Impossible Becomes RealityJULY

AUGUST

THE CORNERSTONEProduction TeamAdvisor- Very Rev. Fr. Elias K. Nasr, ArchpriestEditors- Sheila Mazur & Dona SavageProofreader- Dona SavageLayout- Diane Sopp-SauroData, Printing & Processing-Dona Savage & Sheila MazurMailing- Hilda KhammarDEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE IS September 15, 2019Send articles, photos or questions to:steliasny@aol.com 315.488.0388

sUMMER 2019

Dear Elians,

I greet you and your loved ones with a “Holy Kiss” praying all are in the best of health and spirit as we in this month celebrate the 90th An-niversary of our church and the 50th Anniversary on the current location. It was on the Feast of our patron Prophet Elias July 20, 1969 that our Church celebrated Thyranoixia (Door Opening) for the first Divine Liturgy, the same day that our As-tronauts landed on the Moon. Both Prophet Elias and the Astronauts’ vehicles were called chariots. The excitement of our family celebration since then has been shared with the public, year after year, that became known as the Annual Middle East-ern Festival.

Beloved, with this excitement filling the atmosphere around us, I call on every parishioner to be part of this celebration, to be proud of our rich heritage both spiritual & cultural, and to reflect upon the sacrifice and achievements of our parents that was left for us, and to ask our-

selves, what could we transmit to our beloved children?. Our faith must be our guiding light in forging ahead towards achieving our goal. With faith in God all the impossible becomes a reality.

Manifested reality of our dreams and vision give birth to inner joy. The completion of a remodeled kitchen and church hall is indeed a rewarding joy for all; and the repair of the stained glass window in the Altar is heart warming to see. And

Continued on next page

Thursday - Sunday, July 11-14 Middle Eastern Festival

Saturday, July 20 St. Elias Feast Day

The CornerstoneSt. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

4988 Onondaga Road Syracuse, NY 13215 315.488.0388 sainteliasny.com steliasny@aol.com

Monday, August 5Feast of Transfiguration Divine Liturgy 6PM

Wednesday, August 14Feast of Dormition Divine Liturgy 6PM

SEPTEMBERSunday, September 8First day of Sunday School

Saturday, September 14Elevation of the Cross

the news of our beloved father in Christ Metropolitan Joseph visiting us the weekend of February 22-23,2020 is elating.

Beloved Elians, The Festival is indeed festive for many reasons; the most important is that we have one another. As one family with one vision and determination through our faith we can say with St. Paul, “ I can do all things through Christ that strengthen me”, and the sky is the limit of what we can accomplish for the glory of God.

To you my beloved faithful, I look forward to seeing you all laboring, dancing and celebrating with joy.

On behalf of the Parish Council, I thank everyone who has labored, is laboring and supporting the Festival and projects of the church.

In Christ,Fr. Elias

Impossible Becomes Reality continued C o n g r at u l at i o n s H i g h s c h o o l

G r a d uat e s

Marya Al Khoury Sammer Elias Essi

Matthew O’Neill Kane Estelle Grace Khairallah Samira S. Mahshie

Graduate of Charles W. Baker High School, Baldwinsville. Marya will begin attending Nazareth College in the fall with a Political Sciences major, and will be following a pre-law track.

Graduate of Jamesville Dewitt High School. He will be attending Le Moyne College in fall..

Graduate of Liverpool High School. Matthew will attend Ithaca College in the fall to study Communications/Sports Media.

Graduate of Christian Brothers Academy with high honors. She is a member of the National Honor Society. She will be attending Ham-ilton College, and will be studying pre-med.

Graduate of Jamesville DeWitt High School with high honors, and is a member of both National and French Honor Society. She will be attending Le Moyne College’s Madden School of Business majoring in Accounting. and begin a college law program.

Zeina Maria Akl Kristen El-Amir

Natalie Marie Rott Abeer Tadrus

Rina Mary Allawh, MD*

Graduate of Oswego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Wellness with minors in Nutrition and Public Justice.  She was a 4 year starter on the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse Team. Zeina will be pursuing a career in law enforcement and public service. 

Graduate of Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutri-tion Science. Kristen was vice pres-ident of Syracuse University Ambu-lance, vice president of Recruitment for Phi Delta Epsilon International Medical Fraternity. In August, Kristen will attend Le Moyne College pursu-ing a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. 

Completed her Dermatology resi-dency at Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital and Jefferson Medical Col-lege in Philadelphia. Rina has accept-ed a position at Montgomery Derma-tology in King of Prussia, PA where she will perform adult and pediatric medical dermatology, cosmetic der-matology, and skin cancer treatment.

Graduate of SUNY Geneseo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychol-ogy. Natalie is headed to the University at Buffalo to pursue her Masters degree in Social Work. She plans to be a licensed clinical social worker.

Graduate of graduation D’Youville University of Buffalo with a Doctorate of Pharmacy. She will be working at Kinney Drugs in Potsdam, New York as a Pharmacist.

C o n g r at u l at i o n s c o l l e g e

G r a d uat e s

* Former Parishioner

Kamal Awwad and Zacharia and Salwa Musallam have relocated to Florida. We wish them happiness in their new location.

Welcome new families Michel and Rima Nasr and Margarette and Robert Furbeck.

Mark your calendars! It has been confirmed that Metropolitan JOSEPH with be making a pastoral visitation to St. Elias the weekend of February 22 & 23rd.

MORE NEWS

Antiochian Women

Greetings Family and Friends,

Although hall renovations forced the ladies to delay some of their annual events, we were excited to begin uti-lizng the new facility!

To spark up the use of the newly ren-ovated kitchen, we held our annual cooking classes. The first class was held on May 14th. Rita Ghattas made differ-ent appetizers with 18 people present and eager to learn. On May 21st, Gloria Dayeh made Musakhan for 17 attendees. May 28, Molokhieh was prepared for 18 people by Nujoud Makhlouf. Finally, Mimi Daniel cooked stuffed potatoes for 14 audience members on June 4th.

With continuous support from all of you, especially our dear ladies, this year has been filled with success and accom-plishment.

Your sister in ChristGeorgina Al Khoury, President

Samboosik with Rita!

Musakhan with Gloria! Molokhieh with Nujoud! Batata Mahshieh with Mimi!

The stained glass window that greets you as you approach the Chalice for Holy Communion has been restored and replaced. After Pascha, Brennan Stained Glass Studio removed the window in sections and transported it to their Syracuse Studio where they replaced the support bars, resoldered all poor joints and recemented the areas between the lead and the stained glass pieces. The outside protective plexiglass was replaced by new safety glass. The window was then cleaned and rein-stalled on June 21-25th. Thank you, Sheila Mazur for heading this project!

The window was offered by the late Hal and Theresa Nasser, former members of St. Elias in memory of their daughter, Renee who was killed in an automobile accident in 1977 at the age of 17.

Stained Glass Window and Memory Preserved

Submitted by Dona Savage

Order of St. IgnatiusThe Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch is an organization of men and women who maintain on an annual basis proper spir-itual preparedness and financial commit-ment. The Order is under the authority of the Metropolitan Primate, Archdiocese Board of Trustees, and the Governing Council of The Order.

It was established as an orga-nization of Antiochian laity who function at the highest level of ministry for Christ and the Church. It is a spir-itual movement manifested through financial giving.The Patron Saint of the Order, St. Ignatius, was one of the first Bishops of the See of An-tioch. He was a witness for Christ by his life and deeds and serves as a model for all members of The Order.

All who share a common love for Christ and his Church and are willing to work so that the Antiochian Archdiocese can con-tinue, can become members. Each mem-ber must receive the blessing of the parish priest and be sponsored by a member of The Order. A spiritual commitment is a

prerequisite for membership in The Order.

The Cross serves as our wit-ness to Christ and a remind-er of Him who accepted the Cross for our salvation. The crimson of the ribbon recalls the blood which the Martyr Ignatius shed for Christ. The Cross and rib-bon remind us that sacrifi-cial giving is our obligation as Antiochian Orthodox Christians.

Please consider joining The Order and make that spiritual commitment!

Content from “The Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch”

Dona Savage, on behalf of St. Ignatius, presented Sunday School graduates with their Orthodox Study Bibles. Pictured with Deacon Nicholas and Father Elias are graduates Estelle Khairallah, Marya Al-Khoury and Samira Mahshie. Not present: Matthew Kane.

Congratulations Sunday School Graduates!

Teen SOYODear Parishioners,

Greetings to all! May God’s blessings fall upon you !

During the month of April, Our teens helped with decorating our church and bier as well as guarding the tomb and carrying out vigil on Good Friday.

In May they hosted a coffee hour and handed out roses to all the mothers of St. Elias for Mother’s Day.

Our teens have been preparing for the festival by practicing and teaching dabke to the younger groups.

In June, Our graduating teens re-ceived the Bible as a gift from St Ignatius . Congratulations to all our graduates may god bless you always!

Our SOYO also traveled to Toronto earlier this month to take part in this year’s Parish Life Conference. Samira Mahshie was St. Elias’ Ora-torical Contest participant this year and we also had a team made up of Estelle and Mark Khairallah, Marya Al-Khoury and Samira, Aliah and Kailah Mahshie representing us in the annual Bible Bowl.

Your sister in Christ, Grace Khairallah, Teen Advisor

Teen SOYO seeks to integrate each young person fully into the Total

life of the Church. SOYO brings its members to a deeper devotion to

the Holy Orthodox Church, its faith, canons and worship. Teen SOYO creates and fosters ministries to encourage Members to commit

themselves to living the Orthodox Faith daily. The combination of Worship, Witness, Service and

Fellowship are the natural expressions of that commitment.

