History of Saint Rafka Maronite Church
Dreams do come true, especially when God is with those who dream. In the late
1800s, Maronite Catholic families from the Middle East -- primarily Lebanon and
Syria - -migrated to the Greenville, South Carolina area drawn by the prospect of
finding work, primarily in the textile industry. Although there was no Maronite
church, there was a Catholic church, Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, and it is
there that these Maronite Catholics worshipped and came to know each other. Saint
Mary’s became not only a place to worship God and thank Him, but a place to
connect with a goodly number of people who shared similar customs, languages, and
food, a place to feel at home away from home.
In the late 1940’s, there was an effort to establish a Maronite Church by several of the
local Maronite families, but the Bishop of Charleston would not permit this. Again, In
the 1970s, the Maronites in Greenville again envisioned having their own church.
Under the leadership of Bill Bouharoun and others, Father Joseph Thomas made
many trips to the area from Fayetteville, NC to celebrate Masses with the local
community. However, their attempts to establish a Maronite church were
unsuccessful. By the late 1990s, the Catholic Maronites in and around Greenville once
again envisioned having their own church. But before they could hope to do so, they
needed to establish themselves as a Maronite mission. For two years Marlene Saad
had petitioned Bishop Hector Doueihi of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn to
provide a Maronite priest/presence for all the Maronite Lebanese in the
Greenville/Spartanburg area but nothing materialized. Many Maronite priests with
whom Marlene consulted at the various NAM (National Apostolate of Maronites)
conventions tried to convince her to give up the quest to form a new mission, that no
Maronite priest would be willing to go to the “deep” South to live.
In 1998 Marlene Saad spoke with the bishop’s vicar, Chorbishop Joseph Kaddo, who
advised her to compile a list of names of Maronites in the South Carolina area.
Chorbishop Kaddo instructed her about what was entailed in the process and told her
to send the list to the Chancery. The 700 households listed came from Charleston,
Columbia, Spartanburg and Greenville, the latter boasting the largest numbers. In
February of 1999, Marlene sent two copies of this list, one to the bishop and one to Ed
Shiner, Executive Director of NAM, along with a letter indicating the community’s
desire to become an established entity within the Maronite Church. Ed Shiner had
requested the list so that he could give everyone on that list a free one-year
membership to NAM.
Meanwhile, Bishop Doueihi was away in Florida dedicating another of the seven
missions. On the return trip he looked over the area of South Carolina and realized
that although there were Maronite missions and churches in Florida, Georgia and
North Carolina, there was nothing in South Carolina. Upon this realization, Bishop
Doueihi prayed for a miracle, for he knew many of the Lebanese in Greenville and
knew of their unsuccessful efforts thirty years ago to establish a Maronite church.
When Bishop Doueihi returned to his office, on his desk he found the South Carolina
list of Maronites that Marlene Saad had compiled. He praised and thanked God that
his prayers had been answered. In March of 1999 the bishop called Marlene Saad to
tell her that Monsignor Ron Beshara would be in touch with her soon concerning the
possibility of establishing a Maronite mission in the Upstate and that Ron Jebaily was
interested in the mission as well. Monsignor Beshara called and instructed Marlene
to hold a local meeting at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church or at her home. She held
several meetings, one at her home and one in 2000 at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church
where twenty people were present.
By mid June, 1999, Marlene Saad had received an updated list of Lebanese families in
the Greenville area and held a meeting in her home to form the “first” core group,
consisting of the Hages, the Sawdas, Gabby Abilhalid and the Howayecks. At this
meeting it was announced that Marlene Saad would be the pastoral leader and that
Monsignor Ron Beshara of West Palm Beach, Florida, would be the Maronite
Outreach Director. Following this meeting, Marlene Saad sent a letter to area
Lebanese families indicating that requisite to participation in this Outreach program,
she needed ten families/people to volunteer to form the core group.
