JUNE 2018

VOL. 15 ISSUE V 

METRO DETROIT CHALDEAN COMMUNITY JUNE 2018 

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3 

www.chaldeannews.com 

A NEW 

HOPE 

IRAQI ELECTIONS 

AND AMENDING 

IMMIGRATION LAWS 

INSIDE 

MAKING ROOM FOR LINDSAY 

POWER IN NUMBERS 

DEPORTATION CRISIS: ONE YEAR LATER 

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PERMIT NO. 179 

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI

2 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2018

JUNE 2018 CHALDEAN NEWS 3

CONTENTS JUNE 2018 

THE CHALDEAN NEWS VOLUME 15 ISSUE V 

18 20 38 

departments 

6 FROM THE EDITOR 

BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO 

Giving others a voice 

7 YOUR LETTERS 

8 IN MY VIEW 

BY MICHAEL SARAFA 

Questions about the experience at Mass 

9 WHERE DO YOU STAND? 

BY MICHAEL SARAFA 

Commute Kilpatrick’s sentence by half 

10 GUEST COLUMNS 

BY CRYSTAL KASSAB JABIRO 

Melania invites Americans to ‘Be Best’ 

BY ASHOURINA SLEWO 

One year’s time 

12 NOTEWORTHY 

14 CHAI TIME 

16 RELIGION 

17 OBITUARIES 

28 ECONOMICS AND ENTERPRISE 


Smooth shaving 

30 CHALDEAN ON THE STREET 

BY HALIM SHEENA 

What do you look forward to doing most this summer? 

33 CLASSIFIED LISTINGS 

34 EVENTS 

on the cover 

18 AMENDMENTS FOR RELIEF 


Community leaders and elected officials work to amend 

Immigration and Nationality Act 

19 A NEW HOPE 

BY MONIQUE MANSOUR 

The 2018 Iraqi election 

features 

20 CATALOGUE MANUSCRIPTS OF 

THE CHURCH IN TELKEPPE 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

22 POWER IN NUMBERS 


How Mission Jean Day serves as a 

fundraising success and example 

24 MAKING ROOM FOR LINDSAY 


Raad Kathawa remembers his daughter on 

Father’s Day, decades after her death 

26 CAN YOU PRAY THE GAY AWAY? 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

That is the question twin brothers take on 

in their second book about homosexuality 

4 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2018 


from the EDITOR 

PUBLISHED BY 

The Chaldean News, LLC 

EDITORIAL 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

Vanessa Denha Garmo 

MANAGING EDITORS 

Denha Media Group Writers 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Ashourina Slewo 

Monique Mansour 

Halim Sheena 

Crystal Kassab Jabiro 

Weam Namou 

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Giving others a voice 

I 

sat at a Panera Bread holding back tears listening 

to Raad Kathawa talk about his daughter. 

Those who know him, I’m sure you don’t 

often see the side of him I did on this morning. 

He was a dad very much still in pain. 

I have tormented myself these passed two 

months. After working on a cover story about 

moms mourning the loss of their children, I sat 

down with Raad over iced tea, talking about 

Lindsay who passed away more than 30 years ago. 

Raad has asked Martin, Mike and me several 

times to write a story about St. Jude Hospital and 

it almost became expected every time we saw him. 

We fully intended to but the timing never 

seemed right, until now. Those who know Raad, know 

the boisterous and serious business man and community 

We are fully aware of the 

Church’s teachings on 

homosexuality and I encourage 

all of you to understand the 

teachings on this issue. 

doer. Few will see the father who still walks around with 

a broken heart. I sat at the restaurant after our meeting 

for two more hours, writing his story and wiping my tears. 

I usually like to write about my own dad and husband 

during the month of June as we honor dads but instead, I 

share the story of one man who finds ways to make room 

in his life for a daughter who left this world before she 

even entered school. 

We reached out to a few other dads in similar situations 

but no one else wanted to share their story. So perhaps 

Raad represents them all and is the voice of dads who 

will never forget their deceased children. I want to thank 

Lauren Kathawa for offering input with the article. 

This issue touches on a few stories tied into having a 

voice. Our cover story is a two-part piece regarding Iraq. 

VANESSA 

DENHA-GARMO 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

CO-PUBLISHER 

In this issue we share the story of Chaldeans 

who expressed their voice in the Iraqi elections. 

Monique Mansour talked to Shoki Konja and 

others about Iraq. 

Ashournia Slewo gives an update on the 

deportation story in two articles. In one she explains 

the 212C Waiver and what that means. 

She also pens an updated piece on those detained 

one year later. This past year many people 

spoke up to help Christian Iraqis living in America 

who were picked up and held in jail as they 

fought against being deported. 

Much has happened this past year and we 

continue to cover the story. 

We also address a very sensitive subject that we have 

written about before but this time it is from the voices 

of twin brothers who have written two books about being 

gay. We are fully aware of the Church’s teachings on 

homosexuality and I encourage all of you to understand 

the teachings on this issue. We are in no means condoning 

the act of homosexuality; we are merely sharing their 

struggles about being gay. We share this story because it 

is a reality in the world, including in our own Chaldean 

community, and it still one that is often very difficult to 

address. 

Some people may not agree that we gave the twins 

our platform to express their voice by sharing their story 

and their book. I get it. I know it is a very controversial 

topic and expect various opinions about us discussing it. 

We may not agree with each other and that is okay but we 

should not be so closed off that we don’t allow others to 

have a voice. 

Alaha Imid Koullen 

(God Be With Us All) 

Vanessa Denha-Garmo 

vanessa@denhamedia.com 

Follow her on Twitter @vanessadenha 

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YOUR letters 

Thank you 

Many thanks to Congressman John 

Moolenaar for his compassionate recent 

article in the Chaldean News. 

He correctly points out the hardship 

to our community when deporting 

Chaldeans who may 

have committed offenses 

decades ago, 

but have since built 

a law-abiding life, especially 

if they have 

U.S. born spouses 

and kids. We should 

all thank him for his 

efforts in introducing 

a bipartisan House 

resolution calling for 

the end of those detentions. 

I would also 

urge the Congressman 

to look at the 

source of the problem: a rather harsh 

immigration law enacted in 1996 

where someone might be uprooted 

from his family and deported to another 

country he hardly knows. This 

might happen due to mistakes or 

“Let’s be more compassionate 

to those who may have 

committed mistakes long time 

ago, but had since repented, 

paid their dues to society, and 

have since established a new, 

law-abiding life.” 

conviction for offenses U.S. citizen 

might only get probation for. While 

the Chaldean community experienced 

the harshness of this law first 

hand, many others of different nationalities 

had been equally affected 

and suffered by it. Let’s be more compassionate 

to those who may have 

committed mistakes long time ago, 

but had since repented, paid their 

dues to society, and have since established 

a new, law-abiding life. 

– N. Peter Antone 


in my VIEW 

Questions about the experience at Mass 

As we’ve travelled 

over the years 

with the kids, 

I always made sure we 

would attend Mass, even 

if the travel was not over 

a Sunday. I think one of 

the greatest testimonies 

of the Catholic faith is its 

universality. In fact, the 

definition of Catholic is 

“universal” coming from 

the Greek roots kata-holos 

or “according to the whole.” Today 

Catholicism is largest Christian denomination 

and the largest uniform 

religion in the history of the world 

with over one billion people identifying 

themselves as Catholic. 

In the Latin Right, on any given 

Sunday or weekday, at churches big 

and small and flung far and wide 

in every corner of the world, you 

would likely hear the same readings 

and the same Gospel. The order of 

MICHAEL G. 

SARAFA 

the Mass is mostly consistent 

throughout every 

dioceses in the world and 

the prayers, though in different 

languages, almost 

identical. 

In attending various 

Chaldean Rite Masses recently, 

I’ve been struck by 

several things that seem 

either inconsistent or imprecise. 

Though better 

than the old days, it is still 

shocking to me the number of congregants 

that can’t make it to Church on 

time. At one noon Mass recently, the 

Church was half empty at procession 

time but completely full by the time 

the Gospel was read. It’s not like that 

was an 8:00 am mass either. 

But I want to point out some issues 

that I will pose not as criticisms 

but as questions. 

Some people, as they enter the 

pews, stand and say a prayer before 

they sit. Should they do this if they 

are late, for example during the readings 

when everyone else is sitting? 

During the kneeling parts, many 

people stand. I used to think these 

were people with bad knees, but I 

think some people simply choose to 

stand instead of kneeling. Is that an 

option for people or are they just doing 

it out of habit or some other reason? 

At some churches, there are processionals 

and recessionals with the 

priests entering and leaving down 

the aisles. Some just enter and leave 

behind the altars. Is there a standard 

one way or the other in the Chaldean 

Liturgy or is this optional according 

to each priest’s preference? 

In any case, regarding the recessional, 

congregants pour out of the 

pews before the priests exits and 

while the choir is still singing. This is 

not something common in the Latin 

Rite. Should the pastors address this 

at the various parishes? 

The use of incense seems all over 

the map with each Church and each 

priest doing something slightly different. 

Are there proscribed rules for 

the use of incense? 

If the Mass is identified as an “English” 

Mass, is it necessary to read the 

Gospel in both languages? At a recent 

funeral, the Our Father was also said 

in both languages. I can see a purpose 

for this at times, but is there any uniformity 

to when this is done? 

Some priests want to scare the 

dickens out of people about receiving 

communion if you are in a state of sin 

or have missed Mass without confessing. 

My guess is that this is probably 

canonically correct. But isn’t this an 

important and sensitive enough issue 

that the preaching on it should be 

somewhat consistent? 

Some Churches read the same 

Prayer of the Faithful out of the book 

every week. Some take the effort to 

prepare more distinct and timely 

ones. Personally, the latter feels better 

to me. Can’t all the Churches accomplish 

that? 

When are we supposed to make 

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where do you STAND? 

the sign of the cross? Dozens of 

times during the Mass, prayers begin 

with “Glory be to the Father…. 

and In the Name of the Father…” 

These times during the Mass are a 

free for all with some people making 

the sign of the cross sometimes, 

others not at all, others all the time. 

Not even the priests are consistent 

with this. 

I really don’t know the answers 

to these questions but have been observing 

some of these things over the 

years. The Chaldean Mass is rich and 

beautiful and steeped in history. The 

Latin Mass and the new Epistle are 

thematically consistent and based 

on a universal Church calendar that 

syncs the Liturgy of the Word and 

Liturgy of the Eucharist into a consistent 

message for the day. 

I don’t think Mass should be about 

process or precision. But the final 

question is this: Would it enhance 

peoples experience and encounter is 

if was at least a little more so? 

Michael Sarafa is Co-Publisher 

of the Chaldean News. 

Commute Kilpatrick’s sentence by half 

In 2001, I supported Gill Hill for 

Mayor of Detroit over Kwame Kilpatrick. 

Kilpatrick won. In 2005, I 

supported Freman Hendrix over Mayor 

Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was 

re-elected. During my time as President 

of the Associated Food Dealers, 

the city administration and police department 

wreaked havoc on Detroit 

store owners. Undeserved raids, tickets, 

fines, harassment and shakedowns 

for money. Kilpatrick and I became 

arch enemies; and everyone knew it. 

I always thought Kilpatrick was 

ethically challenged even when he 

was in the state legislature. His affair 

with Christine Beatty began then. 

When he ultimately was elected, he 

took his slogan—It’s Our Time—to 

mean it was his time in every criminal 

and sinister way possible. At the 

end of that saga, I felt strongly that 

he got what he deserved. 

But I’ve changed my mind. I think 

his three-decade sentence is excessive 

and I’m not the only one. An effort is 

actually underway to free Kilpatrick. 

In spite, of the real harm he 

caused the city, his sentence should 

be reduced. Here are six reasons why. 

• I believe he may be capable 

of reforming himself in less than 27 

years. 

• He is a very low risk of committing 

a repeat offense given what he 

has been through. 

• He is a father and I believe, still 

a husband. 

• He probably can be let out early 

in exchange for some substantial 

community service. It seems that his 

story of his meteoric rise, catastrophic 

fall, epic humiliation and redemptive 

rebirth might do a few troubled 

kids out there some good. 

In the context of the immigration 

detentions, I’ve been to these prisons 

a couple of times to visit friends. 

They are horrible places. Our criminal 

justice and prison system are badly 

flawed, in my view. These places 

for a long sentence like Kilpatrick 

got, amount to a death sentence. 

Finally, and most importantly, he 

was coddled and enabled by some of 

the most powerful elected officials 

and corporate leaders in this town— 

many of whom are still in positions of 

power. They lifted him up and stood 

behind him way longer than was prudent. 

For years, they turned a blind 

eye to Kilpatrick’s untoward ways. 

They share responsibility for what he 

did to the city because they stood by 

him when it was happening. 

In a complete reversal of my positions 

on Kilpatrick and his case, I say 

commute his sentence by half. 

Where do you stand? 

Michael Sarafa is Co-Publisher 

of The Chaldean News. 

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GUEST columns 

Melania invites Americans to ‘Be Best’ 

CRYSTAL KASSAB JABIRO 

Five days before First Lady Melania 

Trump’s Be Best initiative 

announcement, our school got 

an invitation to attend. And the 

principal said I could be one of the 

two teachers to go. 

I had orchestrated First Lady Melania 

Trump’s visit to Orchard Lake 

Middle School (OLMS) in West 

Bloomfield back in October with my 

dear friend Melody Arabo, a teacher 

in Walled Lake and current Fellow at 

the U.S. Department of Education. 

She was asked to help with Melania’s 

first-ever visit to a school for “Week 

of Inclusion” during National Bullying 

Prevention Month. Melania requested 

a school that participates in 

the program “No One Eats Alone” 

and she also requested it not be a far 

plane ride from Washington, D.C. because 

she wanted to be home for Barron 

when he came home from school. 

Anyhow, Melody mentioned that 

she knew someone who works at 

Orchard Lake Middle School- me-, 

and Secretary Betsy Devos’s office 

basically said, “Okay, we’ll go there!” 

And that’s how it happened. The 

First Lady and the Secretary, who is 

from Michigan, were quite impressed 

with our school and our daily social 

and emotional course called Viking 

Huddle. Three days a week are dedicated 

to academic tutoring and enrichment 

and homework time; two 

days are devoted to social skills and 

emotional well-being, discussing topics 

like character, communication, 

and making choices to name a few. 

That is why we got invited to Melania’s 

launch of her Be Best initiative. 

We left at 3 a.m. from OLMS and 

changed in a fitting room at the Gap 

an hour before we got there. I did 

my makeup on the bus while a sixth 

grader held my phone up in selfie 

mode as a mirror. I used my plush 

Angry Birds blanket as a bib while I 

ate my Subway, being careful not to 

get my dress dirty. 

When we finally got to the White 

House, we went through a couple of 

security checks, one of them being 

with dogs. I left a gift for Melania 

– a notecard with a Blessed Solanus 

Casey wooden rosary and prayer card. 

We walked through the White 

House to the Rose Garden and were 

told not to take pictures and post anything 

until after Melania got to make 

We walked 

through the White 

House to the 

Rose Garden and 

were told not to 

take pictures and 

post anything 

until after Melania 

got to make the 

announcement. 

the announcement. We had the pleasure 

of sitting near the front, and I in 

the fourth row, first seat in the aisle. 

Exactly three people in front of me 

was President Donald Trump! He was 

sitting right next to Vice President 

Michael Pence and his wife, Karen. 

To my right, I saw Ivanka and Jared, 

Betsy Devos, Sarah Sanders, and Kellyanne 

Conway. Only later did I realize 

that the people in the row in front 

of me were bigwigs from Facebook, 

Microsoft, and other major media and 

technology companies. 

Before Melania spoke, we 

watched a video that included our 

school and students. The students 

were excited to see themselves and 

their classmates in it. Then she spoke 

about Be Best and explained the pillars 

of it. She recognized our school 

and spoke about Viking Huddle. We 

couldn’t believe we were receiving 

such respect from the First Lady, we 

were very honored! 

When it was over, Melody and 

I went up to Mrs. Pence and introduced 

ourselves. She was very 

down-to-earth, told us her dad was a 

teacher too, and said she saw research 

that shows moms and babies are not 

bonding because of social media. She 

talked to us like she had known us for 

a long time, and we took it to be that 

typical Midwestern style. We were 

glad to meet her and we took a picture 

with her. We walked over to the Kennedy 

Garden after for a cookies and 

lemonade reception, and that is when 

I saw Melania right in front of me. 

“Mrs. Trump, I’m Crystal Jabiro, 

a teacher from Orchard Lake Middle 

School. Thank you so much for inviting 

us.” 

“Thank you for coming. What a 

great school you have and what you 

teachers do is so important,” she responded. 

We exchanged a few more pleasantries 

and then I asked her for a 

picture. 

“Selfie?” she asked with a smile. 

“Sure!” I exclaimed. 

“Okay, come on!” she said. And 

she got close to me and I snapped it. 

She took selfies with the kids too. 

The whole experience was surreal 

and magical. I was very proud of Melania 

and this initiative, and I hope it 

does what it sets out to do. 

For more info, you can go to 

www.bebest.gov 


One year’s time 


It’s baffling how much can happen 

in one year. 

One year ago, when I encouraged 

my father to seek the 

help of an immigration attorney, I 

had no idea that exactly one week 

later he would be one of hundreds 

caught in raids by Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement (ICE). But 

he was. 

This is not my first column 

about the deportation crisis and it 

probably won’t be the last. 

On June 11, 2017, I stood in my 

father’s doorway, facing at least four 

ICE agents. I feigned confidence 

in an attempt to show them I was 

not scared. I knew, though, that no 

amount of confidence or knowledge 

of my rights would stop them from 

leaving that apartment with my father 

in tow. 

Our community has been exceedingly 

fortunate to have had an organization 

like the American Civil Liberties 

Union (ACLU) – who worked 

with the Chaldean Community 

Foundation – standing in the face of 

the government and defending us. 

The ACLU, and the countless others 

that didn’t receive even half the 

recognition they deserved, came out 

to help us when no one else would. 

They bought us more time than 

anyone could have imagined. Time 

that would allow our loved ones the 

opportunity to stay in this country. 

For several months after ICE 

picked my dad up, I was on auto pilot. 

All I could think about was the 

next step. What could I do next? 

What would bring me one step 

closer to seeing my father again? I 

would not have been able to do any 

of the things I did had it not been 

for the ACLU and their massive 

network of people eager to help. 

The ACLU and their co-counsel 

fought the government and 

won. How many people can say 

that? They bought us time, they 

provided us with the resources we 

so desperately needed, and they 

brought a majority of families back 

together. 

In one year’s time, I lost my father 

to immigration so the president 

could earn political brownie 

points among his equally delusional 

followers, I fought for his life, and 

have succeeded in bringing him 

back home. 

Most importantly, though, a 

whole new world has opened up for 

me. A world within my own community. 

In this world, I have found individuals 

that stepped up for hundreds 

of families, not for the notoriety, 

but for the love of the community. 

