Mission Statement
HCEF is committed to the continued presence and well-being of Arab Christians in the Holy Land and to developing the bonds of solidarity between them and Christians elsewhere.
Vision Statement
- Americans understand the plight of Arab Christians in the Holy Land.
- the Christian identity of Bethlehem and Jerusalem is healthy and recognized.
- there are strong bonds of solidarity between Arab Christians in the Holy Land and elsewhere.
- all Arab Christians in the Holy Land are free to practice their faith.
- all Arab Christians in the Holy Land have adequate housing.
- Arab Christians are no longer forced to emigrate from the Holy Land.
Goals
HCEF lives its mission by witnessing the teaching of our Savior Jesus Christ.
We educate people around the world about the presence of Arab Christians in the Holy Land and remind them of their moral obligation to the Mother Church.
We build community between Christians throughout the world and Arab Christians of the Holy Land through pilgrimages, publications, and communication.
We develop bonds of solidarity through church-to-church, family-to-family, and person-to-person partnership programs in order to bring Christians together in community for future cooperation.
We promote peace, justice, and reconciliation in the Holy Land by removing the causes of human suffering and replacing despair with hope, fear with security, and humiliation with dignity.
We undertake specific projects designed to advance better living conditions for Arab Christians in the Holy Land. Projects focus on creating employment, advancing education, building and renovating houses, and developing the healthy growth of children.
Core Values
Our core values underpin everything we do. When we are designing programs, putting together a conference, disseminating news from the Holy Land or from parishes around the U.S., we look at whether we are living these values well. These core values give our programs the roots they need to sustain the work when challenges arise. So, HCEF is:
Ecumenical
From the very beginning, HCEF was an ecumenical organization. There are multiple Christian denominations in the Holy Land, and our programs aim at supporting all of them. We encourage Palestinian Christians to be ecumenical in their outreach to Christians around the world, and we encourage HCEF’s supporters to be ecumenical in their support and prayers as well. Because the Christian population of the Holy Land comprises less than 2% of the population, it is important that they build their support for one another on the Christian faith that they have in common.
Based on Christian Faith
It is a core belief of Christians that we are one mystical Body in Christ. We want all of our work to reflect that unity and to demonstrate that if any part of the body suffers, we all suffer. By the same belief, we also demonstrate that when one part of the body rejoices, we all rejoice.
Dedicated to Peace and Justice
We firmly believe that a just peace in the Holy Land is the only long-term solution to the devastating living conditions that have brought almost all of the Christians to emigrate. We encourage the work of those who help to bridge the distance between the political factions that exacerbate the situation in the Holy Land.
Transparent
We want our work to be transparent. We want people to understand how we build relationships between Holy Land Christians and how each of our programs operates. We want HCEF supporters to connect in personal ways with the Christians whom they support in the Holy Land.
Service-Oriented
Each person at HCEF seeks to be a servant leader following the example of Jesus Christ. We serve both the Christians in the Holy Land and our amazingly generous supporters around the world. We want each person who interacts with us to feel that we have given them our full attention, and we want each of our programs to reflect the importance of people-to-people connections.
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