In August 1999 Marlene Saad mailed out guidelines for the upcoming first of such
events, a Maronite Tradition Day (Liturgy and Hospitality). In early October in
Columbia, South Carolina, Ron Jebaily chaired a State Input Meeting for the Maronite
Outreach Community. Here, with the urging of the Eparchy, the decision was made
that the best site for the first Maronite Tradition Day would be the Upstate,
Greenville, with subsequent MTDs being held in Charleston and Columbia. What an
honor! Thus, Marlene Saad sent letters to those on the “list” inviting them to attend
the first Maronite Tradition Day to be held at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church on
October 31, 1999, at 3:00 PM. She also placed ads in the New Catholic Miscellany and
in every Roman Catholic Church bulletin in Greenville, Spartanburg and Gaffney,
hoping to draw Latin Catholics in the area who might wish to experience the “rich
heritage of the Maronite Divine Liturgy.” In attendance were 300 people. Monsignor
Beshara celebrated the mass followed by a beautiful reception, consisting of
traditional Middle Eastern food, organized by the women of the core group.
The New Catholic Miscellany included a front-page article on November 18, 1999,
entitled “Maronites Reunited with Their Culture.” And in early December The
Maronite Voice published two articles entitled “Greenville, South Carolina,
Celebrates Maronite Tradition Day” and South Carolina Maronites React to Tradition
Day.” Nine days later the first Ramsho was held at St. Mary’s, attended by 22 people
and led by Subdeacon Roger Daniels.
In 2000 several banner events occurred: In January the first mailing of Mary, Mother
of the Life Good News Messenger and the celebration of the second Maronite
Tradition Day at St. Mary’s with over 200 people attending. By February the progress
of the Maronite community in the Upstate was being celebrated in The Maronite
Voice in an article entitled “The Maronite Community of South Carolina Makes a
Steady Progress.” Also in February Mary, Mother of the Life Good News Messenger
distributed a flyer outlining the coming events in the Maronite community, one of
them being the celebration of Ash Monday Ramsho at St. Mary’s Church to be held on
March 6, at which Deacon Frank Farina presided. By April 20, South Carolina
Maronites received a letter from Monsignor Beshara naming Marlene Saad as Pastoral
Team Leader. Ten days later, April 30, the first Maronite Picnic was held at the East
Riverside Park in Greer, South Carolina. At this point Mary, Mother of the Life Good
News Messenger was being mailed on a regular basis during 2000: Issue 3 (May),
Issue 4 (July), Issue 5 (September) and Issue 6 (December) being mailed to all in the
Maronite community. May 28, 2000, saw a glorious third Maronite Tradition Day,
celebrated by Monsignor Beshara, again at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church.
September 16, 2000, was a most memorable date because it was the first visit to
Greenville and South Carolina by Bishop Hector Doueihi and the first Evening Gala
(Hafli) held at the Hilton Hotel. On the next day, Bishop Doueihi celebrated the
Maronite liturgy at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. The fourth Maronite Tradition Day
was held on November 12, 2000, but at a new location, Blessed Trinity Catholic
Church in Greer, South Carolina, where masses would be held for almost two years.
February of 2001 brought a dinner dance to Saint Mary Magdalene Hall in
Simpsonville, South Carolina, attended by approximately 175 people, followed the
next day by the celebration of a Maronite mass by Monsignor Ron Beshara with the
first community baptism and chrismation for Josephine Elaine Abikhaled.
Meanwhile, mailings of Mary, Mother of the Life Good News Messenger continued
into 2001: March (issue 7) May (issues 8 & 9) and August (issue 10). On May 20 of
2001, the second Maronite Picnic (referred to at this point as the Family Picnic) and
the Maronite Tradition Day were celebrated at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in
Greer, South Carolina, as was a subsequent Maronite Tradition Day soon after on July
28, 2001, at the same location.
Strides were definitely being made when in August of 2001 several meetings of the
South Carolina Maronite Community were held: one to discuss the upcoming visit of
Bishop Robert Baker, the bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, and the hafli as well as
an emergency meeting to discuss the upcoming Hafli Anniversary Celebration.
September brought yet another South Carolina Maronite Community meeting to
discuss the upcoming visit of Bishop Baker.
At the beginning of 2002, the Eparchy sent Monsignor George Sebaali in February and
Father Paul Damien in April to fill in for Monsignor Ron Beshara for the Maronite
Tradition Days at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church. And it was a red-letter day when
finally at the 2002 NAM Convention in Brooklyn, New York, Bishop Doueihi
presented Marlene Saad with the official document that would declare on August 15
a new mission, appointing Father David Michael as Parochial Vicar of the newly
named Saint Rafka Maronite Mission.
