The Underlying Beauty of God’s First Coptic Church in America…a Letter to St. Mark’s

John Michael
Sep 8, 2018 · 4 min read

To the Fathers of St. Mark’s,

I am so happy and grateful to have been baptized and raised in your church. Always I carry the lessons learned in my childhood everywhere I go and in every task I undertake. The love I received from you and from your congregation was a blessing; and for that I am eternally thankful. I can never fully repay the church for the upbringing that it has provided me.

The Legendary Fr. Gabriel

The history of the Coptic Church in America begins here with this church. This church started with less than 30 families and now it has become a beautiful place of worship for a parish of over 2000 families. My father found a second family through the love and service of the congregation of this church in the 80’s. Now you minister to thousands of Coptic Christians who live in Jersey City as we embark on our journey to create an identity for what is becoming the next generation of Coptic Americans.

5th Grade shananigans

I had an amazing childhood in this church. I cannot thank you enough for the upbringing that you have provided for me and my friends. We had the best childhood than any other group of kids in the history of this church or anywhere else. I consider myself very fortunate to still have a close relationship with these friends whom I have known since I was four years old. We started off in diapers here. We grew up here. We ran around church and had the time of our lives here. We went to Sunday School, we laughed, we made incredible memories here. We became men here. The church provided us with a wonderful upbringing that we will never forget.

Middle School Graduation

I can’t express how happy I was to take Communion from you this New Year. It was very beautiful to come back to church on New Years to reunite and have Communion with my old friends. I was so happy to see a new generation of young kids in the church beginning their new year with a blessing. It was nice to see them laughing among each other and having the time of their lives as we did when we were younger. Now the church has provided a beautiful new building for this new generation of children to have fun and make memories in.

We are grown now and the demands of our lives have slowly spread us apart, taking some of us to different parts of the country. However, we still maintain a very close relationship with one another. We hold the childhood that the church provided for us in great regard. I am thankful to you fathers for providing us with a wonderful upbringing that we will never forget.

The Reunion…unfortunately we’re missing a few faces

While I am no longer a member of the congregation, I will always hold this church very dearly in my heart. I am eternally indebted to you and to the congregation. It is a blessing of God that we have found refuge in this country and that the church can continue to serve its families and children. I am proud to say that I was born and raised in St. Mark’s.

To Fr. Abraham, Fr. Markos, and Fr. Daniel — all of whom I love very much. May God bless you in your service.

Please pray for us as we embark on our careers.

With Love,

Gabriel Sadek

    John Michael

    Written by

    Coptic Orthodox Christian— US Army— Alumni @ Rutgers University

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