Date/Time
Date(s) - September 18, 2014
All Day
Location
St. George Coptic Orthodox Church
Categories No Categories
| Arrival at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) from Edmondton | 7:00 AM |
| Arrival at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey | 9:00 AM |
| Liturgy at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey | 9:15 AM – 12:30 PM |
| Visit to St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey | 12:30 PM |
| Lunch banquet seating begins at Surrey Sheraton Hotel | 1:00 PM |
| Arrival of Pope at Surrey Sheraton Hotel | 2:00 PM |
| End of Lunch banquet at Surrey Sheraton Hotel | 4:30 PM |
| Seating begins at general meeting with congregation of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey | 6:00 PM |
| Pope arrival at general meeting with congregation of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey | 7:00 PM |
| End of general meeting with congregation of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey |
10:00 PM |
Dear Congregation
As you know, His Holiness Pope Tawadros will be visiting Vancouver and its two Coptic churches on Thursday, September 18th. Given the importance of this event as well as the limited time of the visit, we felt it important to put some measures in place to ensure that the day is successful
We will be presenting an additional summary of these details on Sunday after the liturgy and answering any questions that may arise
The following is a description of the 3 main sessions of the day. We kindly urge everyone to please follow the guideline set-out bellow
Liturgy
His Holiness will celebrate the Holy Liturgy at St. George upon his arrival.
Seating within the church will remain open until the Pope’s arrival or until it is full; we recommend you arrive by 8AM for seating in the church. Additional seating will be available in the gym. Also, a temporary crying room will be set up in the dining area for all parents with young children and strollers. For security, all guests will enter the building from the entrance at the back near the gym; the front entrance will be closed at all times.
At the end of the service, His Holiness will be giving communion to the bishops, priests and deacons in the altar. Simultaneously, communion will be offered by our beloved fathers and bishops in the men’s and women’s chapels as well as the dining room and the gym; each row will proceed one at a time.
In consideration of the limited amount of time, His Holiness will be leaving immediately after the end of the liturgy to visit St-Mary’s church. A bus will be waiting in the parking lot to shuttle those who would like to attend the visit to St-Mary’s church; it will also shuttle people to the luncheon afterwards.
We kindly ask everyone to refrain from flash photography at all times and remain seated until His Holiness has left before exiting the church.
Luncheon
Upon completion of the Holy Liturgy, the buses will be waiting in the parking lot to shuttle people back to the Sheraton Guildford. For the sake of time, please proceed to the buses immediately after the liturgy.
Seating for the luncheon will start at 1PM. Only adults 16 years of age and older with registered tickets and ID will be allowed entrance. For security reasons, we kindly ask everyone to leave bags or purses at home.
There will be supervised activities for children 3-15 years of age at church during the luncheon; parents are welcome to leave their children at church while they attend the luncheon.
Each table will have an opportunity to greet His Holiness throughout the luncheon but we kindly ask that you wait until your table is called. We also ask everyone from refraining from taking individual pictures with His Holiness. A photographer will be present to capture the event.
General Meeting
His Holiness will conclude the day with a general meeting for all ages at St. George which will include performances by the two youngest Sunday School classes, a sermon by His Holiness, as well as a question and answer period.
Similar to during the liturgy, church seating will be closed by 7PM; we recommend you arrive by 6PM for seating in the church. Ushers will be directing people to their seats. Additional seating will be available in the gym. Also, a temporary crying room will be set up in the dining area for all parents with young children and strollers.
The parking lot will be closed by 7pm; additional parking is available at the Forsyth Road Elementary School at 10730 139th Street (1 block south and walking distance from the church).
The entire congregation will have an opportunity to greet His Holiness at the end of the evening. We kindly ask the congregation to refrain from spending additional time in personal discussion with His Holiness or to photograph themselves with him in order for everyone to receive a blessing from his hand in a timely manner.
Please wait until your row is asked to proceed to the front; after greeting His Holiness, please exit the church from the central aisle; we kindly ask everyone to follow the directions provided by the ushers in order for this event to be successful.
We thank everyone for their understanding and cooperation for a successful papal visit.