“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.” (Genesis 28:17) 4865 Leslie Street, P. O. Box 20088 . Willowdale, Ontario M2J 5E4 T: (416) 800-8888 . F: (416) 800-8889 . C: (416) 818-2588 . E-mail: [email protected]. www.smsv.ca _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer July 7, 2014 “Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:16) Beloved SMSV Family, The peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. David the Prophet, while preparing to build the Temple of God, prayed for the Children of Israel to “keep their hearts loyal to You.” (v. 18) The fact that the Israelites would always keep their eyes on the Lord and keep His commandments was much more important than the building itself. While the children of God kept their eyes and hearts focused on the Lord, He performed many miracles and provided the means to build His house. They realized that the secret of happiness was to give abundantly, because it ultimately came from His hands and we merely give it back to Him. Our commitment to you, our beloved congregation, is that our eyes and hearts will always be focused on God’s grace and spiritual growth. Our theme of 2014 is “Returning to God” whereas we are praying for personal as well as family and corporal return to God this year. We are making every effort to reach out to every soul with the message of salvation that all might come and believe. We pray that we have a welcoming and inclusive environment at church which nourishes and cares for every soul regardless of their background. With that, we pray that we would all, as a congregation and individuals, be agents of change and extend God’s grace. We are extremely thankful to our Lord and to you for your sacrificial giving which has continued for many years. Through your generous contributions, we have been able to start construction of our church and community centre. We invite you on Saturday and Sunday July 19 & 20, 2014 to visit the land and view the ongoing construction progress. God has helped us so far to make all our monthly payments to the General Contractor. Nevertheless, to continue making our monthly commitments, we will need to raise $1 Million by August 31, 2014. While this might seem like a big task ahead of us, yet, we believe that with God nothing is impossible. There are several ways to contribute. First and foremost, please continue praying for the church and all its mission-focused ministries. Second, prayerfully consider offering a straight donation, a recurring monthly debit or credit card donation, or an interest-bearing loan (bond) of any amount. Third, if you or someone you know works in a company or financial institution, kindly inquire about programs that can offer SMSV a financial gift. Thank you so much for being faithful to the Lord. He has done many miracles through you so far, and He will continue as we set our hands to do His good work. May our Lord accept our humble offerings. In Christ,
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.” (Genesis 28:17) June 2, 2013 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Church Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise our Lord, for He has brought us now to the very threshold of building a home we can call- His own. Through His work of love, integration, and outreach, the Lord has kept us focused on Spiritual Growth and building His house. As a result, we are growing, from Outreach Nights, to Small Groups, to youth trips, to missions, to evangelism training, to couples retreats, and now, to constructing a beautiful place of worship. By God’s grace, Bondfield Construction Company, one of the most reputable contractors in Ontario, is ready to build now at last year’s bid price of $23 million, plus tax. The contract will be divided into two parts: (i) Construction of the entire building shell, parking, landscape, and the sanctuary to qualify us for occupancy (~$19 million); and, (ii) Completion of the finishes to the banquet hall, gym, day care, and basement (~$4 million). Thanks to your generous financial support, Lord willing we will have in the bank $6 million for construction. As well, your financial support has allowed us to pay off our land loan ($3.5 million), and pay for the building permit, architect, attorney, structural, mechanical and electrical fees, and levies and taxes ($2.5 million). All of this, through your generous financial support, adds to the bank’s $10 million loan. Thanks to you, we are so close! Now, in this final stretch, we are up against a tight deadline and we are reaching out to absolutely everyone. Now, to start construction, we need to raise $3 million, by June 30, 2013. If we don’t raise it by then, the bank may not have enough time to process our loan before July 31, 2013, before our permit expires. If you haven’t yet offered the Lord a charitable gift, would you consider doing so at this time? In addition, if you haven’t yet considered a bank loan to the church, would you consider doing so now? You could use your bank or our negotiated