St John Chrysostom Parish London

The social parties of our Melkite Parish in London are undoubtedly the most popular Arab social events in London. They are very successful and are considered by most people to be simple and well organised. Although each party gathers around 200 people, everything remains under control from the beginning to the end. One important aspect of their success is the ticket price of £30: £22.50 for the meal and £7.50 for the musical group. There is no fund-raising element - simply food and fun.

Our social parties are of great importance to the revival of our Melkite Parish. They help to gather more than 90 % of our parishioners throughout the year, and they have already fostered friendship and strong social bonds among our Melkite people in London. Moreover, they help the parish priest tremendously in his pastoral work, as they are a wonderful opportunity for him to meet his parishioners. As I said before, it is quite impossible for Father Shafiq to meet all his parishioners in their own homes, so the only way to meet them regularly is to create religious and social activities. Each social party, usually lasting at least 5 hours, offers Abouna Shafiq a golden opportunity to meet about 200 members of our Melkite Parish. Moreover, Abouna Shafiq has discovered that the social parties contribute greatly to the unity of our parishioners - many have already made friends through them.

Finally, the social parties are an opportunity for our Middle Eastern parishioners to enjoy their own cultural and folk tradition. They are, as many believe, a school to train new generations in our Middle Eastern cultures. It is quite clear that our traditions can be easily erased from our children’s memories if we do not act now. The social parties are important tool to save our culture. If our Middle Eastern culture collapses completely, then the spiritual side will also collapse. The two aspects of the Melkite Parish, social and spiritual, must work together in order for its unique spiritual and social identity to flourish.

The social parties of the Melkite parish include the celebration of the Family Parties, St. John’s Dinner, Easter Lunch, and Al-Mashreq youth parties.

Family Parties

The story of the Family Parties started in December 1994, when Fr. Shafiq discovered that about 100 parishioners used to organise their own family gathering for the Feast of St. Barbara on 4 December. They approached him about it in order to invite more people from the Parish to the Feast. Abouna Shafiq suggested to them that they should make their Feast open to everybody. It was a successful effort, as more than 200 people attended the gathering. There were no fees to pay, nor tickets to buy, as it was simply based on food sharing. Everybody brought his own food, and came to the hall to eat it with friends. While they ate, music was played. This manner of gathering was repeated on New Year’s Eve. Afterwards everybody agreed that they should have this kind of gathering every two or three months.

The Family Party is a spontaneous family gathering, which does not cost the Parish any money. Music is based completely on CDs and tapes, and food is prepared at home. However, Abouna Shafiq intends to impose a symbolic financial contribution of £5 per person, in order to cover the rent and the decoration of the hall.

This kind of party helps to take away the heavy burden on the other major Parish parties, Easter Lunch and St. John’s Dinner, as poorer members who cannot pay £305 will still feel able to join in the Family Party. In this way, we will keep a good balance in our social events, as poor and wealthy alike will be able to take part in our different social functions. Mr. Joseph Chachati is in charge of the Family Parties.

St. John’s Dinner

St. John’s Dinner is another family gathering of our parishioners, and is organised yearly on the first Saturday of November. Its main aim is to celebrate the Feast of our patron saint, Saint John Chrysostom, which occurs on 13 November.

As it is a dinner, the number of children is very small, allowing more adults to attend our party. The ticket is £30, which aims to cover all the expenses of the function: £22.50 for the meal and £7.50 for the musical group. There is no fund-raising element - simply food and fun. Mr. and Mrs. Fouad & Joumana Hardan are in charge of the St. John’s Dinner.

Easter Lunch

Easter Lunch is a key celebration of Easter, which is the most important feast of our Christian Oriental tradition. It took place for the first time on Easter Day 1994. The gathering at that time was small, around 60 people. Then the number quickly went up to 100 for the next year and, since 1997, the number has been around 270 people.

Easter Lunch is a family gathering where children and adults can rejoice together with the risen Christ. This tradition is now rooted deeply in the hearts of our Melkite parishioners. Needless to say, around 90 families have already cancelled their preparations for an Easter lunch in their own homes in order to rejoice together at the Parish’s Easter Lunch. Mr. Joseph Chachati is in charge of the Easter Lunch.

Christmas Lunch

Christmas Lunch will start officially on Christmas Day 2006 at a Lebanese restaurant in London, in order to continue the celebration of Christmas with a family gathering.