Beacons of Hope To the Native Christians of the Holy Land

A Beacons of Hope program pairs American Christian schools with their counterparts in the Holy Land. The objective is to develop a sense of Christian solidarity between the children. In the Beacons of Hope, the American children integrate this effort into their religion classes as a vehicle to exercise both spiritual and corporal works of mercy. For the children in the Holy Land, this program represents a vehicle to reach out in hope, to tell their story of their difficult situations, and to come to sense the hand of God extended to them through their counterparts in America.

The American children exercise spiritual works of mercy through their letters that are exchanged between whole classes where the children come to know each other in a unity in Christ. It is essential that the American children use the language of Christ in all communications to bring hope and lift spirits, while being sensitive to the harsh realities and needs of the Christian and Muslims students in the classrooms. School leaders and teachers communicate with each other to guide the direction of contacts.

* American teachers use these contacts as a moral lesson of Christian action where the American children become Beacons of Hope to those afflicted and suffering.

* Teachers in the Holy Land use the contacts as a mechanism to lift the hopes of the children and see that they are not alone in their tragedy.

The Beacons of Hope Program cements the "special relationship" between the next generation of American and Holy Land Christians as called for by the American Delegation of Bishops that attended His Holiness Pope John Paul II on his historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Further, as hoped for by the Holy Father, American children will come to express solidarity with the children of the Holy Land.

The corporal works of mercy follow the spiritual works, and are achieved by supporting the parochial education of the children in the Holy Land. The American school children support education in the Holy Land's Christian schools by raising $300 a year child sponsorships for at least one child in every class of the partner parish school in the Holy Land.

This support is crucial in these difficult times in the Holy Land, in which families do not have enough money to buy sufficient food, let alone send their children to a Christian school. Participation in the Child Sponsorship Program through Beacons of Hope helps the entire student body by covering part of the costs of education. Special projects are also created by the American school students to help their partners in the Holy Land. An example of this is when the children of "Our Lady of the Atonement" in San Antonio gave up candy and chips for Advent, and raised almost $800 for an Easter party for their friends in Ain Arik.

The parish can also support the efforts of the students through an appeal for adult sponsors at one Sunday at each of the masses. Such an opportunity is a great way to bring individual sponsors on board from the church, as well as raise funds for general program support. HCEF can help in this by providing speakers to address the parish under the direction of the local pastor. They can also be on hand after the mass to answer questions and show church members how they can sign up to sponsor a child.

Starting a Beacons of Hope

The very first step in beginning a "Beacons of Hope" in the Child Sponsorship Program for Christian Education Support is to get a commitment from the parish to back up the school. A parish leader (such as principle or director of religious education) must be identified who will assure that the details of the "Beacons of Hope" will be carried out. HCEF is willing to help by sending a speaker to orient the school staff and parish leaders about the details of the program and the partner parish school in the Holy Land. This includes information on how to guide the American children in their communications with their counterparts in the Holy Land, as well as work with the HCEF Coordinator to assure that the communications occur on a regular basis.

This coordinator will work with both schools in America and in the Holy Land, and all communication packages are sent through this single intermediary. The coordinator will read each and every letter that goes between the two parishes to assure that both sides respect the social, cultural, and religious sensitivities of the students. American children see a one sided news report on their televisions, and do not understand that the Christian children are Arabs like their neighbors. The coordinator will prepare summary reports of the communications and the direction that they are going. These reports are meant to be shared with the parish and with other Beacons programs for all to learn from each other.

Communications "in Christ" are essential. This is not a secular, politically correct program. This is the essence of Christian outreach, shaped for the younger disciple as a vehicle for exercising works of mercy. As the language of Christ is shared, Christian and Moslem children alike that attend the Christian schools in the Holy Land understand the Christian love of American Christians, who are concerned for their welfare.

In the corporal works, the parish backs up the school, although this is not to mean that the younger children are free from doing good works to raise funds; actively extending themselves for others is very formative. The older children will be able to come up with and execute their own ideas on fund raising. For example, at Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Academy in San Antonio, the children are giving up deserts for Lent, saving their money to buy a computer for the school in Ain Arik.

The contacts should not be limited to just writing and fund raising. The kids are to be encouraged to identify other needs of their counterparts in the Holy Land and, under the guidance of the teachers, act on them. The ideas from the children can be somewhat goofy as kids are wont to be. The contacts must be allowed to be personal but healthy. In the final analysis, the Holy Spirit must be the prime motivator, and the children must be free enough to be able to respond.

To further the relationship, we encourage the parish as a whole to rally around the children and develop a partnership with the parish in the Holy Land. This is a wonderful way of fostering people-to-people relations in Christ and encouraging awareness of the situation of the Christians of the Holy Land. Christian believers are all members of the wider body of Christ and as such, partnerships call us to share the love of Christ, and see Christ in each other. Information on parish partnerships can be found in HCEF's Partnership Manual.

To establish a Beacons of Hope in your school, or to learn more about partnership or our other programs, contact Duane Burchick, Sr. KHS at:
HCEF
6935 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 214
Bethesda, MD 20815
(301) 951-9400 Burchick@hcef.org