lender, RBC. By God’s grace, RBC has agreed to provide you, our community, with a completely automated way to lend to the church. In short, after your loan approval, the church would directly pay RBC your monthly loan installments and no money would ever leave your account. Your credit would improve while SMSV makes your payments for you, and you could call back your loan for any reason at any time. To learn more, kindly contact RBC’s designees, manager Mila Starodoub, 647-262-0347, [email protected]; Alice Phan, 905-513-8536, [email protected]; or Julia Mei, 905-940-5560, [email protected], by June 14. After you have spent some time in prayer, as you feel God leading, kindly complete the enclosed support form and return it by June 14. As God blesses, rest assured that every dollar counts, and no amount is too small. With God’s help and your help, we can build ASAP, before our permit expires this summer. On behalf of the SMSV church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.” (Genesis 28:17) June 2, 2013 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Church Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise our Lord, for He has brought us now to the very threshold of building a home we can call- His own. Through His work of love, integration, and outreach, the Lord has kept us focused on Spiritual Growth and building His house. As a result, we are growing, from Outreach Nights, to Small Groups, to youth trips, to missions, to evangelism training, to couples retreats, and now, to constructing a beautiful place of worship. By God’s grace, Bondfield Construction Company, one of the most reputable contractors in Ontario, is ready to build now at last year’s bid price of $23 million, plus tax. The contract will be divided into two parts: (i) Construction of the entire building shell, parking, landscape, and the sanctuary to qualify us for occupancy (~$19 million); and, (ii) Completion of the finishes to the banquet hall, gym, day care, and basement (~$4 million). Thanks to your generous financial support, Lord willing we will have in the bank $6 million for construction. As well, your financial support has allowed us to pay off our land loan ($3.5 million), and pay for the building permit, architect, attorney, structural, mechanical and electrical fees, and levies and taxes ($2.5 million). All of this, through your generous financial support, adds to the bank’s $10 million loan. Thanks to you, we are so close! Now, in this final stretch, we are up against a tight deadline and we are reaching out to absolutely everyone. Now, to start construction, we need to raise $3 million, by June 30, 2013. If we don’t raise it by then, the bank may not have enough time to process our loan before July 31, 2013, before our permit expires. If you haven’t yet offered the Lord a charitable gift, would you consider doing so at this time? In addition, if you haven’t yet considered a bank loan to the church, would you consider doing so now? You could use your bank or our negotiated lender, RBC. By God’s grace, RBC has agreed to provide you, our community, with a completely automated way to lend to the church. In short, after your loan approval, the church would directly pay RBC your monthly loan installments and no money would ever leave your account. Your credit would improve while SMSV makes your payments for you, and you could call back your loan for any reason at any time. To learn more, kindly contact RBC’s designees, manager Mila Starodoub, 647-262-0347, [email protected]; Alice Phan, 905-513-8536, [email protected]; or Julia Mei, 905-940-5560, [email protected], by June 14. After you have spent some time in prayer, as you feel God leading, kindly complete the enclosed support form and return it by June 14. As God blesses, rest assured that every dollar counts, and no amount is too small. With God’s help and your help, we can build ASAP, before our permit expires this summer. On behalf of the SMSV church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work” (Nehemiah 2:18).
Beloved SMSV Family and Friends,
The peace of the Lord be with you.
We thank our heavenly Father for His everlasting love and gifts. This year, we set our hearts on growingdeeper our relationship with the Lord. We set a goal in the beginning of the year to grow individually, as families, and as a congregation, and to reach out to others in our community with the Word of God. As the year comes to a close, our Lord is showing us so much of His miraculous love and gifts through you.
Through you, our gracious Lord is showing us that He can do anything, including build our new church! After years of preparation, we signed a construction contract on October 6, 2013, and started construction on theland. We praise God for building the first multicultural mission centre in North America, which will be home to parishioners of all nations, tribes, and tongues. This is truly a dream come true, and God willing, the project should be completed by June 2015. Through you, His love and gifts are truly making miracles.
