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Christians in the Holy Land
Topic Started: Saturday, 3. March 2012, 08:54 (343 Views)
Chris
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I would like to bring to everyone’s attention a cause that is in much need of prayers and support.

About 60 years ago, Christians constituted roughly 25 per cent of the overall Palestinian population in the Holy Land, and around 80 per cent of Bethlehem. Today, in Israel and the West Bank, their numbers have dwindled to 1%.

The land that saw the birth of Christianity and has had a continuous link though the ages – the Living Stones – is in real danger of seeing the Christian population disappear in any meaningful sense.

I am a volunteer for Friends of the Holy Land – an ecumenical charity, supported by the Catholic Church and Church of England. Our brothers and sisters in Christ need our prayers, support and where possible, financial contributions.

I want to start the ball rolling with this post, and will add others as appropriate. Some links that will give you more information follow:

Friends of the Holy Land
http://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/Home/About-FHL

Independent Catholic News
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?keyword=Friends-of-the-Holy-Land

Vatican Information Service
http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2012/03/solidarity-with-christians-in-holy-land.html

If anyone would like more detailed information, please fee free to PM me.
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Invictus_88

The Church doesn't seem to have made it a priority, so the faithful tend to be neither aware not interested in Christians in the Holy Land.
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Derekap
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We also need to pray for peace and harmony between the clergy and people of different denominations within the Churches of the Nativity and Holy Sepulchre instead of the scandalous violent scuffles which, sadly, take place from time to time. These quarrels also prevent essential maintenance and refurbishmnt of the buildings.
Derekap
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Rose of York
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Having done some internet research about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, I am appalled to read what is going on there. A Baptist church was firebombed 14 times. Women who dress in Western style are punished for not covering their faces with veils. Muslims who convert to Christianity are persecuted.

http://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/Home/About-FHL/Chairman-s-Message
Chairman of Friends of the Holy Land
 
Welcome to the Friends of the Holy Land - a charitable organisation established in the UK in 2009 to assist the Christians in the Holy Land. In so many ways they represent the continuing presence of Jesus in the land where he was born, lived and died.

They are currently suffering greatly. We are sure that Christian communities around the world, acting together, can provide the moral support and practical assistance to enable them to rebuild their lives and provide the better future that they so earnestly seek.

We are delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury has requested that we provide the guardianship for his recently announced Holy Land Appeal Fund.

Explore this site, read our newsletters and help the Christians in the Holy Land by using our DONATE facility to make a contribution to our General Fund or to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Appeal Fund.

The Friends of the Holy Land is a Registered Charity in England & Wales (1130054)


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We are delighted to have the support of the heads of the Catholic and Anglican Churches as our Patrons. They enthusiastically express their commitment to the work of the Friends of the Holy Land.



Keep the Faith!

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Chris
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Rose is right; the plight of Christians in the Holy Land is dire. One of the many good aspects of the work of the Friends of the Holy Land is that donations are channeled to known Christian families in particular need. Vouchers are given that are exchanged for essential goods in Christian-owned businesses, including heaters, blankets and food. Not only do those in need receive essential support, but Christian family businesses are also supported. In this way, Christians who would otherwise need to join the exodus of those leaving the Holy Land are given help to stay in their homeland.

This link refers to an example from Easter last year:
http://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/Home/News/Friends-of-the-Holy-Land-distribute-clothes-and-food-to-Bethlehem-children

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Rose of York
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Chris
Sunday, 4. March 2012, 11:38
Rose is right; the plight of Christians in the Holy Land is dire. One of the many good aspects of the work of the Friends of the Holy Land is that donations are channeled to known Christian families in particular need. Vouchers are given that are exchanged for essential goods in Christian-owned businesses, including heaters, blankets and food. Not only do those in need receive essential support, but Christian family businesses are also supported. In this way, Christians who would otherwise need to join the exodus of those leaving the Holy Land are given help to stay in their homeland.

This link refers to an example from Easter last year:
http://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/Home/News/Friends-of-the-Holy-Land-distribute-clothes-and-food-to-Bethlehem-children

The system sounds good, it will reduce the possibility of aid being hijacked on behalf of governments who care not for the welfare of citizens.
Keep the Faith!

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Chris
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Rose of York
Tuesday, 6. March 2012, 18:26
Chris
Sunday, 4. March 2012, 11:38
Rose is right; the plight of Christians in the Holy Land is dire. One of the many good aspects of the work of the Friends of the Holy Land is that donations are channeled to known Christian families in particular need. Vouchers are given that are exchanged for essential goods in Christian-owned businesses, including heaters, blankets and food. Not only do those in need receive essential support, but Christian family businesses are also supported. In this way, Christians who would otherwise need to join the exodus of those leaving the Holy Land are given help to stay in their homeland.

