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Delegation Of 8th Graders From Latin Patriacrchate School Near Bethlehem To Be Welcomed By St. Andrew Parish In Milford, Ohio
22-Sep-03
Contact: Robert Younes, M.D.
(301) 983 3022, 301-951-9400
younes@hcef.org
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation*
News Release
Delegation Of 8th Graders From Latin Patriacrchate School Near Bethlehem To Be Welcomed By St. Andrew Parish In Milford, Ohio
Milford, Ohio, September 12, 2003. The St. Andrew the Apostle Parish announced today that it will host a month-long visit by a delegation of five 8th graders and their teacher from the Latin Patriarchate (Roman Catholic) School in Beit Jala, a small village located just outside of Bethlehem. The Palestinian children will be received by American host families and their 8th grade "Buddies," who they've been enthusiastically corresponding with for several weeks. The visit is being sponsored through the "Parish Partnerships Program" of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), which matches American and Palestinian Christian parishes in church-to-church and person-to-person exchanges in the interests of peace and cultural understanding.
According to Father Rob Waller of St. Andrew Parish, who is the organizer of the Beit Jala exchange, "Our host children can't wait to meet their 8th grade counterparts from the Holy Land. They are ready with journals, cameras, and "memory books" for sharing. Our kids want to learn as much as they can about life in Palestine, and to make their guests feel comfortable and at home here in America. We aren't assuming that everybody does things the way we do or lives the way we live. We will keep before us two questions: What can we learn from them? What is life like in Beit Jala?" The Palestinian students, accompanied by Father Waller and their teacher, will arrive in Milford on Oct. 17 and will stay in the United States until Nov. 20.
Beit Jala is a predominantly Christian town located near Shepard's Fields and the Church of the Nativity. Pope John Paul II visited the nearby Dehaisha Refugee Camp during his trip to the Holy Land. Beit Jala has a population of less than 10,000, 87% of whom are Christian. (Milford's population is 6,500.)
Students from both Beit Jala and Milford will be in Washington DC during October 24 - 25, to attend the Youth Symposium of the HCEF International Conference, "Holy Land Chrisitans: A Living Bridge to Peace," to be held at the National Presbyterian Church. According to HCEF President Rateb Rabie, "We are delighted to have the children join us. We are deeply touched by the parish of St. Andrew for its outstanding initiative in hosting these young people, many of whom have grown up in the camps and under the most dire conditions. Some of the children scheduled to visit were not even allowed to travel. For a long time, they've been deprived of the most simple luxuries that most American children enjoy everyday. These children are the "living stones" of Christ; their ancestors were the original Christians who converted in the 4th century. Today they are barely 2% of the population of the Holy Land. St. Andrew Parish and Fr. Waller have extended the hand of compassionate community to their fellow Christians who suffer today in the same holy city where Christ was born. We are grateful they have built a living bridge to peace."
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*The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, committed to improving the lives of Christians in the Holy Land through building bonds of solidarity with between Christians in the United States and Christians in the Holy Land. We have two goals: inform Americans about the Christians in the Holy Land and provide humanitarian assistance for the needy in the land where Jesus Christ was born, preached, died and rose again. HCEF, 6935 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 214, Bethesda, MD 20815 (301) 951-9400, Toll Free (866) 871-4233 (HCEF), www.hcef.org Email: news@hcef.org
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