In the months leading up to the construction contract, we received an offer from a private lender to finance $15M for construction, but with a high rate of interest. Through a great miracle, however, only two daysprior to our signing, the Bank of Nova Scotia approved us for a loan at a much lower rate, saving us approximately $2M over two years. While this deal was too good to pass up, we were approved for only$12M, and we will be required by Scotia Bank to raise $3M over the next 20 months. This amount is in addition to the $1.5M needed to pay HST and the running costs of the church.
To meet Scotia Bank’s requirement, our prayer is to raise $1.5M by December 31, 2013. This may indeed require sacrificial giving. Yet, be assured of the Lord`s blessings and the power of a sincere heart in giving any possible amount.
There are several ways to contribute. First and foremost, please continue praying for the church and all its mission-focused ministries. Second, prayerfully consider offering a straight donation, a recurring monthly debit or credit card donation, or an interest-bearing loan (bond) of any amount. Third, if you or someone you know works in a company or financial institution, kindly inquire about programs that can offer SMSV afinancial gift.
Thank you so much for being faithful to the Lord. He has done many miracles through you so far, and He will continue as we set our hands to do His good work. May our Lord accept our humble offerings.
In Christ,
____________________ ___________________ _______________________Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.” (Genesis 28:17) June 2, 2013 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Church Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise our Lord, for He has brought us now to the very threshold of building a home we can call- His own. Through His work of love, integration, and outreach, the Lord has kept us focused on Spiritual Growth and building His house. As a result, we are growing, from Outreach Nights, to Small Groups, to youth trips, to missions, to evangelism training, to couples retreats, and now, to constructing a beautiful place of worship. By God’s grace, Bondfield Construction Company, one of the most reputable contractors in Ontario, is ready to build now at last year’s bid price of $23 million, plus tax. The contract will be divided into two parts: (i) Construction of the entire building shell, parking, landscape, and the sanctuary to qualify us for occupancy (~$19 million); and, (ii) Completion of the finishes to the banquet hall, gym, day care, and basement (~$4 million). Thanks to your generous financial support, Lord willing we will have in the bank $6 million for construction. As well, your financial support has allowed us to pay off our land loan ($3.5 million), and pay for the building permit, architect, attorney, structural, mechanical and electrical fees, and levies and taxes ($2.5 million). All of this, through your generous financial support, adds to the bank’s $10 million loan. Thanks to you, we are so close! Now, in this final stretch, we are up against a tight deadline and we are reaching out to absolutely everyone. Now, to start construction, we need to raise $3 million, by June 30, 2013. If we don’t raise it by then, the bank may not have enough time to process our loan before July 31, 2013, before our permit expires. If you haven’t yet offered the Lord a charitable gift, would you consider doing so at this time? In addition, if you haven’t yet considered a bank loan to the church, would you consider doing so now? You could use your bank or our negotiated lender, RBC. By God’s grace, RBC has agreed to provide you, our community, with a completely automated way to lend to the church. In short, after your loan approval, the church would directly pay RBC your monthly loan installments and no money would ever leave your account. Your credit would improve while SMSV makes your payments for you, and you could call back your loan for any reason at any time. To learn more, kindly contact RBC’s designees, manager Mila Starodoub, 647-262-0347, [email protected]; Alice Phan, 905-513-8536, [email protected]; or Julia Mei, 905-940-5560, [email protected], by June 14. After you have spent some time in prayer, as you feel God leading, kindly complete the enclosed support form and return it by June 14. As God blesses, rest assured that every dollar counts, and no amount is too small. With God’s help and your help, we can build ASAP, before our permit expires this summer. On behalf of the SMSV church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.” (Genesis 28:17) June 2, 2013 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Church Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise our Lord, for He has brought us now to the very threshold of building a home we can call- His own. Through His work of love, integration, and outreach, the Lord has kept us focused on Spiritual Growth and building His house. As a result, we are growing, from Outreach Nights, to Small Groups, to youth trips, to missions, to evangelism training, to couples retreats, and now, to constructing a beautiful place of worship. By God’s grace, Bondfield Construction Company, one of the most reputable contractors in Ontario, is ready to build now at last year’s bid price of $23 million, plus tax. The contract will be divided into two parts: (i) Construction of the entire building