GROUPS & EVENTS

Below you will find a high level overview of the various services in our Parish.

Bible Studies and Fellowship Meetings

In the Orthodox Church, our principal sources of dogma are the Holy Bible and Church Tradition. As such, our parish hosts Bible studies to facilitate our studies of Scripture, as well as fellowship meetings to encourage discussions about and explorations of tradition. At 8 pm on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, the college youth and recent college grads have a fellowship meeting in the parish house on our church grounds, typically in the company of Father Mina Essak. Thereafter, the group enjoys a fellowship dinner. Likewise, every Thursday at 8 pm (check this time), the postgrad group gathers at 8 pm in St. Mary & St. Philopater for a weekly young adults Bible study. In addition, the Christ Centered Women group holds regular meetings (check on when and where) in the southeast Michigan area, to study the Holy Bible and discuss other spiritual readings. On Fridays, the Arabic Meeting group meets at 7 pm to study the Holy Bible in the Arabic language, with the perspective of Egyptians living in the United States. Each month (check which Friday), the Arabic Meeting brings in a guest speaker to lead a Scripture-based discussion. Past speakers have included visiting clergy and Orthodox theology specialists.

For the college fellowship meeting, contact Patrick Megally.

For the postgrad Bible study, contact Dina Ibrahim.

For Christ Centered Women, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For the Arabic Meeting, contact Shenouda Mekhael.

FTFT! Michigan

FTFT! is a nationwide Coptic Orthodox organization. Our church forms the Michigan chapter."FTFT!" stands for First Timothy Four Twelve, a Bible verse that encourages us to be an example to all believers through our service to others. FTFT! aims to mobilize youth in our congregation to serve the immediate community in nursing homes, homeless shelters, and children's hospitals. On the third Tuesday of each month, we visit MediLodge (formerly Evangelical) nursing home in Sterling Heights to accompany the elderly, do activities with them, and visit Christ in when He is sick. This service is open to high school and older. Every other month, we visit HOPE Warming Center on Friday evening to serve dinner and visit those who are seeking shelter. HOPE welcomes adults 18 and older. Likewise, on the alternate months, we visit Grace Centers of Hope on Saturday evening to serve dinner. Grace welcomes adults, and children 10 and older, in the company of a parent or guardian. Finally, each month, FTFT! visits Children's Hospital of Michigan to do activities with children who are facing health challenges. Currently, FTFT! is working on scheduling prison visits.

In addition to these regular monthly activities, at least once per year, FTFT! also partners with FOCUS Motor City, a local Orthodox Christian service organization, to prepare meals for Detroit children who rely on school lunches for daily sustenance. Likewise, FTFT! visits Grace Centers of Hope in late November to decorate the shelter for Christmas and celebrate Christ's birth with the Grace Centers community. FTFT! seeks constantly to participate in various other projects. Please get in touch if you are interested.

To visit the nursing home, please contact FTFT! at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To see upcoming shelter visits, please visit tinyurl.com/sheltervisits.

To see upcoming children's hospital visits, please visit tinyurl.com/childrenshopitalvisits.

If you are visiting for the first time, please contact FTFT! before you sign up to visit.

Seasonal Activities and Retreats

Throughout the year, our church community gathers for retreats to gain perspective and hear God’s message in times of tranquility and peace. During our busy lives, Christ encourages us to “‘Come aside by yourselves and rest a while’” (St. Mark 6:31). Various groups arrange retreats for their participants; on the first weekend of each month, the church also arranges a family retreat open to all. This family retreat takes place at St. Mina Retreat Center, our church’s Coptic Orthodox center in Mio, MI. Likewise, the high school group retreats to St. Mina every summer (typically in late August), and to the Colombiere Retreat & Conference Center in Clarkson, MI every winter. The middle school group visits St. Mina each summer, as well, typically in June. The choir and usher teams retreat regularly, as do the servants group, the postgrads group, and the college youth. Forthcoming, our parish anticipates retreat opportunities at the diocesan retreat center in Monroe, MI. If you would like to arrange an individual retreat or learn more about Coptic Orthodox retreat practice, please contact ____.

Coptic Language & Hymns Classes

Each Friday evening from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, our church holds hymns classes for children and adults. Classes for children start at four years old and go through early college. There is a hymns class for adults, as well. In addition, in fall 2019, the hymns service will start an adult beginners class for adults to learn Coptic language. Hymnology is a staple to our Coptic Orthodox faith and one of the principal ways in which our Church conserves the Coptic language. Hymnology also preserves deep theological traditions. For these reasons, the Coptic Orthodox community values hymns education, to pass on the traditions we inherited from our Apostolic predecessors in the faith. Each year, the hymns class participants perform for the congregation to show the hymns they have been learning relevant to a particular theme. All are welcome to join this service. Knowledge of Coptic language or hymnology is not required. If you'd like to get involved in hymns class by attending, signing up your children to attend, or serving with us Fridays, please contact the hymns class service coordinator, Dr. Atef Mousaad.