The Need for Coptic Schools in USA

Coptic Schools
By Father Marcus St. Antony
“And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children,” Deuteronomy 6:7
The Copts understand the vast difference between the Coptic society and the culture of disbelief that is around us, which is not moral or following the word of God.  We live in a time of lack of faith.  It is important that our children grow in a Coptic environment in the Western countries.  Man adopts his surrounding either by conscious or non-conscience.  You notice that your children pick up the language of the society that you live in even if they were born in Egypt.  They gain the culture and customs of the people around them.  Even adults like you are influenced by the society to a lesser extent.  The Coptic environment is an extension to the church, which is the saving ship.  We do not intend to isolate our children from the society.  The intention is to offer an environment of values that agree with the Biblical truth and the teaching of our church, so that the child can have discernment and will know how to interact with and influence society.
The project of Coptic schools succeeded in Australia and Canada.  This experiment must be attempted in the USA.  Perhaps, some have tried, but we here in USA are behind.  The Coptic schools should have started in the Seventies of the last century.
I remember that I attended a meeting in the first year of the 1990’s of the last century with His Holiness Pope Shenouda in an American city.  The mayor was present at that meeting.  The mayor promised to facilitate the start of a project of Coptic school.  The Coptic people have to start and not wait for somebody else to start that initiative.  Let us all contribute and work together toward that goal that will keep the faith and spirituality of our children.  Let us do good for our children; this is a duty and we should not ignore it.   
Many of us complain about our children.  We ought to show them good role models and offer them good field to live in it and to learn the proper Biblical behaviors and discernment.  Let us start this project in California, then generalize the project all over the United States.  I pray to God that I receive good response for that noble goal.      
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.  And you shall love the LORD thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart.  And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.  And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought you into the land, which He swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you great and goodly cities, which you did not build.  And houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, and wells, which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees, which you did not plant; when you shall have eaten and be full.  Then beware lest you forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  You shall fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shall swear by his name,” Deuteronomy 6:4-13.

I need your response and feedback.  You may reach me at my email, abouna@saintantony.faithweb.com, or call me at (760) 257-3032, or by mail: Father Marcus St. Antony, St. Antony Monastery.

P.O. Box 742 Yermo, CA 92398

If I receive a positive response and encouraging feedback, we will call for a meeting with everybody that can contribute to the success of this project.

The beatification of the relics of the beholder of God, Saint Mark the Apostle in Saint Antony Monastery, California

Coptic Schools- Part 2
“And you shall teach them diligently unto thy children,” Deuteronomy 6:7.
The American public schools are surprisingly intentionally trying to get rid of any relationship with religion or God.  They allow kids to study other religions like Islam using non-objective or faith means.  Christianity is presented as one of the faiths or the myths that happened along the primitive ages.  They do not differentiate between all the religions that believe in God.  They encourage children to choose any religion if the child likes it irrespective of the religion of the child or his parents.  They consider witnessing to the faith a matter of being fanatic.  We mentioned in a previous article the difference between the witnessing to the faith or fanaticism.  We want that our children grow in a healthy environment and proclaim their faith in love to all without fanaticism.  We need that our kids be courageous and to declare their faith without being ashamed of their faith in the Bible and Christ.
This goal cannot be reached without true role models.  We do not want that our children choose a secular or non-Christian role model.
The home has a serious role, nevertheless, knowing that the child spends long time at school and that he has to deal with the society of the school and to interact with his friends; His friends, rather than the adults, easily influence the child.  The child has to please his teachers,  our kids are exposed to a danger and if a Christian home is able to resist the stream, we are not talking about isolated events but about the trend of our society and the future of our kids.  We need to preserve the strong faith to our children and future generations until the time of coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The faith will decline as the Bible said:  “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”,  Luke 18:8.
We know that there were several trials and experiments.  El-Keraza magazine spoke about one successful trial.  There is a school in Washington, D.C.  But, the road is still long and strenuous and for the big Coptic assemblies.
We pray to God that we will see encouraging response to the project of Coptic Schools.  We have to find response to pursue such project through your encouraging messages and letters.  If this is going to work, then we will call for a meeting among all that interested and are willing to contribute to the success of the project by their opinions and efforts.

Please send us correspondence at:
abouna@saintantony.faithweb.com
Tel: (760) 257-3032
Attention: Father Marcus
Saint Antony Monastery
P.O. Box 742
Yermo, CA 92398

The Law of Love:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.  And you shall love the LORD thy God with all your heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in your heart.  And you shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when thou lie down, and when you rise up.  And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land, which he swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which you build not.  And houses full of all good things, which you fill not, and wells dig, which you dig not, vineyards and olive trees, which you plant not; when you shall have eaten and be full.  Then, beware lest you forget the LORD, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  Thou shall fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shall swear by his name,” Deuteronomy 6: 4-13.

Coptic Schools-3

“And you shall teach them diligently unto your children,” Deuteronomy 6: 7.

There are five Coptic schools in Australia: three in Sydney and two in Melbourne.  These schools serve as service centers for other communities as the Syrians or the Iraqis.  His grace Bishop Paula recommends new immigrants to go to Australia because there are Coptic schools.

Few Coptic schools have started, one in Washington, D.C. in the USA as we said before.  There may be other two schools, (or more, day car) in other states.  One told me that there is a Coptic school in Nashville, Tennessee that started four years ago or more, and the one in Michigan.  We are still far behind and thus we do not have the experience.  As you see we have few schools compared to the number of the Coptic people.  Those schools started few years ago.

There are areas that have large Coptic communities such as New Jersey, New York, California, and the south, but they need Coptic schools.  These areas have large cities that have many public schools.  Poor people cannot afford to pay tuition of private schools.  Those cities are not religious.  They help to spread liberal values that do not comply with the religion.  Such environment is dangerous for our children.  We need two, three or more schools in each large city.

The kids that join Coptic school from their young age have strong proper foundation.  Strong foundation keeps the kids past their teenage years and during their time at colleges and hereafter.

Two factors of risk when come together are catastrophic.  The teenage kids pass serious period and need excellent care in nontraditional way.  Those kids are also at the same time exposed to the influence of many ideologies and could be lost in the corruption in this world.  Most, if not all, of our pupils in Australia are deacons of the church.  They study Coptic hymns and Coptic language as mandatory subjects.  The environment of those schools keeps the kids from many dangers.

Moses the prophet learned from his mother in his young age.  His mother took care of him when he was young in the palace of pharaoh, Exodus 2: 7.  His mother nursed him with milk and Divine teachings.  This shaped him: “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward,” Hebrews 11: 25-26.

We pray to God to see encouraging response to start the project of Coptic schools.  We will set up a meeting with those who are willing to contribute to the project either by their experience or their efforts, if we receive encouraging messages. 

His Holiness Pope Shenouda blessed our endeavors of publishing such articles to define the immediate needs of our people.

Please write to us at:

Attention: Father Marcus St. Antony

Saint Antony Monastery

P.O. Box 742

Yermo, CA 92398

Or by Email: abouna@saintantony.faithweb.com

Or call us at:  Tel. (760) 257-3032

It will be continued God’s willing in the next issue.

The Law of Love:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart.  And you shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.  And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  And you shall write them upon the posts of thy house, and on your gates.  And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought you into the land, which He swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you great and goodly cities, which you build not, and houses full of all good things, which you fill not, and wells dig, which you dig not, vineyards and olive trees, which you plant not.   When you shall have eaten and be full, then beware lest you forget the LORD, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.   You shall fear the LORD Your God, and serve Him, and shall swear by His name,” Deuteronomy 6: 4-13.