The
St. Mary & St. Kyrillos Coptic Orthodox Church, at 2500 Unionville Pike in Hatfield, invites the community to celebrate Middle Eastern life and culture at their
15th Annual Egyptian Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10-11 and 17-18, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
There will be authentic Egyptian food along with a gift shop, kids’ activities, face painting and a custom print shop. Admission is free. Proceeds from the food and activities will go toward the construction of the main church.
"Hopefully people can come see what's going on within the walls of that building that many people drive by on a daily basis,” said Mimi Mekaiel, the church’s community relations coordinator.
More than 200 families worship at the church, many of whom are immigrants. The church provides several services to these families, including helping them get to and from church and providing authentic Egyptian groceries that may not be readily available in typical grocery stores. There’s also a Sunday school and day care area.
The church was founded in January 2008. The Copts used to pray in First Baptist Church in Lansdale.
St. Kyrillos’ Rev. Father Antonious Salib was ordained in June 2009, and the church began building in 2013 and finished the community center and the chapel in 2018.
The construction of the main church was largely impacted by COVID. Its original estimated date of completion was August 2020 but was delayed for two years. Now back on schedule, the church hopes the construction will be finished within six months.
Pope Tawadros II is expected to visit for the consecration sometime next year.
"The whole idea for the festival is to not only raise money for the construction, but… for the whole community to become involved and come and ask about the Coptic Church [and to learn about] the history to understand where we came from, what is our roots, and what is the purpose for us being here,” Salib said.
Mekaiel adds that many local and state representatives, including Pa. Rep. Steve Malagari and Hatfield Township Commissioner Tom Zipfel, continue to support the church and the festival.
"That really shows our congregation that their voice matters in the community and their presence here matters,” Mekaiel said. "As much as it is outreach to our community, it also creates a sense of belonging for our congregation.”
For more information on the festival,
visit the church’s Facebook page.
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