Father David Michael was to reside at the Our Risen Savior Catholic Church in
Spartanburg, South Carolina. Meanwhile, mailings of Mary, Mother of the Life Good
News Messenger continued, the 16th issue mailed on August 21. On September 29
the Saint Rafka Maronite Mission’s Divine Liturgy was celebrated at a new location,
the Risen Savior Catholic Church. Toward the end of 2002, on November 3, the Saint
Rafka Mission held its first monthly Middle Eastern lunch following Divine Liturgy.
Unfortunately, in 2004 Father David Michael left Saint Rafka Mission. He is now
serving in the Latin Church in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. Once again
without a permanent pastor, Saint Rafka Mission continued on with Monsignor
Beshara, Monsignor Sebaali and Father Damien, rotating and filling in on a quarterly
basis. Bishop Doueihi asked Marlene Saad to be patient, said that newly ordained
priests from Lebanon were waiting to receive their visas to come to the United
States. Meanwhile, Bishop Doueihi asked Marlene what type of priest she thought
would fit the Saint Rafka community. Her response was, “Any priest that would
spiritually inspire us with a traditional Maronite Divine Liturgy.”
It is interesting to note that Saint Rafka Maronite Mission had a group of musicians
who added beauty to each liturgy. Antoine Sleiman, violinist and director of the
choir, Adib Chebli, player of the ude, and his teenage son, Ramsy, organist/pianist-created beautiful music for the liturgy. Pat Bouharoun loyally served as pianist later
in the mission’s evolution.
As 2003 geared up, the Mary, Mother of the Life Good News Messenger was mailed
out on the first of January. And on February 3 Saint Rafka Maronite Mission held its
Annual Hafli at the Embassy Suites in Greenville. In May Monsignor Beshara visited
Saint Rafka Maronite Mission. The third annual Parish Picnic was held at Brushy
Creek Park in Greer following celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of
Saint Clare.
But 2003 brought a momentous change to Saint Rafka Maronite Mission. After a
hiatus of a year without a priest of its own, Saint Rafka Mission was blessed by
receiving a new priest, Bartholomew Leon. Marlene Saad said she was ecstatic to
learn that the new priest was Father Leon. She had met him at a NAM convention in
1998 in Pittsburgh, had visited his parish in Dover, New Hampshire, had been greatly
impressed by his liturgy and cantoring and knew that he was the right pastor for
Saint Rafka Maronite Mission. Father Leon was usually addressed by his
parishioners as Father Bart or Abouna.
Father Bartholomew Leon was installed on November 30, 2003, as the new pastor of
Saint Rafka Maronite Mission during a mass at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, where
this mission had its roots. It was decided Father Leon would reside at Saint Mary’s
rectory and that he would celebrate Saint Rafka Mission’s liturgy at Saint Mary’s at 1:
00 PM each Sunday. Because not many people attended so late on a Sunday, Saint
Rafka Mission moved its liturgy to the Monastery of Saint Clare on Saturday
evening. With this new venue, more people did attend. Early in 2004, January 4 to
be exact, Saint Rafka Maronite Mission held a special potluck Middle Eastern meal
after Divine Liturgy
to honor and introduce its new pastor. On February 14, 2004, Valentine’s Day, the
Saint Maron Annual Hafli was held at the Marriott Hotel.
Because Bishop Hector Doueihi was retiring at seventy-five years of age on March 2
of 2004, Bishop Gregory Mansour was ordained in Lebanon, and on April 27 of that
year he was installed as Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn in New
York.
Saint Rafka Maronite Mission, meanwhile, continued to build tradition by having a
luncheon on April 4, 2004, Shaneenee (Palm) Sunday, after the Divine Liturgy. And
yet another hafli was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel on May 22, 2004. Not a month
later, June, 6, 2004, the Saint Rafka Mission liturgy moved to Gallivan Hall on the
campus of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. But after approximately eight months as
the St. Rafka Maronite Mission’s pastor, Father Bartholomew Leon was transferred to
become the pastor of two parishes in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, saying his final
liturgy at Saint Rafka Maronite Mission on July 10, 2004.