shell, parking, landscape, and the sanctuary to qualify us for occupancy (~$19 million); and, (ii) Completion of the finishes to the banquet hall, gym, day care, and basement (~$4 million). Thanks to your generous financial support, Lord willing we will have in the bank $6 million for construction. As well, your financial support has allowed us to pay off our land loan ($3.5 million), and pay for the building permit, architect, attorney, structural, mechanical and electrical fees, and levies and taxes ($2.5 million). All of this, through your generous financial support, adds to the bank’s $10 million loan. Thanks to you, we are so close! Now, in this final stretch, we are up against a tight deadline and we are reaching out to absolutely everyone. Now, to start construction, we need to raise $3 million, by June 30, 2013. If we don’t raise it by then, the bank may not have enough time to process our loan before July 31, 2013, before our permit expires. If you haven’t yet offered the Lord a charitable gift, would you consider doing so at this time? In addition, if you haven’t yet considered a bank loan to the church, would you consider doing so now? You could use your bank or our negotiated lender, RBC. By God’s grace, RBC has agreed to provide you, our community, with a completely automated way to lend to the church. In short, after your loan approval, the church would directly pay RBC your monthly loan installments and no money would ever leave your account. Your credit would improve while SMSV makes your payments for you, and you could call back your loan for any reason at any time. To learn more, kindly contact RBC’s designees, manager Mila Starodoub, 647-262-0347, [email protected]; Alice Phan, 905-513-8536, [email protected]; or Julia Mei, 905-940-5560, [email protected], by June 14. After you have spent some time in prayer, as you feel God leading, kindly complete the enclosed support form and return it by June 14. As God blesses, rest assured that every dollar counts, and no amount is too small. With God’s help and your help, we can build ASAP, before our permit expires this summer. On behalf of the SMSV church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16: 5) November 1, 2011 Beloved St. Maurice & St. Verena Family and Friends, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for His continuous love and care, which He has poured out unto us from Heaven. Less than four years ago, the Lord established St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church (SMSV) in Toronto as the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America. With your missionary zeal, our church has grown quickly to be a safe haven for a diverse community of parishioners and families who come from the four corners of the earth. Through our mission as a ministry of love, integration, and outreach, God has kept us focused on helping individual members to build a personal relationship with Him while we work together in caring for our community. The spirit of acceptance that unites us and the sharing of everyone’s gifts for His glory are only a few characteristics that connect us as a congregation who are committed to be faithful and grow in the Word of God. We continually witness God’s glory being revealed in our midst through the return of many to His flock and the Lord continues to send to the church daily those who are being saved. Since the inception of the church, our dream has been to build a house to the Lord in which we can freely offer Him praise and glory. This dream is now becoming a reality as all aspects of the project are coming together to start building. On June 28, 2011, we received an endorsement from the Town of Markham for our site plan application. On September 24, 2011, we celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and the ground breaking ceremony. Most recently, we are overjoyed that the bank has provided us with a discussion paper offering to finance two-thirds of the total project cost. This is a clear sign from God that He wants us to pursue this project with His blessings. So that we may start construction in the spring of 2012, God willing, we are praying to collect our one-third share of the construction cost which is a total of $6.5 million. So far, we have paid approximately $1.5 million to purchase the land, and received $2.0 million in donations and bonds in 2010. We are praying that the Lord will send $2.0 million by the end of this year and the remaining $1.0 million in the first half of 2012. Would you please join us in praying for God to provide the resources for building His church? After you have spent some time in prayer, if you feel God is leading you to contribute financially, the enclosed pamphlet provides a few options for you to consider. We are confident in our Lord who promised us a special blessing on the day of the laying of the foundation stone saying, “from this day I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19) We also trust the Word of God which promises us that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) We thank you in advance for your holy zeal, for your love and for offering willingly to the Lord. On behalf of the church board, _____________________ _____________________ ______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
“So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work” (Nehemiah 2:18).
Beloved SMSV Family and Friends,
The peace of the Lord be with you.