JulyRobert & Margarette Furbeck 1William & Helen Vassily 1Sammer & Deborah Essi 4Salim & Laila Fashho 4John & Cindy Abdo 12Simon & Lily Abboud 18Fadi & Nujoud Makhlouf 24Michel & Rima Nasr 26Tony & Karen Caporizzo 28

AugustRami Al-Khoury & Georgina Abu-Manneh Al- Khoury 3Elias & Anna Abboud 6Nabil & Suad Jabaji 13Andrew & Sally Aitchison 14Elias & Mary Sawalha 14Deacon Nicholas & Magdalena Mahshie 15 Elias Shamieh & Gloria Dayeh 19Elia & Nuha Sousou 28Fahed & Dalal Jiries 31

SeptemberMichael & Elaine Buza Sr. 1Charles & Cecilia Shahin 1Fayez & Nadia Abu Manneh 3Abu Manneh 3Andrew & Holly Kane 3Suleiman & Nancy Dayeh 6Brian & Joanne Craig 7Samir & Laurie Tawil 8Majd & Layla Elias 12Matthew & Nisreen Tadros 17Ronald & Rola Cotran 22Philip & Evelyn Gabriel 28Paul & Pamela Eadi 30

The food preparation for our festival is still ongoing and our ladies are still working tirelessly and stronger than ever! I want to extend an enormous amount of gratitude for all those ladies who labored for years and still labor today for the prosperity of their church! Ladies, I am humbled by your dedication and love! May God bless you all!

With love, Grace Khairallah

It ’s Time to Share our Middle Eastern Culture !All systems are GO as our 90th Annual Middle Eastern Festival is just around the corner!

Surely you’ve seen the posters and flyers in area stores and restaurants! Maybe you’ve even gotten a mini poster in your Grub Hub order or in a binder when you’ve received your dinner check!

Road signs are on just about every corner possible and Facebook and Instagram are loaded with pictures, promos, and tons of great comments about our annual event.

The community looks forward to great food, great music, our dabke dancers and an opportunity to shop at our souk.

This year, folks will even have an opportunity to experience daily specials Thursday through Sunday!

So, let’s get ready to work and get ready to enjoy our festival, while sharing our beautiful culture with the rest of the community!

Oh...and the Food!

Happy Anniversary

SeptemberHilda Khammar 2Olivia Nasiff 2Gabriella Underwood 2Shibel Jabaji 4Sammer Essi 6Victoria Hodge 7Nader Jiries 7 Jacob Sousou 7Andrew Dannoun 8Faris Al-Khoury 9Ronald Cotran 11Samira Mahshie 11Ana Totari 11Elias Shamieh 14Dalal Jiries 15Elizabeth Preston 16Michael Buza Sr. 17Brian Craig 17Edgar Daoud 18Nabil Jabaji 18Laila Fashho 20George Mounayer 20Lalia Tadros 20Evelyn Gabriel 21Jacob Carter 23Joan Jacobs 23Nadim Nasser 24Sally Aitchison 25Elia Sousou 25Soubhi Azar 26Jonathon Underwood 27Reema Habayeb 29Charles Shahin 29Yousef Shamma 30Kelsey Carter 31Elaina El-amir 31Majdolin Essi-Dain 31Mai Makhlouf 31

JulySami Khoury 1Sana El-Amir 3Sam Azar 5Thomas Eassa 5Khader Fashho 5Mayjon Ghrayyeb 5Elias Abboud 6Mahfouz Abu-Manneh 6Roy Nasr 6Joanne Craig 7Joseph Jacobs 8Nada Tadros 9Violette Humsi 10Layla Soto 10Nour Warde 10Lina Abu-Manneh 13Nimer Shehadeh 14Robert Tadros 14Cindy Abdo 15Maria Khalifeh 15Jabra Tarazi 15Naya Zawaideh 15Mary Tawil 16Rana Fashho 19Mary Abdulky 20Solomon Dayeh 21Aliah Mahshie 21Mohammad Tadros 21Laurie Tawil 21Jihan Khoury 22Sydney Dash 23Roene Nasr 23Nicholas Sauro 24Suhail Awwad 27Alaina Craig 27Ramy Guindy 28Charles Kammar 28Nadine Savage 31

AugustElias Gantos 1Isabella Furbeck 3Douglas Monsour 3Marc Jabaji 4Salwa Makhlouf 5Georgette Mtanos 5Zouheir Totari 5Tonya Warner 5Nabil Habayeb 6Ramzi Khairallah 6John Tadros 6Grace Khairallah 7Lila Habayeb 8Cailie Urbas 8Naya Alamir 11Anna Jabaji 11Nicholas Abdo 12Tony Caporizzo 13Sameer Alamir 14Sammer Essi 14Nabila Nasser 14James Khammar 15Basma Shamma 15Shukri Dayeh 16Neil Khammar 18Diane Sopp-Sauro 19Hilda Dannoun 20Andrew Eassa 20Habib Alamir 21Janet Awad 21Helen Abdo 22Mazen Makhlouf 23Rajeh Makhlouf 23Alexander Eassa Jr. 25Christopher Mtanos 27Karen Gabriel 29

Birthday Blessings

Layana Azar daughter of Antoine and Merian AzarChurchings

Julia Alamir daughter of Waleed and Mary Alamir

St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church4988 Onondaga Road . Syracuse, NY 13215 315.488.0388 . sainteliasny.com

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A publication of:The Cornerstone

90 Years!

WE’LL SEE YOU THERE!JULY 11-14!