Script
Chapter names need work....
Introduction
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen.
Our Church is a Living Church. She is alive! And every day is a new page in Her life. So when we look at the history of our beloved Church, we see many chapters. And we see how the Lord's hand was present in all of them with a pen in His hand.
As King David says in Psalm 126: "The Lord has done great things for us, we became joyful." (Psalm 126:3)
This year, we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the consecration of this building as a Church in the name of St Rebekah and her five children. Let us take this opportunity to look back and reflect on the previous chapters: to see all the great things that the Lord has done for us, and let us see what the Lord has in store for us in the next chapters.
Transition music:
My Church, My Church, My Church it's my home, it's my mother, it's the secret to the joy of my life...
Refrain twice and fade out to black screen
Chapter 1: The Beginning
- South Orlando families before St Rebekah
- Bible Studies at the Residence Inn
- Greenway Church
- Hotel
- The naming of the Church
- The purchase of the Land
HEMY: The idea for this church started when HE Bishop Metias offered to me the relics of St Rebekah. He is the bishop of Sonbat. So I took it as a sign from God that we should build a church in the name of St Rebekah. So we started looking for a land or a church to buy...
Fr Shenouda/Fr Daoud:
Fr Maximus: In the beginning, we only had one church in Central Florida - St Mary and Archangel Michael in Oviedo. And actually, if you can believe it, sometimes we would actually go to St George in Daytona Beach because it was about the same distance! There was no SR 417 in those days, so you could take the i4 to Daytona Beach, or local roads to Oviedo and it was basically the same.
It speaks to the faithfulness of those early families who immigrated to Central Florida, that despite the distance and the inconvenience of going to a far church, Sunday liturgy was a MUST. Nothing would stop them from attending the Liturgy on Sunday. And on top of that, the few families that lived in South Orlando would gather together every week and alternate taking a van of kids to the Hymns Classes, Vespers and Praises in St Mary Oviedo. This was the beginning of a community. Parents coming together for the salvation of their children.
Original Congregants: Stories about the original Bible Studies in Residence Inn, stories about Greenway, how we used to pack everything up and then come early to unpack it, stories about moving to the hotel, stories about buying the land of the Church.
Original Youth: Memories about Uncle Emad, stories about the aforementioned.
Chapter 2: The Foundation Stone (2008-2011)
- Laying the Foundation Stone (October 26, 2008)
- Ordination of Fr Reweis (October 26, 2008)
- Reception of Fr Reweis?
- The Beginning of the Service
- Construction
Chapter 3: The Church
- First Liturgy (Resurrection 2011)
- Consecration (September 2011)
- Service videos
- (e.g. when the kids did the sacraments... Joe giving communion, Sam and Julie getting married, Andrew Boulos getting ordained by Bishop Phillip Ayad)
Chapter 4: Growth
- Announcement and Reception of Fr Ephraim (Jan 2015)
- Visit of HH Pope Tawadros (Mar 2016)
- Iconostasis (Oct 2017)
Chapter 5: Home
- Announcement of Fr Maximus (May 2025)
- Ordination of Fr Maximus (Sep 2025)