Vol. 1 No. 1 March/April 1998
My beloved fathers and brothers in our churches of America,

Peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

My heart is overwhelmed with joy as I write this letter to you about the Brothers of the Lord. Our Lord, from the abundance of His tender love and compassion, has given great esteem to the poor by calling them His brothers. Our Lord, Who is the Giver of life and blessings to all, considered the offering of any aid to the poor as an offering to Him personally. He said: "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. (Matt 25:35,36)

My beloved, if I tell you that our Lord is standing at your door hungry, thirsty, naked and a stranger, surely you will wonder how is that possible? I say to you that all those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, or strangers are the creation of His hands and He greatly loves and cares for them and gives them special honor. Anything we do to the Brothers of the Lord we do directly to Him: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. " (Matt 26:40).

Hence, the Bishopric of Public, Ecumenical and Social Services performs a wide variety of services for the Brothers of the Lord in Cairo, Alexandria and the Dioceses. This is done through a program called Agape, which has been collecting donations from our churches abroad since 1989. The summary of the services of the Agape program are as follows:

    Dispensing monthly aid for more than a thousand families needing daily sustenance [Sponsor (Adopt) a family program], because of loss of the head of the household, and/or because of other hardships.

    Medical treatment for many people, as well as medications, laboratory tests, x-rays, kidney dialysis and surgeries (major and minor).

    Dispensing monthly aid for a large number of chronically ill individuals.

    Providing housing for families emigrating from Upper Egypt. Also housing for the many families that live together in one apartment in extreme over-crowded conditions, sharing everything, including one bathroom, which leads to moral and religious perversion.

    Assisting young women with marriage costs. This issue is extremely important because it protects our daughters from many dangers.

    Caring for hundreds of students [all ages (grammar school to college)] because of the rising cost of education nowadays.

    Providing many of the needs of those mentally and physically handicapped.

    Creating job opportunities, and an increase of income, by initiating small businesses for needy families.

    Caring for those families who have suffered from the damages of natural disasters, like earthquakes and deluges. Also caring for those victimized by terrorism.

 

The Bishopric investigates and verifies every case. Then His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, along with a helping committee, personally meets many of these cases every Thursday in Cairo, and every other Saturday in Alexandria.

My dear brothers and sisters, I invite you to share and obtain blessings from your brothers, the Brothers of the Lord in Egypt: "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given" (Prov. 19:17). We should remember the words of St. Paul the Apostle: "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life ". (1 Tim. 6:17-19)

We will send you correspondence and periodic letters about the works of mercy through the many projects of Agape at the Bishopric of Public, Ecumenical and Social Services.

The Lord be with you all, my beloved brothers.

Bishop Youannes,
 General Bishop and Secretary of H.H. Pope Shenouda III


Please Note:

The BLESS USA account is under the personal supervision of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.

BLESS USA is a continuation of the services of the organizations previously called BLESS NJ and BLESS International (formerly known as BLESS CA).