10th Anniversary Celebrations
The 10th Anniversary Celebrations and the 5th Biennial Youth Convention is taking place at St. Peter Cathedral from Thursday, July 19 to Sunday, July 22, 2012. Throughout the weekend, there will be different activities commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle. A major part of the celebrations is the 5th Biennial Youth Convention. During the weekend, there will also be the live performance of the play, "Amerta Myusarta", a Seminar on Public Issues and a Language Symposium, as well as the Bishop's Banquet taking place on Saturday evening. The celebrations will end on Sunday with the Sub-Deaconate Ordinations of four Seminarians from the Seminary of Mar Abba the Great.
For a more detailed schedule of the celebrations taking place this weekend, click here.
A Special Thank You
The San Diego Planning Committee of the 2012 Diocesan Youth Convention would like to show our grattitude to all the leaders from the parishes of St. Peter Diocese who helped make this Youth Convention the success that it was. Your tireless effort and diligence were a testament to the love you have for your parishes, diocese and the entire Church. The Youth Convention would not have gone as well as it did were it not for your presence and help. For this reason, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you did for the 2012 Diocesan Youth Convention.
God Bless you.
Sister Miskenta Mariam
Head of the Youth Convention Planning Committee
Sub-Deaconate Ordination
A historic moment was experienced by all 800 of those who were present at the open-air Mass held on Cuyamaca College grounds this Sunday the 23 of July. The Mass was the climax of the youth convention that ended the same day, as it marked the first sub-deaconate ordinations of the first 4 Chaldean seminarians formed at the first Chaldean seminary established outside Iraq.
Chaldean Community Awards Banquet
Fifteen people were given prestigious awards and titles at the Chaldean Diocese's Awards Banquet last Saturday, July 21, at St. Michael's hall, at the hands of Bishop Sarhad Y. Jammo. In front of a sizeable crowd of esteemed members of the community, among many other prominent presences visiting from Michigan and Sweden, 6 of the awardees received the Chaldean Award of Justice and Freedom, 8 the title of Chaldean Nobility, and 1 the Papal Award of "Knight of the Order of Saint Sylvester, Pope" for their many contributions, deeds, and influences for Chaldeans in this diocese as well as Chaldeans worldwide.
Seminar on Public Issues
A group of men and women from all over the world gathered in the St. Peter's Educational Center to hold the Seminar on Public Issues. Throughout the day, different speakers addressed the issues that Chaldeans are facing all around the world today. One issue they focused on was that we are losing our language and forgetting our heritage. Through the different lectures, the audience gained a better understanding of how to face these issues and not submissively allow ourselves to fade away.
Youth Convention Banquet
On Saturday evening, after a competitive and gruelling day on the field, the youth gathered together for the Youth Convention Banquet at St. Peter Hall. There, the winning teams received their awards. Fr. Andrew also took the opportunity to thank two people in particular who worked very hard on putting the convention together, Sister Miskenta Mariam and Seminarian of Mar Abba the Great, David Stephen. He thanked them for their hard work and organization of what he considered one of the best conventions this diocese has ever had.
Youth Convention Sports Day
The third day of the Diocesan Youth Convention began as usual with the infamous sports day. Teams from all the different parishes gathered to compete in soccer, basketball and volleyball. After a long day of sports, the youth headed to the hotel to get ready for the Youth Banquet.
Amerta Myusarta
The Captive Princess
A Musical Play Written by Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo
Subject Matter: Dramatization, through the life of one Chaldean family, of historic events that occurred during the time of Tamerlane between the years 1400-1405, concerning Christians of Mesopotamia and the surrounding countries of that
period, focusing mostly on the Chaldean people and Church.
Sight Seeing in Coronado
The youth had a great time sight seeing in Coronado the second day of the Diocesan Youth Convention. The busses transported the young people to Coronado after they had finished hearing their speakers. This was a real treat especially for the youth that came from parishes that are not near the ocean. They had fun shopping, getting ice cream and dipping their feet in the Pacific Ocean. Afterward, they were brought back to St. Peter's for a BBQ.
The 2012 Convention Speakers
The second day of the Youth Convention began like the first, with prayer. After Sapra (morning prayer), the first speaker of the convention , Clayton Treska, was introduced by Fr. Andrew Younan. Clay spoke of his experiences serving in different countries with the U.S. Military, one of them being Iraq. It was there that he first became acquainted with the Chaldean people and has been in close contact with them ever since. He also spoke of his battle with cancer and how he used the Ironman trialathon to get through it. His moving speech was a testament to human indurance and the power of hope.
Youth Convention Begins with Procession and Ramsha
The first day of the 2012 Diocesan Youth Convention began with a procession and evening prayer (ramsha). Each parish processed into the Cathedral carrying their banner. They were officially welcomed to the Youth Convention by the main planners, Fr. Noel Gorgis and Sr. Miskenta Mariam. Afterward, the entire congregation prayed evening prayer together.
The highlight of the evening was the premiere of the documentary produced in honor of the 10 Year Anniversary. Awake, O Sleeper: Waking the Lions of Babylon, is a documentary that explores how a Chaldean diocese grows and thrives. It was produced by New Babylon Productions and is the first of many productions to come in the future.