Rev. Fr. John Mefrige is a Canadian of Lebanese and Syrian descent and a permanent resident of San Antonio, Texas. Originally from Montreal, Québec, Fr. John's family was raised in the Orthodox Church and he continues to serve as an active Priest in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

Fr. John has both theological and psychological training, holding both a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div) from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA and a Master of Science degree in Marital and Family Therapy (MS MFT) from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Presently he is also pursuing his doctorate. Fr. John has served a number of parishes in the Orthodox Church and also has practiced as a professional Marriage and Family Therapist. He has spent a number of years working with the youth camping program at the Antiochian Village in both counseling and administrative capacities. Fr. John has extensive intercultural experience having worked in a number of Latin American countries in both the development and educational fields. 

Presently, he is the founding priest and Senior Pastor (Proestamenos), at St. Ephraim the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church in San Antonio, TX and he also serves as police chaplain to the San Antonio Police department. Available for workshops and retreats, private pastoral counseling and civil mediation, Fr. John is endeavoring to establish a uniquely Orthodox expression of the psychological sciences and is particularly committed to teaching healthy conflict resolution skills to both parishes and families and is the founder of The Coalition of Orthodox Peacemakers. Fr. John is happily married to his lovely wife Janet and they have three beautiful daughters; Cassiana (6), Emmanuelle (4)  Marina (1) and one son, Andrew.

Deacon George is a member of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. Dn George (Bassam) Nashawati’s performance has been described as “displaying the stamina of an athlete” while playing what one critic describes as the “mother of all violin concertos” Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D in the 1998 United States debut of the Syrian National Orchestra at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
Born in Damascus Syria, Mr. Nashawati began playing the violin at the age of seven. After graduating from the Arab Institute of Music, he immigrated to the United States to pursue his musical studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and earned a Bachelor’s degree studying with the late Isadore Tinkleman. Mr. Nashawati continued his musical education with renowned professor Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned both a Master’s and Professional Studies degrees.
Mr. Nashawati has performed at numerous Music Festivals as a soloist and a First Violinist with The National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado, as a First Violinist with the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and as a First Violinist at the Kent Blossom Music Festival in Ohio. He performed under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Carl Topilow and Jahja Ling before joining the New World Symphony in 1996 as Principal Second and later as Concertmaster.
Mr. Nashawati joined the San Antonio Symphony as a First Violinist in 1999 and is on the faculty as a Violin Professor at St. Philip's College. Since that time he has been active performing locally in recitals, chamber music, and teaching. He returned to his native Damascus in 2005 to perform the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor as a soloist with the Syrian National Orchestra.