The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) will convene its second annual National Conference for Christians and Christian Churches focused on the fate of Christians in the Holy Land. The two-day conference will be held October 20 and 21, 2000 at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC.
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) will convene its second annual National Conference for Christians and Christian Churches focused on the fate of Christians in the Holy Land. The two-day conference will be held October 20 and 21, 2000 at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC.
“Experts predict, based on a declining Christian population in the holy land, that without major changes by 2020 the holy sites, where Jesus lived, walked and taught, will become museums, without the loving care of living Christians,” Rateb Rabie, HCEF president said in announcing the conference. “This is not just a Middle East question; a strong American effort is emerging to sustain and support our sisters and brothers in the Holy Land as well as the foundations of our common Christian heritage.”
Conference chairman is Dr. Robert Younes, a retired MD, who plays a leading role in the work of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Conference. Dr. Younes is a member of the Board of Governors at St Jude’s Research Hospital in Memphis TN and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Lebanese-Syrian Associated Charities.
The First conference held in Bethesda, Maryland, at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart on October 2, 1999 began the process of educating American Christians about how their faith and their churches are being affected by the conditions forcing Palestinian Christians to leave their homeland.
This second national conference will illuminate the history of early Christianity and the Church of Jerusalem, the events of the early years that shaped Christianity and the importance of the Church of Jerusalem in shaping the theological basis of all modern Christian denominations; will celebrate Christianity’s 2000 years as a major spiritual force in the lives of millions of people worldwide and the common spiritual roots all Christians share with the Holy Land Christians; and will highlight current developments in the Holy Land affecting the native Christians and the Mother Church of Jerusalem and will provide a Holy Land Support Network guidebook for Christians who want to preserve Christians in the Hold Land and our common Christian Heritage.
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of Christians of the Holy Land by developing bonds of solidarity between them and Christians in the United States. HCEF may be contacted at P.O. Box 6687, Silver Spring, MD 20906, Tel: 301-871-9222, Fax 301-871-2277, email: rabie@hcef.org. Web site: www.hcef.org
