You might have seen the great initiative from the National Basketball Association that has stars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James doing more than dunk a basketball...but lend a helping hand in their local communities. 

This year, for the first time, the Coptic Orthodox Youth Basketball League decided to do the same! The "COYBL CARES" campaign launched this season. Partnering with FTFT!, players and coaches from New York and New Jersey are putting down the basketball to hit the streets and show the love of Jesus Christ to those who need it most! Players, coaches and servants are going out and serving pizza to men and women who are homeless in New York City! God is blessing the efforts of these young men by showing weekly fruit! Tears of repentance are a familiar sight...hearts are changed, spirits are lifted, and GOD IS GLORIFIED! 

As Lent begins, the focus of this season should be on the cross. We should be thinking about how we can practically carry our cross to a world that is in dire need of Jesus' love.  

HOW TO BEAR YOUR CROSS PRACTICALLY By HH. Pope Shenouda III

‎1. The Cross is a sign of love, bestowal, sacrifice, and redemption, which you ‎carry each time you are tired in view of the practice of these virtues.‎ Try to get tired for the rest of another, and for his deliverance and his service; ‎and be confident that God does never forget the fatigue of charity, "and each one will ‎receive his own reward according to his own labor." (1 Cor. 3:8). Train yourself to ‎give: whatever you bestow and support and sacrifice...and train yourself to give from ‎your necessities, as the blessed widow had done (Luke 21:4)...Tire yourself in your ‎service, because the more you tire, the more your love will appear, and therefore the ‎greater your sacrifice will be.‎ ‎

H.H. Pope Shenouda III presided over the North American Annual Coptic Clergy Seminar (NAACCS) which was held in Holy Virgin Mary’s Spiritual Vineyard of Charlton, MA from Monday, September 14, 2009 through Wednesday, September 16, 2009. There were 14 bishops and over 220 priests from the United States & Canada in attendance. Among the bishops in attendance where: H.G. Bishop Pisenti (Helwan), H.G. Bishop Botros (Patmos), H.G. Bishop Serapion (Los Angles), H.G. Bishop Youssef (Southern), H.G. Bishop Suriel (Melbourne), H.G. Bishop Agathon (Brazil), H.G. Bishop Youssef (Bolivia), H.G. Bishop Reweis (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Makarious (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Youannis (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Youhanna (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Armia (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop David (General Bishop), and H.G. Bishop Michael (General Bishop). The Seminar consisted of spiritual words of wisdom delivered by H.H. Pope Shenouda III and Their Graces the Bishops to the Reverend Fathers, as well as Question & Answer sessions.

On Tuesday morning, September 15, 2009, H.H. along with Their Graces the Bishop and Reverend Fathers travelled to Nashua, New Hampshire to consecrate the Coptic Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary & Archangel Michael (41 Chandler St, Nashua, NH 03064-2816). After consecrating the church H.H. and the clergy returned to the vineyard to continue their seminar.

A diocese-wide service initiative will be started from today. Each church will place a box in the church to collect canned food, clothes and toiletries.

Contact the FTFT! Delegates from your individual church for details.
Then, on September 26th we will go out as o1ne unit and distribute the items we collected to local shelters and soup kitchens in our communities. (each church will go to a shelter nearest to it)

We will then all meet afterwards for prayer and fellowship and share the joy we experienced in this day!

we will be meeting at 5 pm in Archanel Michael and St. Mena's Church in Staten Island, NY.

The most important things for now are the following:
1) place a large donation box somewhere in your church
2) announce to your church to bring in the desired items (canned food, clothes, toiletries) encourage sunday school children to donate items so they can learn the joy of giving and service!

*if you would like to participate in this service day and your church is too far away to join us for our post-service meeting, PLEASE feel free to just go ahead and serve! We encourage you to spend the next two months collecting those items with your church and go out and distribute them on september 26th(or another day if you need to)

What: July FTFT! Delegates' Day!

Why: We had a great response to FTF50 but some of you couldn't make it
because of various church celebrations of Pentecost. So we're having
another one just for you!