Individuals that consistently fight 

back as the government tries to 

carry out the unethical act of deporting 

hundreds of people. They 

have nothing to gain from this 

fight. Their fathers, brothers, and 

uncles are safe and at home. Nevertheless, 

they fight for us. 

In addition to the truly amazing 

people that have come out to 

support the Chaldean community, 

another silver lining in all this, is 

our community now knows who 

has our best interest in mind. And 

if you think that person is Trump or 

any member of his administration, 

you must have been asleep for the 

last year. 

In one year’s time, I have had 

to fight against the government I 

was raised to believe cared for its 

people and won, for the most part. 

On the other hand, though, I have 

had the privilege of watching our 

community come together in a way 

I never thought possible. 

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noteworthy 

New Cardinals 

Appointed 

Pope Francis announced 

on Sunday his picks to 

become cardinals in the 

Catholic church. He will 

make 14 new cardinals on 

Friday, June 29. Among 

the new cardinals is Louis 

Raphael I Sako. Sako has 

been the Baghdad-based 

patriarch of the Chaldeans 

since 2013. 

Recognized 

by Crain’s 

Justin Hanna has been recognized by 

Crain’s Detroit Business’ ’Twenty in 

the 20s’ for his part in helping Iraqi 

nationals facing deportation after 

they were rounded up and detained 

last June. An attorney without any 

immigration experience, Hanna led 

a team of attorneys at Jaffe Raitt 

Heuer & Weiss P.C. to help those affected 

get representation. 

Charitable Celebration 

Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan hosted its annual Celebration. 

“The works of Catholic Charities are the corporal works 

of mercy. We are not principally a social service agency, but an 

Instrument of God’s love and mercy,” said Archbishop Allen Vignernon, 

President of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan. 

St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church was among those honored 

at the event. They are faithful supporters of CCSEM. The church’s 

ladies group, Wings promotes Project Hope through its pro-life 

work and hosts and annual Mother’s Day Tea. They support and 

volunteer monthly at the All Saints Soup Kitchen and Food 

Pantry. During the Advent/Christmas Season, the adopt families 

from CCSEM ministries including Project Hope and Behavioral 

Health. Fr. Manuel Boji, Fr. Rudy Zoma and Fr. Brian Kassa were 

all in attendance among three tables of Chaldeans. 

Students go to 

Washington D.C. 

Several Chaldean students from 

Orchard Lake Middle School journeyed 

to Washington, DC for their 

8th grade trip in May. Back row L-R: 

Teacher Ms. Crystal Jabiro, Cameron 

Kenaya, Angelina Jabboori, Angelina 

Manjo, Ella Dabish, and Mrs. 

Wasan Garmo. Front row: Mary Jarjosa, 

Leann Karim, Michael Antone, 

and Lucas Garmo. 

Stabenow Calls on 

Trump Administration 

In May of 2018, 

United States 

Senator Debbi 

Stabenow wrote 

the office of 

President Donald 

Trump regarding 

the hundreds of 

Iraqi nationals 

that had been picked up in raids and 

detained by Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (ICE) on June 11 

of last year. In her letter, Stabenow 

expresses her concern and requests 

an update on the individuals from 

Michigan who were detained last 

year and how the “recent Supreme 

Court Sessions v. Dimaya decision 

could impact their cases.” 

Stabenow cites The United 

States’ travel advisory to Iraq warns 

“U.S. travelers: ‘Do not travel to Iraq 

due to terrorism and armed conflict.’” 

Stating that while those who are detained 

are not citizens of this country, 

their families are and the risk of 

kidnapping and violence for the purpose 

of extorting their families. 

Stabenow ends her letter by urging 

Trump’s administration to use its 

authority to “exercise discretion in 

carefully considering” each detainee’s 

case. 


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CHAI time 

CHALDEANS CONNECTING 

COMMUNITY EVENTS IN AND AROUND METRO DETROIT JUNE 2018 

Friday, June 2 

West Bloomfield Youth Assistance 

(WBYA), which works each year to 

steer local youth in positive directions, 

will offer the community a fun and engaging 

opportunity to support the organization 

on Friday, June 8, 2018 from 

5pm-9:30pm. WBYA will host a Food 

Truck Rally in partnership with Orchard 

Mall. The Food Truck Rally will be held 

outdoors at the Orchard Mall in West 

Bloomfield, 6337 Orchard Lake Rd. 

This family friendly event will be open 

to all with free entry and parking. The 

evening will include live music, food 

trucks, a beer/wine tent, free bounce 

houses, games, and so much more. 

For more information on West Bloomfield 

Youth Assistance, contact Kelly 

Hyer at khyer@wbparks.org or Curt 

Lawson at clawson@wbpolice.org or 

at http://www.wbyouthassistance.org. 

Saturday, June 2 

Walk for Charity: Join the Children’s 

Leukemia Foundation of Michigan Saturday, 

June 2 at the Detroit Zoo to help 

thousands of Michigan families dealing 

with leukemia, lymphoma, and other 

blood related disorders. Hosted at the 

Detroit Zoo, the event will take place 

from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A minimum 

fundraising goal of $30 per person is 

required for everyone six years or older. 

Participants are invited to spend the 

day at the zoo once the event has concluded. 

For more information, visit 

https://www.firstgiving.com/event/CL- 

FofMichigan/walk-2018 

Saturday, June 2 

Charity: Leader Dogs for the Blind 

will be hosting Bark & Brew on Saturday, 

June 2 from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m. 

Presented by Chief Financial Credit 

Union, the event will be hosted at the 

Griffin Claw Brewing Company and 

Clubhouse. The evening will feature 

brew, pub grub, live music and a kids’ 

play area and an opportunity to meet a 

leader dog. Advance tickets are priced 

at $8, tickets purchased at the door 

are priced at $10. Guests 21 years or 

younger are free. For more information, 

visit http://www.leaderdog.org 

Wednesday, June 6 

Cruise for a Cause: Join the Detroit 

Riverfront Conservancy as they kick off 

the summer with their inaugural Summer 

Cruise Series event, Summerfest, 

on Wednesday, June 6 from 7:00 to 

10:00 p.m. Summerfest will be benefitting 

the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. 

A portion of the proceeds from 

every ticket purchased will help The 

Detroit Riverfront Conservancy continue 

to build accessible world-class 

gathering spaces like the Detroit Riverwalk, 

and the Dequindre Cut Greenway, 

for all Detroiter and visitors to enjoy 

year-round. Eventgoers will board 

the Ovation at the Port Authority Dock 

in Downtown Detroit at 6:30pm sharp. 

Tickets are priced at $105 per person 

and must be booked online at www. 

SummerCruiseSeries.com. For more 

information, call (586) 778-9060. 

Thursday, June 7 

Yappy Hour: The Michigan Animal Rescue 

League will be hosting their 9th annual 

Yappy Hour – the only cocktail party 

in Detroit where your dog is welcome 

to join. Hosted at the Meadow Brook 

Hall in Rochester, Yappy Hour will be 

from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. This year’s 

theme is garden party and will be celebrating 

the Michigan Animal Rescue 

League’s 65 years of growth and connection 

to the community. The evening 

will feature a silent auction, cocktails, 

a strolling dinner, gourmet dog treats, 

and more! Tickets are priced at $85 

per person. For more information or 

to purchase tickets, visit https://www. 

marleague.org/events-and-fundraisers/ 

yappy-hour/ 

Friday, June 8 

Fundraiser: The Detroit Zoological 

Society and event chairs Shannon and 

Terry Harvill will be hosting the annual 

21-and-older fundraising gala, Sunset 

at the Zoo Safari. Sunset at the 

Zoo Safari will be hosted from 7:00 

to 11:00 p.m. The evening will feature 

“exquisite cuisine, delectable drinks, 

magnificent live entertainment, and 

“zoonique” prizes.” This year’s Sunset 

at the Zoo will be benefitting the many 

educational programs of the Detroit 

Zoological Society. For more information 

or to purchase tickets, visit https:// 

www.detroitzoo.org/sunset 

Monday, June 11 

Charity: Benefitting women’s breast 

cancer programs throughout communities 

in Metro Detroit, the 26th annual 

Women’s Health Care Classic 

is a “unique golf event which includes 

women golfing at Dearborn Country 

Club, while the Friends of the Women’s 

Health Care Classic (men and women) 

will be returning to golf at TPC of Michigan.” 

This event will give women, men, 

physicians, community members and 

vendors from all across Southeastern 

Michigan the opportunity to golf for a 

great cause. The event will also include 

breakfast, lunch, a silent auction, cocktails, 

and more. For more information or 

to register for the event, visit www.beaumont.org/giving/foundation-events 


Gala: The 4th annual Grand Circus 

Gala will be hosted at Grand Circus 

Park on Thursday, June 14. This annual 

gala benefits the historic park. The 

Grand Circus Gala is hosted by the 

Detroit Entertainment District Association 

and Detroit 300 Conservancy and 

raises funds for programs and improvements 

in the park. This year, the event 

will include live music by Ben Sharkey, 

cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets 

ranger from $100 to $250. For more 

information or to purchase tickets, visit 

www.grandcircusgala.org 


Fundraiser: The Detroit Riverfront 

Conservancy is hosting their annual 

Shimmer on the River fundraising 

even on Thursday, June 21 from 5:30 

to 10:00 p.m. The conservancy invites 

guests to a night of retro fun on the riverfront. 

“More than 700 business and 

community leaders, families, and young 

professionals are expected to gather 

for a festive evening of family-friendly 

fun, live music, and gourmet bites.” All 

proceeds from this event will benefit 

the Detroit Riverfront’s continued efforts 

to maintain the riverfront. VIP tickets 

are available for $250 and include 

the main event and cocktail reception 

at 5:30 p.m. Main event tickets are 

available for $150 and allow admission 

at 6:30 p.m. Tickets include admission 

for one adult and two children 12 and 

under. For more information or to purchase 

tickets, visit detroitriverfront.org/ 

shimmerontheriver 

Sunday, September 23 

Charity: Please join us for the 5th annual 

Stride for Seminarians on September 

23 from 7:30am - 12:00 pm at 

the Detroit Zoo. Early bird registration 

is available June 1 - June 30. Under 2 

are free, ages 2-12 are $20 ($30 after 

June 30), and adults are $30 ($40 

after June 30). Registration includes a 

t-shirt, breakfast, lunch, kids activities, 

and a mass in the Zoo pavilion. All proceeds 

support the Chaldean Seminarian 

fund. 



eligion 

PLACES OF PRAYER 

CHALDEAN CHURCHES IN AND AROUND METRO DETROIT 

THE DIOCESE OF ST. THOMAS 

THE APOSTLE IN THE UNITED STATES 

St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Diocese 

25603 Berg Road, Southfield, MI 48033; (248) 351-0440 

Bishop: Francis Kalabat 

Retired Bishop: Ibrahim N. Ibrahim 

HOLY CROSS CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

32500 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; (248) 626-5055 

Rector: Msgr. Zouhair Toma Kejbou 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, noon in Chaldean; Saturdays, 4:30 p.m. in English; 

Sundays, 10 a.m. in Chaldean and Arabic, noon in English, 6 p.m., in Arabic 

HOLY MARTYRS CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

43700 Merrill, Sterling Heights, MI 48312; (586) 803-3114 

Rector: Fr. Manuel Boji 

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Andrew Seba 

Bible Study: Mondays, 7 p.m. in Chaldean; Thursdays, 8 p.m. Seed of Faith 

in English; 

Saturdays, 7 p.m. Witness to Faith in Arabic 

Youth Groups: Wednesdays, 7 p.m. for High Schoolers 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 9 a.m. in Chaldean; Saturdays, 5 p.m. in English; 

Sundays: 9 a.m. in Chaldean and Arabic, 10:30 a.m. in English, Morning 

Prayer at noon, High Mass at 12:30 p.m. in Chaldean; 6 p.m. in English 

MAR ADDAI CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

24010 Coolidge Highway, Oak Park, MI 48237; (248) 547-4648 

Pastor: Fr. Stephen Kallabat 

Retired Priest: Fr. Suleiman Denha 

Adoration: Last Friday of the month, 4 p.m. Adoration; 5 p.m. Stations of the 

Cross; 6 p.m. Mass; Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. 

Bible Study: Fridays, 8-10 p.m. in Arabic and Chaldean 

Youth Groups: Thursdays, 7:30-9 p.m. Jesus Christ University High School 

and College Mass Schedule: Weekdays, noon; Sundays, 10 a.m. in Chaldean 

and Arabic, 12:30 p.m. High Mass in Chaldean 

MOTHER OF GOD CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

25585 Berg Road, Southfield, MI 48034; (248) 356-0565 

Administrator: Fr. Pierre Konja 

Retired Priest: Fr. Emanuel Rayes 

Bible Study: Mondays, 7-9 p.m. in English; Wednesdays, 7 p.m. for college 

students in English 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 10 a.m.; Tuesdays, 8:45 p.m. in English; Saturdays, 

4 p.m. in English; Sundays: 8:30 a.m. in Arabic, 10 a.m. in English, 

noon in Chaldean, 7 p.m. in English 

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

11200 12 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48093; (586) 804-2114 

Pastor: Fr. Fadi Philip 

Parochial Vicar: Hermiz Haddad 

Bible Study: Thursday, 8 p.m. for ages 18-45; Friday, 8 p.m. in Arabic. 

Teens 4 Mary Youth Group: Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. 

Confession: 1 hour before mass or by appointment. 

Adoration: Thursday, 5-7 p.m. Chapel open 24/7 for adoration. 

Mass Schedule: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. in Chaldean; Thursday, 1 p.m. 

in English and 7 p.m. in Chaldean; Friday 7 p.m. in Chaldean; Sunday, 10 

a.m. in Arabic and 12:30 p.m. in Chaldean. 

SACRED HEART CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

30590 Dequindre Road, Warren, MI 48092; (586) 393-5809 

Pastor: Fr. Sameem Belius 

Mass Schedule: Sundays, 10 a.m. in Arabic, 12:30 p.m. in Chaldean 

ST. GEORGE CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

45700 Dequindre Road, Shelby Township, MI 48317; (586) 254-7221 

Pastor: Fr. Wisam Matti 

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Matthew Zetouna 

Youth Groups: Disciples for Christ for teen boys, Tuesdays, 7 p.m.; Circle of 

Friends for teen girls; Thursdays, 6 p.m.; Bible Study for college students, 

Wednesdays 8 p.m. 

Bible Study: Wednesdays, 8 p.m. in English; Fridays, 8 p.m. in Arabic 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 10 a.m. in Chaldean; Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Adoration; 

8-10 p.m. Confession; Saturdays, 6:30 p.m. in English (school year); 

6:30 p.m. in Chaldean (summer); Sunday: 8:30 a.m. in Chaldean, 10 a.m. in 

Arabic, 11:30 a.m. in English, 1:15 p.m. in Chaldean; 7:30 p.m. in English 

Submission Guidelines The Chaldean News welcomes submissions 

of obituaries. They should include the deceased’s name, date of birth 

and death, and names of immediate survivors. Please also include some 

details about the person’s life including career and hobbies. Due to space 

constraints, obituaries can not exceed 300 words. We reserve the right 

to edit those that are longer. Send pictures as a high-resolution jpeg 

attachment. E-mail obits to info@chaldeannews.com, or through the mail at 

30095 Northwestern Hwy, Suite 101; Farmington Hills, MI 48334. 

ST. JOSEPH CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

2442 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy, MI 48083; (248) 528-3676 

Pastor: Fr. Rudy Zoma 

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Bryan Kassa 

Bible Study: Mondays, 7 p.m. in Arabic; Tuesdays, 7 p.m. in English; Thursdays, 

7 p.m. Chaldeans Loving Christ Youth Group for High Schoolers 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 10 a.m. in Chaldean except Wednesdays, 10 a.m. 

in Arabic 

Saturdays, 6 p.m. in English and Chaldean; Sundays, 9 a.m. in Arabic, 10:30 

a.m. in English, noon in Chaldean, 2 p.m. in Chaldean and Arabic, 7 p.m. in 

Chaldean 

Baptisms: 3 p.m. on Sundays. 

ST. PAUL CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

5150 E. Maple Avenue, Grand Blanc, MI 48439; (810) 820-8439 

Pastor: Fr. Ayad Hanna 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 6 p.m.; Sundays, 12:30 p.m. 

ST. THOMAS CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

6900 Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322; (248) 788-2460 

Administrator: Fr. Bashar Sitto 

Parochial Vicars: Fr. Jirgus Abrahim, Fr. Anthony Kathawa 

Retired Priest: Fr. Emanuel Rayes 

Bible Study: Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. in Arabic 

Youth Groups: Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. Girls Challenge Club for Middle Schoolers; 

Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Chaldeans Loving Christ for High Schoolers; 

Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Boys Conquest Club for Middle Schoolers 

Other: First Thursday and Friday of each month, 10 a.m. Holy Hour; 11 

a.m. Mass in Chaldean; Wednesdays from midnight to Thursdays midnight, 

adoration in the Baptismal Room; Saturdays 3 p.m. Night Vespers (Ramsha) 

in Chaldean 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 10 a.m. in Chaldean; Saturdays, 5 p.m. in 

English; 

Sundays, 9 a.m. in English, 10:30 a.m. in English, 12:30 p.m. in Chaldean, 2 

p.m. in Arabic; 6 p.m. 

Grotto is open for Adoration 24/7 for prayer and reflection 

CHALDEAN SISTERS/DAUGHTERS OF MARY OUR LADY OF THE 

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION ORDER 

Superior: Benynia Shikwana 

5159 Corners Drive 

West Bloomfield, MI 48322; (248) 615-2951 

CHALDEAN SISTERS/DAUGHTERS OF MARY HOUSE OF FORMATION 

24900 Middlebelt Road 

Farmington Hills, MI 48336; (248) 987-6731 

ST. GEORGE CONVENT 

Superior: Mubaraka Garmo 

43261 Chardennay 

Sterling Heights, MI 48314; (586) 203-8846 

EASTERN CATHOLIC RE-EVANGELIZATION CENTER (ECRC) 

4875 Maple Road, Bloomfield Township, MI 48301; (248) 538-9903 

Director: Patrice Abona 

Daily Mass: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. 

Thursdays: 5:30 Adoration and 6:30 Mass 

First Friday of the month: 6:30 p.m. Adoration, Confession and Mass 

Bible Study in Arabic: Wednesdays 7 p.m. 

Bible Study in English: Tuesdays 7 p.m. 

ST. GEORGE SHRINE AT CAMP CHALDEAN 

1391 Kellogg Road, Brighton, MI 48114; (888) 822-2267 

Campgrounds Manager: Sami Herfy 

ST. MARY HOLY APOSTOLIC 

CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST 

4320 E. 14 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48092; (586) 825-0290 

Rector: Fr. Benjamin Benjamin 

Mass Schedule: Sundays, 9 a.m. in Assyrian; noon in Assyrian and English 

ST. TOMA SYRIAC CATHOLIC CHURCH 

25600 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48335; (248) 478-0835 

Pastor: Fr. Toma Behnama 

Fr. Safaa Habash 

Mass Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 6 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m. All in 

Syriac, Arabic and English 

CHRIST THE KING SYRIAC CATHOLIC CHURCH 

2300 John R, Troy, MI 48083; (248) 818-2886 

_ 

_ 

Prayer for Dads 

on Father’s Day 

St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus 

and chaste husband 

of Mary, you passed your 

life in loving fulfillment of duty. 