At this point Bishop Gregory asked Marlene Saad to continue to keep the community
together with events and such. Before a month had elapsed, Father Peter Boulos was
appointed by the Eparchy as Proto-presbyter of the Far South Region that included
Saint Rafka Maronite Mission. And on August 14, 2004, Father Boulos started
celebrating masses for Saint Rafka’s Mission on Saturday evenings at the Monastery
of Saint Clare and did so for about a year. Right before the end of December, 2004,
Bishop Gregory came to visit the Saint Rafka Maronite Mission to encourage the
community to stay together, to persevere.
Ever persistent and under the leadership of Marlene Saad, St. Rafka Maronite Mission
began 2005 optimistically by holding a hafli at St. Mary Magdalene Hall in
Simpsonville on January 22. The members of Saint Rafka Mission had held masses
and social functions in numerous churches and venues in the area but were thankful
for the helping hands offered by the various Catholic churches in the Upstate.
January 6, 2006, was a day to remember and cherish because Father Bartholomew
Leon, who had been assigned to return to Greenville’s Saint Rafka Maronite Mission,
offered mass at the Monastery of Saint Clare. He would also serve as an assistant
priest at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in
Simpsonville was the site of the next hafli, graciously allowing the Saint Rafka
Mission to hold its Feast of Saint Maron Hafli there.
By July of 2006, Saint Rafka Mission’s Sunday 11:00 AM Divine Liturgies were
resumed at Gallivan Hall at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. The pastor, Father Jay
Scott Newman, has been ever helpful, even going so far as to allow the priests
serving at St. Mary’s to substitute when Father Bart -- who also says mass and hears
confessions at St. Mary’s -- needs to be away. Father Dwight Longenecker and Father
Christopher Smith, before he was reassigned and when he visits, have both celebrated
or concelebrated the liturgy at Saint Rafka Maronite Mission, no mean feat since the
liturgy is very different from the Latin or Roman rite. With the blessing of Father
Newman, St. Mary’s deacons -- John Karandisevsky, John Heuser and George
Tierney-- also have served at Saint Rafka Maronite Mission. Now that Saint Rafka
Mission has its own church, Deacon Dick Murtaugh has been regularly assisting
Father Leon.
In 2008 Father Bart asked the congregation of St. Rafka Mission to submit names of
those who could serve on either the Pastor’s Advisory Council (seven positions) and
the Finance Committee (six positions). The parishioners voted in most of the council
and committee members, with Father Leon having the option of appointing two
people to each group.
An important occasion was the Pastoral Visit of Chorbishop Michael G. Thomas on
December 1, 2008. He assessed the viability of the mission and concurred that
significant growth had occurred in the intervening years since 1999. While
Chorbishop Thomas visited, he, Father Bart, the Pastor’s Advisory Council and the
Finance Committee looked at a possible property that St. Rafka Mission might
consider purchasing, but all concurred that the property needed far too much
renovation to be a viable consideration. Still, the hunt for a home was set in motion.
The search for a home continued, but one property after another was assessed as
unsuitable for varying valid reasons.
Meanwhile, Father Bart sent out a survey to all registered parishioners of Saint Rafka
Maronite Mission to determine the level of interest in seeking a permanent home for
the mission. Breaking the surrounding area into quadrants on a map, he asked
members to indicate in what area a church property would best serve each family.
He also inquired as to how many members were willing to make a sacrificial pledge
to purchase a church property. The response was positive. The members of St.
Rafka Maronite Mission were ready and willing to purchase a property of their
own.
One day in early October of 2009, Heather Sijon passed a Church of Christ property in
Greer, the area where she lived, and saw that it was for sale. She alerted Father Bart,
who asked Richard Sleiman and Richard Wickett, whoever was free to go there, to
assess the property’s possibilities. From a cursory visit, Richard Wickett thought the
buildings looked in quite good shape. The property, consisting of two buildings, a
shed, and over two acres of land, held promise also as a place where large gatherings,
such as fairs and haflis, could be accommodated on the grounds. However, at the
moment Richard was there reveling in the possibilities of the property, Father Bart,
having called to inquire about the property, was being informed that Saint John
Baptist Church had already taken a contract on it. Crestfallen, Father Bart
nevertheless asked that he be contacted should the contract happen to fall through.
