Feast of the Presentation in our kehillot

The kehillot in Jaffa and Haifa celebrated the feast with appropriate solemnityon Saturday, February 1, 2015. However for the Jerusalem kehilla this feast is also the feast of the house in which the kehilla gathers – the House of Saints Simeon and Anne. This year too it was a special celebration!

The mass was celebrated by Father Michel Remaud and at the end of mass he called forward all those over the age of 80 for a special blessing. One member, Cecile, was called forward for the first time as she had celebrated her 80th birthday just a few days before. Cecile has been a pillar of the kehillot, helping out in so many different ways, since the 1960s. During the mass, Laure taught the children a lesson about the significance of the feast.

The community gathered after the mass to continue the celebration. Those present enjoyed the delicacies that had been prepared for Cecile’s birthday but also those prepared for Mary Angel’s birthday, one of the younger members of the community. After enjoying the food, all gathered again to watch a series of photographs of members of the kehilla when they were children and all tried to guess who was who. It was not so easy to identify among the cute little children: Cecile, Brother Yohanan, Sister Regine, Father David, Father Rafic and many others…

Before the evening ended, Cecile was serenaded with a song written especially for her birthday by Benny, our seminarian.

Thank you Saints Simeon and Anne for watching over us… !