The Peace and Grace of Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you all,

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10

I would like to cordially invite you to our Thanksgiving dinner which will be held, God willing, on October 14th at the Burlington Convention Center.

We are truly thankful to God for all the blessings that He granted us and the accomplishments that He allowed us to achieve over the last year, and we are confident that His blessings will continue to shower us, and His support, manifested through the support of each of you, will continue to grow, especially at this critical stage of our fundraising efforts.

This may be the last dinner that we will be able to hold before purchasing the building, so it is an opportunity for all of us to help close the current gap between the funds that we have collected and the amount needed as a down payment. Now is a critical time for the Church and it’s plan for purchasing a property, and needless to say, we absolutely need all the support that we can get to realize the dream of establishing an altar for God in Burlington.

Also, this is the first dinner that we hold after the arrival of the relics of St. Marina the Martyr to our Church, and we would like to celebrate her arrival with all of you. We are very happy and grateful that St. Marina has arrived to stay permanently at her Church in Burlington. She truly is a blessing to Burlington, the Bride of Christ who has defeated the devil. May her intercessions and the intercessions of Archangel Raphael, the joy of all hearts, be with us.

We are grateful for our loving father, His Grace Bishop Mina, who has changed his schedule to be with us at this event, as His Grace appreciates its significance towards the realization of a permanent Church in Burlington. We have also invited all the Ontario-based reverend priests of the diocese to join us and we anticipate a number of them will bless us with their attendance. Also, Mr. Rick Goldring, the Mayor of the City of Burlington, and our City Councilor, Mr. Jack Dennison, have confirmed their attendance in full support of the Copts of Burlington and our efforts to establish a Coptic Orthodox Church in Burlington.

Tickets for the dinner can be purchased at the Church during our various weekly services, all of which are listed on our web site (www.arsm.ca), or you are welcome to e-mail me directly at franthonywadie@gmail.com or call me at (905) 301-6924 and I will arrange for one of our wonderful and dedicated servants to reach out to you. A charitable donation tax receipt will be issued for the full monetary value equivalent to the cost of the tickets purchased.

General donations can be made directly through the Church’s web site, which also has forms for pre-authorized recurring donations. Please visit: www.arsm.ca/donations

I truly look forward to seeing you all on October 14th, and I ask that you kindly share this message with your friends and relatives to allow them an opportunity to take the blessing and help the Church at this critical stage.

Please always mention the Church and my week self in your prayers.

Sincerely,
Fr. Anthony Wadie