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HCEF to hold a farewell celebration in Detroit in honor of
Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM and to discuss the plight of the Holy Land Christians
12-Jun-03
Robert Younes,MD
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)*
News Release
HCEF to hold a farewell celebration in Detroit in honor of
Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM and to discuss the plight of the Holy Land Christians
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)* will hold a celebration in honor of Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM, who will soon be departing for the Holy Land. Also present will be Fr. Emil Salayta, Latin priest from the Diocese of Jerusalem, Fr. Majdi al-Siryani, the Director of the Latin School Administration, and Sir Rateb Rabie, KHS, President of HCEF, who will offer an informational presentation on the situation facing the Mother Church in the Holy Land. The event will be held on Saturday, July 12th 2003 from 10:30am-12:30 pm at St. Michael’s Church, 25231 Code Road, Southfield, MI 48034. All are encouraged to attend.
Fr. Alex Kratz has been busy this year making appeals for HCEF’s Child Sponsorship Program for Christian Education Support at churches in the Archdiocese of Detroit. He might well have visited your church to encourage participation in this program to support the Holy Land’s Christian schools. Take this opportunity to come wish him well before he departs to further his work in support of the indigenous Christians and the Mother Church. Fr. Alex will continue working with HCEF as a member of its Board of Directors and will conduct workshops in the Holy Land’s Christian schools to further develop HCEF’s Child Sponsorship Program. He will also study Arabic and minister to the local indigenous Christian community in the Holy Land.
The presentation portion of the event will inform Christians in Detroit about how they can continue Fr. Alex’s mission to reach out in solidarity with and support of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land by joining the Detroit Committee of the Holy Land Christian Support Network (HCSN). HCSN committees carry out the work of HCEF on a grassroots level in cities across America. They inform Christians about the plight of Holy Land Christians and educate American about providing material and spiritual support for their brothers and sisters. A flyer/announcement for the farewell celebration can be downloaded at http://www.hcef.org/events/detroitfarewell.doc and circulated.
HCEF encourages all to come and to learn about how together we can help preserve the Christian presence of the Holy Land. Christians today make up only 2% of the population in the Holy Land whereas, in 1948, Christians represented approximately 18% of the population. The Christian population continues to dwindle as curfews, checkpoints, home demolitions, a failed economy, massive unemployment and military invasions impede every day life in Palestine. HCEF sponsors a number of programs to help ameliorate living conditions so that more might be encouraged to remain. The Child Sponsorship Program supports education efforts in the Holy Land’s Christian schools. Through its Holy Land Gifts program, HCEF finds markets in America for religious olivewood handcrafts so that craftsmen in the Bethlehem area can maintain their traditional livelihoods. HCEF also encourages partnerships between churches in America and the Holy Land to bring faithful together in Christ.
For more information about the meeting at St. Michael’s Church or to RSVP, contact Fr. Alex Kratz by phone at (248) 353-7637 or email him at abualex68@aol.com. You could also contact HCEF toll-free at (866) 871-HCEF or by email at news@hcef.org.
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