St. George’s Coptic Orthodox Church

Mission

The Coptic Church is called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ in the beliefs of the Orthodox Christian faith. Its goal is to maintain the worship of God and to inspire all persons in the Love of Christ. The objective of the Church is to provide all members of the Church and community with their spiritual needs, and to spread the Love of Jesus Christ to the entire world.

History

St. George's Coptic Orthodox Church is considered the first Coptic Church in British Columbia. This Church began with no more than four or five families in 1962. At the time they had neither a priest nor a building of their own. Instead, they met occasionally in their homes and later rented a room in nearby Churches to celebrate the liturgy with visiting priests from other established Coptic Churches in Canada. In 1981, St. George's Coptic Orthodox Church was established. In 1987, the members of the Church bought their first building on Grosvenor Road in Surrey. When the number of members had increased, they rented St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in New Westminster in 1995. And finally, the Church bought the existing building in 1997 at 108 Avenue in Surrey. We were blessed with the visit of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III on September 14th, 1998, who consecrated the existing Church. The existing Church includes a service building with a library, kitchen, meeting room, classrooms, multimedia room, a gymnasium, and a food and service area.

Membership

In 1987, the Church on Grosvenor Road, Surrey began with twenty-five families. In our current building we have 195 families and expect an increase of 10-15 families per year.

Ethnic Composition

We predominately serve Egyptians, but also the Iraqi, Eritrean and Ethiopian communities and a number of Canadians have joined our congregation.

Leadership

The congregation has been led by Father Bisenty Gerges since March 19th, 1995 and joined by Father Armia Gerges in July 15th 2008.

Scope of Activities

1. Sunday Divine Liturgy is served in Coptic, English and Arabic languages, with several other liturgies prayed on weekdays.
2. Servant’s Meetings – Church servants meet on a regular basis to discuss the quality of the service and what can be done to enhance it.
3. Sunday School Classes serve from toddlers to first year university students, teaching the word of God.
4. Coptic Hymns Classes - young children are taught Church hymns in the Coptic language led by our own youth group.
5. Senior Service - seniors meet biweekly for prayer and social gatherings.
6. Hungry for Hope Service - our youth go out to the Downtown Eastside every two weeks, serve sandwiches to the homeless and spend time with them.
7. Choir Service - groups of Church members learn and perform spiritual songs at different gatherings.
8. The newcomers' service - helps newcomers socially and financially.
9. Bible study service - members meet weekly for Bible Study and to learn the word of God.
10. ESL - teaching English as a second language.
11. Computer lessons – provides skills to improve the ability of members to find jobs.
12. Church Conventions and retreats - different age groups of members of our Church and other Coptic Churches meet in a friendly spiritual environment.
13. Church celebrations – during social gatherings and at celebrations of different Church occasions our youth and adults are given a platform to display their talent.