In The Heart: Our Young Adults - January 26, 2007

The above pictures were sent to me recently by Nancy Morcos, one of our "young" adults in spirit who has a great heart and an abundant faith.

The occasion of these pictures is here:

On Friday, January 26, 2007, Jesus the King Youth Club (I actually prefer to call them the Young Adult Group) invited the youths of Our Lady of Lebanon for a lecture I delivered about love! Some 40 people attended. Can you count them in the right picture above?!

The surprise was the "Award" I was given by the young ones. The award consisted of a beautiful Bible covered by a rich wooden case. The picture of the award which Tarek Marrouchi, a true leader of JKYC gave me in the name of the youths, is shown above on the left. As Nancy Morcos commented, a cross appears to reflect on it!

What matters is not the picture of the award nor the picture of the youths. What matters indeed is their persons around the Bible, the Word of God. I told them then, and I still tell them today: You are the future of our Church. And, whether they are in the picture or not, they remain in my heart.

George Farahat

A Pastoral Outline

Welcome to Jesus the King Melkite Catholic Church. Our Church was first founded in Toronto by a Melkite priest in the year 1870 under the name of "Our Lady of the Assumption". It vanished in 1929 after the First World War. In 1960, the Church was brought back and this time it was named "St. Michael" and was located at Spadina and St. Clair West. In 1972, served by Fr. Basilios Genadry, the Church was again relocated to Danforth and Broadview. The Church's name was also changed to "St. Joseph"until the year 1990.

Finally in 1990, served by Fr. Saba Dagher, the Church was named "Jesus the King." Father Georges Farah has been our pastor since 1994. Through his efforts and the community, the new Church building was bought and the Church has expanded its spiritual and social activities. Jesus the King is one of several Melkite Catholic parishes in Canada headed by His Excellency Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Eparchy of Saint Sauveur in Montreal. As for our past Bishops, here is a quick outlined history:Archbishop Michel Hakim was appointed first bishop of the Eparchy in 1979. Bishop Sleiman Hajjar succeeded him from 1997 until 2002. Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim is currently the bishop of the Eparchy since 2003.