SupportMyService

We thank God for closing out this year and bringing us to a new one!

If you're thinking of starting a new project, changing how you approach ministry, or something else, let us encourage you to go for it! Try something different and see what happens.

We look forward to making new ministry ideas a reality with you in the new year! ✨

This , we want to say THANK YOU for supporting SupportMyService! Without donors and project supporters, all of our efforts would be one-sided.

Supporting ministries that need funding and taking a chance on people's ideas is based on long-term change. The whole point of SupportMyService is to see ministry needs and fill them with the resources we have. You can probably tell that this process takes time! Creating change around what ministry looks like and who we support is slow (but important) change.

If you feel moved to support our work today, the best way to do that is to make a recurring donation. Even a small amount - like $5! - goes a long way to ensure progress over the long haul. Visit supportmyservice.org to give.

And no matter what looks like for you, we hope you feel the blessings of giving during a busy, purchase-filled time. 💸

Another one from our travels to ! This is an 18th century psalmody we found in the Coptic Museum in Cairo.

The left column of each page is Coptic, while the right column is Arabic. But in the right columns, although the hymns are written in Arabic letters, it's still the Coptic language (try reading it!). It's Coptic transliterated into Arabic.

First of all, 🤯 that this even exists.

There are many reasons why Coptic hymns could have been transliterated into Arabic. Once Arabic became the dominant language, it makes sense that some people might not be able to read or write Coptic anymore, but still wanted to sing in it. A transliteration like this would make that possible. We do this today with transliterations from Arabic or Coptic into English.

Eventually, some of our Coptic writings were translated into Arabic fully, and a lot of the English materials we have in our parishes now were translated from the Arabic, not the Coptic. Projects like the are trying to peel back this layer and translate to English directly from the Coptic, rather than the Arabic.

Translations into different languages are a part of history - and a part of Coptic history! But the hope is that the project yields the most musically and theologically accurate translation yet. 📖

Thank you for following along and stay tuned for more updates!

SupportMyService turns 1 year old today! 🎉🎉🎉

Here's some of what we've been able to accomplish together in the last year:

✨ 1 project fully funded
✨ Staff team has grown to include 3 more roles (a social media manager, a project manager, and a legal advisor)
✨ $30,304.34 raised across the whole organization
✨ Support to projects + Creators now includes project management

We've had a great year learning and growing, hearing feedback from all of you, and dreaming of what the future could hold when we invest in ministry together. Thank you for being a part of it! Glory to God for all things!

Some hot-off-the-press mandalas in progress from the ! These ancient illustrations, which historically adorned our books and added beauty, are being digitally restored by Jessica Morgan Ayad.

1️⃣st: where it all started! A series of circles duplicated and rotated around the same center point.

2️⃣nd: adding further detail

3️⃣rd: adding color 🎨

4️⃣th: a comparison between the start + finish

Swipe to the end to see the original manuscript!