Throughout our Centennial Jubilee Year, we invite all parish families to participate in our Monthly Family Memorial Liturgy, a sacred time of prayer, remembrance, and communion with those who have gone before us in faith.
In our Syriac tradition, Saturdays are dedicated to the Faithful Departed. This is the day on which the Lord rested after the work of creation, and the day on which He rested in the tomb, descending to Sheol to raise up Adam and all the righteous before His Resurrection. For this reason, Saturday is especially fitting for remembering our beloved dead in hope of the Resurrection.
These monthly liturgies are intended to gather families together to commemorate the
members of their extended families — those who not only helped found and sustain our
parish, but who have also shaped our lives through their love, sacrifice, and faith over the past century.
The Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 11:00 AM for the departed, followed by an Incense Service offered on their behalf. Afterward, families are invited to continue this act of mercy by gathering in the Parish Hall for a Mercy Meal in memory of their loved ones. Meals may be arranged through the Ladies Guild, or families are welcome to organize their own — whether through catering, a potluck, or a simple gathering with coffee and traditional fried dough.
We warmly encourage everyone to reach out and invite their extended families to take part in these commemorations, making this a true gathering of generations united in prayer. Additional dates may be added throughout the year as interest grows.
Let us come together to remember, to pray, and to entrust our departed to the mercy of God, who is “not God of the dead, but of the living.”