You supported the holy family 

of Nazareth with the work of 

your hands. Kindly protect those 

who trustingly come to you. You 

know their aspirations, their 

hardships, their hopes. They 

look to you because they know 

you will understand and protect 

them. You too knew trial, labor 

and weariness. But amid the 

worries of material life your soul 

was full of deep peace and sang 

Kindly protect 

those who 

trustingly come 

to you. You know 

their aspirations, 

their hardships, 

their hopes. 

They look to you 

because they 

know you will 

understand and 

protect them. 

out in true joy through intimacy 

with God’s Son entrusted to you 

and with Mary, his tender Mother. 

Assure those you protect that 

they do not labor alone. Teach 

them to find Jesus near them and 

to watch over him faithfully as 

you have done. Pope John XXIII 


obituaries 

RECENTLY DECEASED COMMUNITY MEMBERS 

Suaad Tobia 

Bajouwa Sinawe 

Aug. 28, 1956 - 

May 17, 2018 

Naim Yousif 

Shamasha Matti 

April 09, 1937 - 


Najib Marogi 

Yaldo 

July 01, 1940 - 


George Edward 

Kathawa 

Feb. 21, 1939 - 


Catrinah Jibrael 

Hirmiz Esttaifan 

May 01, 1931 - 


Hinee Hajjar 

Samona 

July 01, 1929 - 


Amelda Matilda 

Asker 

Nov. 15, 1932 - 

Apr. 28, 2018 

Dr. Suad Y. Mary 

March 24, 1933 - 


Khalid Georges 

Foumia 

June 05, 1945 - 


Sadik Toma 

Kaskorkis 

July 01, 1928 - 


Wafa Manni 

March 17, 1953 

– May 8, 2017 

JOIN OUR GROWING TEAM. 

The Chaldean News is looking for motivated 

candidates to fill full-time salaried sales positions. 

Qualified candidates should email a resume to 

info@chaldeannews.com. 


Amendments for relief 

Community leaders and elected officials work to amend 

Immigration and Nationality Act 


Congressman John Moolenaar 

In response to the raids carried out 

by Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) in June of last 

year, several elected officials and community 

leaders have come forward to 

help, with some even mobilizing efforts 

to help those at risk of deportation. 

Currently, the foundation has 

spearheaded efforts to amend the 

212(c) Immigration and Nationality 

Act. “Congressman John Moolenaar 

is leading efforts in Congress. 

He may co-sponsor the amendment,” 

said Martin Manna, president of the 

Chaldean Community Foundation. 

Congressman Moolenaar has 

worked closely with Manna and the 

Chaldean Community Foundation 

in these efforts. Moolenaar penned 

a piece for the Chaldean News last 

month explaining his efforts as he 

introduced a bipartisan House Resolution 

that would halt deportations 

if passed. Twelve members of the 

House co-sponsored the resolution. 

Additionally, Moolenaar has continued 

to work closely with the Chaldean 

Community Foundation in finding 

a way to aid those that continue to 

be at risk for deportation. 

The foundation believes that 

amending the 212 (c) Immigration 

and Nationality Act “may provide 

relief to Iraqi Christian Nationals 

that are currently at-risk of deportation.” 

The 212(c) waiver is intended for 

lawful permanent residents who are 

deemed deportable by the United 

States. Typically, lawful permanent 

residents are deemed deportable after 

having committed a crime. An 

individual placed in deportation proceedings 

as a result of criminal activity 

could, through a 212(c) waiver, 

have their convictions waived and 

avoid deportation. 

In addition to avoiding deportation, 

the 212(c) waiver would make 

a lawful permanent resident eligible 

to retain their status in the United 

States. Applicants must establish 

that they have been continuously 

resident for at least seven years since 

their admission to the United States. 

Additionally, if the applicant was 

convicted for an aggravated felony, 

a sentence of five or more years was 

not served. 

According to the U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, those 

seeking relief through the 212(c) 

waiver must meet the following criteria 

in order to be eligible: 

• Lawful permanent resident of 

the United States or was a lawful 

permanent resident before getting a 

final order of removal. 

• The alien is returning to lawful, 

un-relinquished domicile of seven 

consecutive years, OR b) the former 

lawful permanent resident had established 

lawful, un-relinquished do- 


A New Hope 

The 2018 Iraqi Election 


micile of at least seven consecutive 

years before getting their final order 

of removal. 

• Alien is not inadmissible on terrorism 

or national security grounds 

and is not unlawfully present after 

previous immigration violations. 

• Alien would not have been 

barred from applying for 212(c) due 

to their pleas based on the law that 

existed at the time the pleas were entered 

into. 

• Convicted of an aggravated 

felony or firearms offense and a sentence 

of more than five years imprisonment 

was not served for that conviction. 

Previous amendments of this waiver 

included lawful permanent residents 

convicted between 1990-1997, and 

2010. The foundation is working towards 

an amendment that would include 

those convicted prior to 2014. 

In a memo to Moolenaar, Manna 

states that, “We are working with 

Congressional leaders to follow historical 

precedent and amend Section 

212(c) of the INA that provides relief 

from deportation or removal for 

aliens with certain criminal convictions 

in a particular timeframe… 

This would also set forth procedures 

and deadlines for filing special 

motions to seek such relief from a 

judge for those currently in proceedings 

or under final orders of deportation 

or removal. Members of the 

community have been granted relief 

under 212 (c) on an individual basis 

by judges adjudicating the case.” 

Manna estimates that 85 percent 

of community members currently at 

risk of deportation will qualify for the 

waiver if it is amended. While they 

would still have to win their overall 

case, he believes the waiver is a 

better option than the Conventions 

Against Torture (CAT). 

“The CCF has always advocated 

for our community,” explained Manna. 

“Several community members 

approached us about the idea. It will 

allow several others to be considered 

for a 212c waiver.” 

On Saturday, May 12, Iraqis 

casted their votes for the nation’s 

fourth election since 

the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. 

In the days prior to the election, on 

May 10 and on May 11, Iraqis living 

outside of the nation had the 

opportunity to vote. Shoki Konja of 

Franklin, Michigan, and Director of 

the Chaldean Voice Radio, was one 

of those people. He voted in Warren, 

Michigan at Our Lady of Perpetual 

Help Chaldean Church. “It was an 

incredible, exhilarating feeling to be 

able to vote in this election and to 

have some sort of say in the process. 

My stained finger is proof that there 

is hope for Iraq,” said Konja. 

“I’m very invested in the Iraqi 

election and in the results that will 

follow,” said Konja. “There is no 

doubt that Iraq needs to be rebuilt. 

Iraq was once a wealthy country, rich 

with natural resources. Unfortunately, 

corruption has destroyed the nation. 

We are in an extremely decisive 

moment now that ISIS is continuing 

to dwindle in numbers. We can kiss 

Iraq goodbye if we don’t come together 

now in this very moment.” 

Currently, the Iraqi government 

provides for 329 parliamentary seats. 

Out of those 329 seats, five are specifically 

allotted to parliament members 

of Christian faith. It’s important 

to note that the Christians can come 

from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds 

— including, but not limited 

to — Chaldeans, Assyrians, and 

Armenians, to name a few. 

“I don’t think it’s right that only 

five seats are allotted to Christians,” 

said Konja. “Chaldeans are the original 

Iraqis and our collective voices 

should play a major part in the efforts 

to help rebuild Iraq.” 

Konja made it a point to research 

the candidates running for the five 

seats. He was very impressed by the 

Chaldeans competing for them. “All 

of the Chaldeans were from scholarly 

and highly educated backgrounds. 

Engineers and other professionals. 

This is great news for us because 

these are exactly the type of people 

we need to represent us and play a 

major role in the reconstruction of 

our beloved Iraq,” said Konja. 

It was evident that for Iraqi-Chaldeans 

living outside of Iraq, the election 

did not feel as urgent, relevant, 

or relatable as the voter turnout was 

at the lowest since 2003. According 

to the Brookings Institution, there 

was only a 44.5 percent voter turnout. 

“Even though we may be Chaldeans 

living in the United States 

or elsewhere, we still have our people 

back home in Iraq and they’re 

depending on us. Never forget, as 

Chaldeans, we’re the original people 

of Iraq. We still have a lot of Christians 

there. We need to rebuild our 

villages and our churches. We need 

to desperately raise our voices. They 

need to be heard in Iraq, in the Middle 

East, and around the world,” said 

Konja. 

Konja and others closely watching 

the election were disappointed 

by the voter turnout. “The numbers 

were lower than what we expected, 

for sure. I can understand why Iraqis 

felt disillusioned and powerless, especially 

after all of the turmoil and corruptions 

they’ve been through and 

have witnessed first-hand. Hopefully, 

as the years progress, we’ll see development 

and advancement in Iraq, 

and the election numbers will rise in 

the future,” said Konja. 

According to news reports, the 

final results show that two of the 

five seats allotted for Christians have 

been won by Aswan Salem Sawa in 

the electoral province of Nineveh 

and Burhanuddin Ishak Ibrahim 

in the province of Baghdad; both 

are said to be a part of the Babylon 

Brigades movement. Rihan Hanna 

Ayoub won the seat in the province 

of Kirkuk, Immanuel Khoshaba won 

the seat in the province of Dohuk, 

and Hoshyar Karadag Yelda won the 

seat in Erbil. 


