Fayza Mansour and her children fled Iraq to Syria because of Christian persecution. They ived in Syria for eight years, where the family ran an electrical business. With the recent conflict in Syria, they became sponsored refugees to Canada.
Their Surrey apartment is not far from the Anglican Church of the Epiphany located between Guildford and Gateway in Surrey, and they came one Sunday to visit. They have little English, and our congregation has no Arabic members. But we manage, with simple language and lots of laughter, to communicate.Three additional families from the Iraqi community have recently joined the original family at Epiphany, and we have all been enriched and blessed by their participation in worship and parish life.
The families attended the Tri-Parish Service and Picnic in the Park, June 22nd, joining Epiphany with St. Helen’s and St. Michaels, all in Surrey. We enjoyed delicious Iraqi dishes at the picnic that followed, and they were very pleased to meet Bishop Melissa!
Images: Top and Homepage, Fayza Mansour and her son Loay meet Bishop Melissa. Bottom more family members enjoy lunch with the Bishop. PHOTOS: Randy Murray