Melbourne Diocese Winter Convention!


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July 8th 2008
Published: August 3rd 2008
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FamilyFamilyFamily

So I adopted family at the convention: Peter (left) is my long lost brother and Ramy (middle) is my cousin :) Don't we look alike?!
Now while many of my US friends spent the fourth of July having an outdoor barbecue, watching the fireworks, and reflecting on what an amazing nation they live in, I spent the weekend with 80 university and graduate students at Anglesea Recreation Camp. Though not a patriotic trip of sorts, I had a wonderful time at my first Coptic University Convention in Australia!

For those not familiar with the convention scene, Coptic conventions aim to bring together Coptic youth of the same age group and spend days in spiritual enrichment activities. These can be lectures from priests/bishops/leaders, divine liturgies, and lots of free time activities (sports/games/etc.). It's kind of like a mini-summer camp, but it comes during the winter and summer months. It's also a great way to network with other Coptic people, especially if you live in areas where the Coptic population is not as large.

Melbourne, as you have seen from my previous posts, has a much larger Coptic community than Greenville. I've really enjoyed my time here getting to know many more of the youth and connecting with priests and spiritual leaders in the diocese.

We spent the weekend of the 4th-6th at Anglesea Recreation
LecturesLecturesLectures

Opening Lecture by my priest, Father Daniel
Camp which was about an hour away from Melbourne city, along the Great Ocean Road. I had such a great time with everyone and I even took some pictures to share with you all (surprise surprise!). It was quite the weekend, as I developed the reputation as "the-American-girl-with-the-really-cool-accent." 😊

I'm definitely looking forward to another occasion where I'll be able to see everyone again!

Hope you are all doing well!

Cindy :P


Additional photos below
Photos: 18, Displayed: 18


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PriestsPriests
Priests

Two of the priests in our diocese
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Group

Some of the girls early in the morning when it was -5,000 degrees in the lecture hall!
Fun!Fun!
Fun!

See, convention is not all about church and praying...we get to perfect our archery skills too!
HymnsHymns
Hymns

Group shot of us right before a lecture
Bishop SurielBishop Suriel
Bishop Suriel

His Grace Bishop Suriel is the head of the Melbourne Coptic Diocese
MeeMee
Mee

I'm so cool, I got to help His Grace with his powerpoint...I even got to use his computer!
Building a fireBuilding a fire
Building a fire

I'm so helpful, I got to help build the fire for the campfire evening
See?See?
See?

See? I almost hit the bullseye!
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Campfire

Sitting around the campfire, singin some great campfire songs...including God Bless America!!
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Abouna

Father Peter and me at the campfire; Father Peter was the organizing leader of the convention!
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Funny picture

One of the FUNNIEST pictures of the night! Since it was dark I couldn't see who was in the picture until the flash went off!
Friends!Friends!
Friends!

One of my mates from the Hallem church, Marian
WiiiiWiiii
Wiiii

So after a long day's work at the convention, we got to see some special individuals play some pretty mad games of Nintendo Wii...but I'm sworn to secrecy as to who was playing :)
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Bus

Marina and me on the bus ride home
BusBus
Bus

Bus ride back to Melbourne
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Group

Group Photo of everyone: Can you find me? (hint: search behind some of the priests haha)


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