Catalogue Manuscripts of the Church in Telkeppe 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

In May, Shamasha Khairy Mikha 

Foumia published his seventh 

book, Catalogue Manuscripts of 

the Church in Telkeppe (540 pages), 

written in Aramaic and Arabic, 

which describes the 240 manuscripts 

he found in the library of the church 

of Telkeppe. He started this project 

nearly 30 years ago, in 1989. Born 

in Telkeppe, Foumia lived in Baghdad 

in his later years. Because his 

parents and other relatives still lived 

in Telkeppe, he and his family would 

visit there during the holidays and in 

the summertime. 

During these trips, he went to 

Sacred Heart Church library which 

housed ancient manuscripts. It was 

not open to the public, but Foumia 

was given access to the library because 

of his strong relationship with 

the priests, having himself been 

a seminarian for seven years. The 

church had a separate library with 

thousands of books where people 

were able to borrow books. 

“I wanted to catalogue everything,” 

he said. “These books are on 

their way to extinction so at least by 

preserving them, their image remains 

in peoples’ minds and researchers 

will have a lot of useful information.” 

The library contained 212 manuscripts 

during that time, mostly of a 

religious and historical nature and 

written in Aramaic, classic Chaldean. 

Some were in Arabic. One 

gospel was from the 11th century. 

The printing press didn’t start until 

sometime between 1440 and 1450 so 

people relied on manuscripts. 

“During prayers, we used two 

manuscripts of a book called Hudhra 

– one from 1679 and the other from 

1689,” he said. “We’d place the 

Hudhra on a table, circle around it 

and pray. Those on the opposite side 

of the circle had to read it upside 

down.” 

Foumia, fluent in reading and 

translating Aramaic, spent his time 

in the library measuring each manuscript, 

counting its pages, noting the 

title, content, each scribe’s name, 

color of ink used, number of columns, 

footnoting most of the names 

and places, and whether images were 

included. He’d read a 12-page of an 

old article written in 1976 by Father 

Yousif Habbi that covered 102 of 

the manuscripts. Foumia noticed 

many of the manuscripts were 

not catalogued and asked Father 

Habbi why he hadn’t included 

them. Father Habbi replied, “I didn’t 

have time” and suggested that Foumia 

take on such a project. 

“He pushed me to do this,” said 

Foumia. “That’s how I started on it 

in summer of 1989, and I really went 

in depth.” 

Father Habbi died in a car accident 

on his way to Amman, Jordan. 

Foumia, who currently helps at 

St. Thomas Chaldean Diocese in 

Southfield, translating the book of 

Hudhra from Aramaic to Chaldean 

(Surath), entered the seminary 

in Baghdad at age 14. There, he 

learned Aramaic and loved writing 

and translating Aramaic to Arabic. 

After three years, the seminarians 

were sent to Baghdad College for Jesuits 

(from the United States) where 

they no longer studied Aramaic but 

attended regular classes given by the 

government. He stayed with the Jesuits 

for another four years before he 

finally left in the tenth grade. 

Foumia went on to get married 

from Hanaa Patrus Kakoz in 1975, 

and they had four children – 3 boys 

and a girl. He had to put his interests 

in writing and translating aside due 

to family and business obligations. 

But in 1987, he was able to tap into 

those passions again. 

“When my brother took on the 

responsibility of managing our hotel, 

and I took on the responsibility of our 

trading company, I had a lot of leisure 

time,” he said. “That’s when I started 

reading and translating, getting back 

my language, and writing books.” 

One of the books he wrote is called 

An Episode in History of Telkeppe 

and Yousif II Patriarch of Chaldean. 

The book was initially intended to be 

an article about Patriarch Yousif, who 

passed away in 1712. 

“When I tried to publish it as an 

article in Bayn Al Nahrayn Magazine, 

Father Habbi said, ‘it’s too long. 

Either reduce it or make it a book.’ I 

said I don’t know how to reduce it, 

but I can add to it. So, because of Patriarch 

Yousif, I decided to write about 

Telkeppe too, and the project grew.” 

When Foumia left Iraq in 1995, 

he took with him the notes about 

the church library’s manuscripts. He 

kept contact with a friend who updated 

him on the status of the library 

which continued to develop as people 

donated books to it. 

“A couple of years ago, I received 

a digital copy of all the manuscripts 

so I went over them again to confirm 

accuracy of my research,” he said. “I 

edited my book again and added as 

an index the 28 manuscripts, which 

were later donated.” 

Catalogue Manuscripts of the 

Church in Telkeppe has five sections: 

Section 1 (Holy Bible); Section 

2 (Rituals); Section 3 (Religious 

Books); Section 4 (Miscellaneous); 

Section 5 (Arab and Garshouni - letters 

in Chaldean but read in Arabic). 

The book is available for sale at the 

churches and certain Middle Eastern 

Markets or they can be purchased directly 

from Mr. Foumia. 



Power in numbers 

How Mission Jean Day serves as a fundraising success and example 


Ed Babbie of Farmington Hills 

noticed a glaring need in his 

community. He saw fathers 

not getting as involved in school 

events and school related activities 

with their children, and he decided 

to make a plan and do something to 

change that. 

He went on to found a Dads’ 

Club at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic 

School in Orchard Lake. According 

to the Dads’ Club mission 

statement, it is an “organization 

made up of dedicated fathers of the 

school. The purpose of the club is 

to support our sons and daughters, 

in a spirit of volunteerism through 

various events held throughout the 

calendar year, as well as provide our 

time and talents in support of various 

fundraising and social events at 

the school. The club enriches the 

Holy Trinity experience for our sons 

and daughters and serves as a vehicle 

for fathers to be more active in 

school life.” 

There are five pillars behind the 

vision of Dads’ Club, which include 

discipline, excellence, motivation, 

strength, and spirituality. 

Babbie, President of Dads’ Club, 

works alongside other board members, 

directors, and committee 

heads to create a more uplifting and 

enriching educational experience 

for all. Fundraising efforts are taken 

seriously at Dads’ Club. 

“In the past two years, we’ve 

raised nearly $150,000 for our 

school, which has been put to great 

use for educational purposes,” said 

Babbie. Richard Dalimonte serves 

as Vice President for Dads’ Club, 

Robert Goodman as Treasurer, Tadd 

Klimmek as Secretary, and Joe Barbat, 

Trevor Wisniewski, Ray Kalasho, 

and Chris Toma as committee 

heads. 

Toma of Commerce Township, is 

not only a committee head of Dads’ 

Club, but also a strong supporter of 

the Adopt-a-Refugee-Family and 

Help Iraq programs. He was inspired 

by the success of Dads’ Club and decided 

to use the momentum garnered 

by the club to create even more 

positive, long-lasting change. He 

set-up a time to talk with the school 

principal, Mr. Robert Pyles, about 

using the school’s monthly fundraising 

drive of Mission Jean Day –a day 

when students wear jeans to school 

instead of their school uniform and 

donate to worthwhile causes –to 

support fellow Iraqis who are suffering 

during the season of Lent. 

“I’m so grateful to Mr. Pyles’ support. 

He allowed me to use March 

23rd, 2018, as a fundraising day to 

help our brothers and sisters hurting 

in Iraq,” said Toma. “Our small 

school was able to raise nearly 

$1,000 that day. I thought to myself…if 

other Catholic schools in 

the greater Metro Detroit area followed 

suit, we could put forth so 

much more good into our shared 

world.” 

“It was incredible to see the commitment 

of the students who got involved 

with Mission Jean Day,” said 

Babbie. “They understood that their 

efforts were helping people, and 

that gave them a purpose. It was a 

powerful day.” 

Now, both Babbie and Toma are 

working to spread awareness behind 

the power of grassroots fundraising. 

“We need to teach our children the 

importance of helping people. That 

means helping those here in our local 

communities, but it also means 

‘Jean Day’ is a 

monthly event when 

students can wear 

jeans to school 

instead of their 

school uniform and 

donate to worthwhile 

causes 

helping our fellow community members 

in Iraq,” said Toma. “We nearly 

raised $1,000 from children and 

teenagers between the ages of three 

to fourteen on our Mission Jean Day 

at Our Lady of Refuge,” said Babbie. 

“There’s lots of potential for our 

other Catholic schools to raise more 

money for this worthwhile cause.” 

A school or an organization interested 

in implementing a similar 

fundraiser for schools with students 

aged fourteen and under can 

contact Chris Toma via email at 

christoma@socksgalorews.com. For 

schools with students aged fourteen 

and over, Rafed Yaldo, Founder of 

HelpIraq.org, can be contacted at 

rafedyaldo1212@gmail.com. 

“We need our younger generations 

to get involved and we need 

to help them understand the pain 

that our fellow brothers and sisters 

feel. I’m very blessed to have my father, 

my mentor, who was a priest in 

Iraq. Because of his mentoring, I do 

what I do for our community,” said 

Toma. “I would encourage those 

who want more information on the 

Adopt-a-Refugee-Family program 

to visit www.adoptarefugeefamily. 

org. We have events that take place 

throughout the year, including our 

upcoming golf outing on June 6 at 

Shenandoah Country Club,” said 

Babbie. 

“It’s also important to note that 

a corporate match program for employees 

working for large corporations 

is very common. Oftentimes, a 

corporation will match up to a certain 

amount each year for nonprofit 

organizations,” said Toma. “This is 

a great conversation for employees 

to have with their companies and 

an excellent way for corporations to 

be made aware of these social justice 

issues that are occurring.” 

There is strength in numbers, and 

it’s made to be more impactful when 

it’s for a worthwhile cause. 



Making room for Lindsay 

Raad Kathawa remembers his daughter on Father’s Day, decades after her death 


Sitting down at a local eatery for 

this interview, Raad Kathawa 

recalls an early September 

afternoon three years ago, when a 

thunderstorm ripped through Oakland 

County. 

