St Paul, Dandenong’s – Football Club Presentation Night
On the 15th of September, the St Paul’s Football Club held our annual presentation night to celebrate the success of our Men’s senior and reserve teams across the 2023 season.
Playing in Premier League 2, our senior and reserve teams finished 3rd and 4th respectfully in their leagues.
With over 80 people in attendance, the club and players had an opportunity to thank our Sponsors, family and friends for their support throughout the season.
The night was enjoyed by all who were in attendance, and Levant did a fantastic job catering the night.
We congratulate all award recipients and look forward to a bigger 2024 season.
St. Paul’s Family Camp 2023
Family Camp | Goulburn | 2023
With glory to God and with deep gratitude to His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios, St Paul’s annual family camp once again took place in St Michael’s Monastery, Goulburn NSW, from the 21st to the 25th of September.
The theme of this year’s camp was taken from Joshua 24:15, ‘But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’
It was an ecstatic five days of learning, excitement and above all Christian fellowship. To summarise the event, we share a poem written by Ketrina Mawal, sharing her experience.
Family Camp
It was such a wonderful experience,
To attend St. Paul’s Family Camp 2023.
It was a blessing just to be together,
And on that, we can all agree.
We grew closer and closer every day,
With those we don’t know and those we do,
Together we also created a strong faith,
Which as a community we will pursue.
Some highlights of the camp was the Trivia night,
The Bonfire, and sports on the first day,
However, whenever we were together,
All our worries went away.
We can now chant from Khouriyeh’s session,
And from Abouna we learnt of God’s Jealousy,
From Dennis, we learnt our role in the family,
And from Johnny, the works of the Holy Trinity.
The Family Ministry helped our families serve,
As an individual, family and community.
The games and sports were fun to participate,
And from injuries we almost had immunity.
This has been the highlight of my year,
And something to look forward to in the next,
May God grant us many more family camps,
And that the next one will be blessed.
Faith, Food & Fun – Youth Day at St. Mary’s Mt. Pritchard
With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios, the event Faith, Food and Fun was held in the hall of St Mary Dormition parish on Saturday, the 23rd of September for young people in Grades 7 to 12.
It was an action-packed and fun-filled event where approximately fifty youths from the NSW Antiochian Orthodox parishes competed for the trivia shield. The young people had to answer scripture and faith questions on Kahoot as well as beat the clock in several practical challenges.
The ladies committee of St Mary Dormition parish prepared a delicious meal for the attendees as they enjoyed fellowship together.
The winner of the shield was the St Mary Dormition parish, in second place was the St John the Baptist parish and in third place was the St Mary Nativity parish.
It was a memorable and fun event!
Fr Isaac Wehbe and family welcomed to Victoria
With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios, on Sunday the 24th of September, St. George’s Cathedral in Melbourne welcomed Reverend Father Isaac Wehbe, his wife Khouriyeh Nada, and their two children, Evangelos and Marina.
Father Isaac was Balamand educated and belonged to the parish of St. Antonios in Furn El Chebbak, Mount Lebanon. Father Isaac and his family were greeted on their arrival on Friday morning by Reverend Father Jack Lutfi, as well as members of the Parish Council, Ladies Committee and Youth.
The congregation of St. George’s Cathedral was very blessed to have His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios presiding the Divine Liturgy on the feast days of St. Thekla, Equal to the Apostles and St. Silouan the Athonite. His Eminence welcomed and introduced Father Isaac to the parish and invited him to say a few words. Father Isaac and his family were then presented with a gift from the St. George’s Youth. Following the Liturgy, many of the excited parishioners were given the opportunity to meet Father Isaac and his family in the Community Centre. His Eminence expressed his gratitude to the very Reverend Father George Nasr as well as the Parish Council and the Ladies Committee for being very hospitable to Father Isaac and his family.
We are very excited to welcome Father Isaac, Khouriyeh Nada, Evangelos and Marina to our family at St. George’s Cathedral. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ strengthens this beautiful family throughout their new lives here in Australia.
The Craft of Baking and Offering
On the 23rd of September, we were very blessed to have the presence of His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios at our final instalment of the Orthodox Crafts series, which was centred around the baking of prosphora. The day began with a prayer as our youth prepared the dough. This then led to a spiritual talk delivered by Joseph Elcheikh on the significance of prosphora and the theology of the stamp; after learning the magnitude of the task we were undertaking, our youth enthusiastically cut and stamped the dough with the understanding that the works of our hands could become the Body of Christ. As the prosphora was baking, His Eminence enlightened us on the process of preparing the prosphora for communion, with special attention on the Lamb, the Theotokos and the Hosts of Saints. Overall, it was a beautiful day of fellowship and spiritual edification by learning a key craft of our Faith.
This session formed part of a broader series of ‘Orthodox Crafts’ sessions held throughout 2023. In the first session, our youth learned about the beauty and importance of Orthodox iconography. Father Jack Lutfi explained how icons were made and demonstrated the process he uses in his own workshop to the youth. They were then able to choose their own icon, sand and paint it and install a hook for them to take home.
The second session was based on Byzantine chanting. Our youth had the chance to learn the basic notes, scales and symbols of our ecclesiastical music and then applied them in learning a simple chant. One of our youth committee members then presented a talk about the history and development of Byzantine chanting and its uniqueness to our faith.
In 2023, St George’s Youth Committee aimed to teach our youth the practical and creative aspects of our faith. As the future of our parish, it is necessary for us to learn about these beautiful crafts and take on the responsibility for their preservation. All three sessions attained high numbers and participation, giving us great hope that our traditions will continue for many generations to come.
Couples and families reconnect after 5 years
On Saturday, the 16th of September 2023, under the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios, the Department of Family and Marriage held the first reunion of the couples of the pre-marriage course from 2018 and 2019.
The reunion commenced with a Divine Liturgy and at the conclusion of the liturgy, His Eminence Basilios gifted the couples with an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, as a blessing for their marriage.
The couples and their children gathered in the hall with His Eminence Basilios and the clergy and celebrated with a cutting of a cake. It was a beautiful and memorable occasion. The next reunion will be held in 2026.