We thank our heavenly Father for His everlasting love and gifts. This year, we set our hearts on growingdeeper our relationship with the Lord. We set a goal in the beginning of the year to grow individually, as families, and as a congregation, and to reach out to others in our community with the Word of God. As the year comes to a close, our Lord is showing us so much of His miraculous love and gifts through you.
Through you, our gracious Lord is showing us that He can do anything, including build our new church! After years of preparation, we signed a construction contract on October 6, 2013, and started construction on theland. We praise God for building the first multicultural mission centre in North America, which will be home to parishioners of all nations, tribes, and tongues. This is truly a dream come true, and God willing, the project should be completed by June 2015. Through you, His love and gifts are truly making miracles.
In the months leading up to the construction contract, we received an offer from a private lender to finance $15M for construction, but with a high rate of interest. Through a great miracle, however, only two daysprior to our signing, the Bank of Nova Scotia approved us for a loan at a much lower rate, saving us approximately $2M over two years. While this deal was too good to pass up, we were approved for only$12M, and we will be required by Scotia Bank to raise $3M over the next 20 months. This amount is in addition to the $1.5M needed to pay HST and the running costs of the church.
To meet Scotia Bank’s requirement, our prayer is to raise $1.5M by December 31, 2013. This may indeed require sacrificial giving. Yet, be assured of the Lord`s blessings and the power of a sincere heart in giving any possible amount.
There are several ways to contribute. First and foremost, please continue praying for the church and all its mission-focused ministries. Second, prayerfully consider offering a straight donation, a recurring monthly debit or credit card donation, or an interest-bearing loan (bond) of any amount. Third, if you or someone you know works in a company or financial institution, kindly inquire about programs that can offer SMSV afinancial gift.
Thank you so much for being faithful to the Lord. He has done many miracles through you so far, and He will continue as we set our hands to do His good work. May our Lord accept our humble offerings.
In Christ,
____________________ ___________________ _______________________Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
July 7, 2014 “Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name
comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:16) Beloved SMSV Family, The peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. David the Prophet, while preparing to build the Temple of God, prayed for the Children of Israel to “keep their hearts loyal to You.” (v. 18) The fact that the Israelites would always keep their eyes on the Lord and keep His commandments was much more important than the building itself. While the children of God kept their eyes and hearts focused on the Lord, He performed many miracles and provided the means to build His house. They realized that the secret of happiness was to give abundantly, because it ultimately came from His hands and we merely give it back to Him. Our commitment to you, our beloved congregation, is that our eyes and hearts will always be focused on God’s grace and spiritual growth. Our theme of 2014 is “Returning to God” whereas we are praying for personal as well as family and corporal return to God this year. We are making every effort to reach out to every soul with the message of salvation that all might come and believe. We pray that we have a welcoming and inclusive environment at church which nourishes and cares for every soul regardless of their background. With that, we pray that we would all, as a congregation and individuals, be agents of change and extend God’s grace. We are extremely thankful to our Lord and to you for your sacrificial giving which has continued for many years. Through your generous contributions, we have been able to start construction of our church and community centre. We invite you on Saturday and Sunday July 19 & 20, 2014 to visit the land and view the ongoing construction progress. God has helped us so far to make all our monthly payments to the General Contractor. Nevertheless, to continue making our monthly commitments, we will need to raise $1 Million by August 31, 2014. While this might seem like a big task ahead of us, yet, we believe that with God nothing is impossible. There are several ways to contribute. First and foremost, please continue praying for the church and all its mission-focused ministries. Second, prayerfully consider offering a straight donation, a recurring monthly debit or credit card donation, or an interest-bearing loan (bond) of any amount. Third, if you or someone you know works in a company or financial institution, kindly inquire about programs that can offer SMSV a financial gift. Thank you so much for being faithful to the Lord. He has done many miracles through you so far, and He will continue as we set our hands to do His good work. May our Lord accept our humble offerings. In Christ, ____________________ ___________________ _______________________ Fr. Pishoy Salama, Priest Fr. Daniel Hanna, Priest Mr. Refat Samuel, Treasurer
