The Holy Land Christian Support Network (HCSN) of The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), in response to the increased awareness of American Christians to the plight and suffering of the Arab Christians in the Holy Land, announces the establishment of two new committees, one in Detroit, Michigan and the second in Houston, Texas. The Holy Land Christian Support Network (HCSN) of The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), in response to the increased awareness of American Christians to the plight and suffering of the Arab Christians in the Holy Land, announces the establishment of two new committees, one in Detroit, Michigan and the second in Houston, Texas.
Mr. George Khoury, presently a member of the HCEF Board of Directors, will chair the Committee in Detroit. Other members of the Committee are Msgr. William Easton (National Shrine of the Little Flower), Very Reverend George Shalhoub (St. Mary Antiochian Christian Orthodox Church), Reverend William Gepford, Ph. D. (Presbytery of Detroit Church, U.S.A.), Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM (St. Michael Church), George Khader, Ph.D., Samih Ksar and Terry Ahwal.
The second Committee established in Houston Texas is chaired by Dr. Arthur Faris, a member of HCEF's Advisory Board. Other members of the Committee are Marilyn Borst (First Presbyterian Church), Mary Floye Federer (First Presbyterian Church), Debbie Leh-Pargac, (St. Anne Catholic Church) William J. Cork, D. Min. (Campus Ministry, Diocese of Galveston-Houston, St. Dominic Center), Maria Elena Saade (United Way), Lauren El-Issa, (Orthodox Church), and Rev. Beth Warpmaeker, Christ the King, Lutheran Church.
The Committees of HCSN will help raise awareness of citizens to the possibility that Holy Land Christians face extinction in the next few decades unless support and intervention is not provided soon said Rateb Rabie the president of HCEF. The Committees will mobilize the Christian community to provide whatever support is needed to assist our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land to maintain the Christian presence in the land of Christianity's birth. The Detroit and Houston areas are host to the largest concentration of American Arabs in the United States. Christian Arabs play an important role in the social and public life of the areas communities.
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* The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation is a tax exempt, non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of Christians in the Holy Land by developing bonds of solidarity with Christians in the United States. HCEF, PO Box 6687, Silver Spring, MD 20906. (301) 871-9222, Fax (301) 871-2277. www.hcef.org. email:rabie@hcef.org