And that the contract did fall through seemed Divine Providence. Now, Father Bart
felt that God was speaking and that he and the members of Saint Rafka Maronite
Mission needed to listen. Father Bart asked that Saint Rafka Mission parishioners
visit the property that had become available in Greer to give him their opinion about
the possibility of making it the mission’s home. On October 18, 2009, Father Bart and
56 mission parishioners gathered at the church property in Greer to formally discuss
the pros and cons of purchasing it, to learn the details of what the Eparchy would
require. After leading the group in a pray for guidance, Father took a vote. Only one
person voted to remain at Saint Mary’s; 55 voted to make the move to the Greer
property. As Father Bart wrote in the bulletin of October 25, 2009, “It was one of the
most moving days of my life as it was done with such gentleness and calm.”
November of 2009 brought another red-letter day to St. Rafka’s. Marlene Saad was
installed as a Lady of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, in Brooklyn, New York, by
Bishop Gregory Mansour. Marlene’s family and Father Bart attended the glorious
occasion. This Papal Honor was bestowed on a woman who not only worked
tirelessly to insure that a Maronite mission would be established in the Upstate, but
who served in successive offices on the NAM Board until she reached the office of
President, a position she held for two years. As Father Leon wrote concerning
Marlene Saad in the November 8, 2009 bulletin, “Thank you, Marlene, for your
tireless efforts on behalf of the Church and Saint Rafka Mission! Your Work is
bearing fruit!”
Once the decision was made to purchase the Greer property, Father Leon sent all
details to the Eparchy. Liking what they saw and realizing that St. Rafka Maronite
Mission was coming into its own, Chorbishop Michael Thomas called on behalf of
Bishop Gregory and the Eparchy on December 9 to give permission to proceed with
the purchase but with one stipulation: Bishop Gregory required Saint Rafka Maronite
Mission to raise $100,000 as a cushion to make sure that mortgage and renovation
costs could be met. That stipulation was met through a fund-raising campaign which
included not only raising additional money for the building fund but offering the
purchase of $1000 bonds, 17 of which were purchased. After many years of hoping to
purchase its own church property, St. Rafka Mission was on its way to having a place
of its own in which to hold the liturgy and mission-related functions.
When Chorbishop Michael Thomas visited again in December of 2009, it was to
celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at a Pontifical Divine Liturgy
on December 7th at Gallivan Hall. On December 8th, Chorbishop Thomas viewed the
Greer property that St. Rafka had hopes of purchasing and gave sound advice about
how Saint Rafka Mission could proceed with fund-raising activities. His positive
attitude gave us comfort and inspiration.
Work began on purchasing the complex from the Church of Christ through Chuck
Langston of Langston Black Real Estate, Inc. Richard Wickett, being recently retired,
agreed to help Father Bart with all phases of the endeavor: finding an attorney to
handle all transactions; bidding out the mortgage to four banks; getting the required
inspections; securing an architectural firm; finding contractors to renovate the
education and the church buildings. The Bank of Travelers Rest provided the best
terms, including interest rate. Tommy Dugas, a parishioner at Saint Mary’s Catholic
Church, served as St. Rafka’s attorney, gratis. The architectural firm, Pazdan-Smith
Group, brought Fr. Bart’s vision of the altar area to life, gratis, with Jeannine Rogers
revising the plans several times to make the vision perfect. Freewood Construction
was hired to do the renovation in both church complex buildings; Elie Alam, manager
of ValuFlor, arranged for that flooring company to transform the carpeted church and
altar into lovely wood flooring and removed much of the carpet in the education
building, replacing it with attractive tile. The cost of all renovations came well under
the architect’s budget: $30,000 under.
The property at 1215 South Highway 14 in Greer, South Carolina, officially became
the property of St. Rafka’s Mission, well, strictly speaking of the Eparchy, on January
7, 2010. Renovation and construction of the two buildings was officially completed
on March 26, 2010, one week before Easter. Many parishioners--far too many to
name them all--helped with the process of moving into the new facility. One person
who must be named is Phil George who faithfully takes care of keeping the extensive
lawn cut and trimmed. Richard Sleiman, David Fiorini, James Ross and Richard
Wickett helped with getting the church ready for the first liturgy to be celebrated on
Easter Sunday.
On Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, Father Bartholomew Leon celebrated that first
liturgy in the St. Rafka Maronite Mission’s new church, with 204 people attending the
11:00 AM liturgy, a record crowd. Father Bart also held at 7:00 that evening the first
Sunday evening liturgy which he called the “last chance mass” because it is the last
Catholic Mass or liturgy on Sunday in the area. That Mass is attracting many people
from the area and the numbers continue to grow. Father Bart immediately instituted
a weekly Wednesday liturgy beginning at 7:00 PM before which he hears confessions.
At the Easter Liturgy Father Bart announced that the dining room area would be
known as The Saad Room in honor of Marlene Saad, “who has been the true
spearhead of the mission over the past 10 years.” The hall building has been named
Wickett Hall in honor of the “great and varied” work that Richard for the church.
Icons that parishioner and artist extraordinaire James Ross has created grace Saint
Rafka Maronite Mission. James Ross, a convert to Catholicism, was previously a
priest in the Russian Orthodox Church and thus is affectionately referred to as
“Abouna James.” The design of each icon created by James Ross was sent to Bishop
Gregory for his official permission to install it. Marlene Saad donated the first icon,
that of St. Rafka, which was unveiled and blessed on April 11, 2010, in memory of her
deceased husband, Oscar C. Saad, who always encouraged her to continue her quest
to form a Maronite mission in the Upstate. The Icon of Christ Crucified, placed on a
plain wooden cross, was donated by Richard and Linda Wickett, and was unveiled
and blessed on May 23, 2010. Other Icons will be mentioned further on in the
Program Book.
First Holy Communion was administered on April 18, 2010, for the first time at the
new church so recently occupied by Saint Rafka Maronite Mission. Elie Alam,
Director of Religious Education, prepared Isabel Chebeir, Leia Kanaan, Zaid Kaseer
and Tara Kaseer to receive this blessed and holy sacrament. For Saint Rafka’s
Mission, four children receiving First Holy Communion at one time was a record
number.
The first Baptism/Chrismation celebrated at the new church of Saint Rafka Maronite
Mission was on May 2, 2010: Gabriel Anthony Sijon, son of David and Heather Sijon,
was baptized a Maronite Catholic, thus becoming an important part of Saint Rafka
Maronite Mission’s history.
On May 9, 2010, Saint Rafka Maronite Mission celebrated once again the Liturgy of
Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion but one that was beautifully unique.
Together, Ramsy Chebli and his baby son Joseph were baptized and confirmed and
then Ramsy received his First Communion.
To everyone’s relief by May 9, 2010, the Saint Rafka Maronite Mission church became
a cooler and less expensive place to worship thanks to the efforts of seamstress
Houda Yacu and her team from Laura’s. The well-made drapes are the exact color of
the interior wooden trim and block the sun that was blazing through the windows.
Jack and Maureen Yacu assisted with the hanging of these beautiful and functional
drapes.
And on June 6 the parishioners of Saint Rafka Maronite Mission celebrated in advance
Father Bart’s Silver Jubilee, the date on which 25 years before, June 8, 1985, he was
ordained a priest at Saint John of the Cross Church in Orange Grove, Texas. Father
Leon announced that we were all invited to a celebration on June 12 of his Silver
Jubilee at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, where Father Jay Scott Newman would be
the homilist, with a reception for Father Leon following.
So much history has led to a very important event that has yet to take place but is
soon to come. On this day, September 19, 2010, at 3:00 PM, Bishop Gregory Mansour
of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn will dedicate the new church occupied by
Saint Rafka Maronite Mission during the Consecration Liturgy, after which a catered
dinner will follow. For Saint Rafka Maronite Mission to have become a reality and to
have purchased its own church is a dream come true for so many people, a dream
that took root and grew through hope and faith, a dream nurtured by the sheer
determination of people like Oscar and Marlene Saad, Bishop Hector Doueihi,
Monsignor Ron Beshara, our own Father Bartholomew Leon, Chorbishop Michael
Thomas and Bishop Gregory Mansour.
At the time of the publication of this book, the first funeral was held in the new
Church for Sami Butros Ghannam, on Monday, September 6, Labor Day, 2010. The
cycle of life, celebration of the Mysteries and death is a part of the life of the
community of Saint Rafka.
For all that has been, we say “thanks!”. For all that will be, we say “yes!”.
Linda Wicket
With the help of Marlene Saad and others