His daughter, Lauren, who was 

inside with her mother, called him at 

work to tell him the house had been 

struck by lightning and one half of 

their house was on fire, and that he 

needed to head home. She recalls 

telling her mom “Dad didn’t even 

sound upset”. When Raad arrived on 

the scene, the Bloomfield Township 

Fire Chief remarked, “For someone 

whose house is up in smoke, you’re 

really calm.” 

“I said, ‘chief, this isn’t the worst 

thing to happen to me.’ The Chief 

asked “what could be worse?” An 

overwhelmed Raad recalls blurting 

out, “what’s worse is when in 1986 a 

doctor in Memphis, Tennessee told 

me take my daughter Lindsay home 

because she’s going to die within two 

weeks. That is worse”. 

Like many Chaldean men his age, 

Raad came to America as a young 

man with very little and managed to 

achieve so much, despite the difficulties. 

In 1985, he was established as a 

businessman with many opportunities 

ahead. He and his wife had already had 

two young daughters, Lauren (3) and 

Lindsay (2), and had just welcomed a 

son, Ryan a few months earlier. 

Raad shares the symptoms Lindsay 

had that brought her into the 

pediatrician, while worrisome, the 

young parents certainly did not think 

they would be facing a cancer diagnosis. 

The news that Lindsay had 

cancer was unthinkable “I had businesses; 

I had a house; I had money 

and when Lindsay was diagnosed 

with cancer, I felt so helpless.” 

Lindsay was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, 

a very rare type of cancerous 

tumor that almost always 

affects children, and accounts for 

between 7 and 10% of childhood 

cancers. The survival rates have improved 

since the 1980s, but there is 

still much progress to be made. 

Lindsay first began her care at 

Beaumont, but Raad and Thaira wanted 

to find the best options for their 

daughter, even if that meant leaving 

an infant Ryan and three-year-old Lauren 

with family to go out of the state. 

“As a father, you will do anything for 

your kids, Thaira and I would have 

given our lives… As a father you are 

supposed to be the hero, you have to 

come to the rescue, but this was one 

situation I couldn’t solve for my daughter, 

so I knew the only thing I could 

do was find her the best care possible,” 

explained Raad. “After much research 

and consultation, we were advised to 

take her to either Sloan Kettering in 

New York City or St. Jude in Memphis. 

We decided on St. Jude. I’m not 

sure, but maybe Lindsay was the first 

Chaldean patient at St. Jude.” 

Raad’s hope in sharing some of 

his story is that he can give strength 

to other Chaldean parents, especially 

young fathers, who have lost a 

child. “I was in my early 30s when my 

daughter was diagnosed, and my wife 

in her mid-twenties, but the immigrant 

experience had made us strong,” 

said Raad. “I want young fathers facing 

this situation to know, you have to 

stay strong, you have to be that rock 

because your family needs you to be, 

but at the same time, you can cry and 

feel helpless and its okay.” 

He also hopes to bring more 

awareness to the hospital where Lindsay 

received treatment, St. Jude Children’s 

Research Hospital in Memphis, 

Tennessee. The memories of Lindsay 

are deeply personal to her parents, 

Ryan, Lauren and their extended family. 

They were reluctant to have Raad 

share any part of their experience in 

this forum but understood that it may 

serve a greater purpose. 

The couple traveled to Memphis 

with Lindsay about 20 times, leaving 

Lauren and Ryan behind with grandparents. 

“Thaira suffered more than I 

did,” Raad notes. Raad looks into the 


2100 W. Maple Rd, 

Troy, MI 48084 

distance and continues to talk. 

“Thaira would be sitting in a 

rocking chair with Lindsay in her lap 

while she was connected to all these 

machines, rocking her all night. 

Sometimes I would leave them alone 

in the room because I didn’t want my 

daughter to see me fall apart.” 

When she was not being treated 

at St. Jude, Lindsay would often end 

up back at William Beaumont Hospital 

for high temperatures. Because 

of the chemotherapy treatments, her 

immune system was weak and she 

was susceptible to infection. 

Despite the seriousness of Lindsay’s 

illness, the family found many 

moments to create joy for their 

daughter and sister, and the family 

treasures those bittersweet memories. 

Raad remembers her asking to 

eat, Rizza and Maraka, her favorite 

dish, “She knew our food and she 

would ask for rizza and maraka when 

we would come home from Memphis.” 

The memories of her with her 

brother and sister are too painful to 

talk through, but they made her time 

special, but also as normal as possible 

for her when she was home. 

During the treatment at St. Jude, 

Lindsay went into remission, however 

that lasted a mere six weeks before 

the cancer came back. 

Lindsay succumbed to her cancer 

in January of 1986. “I watched that 

child suffer for a whole year and for 

years after that I had regrets of putting 

her through that suffering,” said 

Raad. “The regrets changed to anger 

with myself, but now I know that ‘hey, 

if I did not take her to St. Jude to try 

and save her life, I would always regret 

that I did not do the very best I could. 

That calms me down. I would have 

felt like I didn’t fight for her life.” 

After Lindsay passed, Raad knew 

he had to soldier on for his other 

children, and the idea of having any 

more children seemed unbearable. 

Three years after Lindsay passed, Thaira 

found out she was expecting, and 

their son, Remi was born just three 

days after Lindsay’s birthday. 

“Every time Remi would get sick, 

even if it was minor, I would panic, I 

became overprotective to the point 

it was probably unhealthy, but he 

brought a lot of healing to us.” 

Despite the nature of their time 

at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 

Raad feels like they gave Lindsay 

the best experience possible. The 

mission of St. Jude Children’s Research 

Hospital is to advance cures, 

and means of prevention, for pediatric 

catastrophic diseases through 

research and treatment. While Raad 

was able to afford his daughter’s 

treatments, no child is denied treatment 

based on a family’s ability to 

pay. They create an experience for 

these children that goes beyond what 

one can expect in a children’s hospital. 

Every dollar someone gives to 

St. Jude goes toward taking care of a 

treatment, a family, or research. 

Raad’s daughter, Lauren, ran the 

Detroit Marathon and raised money 

for St. Jude – and in the last few 

years Thaira has helped raise nearly 

$50,000 for the cause. This past year 

alone, Thaira, Raad’s sister-in-law 

Melody Mio, Melody’s daughter, Tallia, 

and Thaira’s niece, Miranda Mio, 

raised over $16,000 for the cause. “So 

many women in the community came 

and supported their event; it makes 

me proud that our daughter’s memory 

is helping raise money for other 

families,” said Raad. “I know Thaira 

is now in the early stages of creating a 

foundation or non-profit in her name 

to help Michigan St. Jude families.” 

But no matter how much help is 

given to St. Jude, or time passes, the 

pain and memory never fades, “I go 

to her grave on holidays, I go when 

I’m stressed out and when I need 

help. I go there when I’m depressed 

and when I need her to stand up for 

me. If I don’t go there, I feel guilty. 

Lindsay is left behind.” 

Lauren and Ryan have a daughter 

and son respectively now. It’s hard for 

Raad not to think what it would be 

like to be a grandfather for Lindsay’s 

children, or what she would have been 

like. “Lauren’s daughter, she looks like 

Lindsay, I find a lot of joy with her, but 

sometimes, it’s a trigger since she is the 

same age when Lindsay was diagnosed.” 

Raad still has everything he ever 

bought Lindsay during her time at St. 

Jude and has an old photo of her on 

the home screen of his phone. 

When they were working with 

the restoration company after the 

fire, Raad made sure that he kept the 

shirt he wore in a photograph he took 

with her at St. Jude. “It was the only 

shirt I wanted to keep from the fire. 

It doesn’t fit any more but I want it.” 

Raad says “The Lord wanted her,” 

but even if you come to peace with 

that, you always have an ache for 

your child. The Lord took her but 

she will always remain in the hearts 

of the Kathawa family. 

– Lauren Kathawa contributed to 

this article 

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Can you pray the gay away? 

That is the questions twin brothers take on in their second book about homosexuality 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

Six years ago, Michael Zakar and 

his twin brother Zach came out 

to their Chaldean mother, a devout 

Christian who is also extremely 

devoted to the family’s Middle Eastern 

values and heritage. She threw holy 

water on them in the hopes of “de-gaying” 

them. It didn’t work. The twins, 

25, went on to write about their experience 

in their first book Pray the Gay 

Away and on Mother’s Day of 2018, 

they published their second book, You 

Can’t Pray the Gay Away as a way to 

give parents the gift of acceptance. 

Their first book, a memoir, chronicles 

Michael and Zach’s coming out. 

It takes a comedic look at their journey 

from awkward teenagers fighting 

against societal stereotypes in 

post 9/11 America, to living separate 

lives while recognizing sexual and 

emotional feelings for other boys to 

rejoining their relationship when 

they come out to each other and to 

finally facing the future together in 

a world where gay is still a bad word 

and coming out to their mom shattered 

and reformed their family and 

religious values. 

Their mom had plenty of questions, 

which the brothers suggest 

parents should avoid, such as: 

• Were you boys molested? 

• Have you tried having sex with 

a woman? 

• Why did God let me give birth 

to you two? 

• Why couldn’t you have had 

cancer instead? At least, that’s curable. 

“We had a very average childhood 

to which we then graduated 

at Wayne State University with a 

Bachelor’s in Film,” said Michael. 

“No one molested us. God doesn’t 

have it out for us and being gay isn’t 

a disease.” 

Their parents had many concerns, 

including: 

• Was it my fault as their parent? 

• How will they carry on the family 

name? 

• What will society think of 

them? 

• Why me? 

• Will they lose their faith? 

