Farewell to Father Piotr in Jerusalem kehilla


On Sunday, August 31, 2014, the Jerusalem kehilla bade farewell to their parish priest, Father Piotr, who is transferring to the parish in Beer Sheba.

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Father Piotr Zelasko has lived in the Jerusalem kehilla for the past five years and for the past two years he has served as the priest responsible for the Jerusalem kehilla. He has left his mark with his warmth, his generosity, his creativity and his joy. Many were those who were attracted to the Jerusalem kehilla because of Father Piotr’s welcoming style. He introduced new elements like the masses for children, the various cultural activities and his renewal of the chapel and the liturgical vestments. He was also an enormous help in catechism with children even in Tel Aviv and undertook the organization of the renovation of the Haifa kehilla’s center. For all this and much more, Father David, responsible for the kehillot, gave thanks at Sunday’s mass.

Father Piotr is not moving far away. He generously agreed to replace Father Gioele Salvaterra, parish priest of Beer Sheba, who has been recalled to serve in his own diocese in Italy. Father Piotr will certainly bring his apostolic zeal, his loving warmth, his startling creativity and his love of the Gospel to his new parish.

The Jerusalem kehilla could welcome their new responsible priest, Father Rafic Nahra. Father Rafic, priest in the diocese of Paris, has been serving in the Vicariate for many years as teacher, liturgist, spiritual father and counselor. He knows the Jerusalem kehilla very well as it has been his spiritual home for a long time. Father David thanked him for taking on this new responsibility.

At this same mass, the kehilla also bid farewell to Kirill, who has completed his studies and will be moving to the center of the country to look for work. Kirill has been a resident in the Vicariate for two years and has made an enormous contribution in many different ways.

Finally, Anne, Nicolas and their two little children Bernard and Jeanne, have been faithfully attending the kehilla for the past two years. Nicolas, a post doctoral fellow at the Hebrew University, and his wife Anne, arrived from France and with incredible determination learnt Hebrew and integrated fully in the kehilla. Jeanne was baptized in the kehilla at Easter. They have helped out in every way, volunteering time and energy and even serving as counselors on the summer camp activities in Jerusalem, in Deir Rafat and in Tel Aviv. They too are leaving in order to return to France and will be sorely missed.

This was a very momentous Sunday liturgy!

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