Conference Program 2009

Opening Prayer: Fr. George Rados, Pastor, Sts. Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

Welcoming Remarks:  Fr. Steven Boguslawski, O.P., Executive Director, The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

Saliba Sarsar, Secretary, PH.D., HCEF Board of Directors, Conference Co-Chair, Professor of Political Science & Associate Vice President
Monmouth University, NJ
Hanna Hanania, D.D.S., HCEF Board of Director

Moderator:

Ambassador (ret.) Warren Clark, Executive Director,
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), Washington, DC

James Zogby, Ph.D., President, Arab American Institute, (AAI) Washington, DC.
Scott Lasensky, Ph.D. Senior Research Associate,
US Institute of Peace (USIP), Washington, DC

The Mother Church Needs Us: The Importance of Supporting the Mother Church to Promote Christians’ Well-being and Peace in the Holy Land

Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes—Senior Pastor, Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA

Panel: “Religious Faith as a Path to Peace” – A basic tenet of all three Abrahamic faiths is that human life is sacred and that God is proactive, blessing the peacemakers.  The panelists will focus on how faith in God can be more effective in resolving conflicts, healing divisions and banishing hate. 

Father Dennis McManus, Assistant Director, JPIICC Intercultural Forum, Senior Consultant, USCCB, Washington, DC

Bishop Richard Graham, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Metropolitan Washington Synod
Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain, Georgetown   University
Rabbi speaker to be announced

Keynote Speaker: His Eminence John Cardinal Foley, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, (Vatican) will share with conference participants the challenging situation in which the Christians find themselves as they struggle to remain in the Holy Land, and how, like HCEF, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre is committed to maintaining a vibrant Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Visual Presentation: HCEF Preserving the Christian Presence and
Building Human Security and Hope in the Holy Land

Concurrent Workshops on the Holy Land Issues

1. Human Security in the Holy Land: Health, Education, and Economic Well-being

1.      This workshop will examine aspects of human security with a special focus on:  (1) The Interfaith Health Initiative for the Holy Land as an important way to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of resources needed for ensuring a viable heath care system, (2) education and training for lifelong learning and capacity building, and (3) tourism for generating employment and income, in addition to promoting the rich cultural and religious heritage of the Holy Land.

Moderator:

Patty Parma, M.A., L.P.C., Member, HCEF Board of Directors Counselor / Associate Professor of Student Development
Palo Alto College

Robert A. Destro, Director, The Catholic University of     America, Columbus School of Law, Interdisciplinary Program in Law & Religion and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Cooperation Health Initiative for the Holy Land (IFHI).
Additional speakers will join us!

2. Media for Dialogue and Peace

Knowledge can be an instrument for either wholeness or exclusion.  What we do to promote accuracy in reporting and empathy will bring us closer to “the other” and enable us to work together in support of a just vision, dialogue, and peace.  This workshop will examine the role that the media plays in advancing accurate coverage and analysis of events in Palestine/Israel and shed light on our individual and collective responsibility in sharing information and knowledge about the Holy Land.

Saliba Sarsar, Secretary, Ph.D.,HCEF Board of Directors

Fr. Drew Christiansen, S.J., Ph.D., HCEF Co-Founder,

Advisory Board; Editor in Chief, America Magazine

Ronit Avni, Executive Director/Founder, Just Vision &

Director/Producer/Executive Producer, Encounter Point

Mohamed Elshinnawi, Voice of America, Washington, DC

Three Women from Jerusalem—Christian, Muslim, Jewish—
in Dialogue and Peace – Sponsored by Partners for Peace – Three women will share their personal and very poignant experiences. The panelists will shed light on the terrible continuing human toll of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Their perspective, as mothers, wives and daughters who have personally endured much tragedy and loss, is deeply moving. 

Hekmat Besisso-Naji, A Muslim Palestinian, originally from Gaza, Palestine
Jala Basil Andoni, A Christian Palestinian, living in Beit Sahour, Palestine
Ruth El-Raz, A Jewish Woman, from Israel

Closing Remarks:

Pastor Roy J. Enquist, Ph.D., Lutheran Theological
Seminary at Gettysburg, HCEF Advisory Board Member; Chairman, HCEF Lutheran Outreach Committee