The twins say they have not lost 

their faith because they believe Jesus 

is about loving one another. But they 

do feel ostracized by the community 

and unwelcomed in the church. Father 

Matthew Zetouna realizes the 

seriousness of this situation and gave 

a homily on June 11, 2017 about 

how to love and show compassion 

for gay individuals. He shared his 

experience of being called to go to 

homes for interventions and witnessing 

parents have severe panic attacks 

as they tried to figure out a way to 

change their gay children to normal. 

“I want to look at how we can 

love correctly and not be the Pharisee 

in the gospel because in our community, 

there’s an extreme discrimination 

where certain sins are okay 

while others are unacceptable,” Father 

Matthew told the congregation. 

He used gambling and marijuana 

addiction as an example of the more 

acceptable forms of sins. While he 

stressed that people shouldn’t act on 

homosexual desires and pointed out 

that there’s a forceful normalization 

of a disordered lifestyle in the schools 

and the media, he also emphasized 

the importance of love, compassion, 

support and understanding. 

“I really believe that people who 

are struggling with this and are trying 

to live a virtuous life have a bigger 

cross than priests, nuns, and married 

people,” said Father Matthew, adding 

that through love and support, they 

can be brought to Jesus and can live 

a healthy moral lifestyle. 

He suggests a need for a serious 

sobering self-reflection of the community. 

“It really hurts me to see the people 

in my office,” he said, “how much 

pain they go through trying to authentically 

follow Jesus but having to 

carry this weight and pressure which 

is unchristian and unfair.” 

The Zakar twins believe that 

their coming out was survivable because 

they had each other, and they 

want others who feel alone to know 

that they have their own personal 

twin too. Aside from writing books, 

the brothers created the mobile app 

My Twin Chat to help other LGBT 

youths come out in a safe space where 

there is no judgment or threats. In 

You Can’t Pray the Gay Away, the 

twins advise parents to choose their 

words carefully as their children will 

carry these words with them forever. 

Some useful questions to ask their 

children are: 

• When did you know? 

• How did you know? 

• How can I help? 

“You might not like the answers,” 

Michael said. “If it’s too much, don’t 

speak, a hug speaks volumes.” 

The twins offer various exercises 

in their books, first and foremost taking 

five deep breaths and realizing the 

reality of the situation isn’t as bad as 

you think. There are bigger issues in 

the world. They write that life is too 

short. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. 

If it’s a religion thing – love your 

child. 

If it’s a political thing – love your 

child. 

If it’s a human thing – love your 

child. 


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ECONOMICS and enterprise 

Smooth shaving 

Local barber finds success in grooming men 


Sean Tela started cutting hair at 

11-years-old while still living 

in Telkeppe, Iraq. His family 

later moved to Baghdad where 

he continued to cut hair. “My dad’s 

friend who lived across the street 

from us back home taught me how 

to cut hair,” he said, “but cutting 

hair there and working here in the 

United States is day and night – no 

comparison.” 

Tela and his family moved to 

America in 2007 when he was 

14-years-old and after graduating 

from Walled Lake Central high 

school he went to a Detroit Barber 

School. “I had to fulfill 2,000 hours 

before I could graduate.” 

He worked for about three years 

at a barber shop in Farmington Hills 

and then at a salon in West Bloomfield 

before opening Sean’s Salon on 

Haggerty Road in West Bloomfield 

Twp. 

He has three barbers who work 

with him and four hair dressers. He 

also offers gift certificates for holidays, 

including Father’s Day. 

“We cut hair for men and women 

of all ages but specialize in men. 

I have cut a 5-month old boy’s hair 

and men in their 90s,” said Tela. “We 

have customers who come in weekly 

to get groomed. They get straight 

blade shaves.” 

Although he has both male and 

female clients, his specialty is in being 

a barber. He does cuts, coloring, 

fading, eye brow waxing, blading, 

shaving, grooming, and threading. 

He is married with two kids – a 

2-year-old and a six-month-old and 

his wife, Nora, works the business 

three days a week. “I feel great when 

she is here,” he said. “She runs the 

business A to Z. 

“Men can shave themselves but 

it’s hard to get a straight line and 

shave the back of the neck,” he 

noted. “Our customers want to look 

clean and presentable all the time. 

That is what we provide them.” 

He recently remodeled the business 

and is looking for employees to 

fill his open chairs. “I love what I do 

but I need help,” he said. “We are so 

busy. I cannot keep up with the customers. 

We need more barbers and 

hair dressers for the clients who keep 

coming in.” 

On this day, Sean had customers 

waiting for a cut and shave. Andrew 

Marrogy comes in once every 

three weeks. “I come here because 

of Sean,” said Marrogy. “I sit in his 

chair and he does what I need done.” 

Sean’s Salon is open six days a 

week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. He is 

closed on Mondays. They care for 

clients by appointment and walk-ins 

are welcome. 


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TaxInfo@WayneCounty.com or call 313-224-5990. If you need assistance please call our Mobile App helpline number 888-427-9869. 


chaldean on the STREET 

Chaldean on the Street 

BY HALIM SHEENA 

This year’s winter was one of the worst, but Michigan is finally starting to warm up. We asked our readers: what do you 

look forward to doing the most this summer? 

Summer is the most beautiful time of the year. I am 

looking forward to spending my days outside, enjoying 

the beach and the pool and having bonfires with 

my friends. I’m so excited to make many great memories 

with the people I love! 

– Valencia Kenaya, 17, West Bloomfield 

I always look forward to my birthday, but this year I 

have my first cruise coming up and I can’t wait. Also, 

the longer nights and enjoying my days off by the pool. 

We also like to go to Arts, Beats, and Eats as a family. 

We turn it into a major family thing with aunts, uncles, 

and cousins! 

– Michelle Mikha, 27, West Bloomfield 

This year’s winter was the worst, but I can’t wait to live 

like the top is always down. Even though my car doesn’t 

have a sunroof. Anywhere water meets sunshine and 

some lounge chairs is all that I can think about. 

– Christina Salem, 25, West Bloomfield 

I’m looking forward to the long days, late nights, and 

great times with friends and family. The warm weather 

sends good vibes. I will be staying active and taking 

advantage of every sunny day! 

– Chris Hesano, 25, Commerce 

Now that it has finally warmed up I am looking forward 

to spending more time outdoors with family and friends! 

Also, playing soccer, which is my favorite sport. Michigan 

is a beautiful state and this summer I’m hoping I 

can explore and go to areas I haven’t been to yet! 

– Merna Kesto, Sterling Heights, 21 

I’m looking forward to alleviating the pressure of deadlines 

by taking less classes. I’m excited to see my 

friends more and get as many experiences as possible 

while getting as much done as possible. It wouldn’t 

hurt to be tan while doing so. 

– Azal Arabo, 21, Walled Lake 


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JUNE 2018 CHALDEAN NEWS 31 

5/14/18 2:11 PM

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• Wills and Trusts 

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The Law Offices of Justin Esshaki, P.C. 

A Criminal Defense Practice: Misdemeanor & Felony offenses 

Justin Esshaki, Esq., CPA 

Attorney & Counselor at Law 

31800 Northwestern Hwy., Ste 210 

Farmington Hills, MI 48334 

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29850 30850 NORTHWESTERN Telegraph Road, HIGHWAY, Suite SUITE 220 250 Bingham • SOUTHFIELD, Farms, MI 48025 48034 

www.chaldeannews.com 

ww.chaldeannews.com 

CHALDEAN COMMUNITY 

FOUNDATION 

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events 

Final vows 

While many were enthralled with the 

royal wedding across the pond, several 

community members were in attendance 

for a different kind of royal wedding. On 

May 19, members of the community 

took to Mother of God for the profession 

of Sister Mary Amanda’s final vows. 

Bishop Francis emphasized that while 

many celebrated a royal wedding, Chaldeans 

were celebrating a royal wedding 

for Sister Christine, now Sister Mary 

Amanda as she married Jesus.

New Marian feast 

day decreed 

PHOTOS BY RAZIK RANON 

Pope Francis has decreed a new Marian feast day; Mary, Mother 

of the Church. The new feast was celebrated for the first time in 

Detroit at Old St. Mary’s in Greektown on Monday, May 21. 

Hundreds of Metro Detroiters joined in the celebration. Mass was 

celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon and Bishop Gerard 

Battersby and other priests from the Archdiocese of Detroit. 


event 

Diaconate 

ordination 

PHOTOS BY RAZIK RANON 

Community members gathered at St. 

George Chaldean Catholic Church for 

the diaconate ordination of Perrin Atisha 

and Rodney Abasso. Perrin and Rodney 

were ordained to the diaconate on Sunday, 

April 29. The newly ordained deacons will 

continue in their journey to priesthood. 


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PHONE: 248-851-8600 FAX: 248-851-1348 


event 

A journey to the homeland 

PHOTOS BY FATHER PIERRE KONJA 

Fr. Pierre Konja and seminarians Deacon John Jaddou, Kevin Yono, Marcus 

Shammami, and Deacon Fadie Gorgies arrived in Baghdad in early May. Through 

pictures we follow their journey as they visit the Chaldean Church in central and 

northern Iraq. Their journey has taken them to a number of places throughout 

Iraq, including the Cathedral of St. Joseph, the former Cathedral of Our Lady of 

Sorrows, the abandoned St. Peter’s Chaldean Catholic Seminary in Baghdad, and 

Alqosh – a Christian village north of Mosul. Fr. Pierre and the seminarians have 

also had the opportunity to teach at the Christian school Mar Qardakh in Ankawa. 

To follow their journeys, follow Fr. Pierre and the seminarians on Instagram 

@father_pierre and @chaldean_seminarians

JUNE 2018

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