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Pastoral Letter for the New Coptic Year (Year 1737 of the Martyrs)
“You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.” Psalm 65:11
Dear Beloved in Christ,
I pray that you are safe and well.
September is a month of new beginnings. During this month, on September 11th, we celebrate the Feast of Nayrouz, the Coptic New Year, and we celebrate the beginning of the new school year for all ages. May our prayer be for the Lord to Bless the Crown of this Year with His Goodness and may He continue to protect and guide us through this time of pandemic and grant safety and success to each of our children, youth and young adults as they resume their academic journeys.
We know that God always showers us with His countless blessings and most recently we experienced this as we resumed the in-person celebration of the sacraments of our Church together in one spirit since June 12, 2020. We chant with King David and say, “The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad.” (Psalm 126:3) We truly have been full of joy as we resumed celebrating the Divine Liturgies, the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Matrimony among other services. Your efforts and support have made our reopening a great success for all of us. Thank you for your great love for the church and for your continued cooperation.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, is still a significant issue. W recently noticed an increase in numbers of COVID-19 cases and three non-Coptic Orthodox places of worship, two in the Greater Toronto Area and one in Calgary, Alberta, experienced outbreaks as a result of congregants spreading the virus to others in attendance. As schools resume and as we enter the upcoming flu season, our main role and responsibility is to continue to be hyper-vigilant and compliant with all Provincial Safety Protocols and ensure that we take our time to double-check all our responses to the screening questions when we register for services. Also, if you are in doubt of how you are feeling on the day of your church attendance, we ask you to take the more safe approach and choose staying home to ensure that there is no accidental spread of COVID-19 until you feel better.
Let us continue to work together through the challenges that COVID-19 presents for all of us to ensure the well-being of the community at large and to ensure that we keep everyone in the services safe.
I pray for your continued safety and good health, both physically and spiritually, in all your days.
God bless you.
His Grace Bishop Mina
Diocese of Mississauga, Vancouver and Western Canada
September 11, 2020
Statement on Sexual Misconduct
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
As the Body of Christ, we always celebrate and mourn together. Today is a day where we mourn and chant with David the Psalmist and say “Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.” (Psalm 130:1-2)
St. Paul told us that as sons and daughters of Christ, we are fully accountable, first and foremost in front of God, for safeguarding the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of our fellow believers.
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12,26)
Claims of sexual misconduct were recently confirmed to have taken place involving a now defrocked member of the clergy. Such deplorable conduct is heartbreaking for all of us and is intolerable. We offer our sincerest prayers to our Lord for anyone who may have suffered as we know that “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3) Every girl, boy, woman and man deserve to be treated with respect, and if harm is ever done to them, they equally deserve to see the full extent of justice served. Forgiveness, as a Biblical commandment, must be coupled with fairness and justice, as the Bible tells us that while Christ is the ultimate forgiver, He is just as He said “For offenses must come, but woe to the man by whom the offense comes!” (Matthew 18:7)
Our congregation members are the most treasured gift for the Church, and as such we vow to always protect each other with every ounce of sincerity, devotion, care and love.
We want to assure our congregation members in every Church throughout the Diocese that the Diocese has zero-tolerance for any type of sexual misconduct and sexual crimes whether committed by clergy or laity alike. We ask that you report any criminal wrongdoing immediately to the appropriate legal authorities and to the Church for ecclesiastical and pastoral investigation and intervention.
We have formed a committee that is working on expanding our policies that are aimed at raising awareness and accountability among clergy, servants, employees, volunteers as well as parents with regards to matters related to sexual misconduct and sexual crimes. As part of this process, a system will be established for receiving and investigating complaints. We understand the societal stigma associated with such instances, and we assure every impacted individual that investigations will be treated with the utmost confidentiality as allowed by the law. We will keep you updated on our progress.
To each and every one of you, be assured that the Church is Christ’s and He will always watch over us. While we may be dismayed and in disbelief that something like this can happen in our own backyard, we will not allow the actions of a few to despair the many. We raise our hearts and hands in fervent prayer that God may protect each and every one of us from all envy, all temptation, all the work of Satan, the counsel of wicked men and the rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest, fill our hearts with joy and gladness, instill in our hearts His peace, and focus our spiritual vision towards our salvation and eternity.
His Grace Bishop Mina
Diocese of Mississauga, Vancouver and Western Canada
July 24th, 2020