To His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark

After bowing and greeting your holy hands, we, the youth of St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church of Savage, Maryland would like to address a matter that is very important to us all.

As Your Holiness knows, this past period has been very challenging for all the members of our church family. We the youth have had a particularly difficult time. Being without an American-raised priest for almost a year now, many of the youth have resorted to traveling long distances to neighboring Coptic parishes or even foregoing attending church services altogether. Although Fr. Shenouda Ebied has done so much to shepherd the church, because of the cultural and language barriers, many youth find it difficult to come to him for their spiritual needs, such as confession. Similarly, many of us are finding it difficult to grow spiritually because we are in need of a priest who is familiar with the American culture and its specific struggles. To compound these problems, the majority of the spiritual ministry at St. Mary's is organized and maintained by the youth. Without immediate focus and care for the youth, many of us are afraid of the lasting effects on both current and future members of our church family. We cannot express enough how even the youngest individuals of St. Mary's family are being negatively affected by the gradual weakening of our youth.

We come now, being prompted by Your Holiness, with a possible solution to this crisis. We, the youth and American-raised members of St. Mary’s, are formally asking for the service of Fr. David and his wife Sarah at our church. After spending months looking for another “youth priest” or for a young man to be ordained, we have not been able to find anyone suitable. Fr. David is not simply someone that can fill a vacant position, but someone who knows the youth extremely well and already has a deep love for each individual member of our youth family. Finally it is well known that Fr. David and his family have yet to relocate from their residence near Baltimore. We believe that our proposed solution offers an end to their personal struggles of uncertainty while, more importantly, being a strong solution to the previously mentioned trials endured by the youth.

We are reaching out to Your Holiness as our Father and spiritual leader to arrange for us a solution to our weakening state. Whether that be through the return of Fr. David as our shepherd or through the care of another American-raised priest, we trust that Your Holiness will come to our aid in all wisdom and love, as your spiritual children. Many of us remember when the commitment and service to our surrounding communities were powerful bonds that united us as a youth family and allowed us to grow together. The potential that we see in ourselves, however, can only be fulfilled through the spiritual nourishment, fellowship, discipleship and care of a priest who understands our needs and shares our vision for the future.

Finally, we would like to conclude by affirming that regardless of the future of St. Mary’s and its leadership, the undersigned youth are united in our love for Fr. David and his family. We would like to thank Your Holiness for your time and interest in this matter. Please continue to pray for us and we look forward to hearing from Your Holiness.

Asking for Your prayers and blessings,

The Youth of St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church

Savage, Maryland

Archdiocese of North America

Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate