Renewal of the Church

Early Sunday morning I knelt before the tabernacle in a large empty church in a big city. The church is my church, St. Anthony of Padua, in Cincinnati. My prayer is distracted by thinking of all the work that must be done to keep this parish alive. When Bishop Zaidan asked me to serve St. Anthony of Padua here, I told him confidently that I will serve wherever the Holy Spirit wants me, thinking to myself of the great act of devotion that my parents did, when I was one year old, dedicating me to St. Anthony of Padua, and taking into consideration the powerful impact that the MYO of this church had on me during the 2014 retreat.
But kneeling in this vast empty church, my confidence is waning. Confidence in myself, that is. 
Over the past 5 years of parish work in Cincinnati, I worked hard and expected the parish family to respond. The people of God did respond—our Sunday liturgy attendance, church groups, and income increased in a few years. That made me feel good, and naturally led to the pride common in successful pastors. Now, however, kneeling in this vast empty church, I get the feeling that it is humility time. I begin to see that nothing I do will double the number of parishioners coming to this parish. There’s too much competition for their time and money in this city; indifference has devastated family life in Cincinnati.
In this space I was moaning over the attendance. But I guess I could see the church as one half empty, or I could see it as one-half full! The other day I was again praying in the church. I was struck by the goodness and beauty in our parish, even when attendance is not the best. I began to think of all the good folk at St. Anthony’s —  ...those who work at the festival, our religious education, family ministry, librarians, those who pray in the church every day, those who sing in our choir, those in our MYA, MYO, Dabkeh, Sodality, NAM, parish and finance councils, Maronite convention team, our capital campaign and building committee... By God’s grace, our parish is flourishing and will flourish more and more, if we want!
I’m 43 years old and it’s time to surrender to God. In the first 5 years of my priesthood, I worked at a frenzied pace, depending a lot on myself. As I get older, God is giving me the gift of weakness, so that He may be strong. The reality is, it is God who grants the increase.  Even if He is pleased to accept our help, He certainly doesn’t depend on it.

So I stay in this empty church, and it is God I find in it, not myself. He has largely erased my own powers, and the affirmation that comes to a priest when his church bursts with people. In a greater measure, then, I have found the only beauty and love that never wanes, but only grows brighter with time. God has brought me to this vast empty church to find Him, in whom my heart is glad… This is how I am understanding the Renewal of the Church, today.

LITURGY IN ARABIC - ألقداس الإلهي باللغة العربية

Every First Saturday of the Month, we celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Arabic Language.
Saturday December 7 - 6:00pm

Parish council elections

Parish council elections - will be held on
Saturday   November 16th
Sunday   November 17th

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Our New Parish council (for 3 years) will be composed of 7 members, 5 (2/3) elected and 2 (1/3) appointed.

Next week, according to the bylaws, the voting process will take place at the end of the Saturday and Sunday Divine Liturgies, in church. The Election Committee tallies the ballots in the presence of the pastor in the church office, and notifies the elected and the candidates who did not win. It is forbidden to tell anyone how many votes anyone received.

Please vote for ONLY 5 names from the following list:

Dr. Lina Nasr Anaissi, Gaby Batshoun, Hana Chemaly, Sarjoun Doumet, Ibtisam Fahmy Ghaly, Samer Majrouh, Joyce Thomas Meinerding.

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A person enjoys the power to vote in elections if he/she is a member of the parish in good standing and is at least eighteen (18) years of age.

The Time of the Sunday Divine Liturgy celebration will be on the ballot:
10:30  or 11:00 am

-PLEASE VOTE -

Maronite Youth Organization

                Our MYO will consolidate the “MaroKnights (altar servers) and dabket Ajyal, as one strong Youth Group in our parish. This group will be led by Mr. Anthony Chemaly, Ms. Christina Khamis and Fr. George.
ALL youth ages 12 - 17 are invited, welcomed and encouraged to join… Everyone is welcome!

Kickoff Meeting: SUNDAY Nov. 10 @ 12:30

The Building committee

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Thank you to everyone who already pledged, Building our Home is the duty of us all!

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The capital campaign building committee is in charge of planning, coordinating, executing and overseeing the progress of the remodeling of our campus, including: The parking lot, retaining wall, courtyard, the upper church, its roof and walls, the restrooms in the founders’ hall. I am pleased to announce that Subdeacon Tom Simon will head the building committee. If you are interested in being on this committee please let Fr. George or Subdeacon Tom know.
Next week will announce the names of the building committee members, God willing.

BEING THANKFUL AND GENEROSITY

Remember, O Lord, all your people, grant us the grace to be truly thankful for all your blessings.  Let us not be like the nine healed lepers who did not give thanks to God, but rather like one Samaritan man who was healed and returned to Jesus and praised God for his healing. 
In gratitude, we ask your blessing upon our nation and her people and make us all truly thankful to you for our abundance.  Remember also, O Lord, the poor in our midst and through our hands grant them their needs.

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            We pray to you O Lord.

VISIONARY DISCIPLES - CINCINNATI 2020

www.NAM2020.com

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The theme: VISIONARY DISCIPLES, was approved by Bishop Zaidan. It expresses our Christian identity, as well as,

VISIONARY: Denotes the 20/20 vision of the year 2020

DISCIPLES: Our identity, as walking with Jesus always.

Formative not informative

​The Library is open 20 minutes on Saturday & Sunday, after the Divine Liturgy.Take advantage of the beautiful book selection. Librarians always needed. Please contact Mrs. Janice Pettit.