s future be as warm in 2012? Let me give you a weather report on Egypt a year after the revolution, straight from the field.
Security Issues Read more…
Inside Look: Egypt a Year Later
The Girl who Ran for Parliament
Courtesy of Watani Magazine
Watani Magazine just interviewed Teresa Samir, a former Big Sister in Coptic Orphans’ Valuable Girl Project.
Teresa is a remarkably young woman.
In high school she volunteered at the Valuable Girl Project center in her home town, El Barsha, meeting with girls in primary school to give them help with schoolwork and mentoring in life. Then, she became one of the site’s local coordinators, a group of volunteers responsible for administering and leading each Valuable Girl Project site in exchange for a small stipend.
She later moved to Cairo to work as a journalist, but came back to El Barsha. Teresa believes that the duty of everyone is to their local community. So she started the Masr Association for Development and Democratic Progress, a local community-building organization based in El Barsha, and started working to build up her town. Read more…
George Washington Scholar to Governments: You Can’t Use the Copts
Diasporas have become very interesting to many folks here in Washington, DC.
Conferences on diaspora movements, and how to involve diasporas for development projects, have become a favorite conference among government people, think-tanks, and NGO’s.
In the middle of all that, Dr. Jennifer Brinkerhoff of the Diaspora Research Program at George Washington University (the same group who designed the first survey of the Copts, which you should take now if you haven’t because closes tomorrow) published a paper this year that warns governments and other groups: if you use diasporas, such as the Coptic diaspora, for your own ends, you might find you’ll be left without the benefits you wanted from it in the first place. Read more…
Alexandria and the Strength to Forgive
“I hope they burn in Hell!” The words came so naturally to Demiana’s school friends. They saw her constant pain when they came to see her in the hospital.
The Alexandria bombing on January 1, 2011 shattered Demiana’s leg and blew out her hearing.
I met Demiana several months later. Her mother was there, too. Unlike Demiana’s school friends, neither Demiana or her mother were bitter at all. Read more…
St. John Chrysostom’s Commentary on Matthew 25
Andrew Abdalla, a supporter from the UK, sent the below email to his personal network. There there are still a few days before the end of the 2011 tax year for those in North America. There is also still about a week before Old Julian Calendar Christmas, which the Coptic Church celebrates everywhere. So this is still very timely.
Matthew 25:31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holyangels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Read more…
Glimpses of the Real Egypt You Won’t Get in the News
With most Egypt news focused on Tahrir protests and military brutality, here are some images of the Egypt that continues in the back streets and villages, every day…
Masr from Javier Morgade on Vimeo.
Anba Angaelos on the Church and the Poor
His Grace Bishop Angaelos of the UK is a strong supporter of Coptic Orphans,. A several years ago, His Grace gave a speech to an ecumenical group on the Coptic Orthodox Church in development. The speech highlights the strength available when the Church, the place where most authentic community is possible, and which is the Holy Spirit’s agent of transformation on earth, meets the best resources of the world that its children bring to the service of the Kingdom of God.
Below is his talk, as available on siteresources.WorldBank.org
The Coptic Orthodox Church:
Partners for Development
To the Martyrs and Victims of Maspero
Alice Hanna, a longtime supporter and sponsor with Coptic Orphans, shared the poem below to express her sense of God’s protection and care over the flock of Egypt after the events of Maspero.
Come to Me, O, you,
Martyrs of the Persecuted Church of Egypt,
And dwell with Me
In the place that I prepared for you!
Read more…
Canada Copts Walk in Faith, Despite Egypt Uncertainties
Children from St. Mark's Hand Bell Ringers regaled attendees
On Sunday, October 30, over 200 guests filled the St. George Orthodox Center in Ontario Canada for our Walking With Him Fundraising Dinner.
The theme of the night was Walking with Him to illustrate the need to walk in faith with God through all of the uncertainties in Egypt. Fr. Pishoy Salama of St. Maurice & St. Verena, as well as Fr. Rueiss Awad, Fr. Joseph Louca, and Fr. Mikhael Armanios of St. George & St. Rueiss came to support the event with their attendance.
In addition to the dinner and discussion about Coptic Orphans’ work, guests were treated to a word and prayer by Fr. Rueiss. Abouna Rueiss spoke on the importance of unity through this rough time in Egypt. His words that resonated with the theme of the night:
We must never separate from our homeland Egypt, we are totally together in the Body of Christ…we have to remember that the problems in Egypt are permitted from God because He is the one in control. We have to remember that God is the one who looks after everything.
The Coptic Diaspora (Diaspora Series, Part III)
Yesterday I said that Jennifer Brinkerhoff has listed “several features common to diasporas” based upon the work of international relations scholar Robin Cohen.[1]
I included those so we can take a look at the Coptic diaspora in light of them to find out what exactly makes the Coptic diaspora what it is.
Here’s the answer I found:
Read more…