This link refers to an example from Easter last year:
http://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/Home/News/Friends-of-the-Holy-Land-distribute-clothes-and-food-to-Bethlehem-children

The system sounds good, it will reduce the possibility of aid being hijacked on behalf of governments who care not for the welfare of citizens.
You're right, Rose - it eliminates such fraud entirely as all donations are channelled directly to known Christian families in need. I don't know of many other causes that can say the same thing.
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Chris
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Pope confirms September 2012 visit to Lebanon

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Rumors of a papal trip to Lebanon have been confirmed by the head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which will welcome Pope Benedict XVI at the start of his Sept. 14-16 visit.

“We came to him and now he's coming to us,” said Patriarch Gregorios III, a major participant in the 2010 synod of bishops that brought many Arab Church leaders to the Vatican. He confirmed recent talk of a papal visit during a March 15 press conference at the Melkite Catholics' headquarters in Rome.
The Pope “will come to support Christians so that they are united,” the patriarch said, according to Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.

The Melkite Catholic leader will give a discourse in the Pope's presence on the afternoon of Sept. 14, at the Church of St. Paul at Harissa.

Patriarch Gregorios, who is based in the Syrian capital Damascus, said the Pope would be making the visit “for all of the Middle East.” Pope Benedict may even stop over in Syria “if the situation improves,” according to the Eastern Catholic patriarch.

Along with a “message of peace” for all people of the region, the Pope will deliver a document – known as the post-synodal apostolic exhortation – dealing more specifically with themes of the 2010 Synod for the Middle East.

That gathering gave top priority to the preservation of Middle Eastern Catholics and other Christians in their historic homelands. It took place only months before the Arab world erupted in a series of ongoing and often violent revolutions.

Concern over some Middle Eastern churches' survival has grown in the meantime, following the rise of political Islam in Egypt and the prospect of a civil war in Syria.

Lebanon, by contrast, is considered a model of stability and religious coexistence in the Middle East. The country's power-sharing system divides different offices of leadership between Muslim groups and Maronite Catholics, who are led by Patriarch Bechara Rai and make up 21 percent of the population.
The Pope was invited to Lebanon by its Sunni Muslim prime minister Najib Mikati, during his November 2011 visit to the Vatican.


http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=5086#.T2OfEvD4X9M.facebook#ixzz1qPYtL4J4

This can only be good news in bringing a renewed focus to this troubled region, and the plight of Christians living there.
Edited by Chris, Wednesday, 28. March 2012, 17:10.
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Derekap
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"Lebanon, by contrast, is considered a model of stability and religious coexistence in the Middle East"

Lebanon was torn by civil war just a few years ago and I keep reading that there are areas which are very sensititive to violence. Unfortuneately I think some Christians fear the future and are emigrating.
Derekap
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OsullivanB

The Lebanese civil war ended over 20 years ago. There was a brief period of civl unrest in 2008.
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
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Chris
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OsullivanB
Thursday, 29. March 2012, 15:21
The Lebanese civil war ended over 20 years ago. There was a brief period of civl unrest in 2008.
It is also a relative place of safety for Christians and the rights of all faith groups are protected in the Lebanese constitution.
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Deacon Robert
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Chris the operant word is "relative". I have a Priest friend from my Parish who became a Maronite Priest ( he was Salesian and found the order and the Catholic church in the US far too liberal). Prior to the "Arab Spring" some of our monasteries and Maronite seminaries were seeking to return to Lebanon. The winds of war and change have prevented that.
The burden of life is from ourselves, its lightness from the grace of Christ and the love of God. - William Bernard Ullanthorne

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OsullivanB

Do you mean they are afraid to go to a country that neighbours Syria, or that they have had indications that they would be unwelcome?
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
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garfield

More news of the situation in Homs http://www.acnuk.org/news.php/326/syria-emergency-aid-to-homs-as-nearly-all-christians-flee-the-violence
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Deacon Robert
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Osb, yes to both. They have seen what has occurred to Christian communities, and they would still be a minority in Lebanon. The added factor is the majority of those going there are United Staes citizens ( not weel accepted im theMid East.
The burden of life is from ourselves, its lightness from the grace of Christ and the love of God. - William Bernard Ullanthorne

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