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+ St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 2 Services include: 1.Saturdays Vespers & Sundays Divine Liturgies. 2.Weekdays Church Services like: Occasions Vespers and Divine Liturgies of Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays. 3.Other Church Services like: Wedding / Baptism & Confirmation / Holy Matrimony / etc.) 2 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 3 Services include: (contd) 4. Coptic and Hymns Classes for Children. 5. My Coptic Church Meetings for Adults. 6. Advanced Hymns Classes for Deacons. 7. Deacons Monthly Meetings. 3 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 4 Services include: (contd) 8. Diakon Deacons Newsletter. 9. Church Website (Deacons Corner). 10. Others, like: Altar Supplies / Procession Icons / Services Books & Over-head Presentation. 4 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 5 1- Saturdays Vespers & Sundays Divine Liturgies Chorus Lead / Altar Service / Readings (Pauline, Catholic Epistles & Acts) / Ushers services are distributed every month. Deacons form to keep records of every deacons info. 5 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 6 6 Slide 7 1- Saturdays Vespers & Sundays Divine Liturgies (contd) - Altar Service: Deacons are divided into 8 groups, each group has a head deacon who is responsible to follow up with his group members and remind them with their scheduled service. 7 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 8 8 Slide 9 1- Saturdays Vespers & Sundays Divine Liturgies (contd) - A Service Schedule is posted on the church website (Deacons Corner) and also in the altar; the attendance is taken and marked on the sheet, absent names are marked either by (N=Notified to be Absent) or (A=Absent). 9 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 10 10 Slide 11 1- Saturdays Vespers & Sundays Divine Liturgies (contd) Challenges: - Absences of deacons without notices. - Participation of the south chorus in chanting hymns needs improvement. 11 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 12 2- Weekdays Church Services like: Occasions Vespers and Divine Liturgies of Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays. 3- Other Church Services like: Wedding / Baptism & Confirmation / Matrimony) Challenges: Un-scheduled services. 12 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 13 4- Coptic and Hymns Classes for Children - Children up to grade 12 Classes are held on Saturdays (5:30 to 6:30 PM). - There are 6 classes to teach the Coptic Language, Hymns / Tasbeha and Church Rites, which can be divided into 2 groups : (i) The 1 st group includes the kids up to Grade 2. (ii) The 2 nd group includes the children (Grades 3-12). 13 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 14 14 Slide 15 4- Coptic and Hymns Classes for Children (contd) - For the boys of the 2 nd group (Deacons), a proposed curriculum started to be used to teach Coptic/Hymns/Rites over 6 years period, each year is 3 semesters, and each semester is 4 months: (i)September to December (ii)January to April (iii)May to August 15 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 16 16 Slide 17 4- Coptic and Hymns Classes for Children (contd) Challenges: -Parents drop-off their children and leave; servants are not able to track them. (See suggested ideas) - Semesters tests have passing marks, and they are a pre-requisite to move up to the next semester / level. (See suggested ideas) 17 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 18 4- Coptic and Hymns Classes for Children (contd) Suggested Ideas: - A Weekly report card for every child. - Re-format the curriculum in such that each semester does not depend on the previous semester. However, the Basics of the Coptic Language should still be a pre-requisite. 18 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 19 4- Coptic and Hymns Classes for Children (contd) Challenges: - The absence of children for long periods affects their learning and delays the progress of those who are committed. - There is only one servant in each class, so the absence of servants can affect the service. 19 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 20 5- My Coptic Church Meetings for Adults. - This meeting used to be held every Saturday 5:30 to 6:30 PM at St. Paul Chapel in the basement. - The intention of this meeting is to explore the basics of the Coptic Language, Hymns/Tasbeha and Church Rites to the parents / adults. 20 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 21 5- My Coptic Church Meetings for Adults. (contd) 21 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 22 5- My Coptic Church Meetings for Adults. (contd) Challenges: - For the convenience of the parents, meeting was scheduled at the same time as the Coptic & Hymns Classes for Children, however, the attendance was an issue. - The Coptic Language lessons are related to each other, so absence could affect the progress. 22 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 23 5- My Coptic Church Meetings for Adults. (contd) Suggested Ideas: - The time of the meeting can be changed from Saturday (5:30 to 6:30 PM) to Fridays (8:00 to 9:00 PM) during the fellowship and before the English Bible Study. 23 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 24 6- Advanced Hymns Classes for Deacons. The intention of this meeting is: To learn / review the long and seasonal hymns and perform as one chorus. 24 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 25 6- Advanced Hymns Classes for Deacons. (contd) Challenges: - Time of the meeting (Wednesday 8:00 to 10:00 PM) wasnt suitable for everybody. Suggested Ideas: - To try Sundays 2:00 to 3:00 PM after the Servants Meetings. 25 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 26 7- Deacons Monthly Meeting: - These meetings are held on the 1 st Saturday of every month (3:00 to 5:00 PM) - Meetings started in October 2009 and the intention was to demonstrate the Divine Liturgy to the deacons/girls so we all learn from abouna the rites of the Divine Liturgy. - The course last for 9 months till June 2010 and all the minutes of meetings have been posted on the church website / deacons corner. 26 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 27 7- Deacons Monthly Meeting: (contd) Challenges: - Many of the older deacons were not able to attend, nor to review the minutes of meetings. - The younger deacons need continual practical review. - The course of the Divine Liturgy has finished and a test will be held this month; only deacons who pass will be allowed to serve in the altar. 27 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 28 7- Deacons Monthly Meeting: (contd) Suggested Ideas: - For older deacons, they need to check the posted notes and for the younger deacons, the course can be reviewed during Coptic & Hymns classes. - The meetings can be proceeded to address other subjects like: the rites of sacraments, baptism / confirmation / wedding / etc) 28 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 29 8- Diakon Deacons Newsletter. Diakon is the deacons newsletter, issued almost every 2 months and posted on the church website / deacons corner, to share deacons news, church events, and seasonal occasions rites. Example: November 2009 29 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 30 8- Diakon Deacons Newsletter. (contd) Challenges: - Participation from deacons to submit materials / articles / suggestions, and also help with preparing the newsletter issues. 30 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 31 9- Church Website (Deacons Corner). It keeps records of : - Deacons Form. - Deacons Meetings Minutes. - Deacons Newsletters Issues. - Altar Service Groups. - Service Schedules. - Coptic & Hymns Classes (Structure & Location). - My Coptic Church Meetings (Lessons). - References (Links to Hymns/Praises/Coptic/Rites/Melodies/Articles/Books/Sermons/Tools) - News / Events / Announcements 31 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 32 9- Church Website (Deacons Corner). (contd) Challenges: Some deacons dont check regularly and miss their services. Website: www.smsj.ca Click on Group pages under Quick Links on the left side and then select Deacons Corner 32 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 33 10- Others, like: Altar Supplies / Procession Icons / Services Books & Over-head Presentation. 33 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church Slide 34 THANK YOU ! 34 + St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church