Children from St. Mark’s Hand Bell Ringers regaled attendees
On Sunday, October 30, over 200 guests filled the St. George Orthodox Center in Ontario Canada for our Walking With Him Fundraising Dinner.
The theme of the night was Walking with Him to illustrate the need to walk in faith with God through all of the uncertainties in Egypt. Fr. Pishoy Salama of St. Maurice & St. Verena, as well as Fr. Rueiss Awad, Fr. Joseph Louca, and Fr. Mikhael Armanios of St. George & St. Rueiss came to support the event with their attendance.
In addition to the dinner and discussion about Coptic Orphans’ work, guests were treated to a word and prayer by Fr. Rueiss. Abouna Rueiss spoke on the importance of unity through this rough time in Egypt. His words that resonated with the theme of the night:
We must never separate from our homeland Egypt, we are totally together in the Body of Christ…we have to remember that the problems in Egypt are permitted from God because He is the one in control. We have to remember that God is the one who looks after everything.
There was an overall feeling of joy and unity in the air. In addition to guests, the hall was filled with over 20 volunteers working in seamless coordination. They worked for weeks selling tickets and promoting the event all throughout October. Then they came to make the event happen. Volunteers did everything from greet guests at the door to help in the kitchen.
Some of the guests were so inspired, they took off their dinner jackets to help, too.
Shahira Mamdouh, Canada’s Coptic Orphans Donor Relations associate, said she was amazed by the feeling in the air. She said, “by the end of the night I couldn’t tell the difference between guest and volunteer, everyone was there to help the children.”
The St. Mark’s Ringers treated guests to a special performance. St. Mark’s Ringers is a professional-quality volunteer musical group composed of children aged 6 to 14 and led by the passionate handbell expert Nagaty Banoyoty. They earned roaring applause with their heartful and precisely practiced performance of several beautiful songs.
By the end of the evening 30 children were sponsored.
The next time Coptic Orphans will hold an event in Canada will be our Copts Got Talent, which will showcase the various talents of the Coptic diaspora in Canada.