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Returning Volunteers, Ted & Jane Settle, blog about Mar Elias
Special points of interest:
MEEI Volunteers give us a peek at the new school year in Ibillin —p. 1
Transitions in Pilgrims’ Executive Director Post —p.2
Living Stones Pilgrimage: Please join us in January/February—p. 2
David Fainsilber’s Triathlon/Dreads-Cutting Challenge to Support MEEI—p. 3
Blood Brothers: Giving books helps tell the story--p. 3
Book & DVD order and donation form—p. 4
Pilgrims of Ibillin
Vo
lum
e 1
6,
Issu
e 3
Octo
ber
2012
Board of Directors
Rev. Dr. V. Bruce Rigdon President Mr. Donald Liebich Vice President Rev. Dr. Duncan Ferguson
Secretary Mr. Jeffrey Cowhey
Treasurer
Rev. Donald Brown Rev. David Dillon Mr. Billy Ekofo Ms. Barbara Exley Rev. Dr. Donald Griggs Rev. Dr. Peter Henry Rev. Dr. Kathleen Matsushima Rev. Robert Pryor Mrs. Michelle Shakour Mr. George Shalabi Rev. Dr. Michael Spath Rev. Dr. Donald Wagner
Executive Director Rev. Dr. Robert Sawyer
P.O. Box 21461 Winston-Salem, NC 27120 336-499-5310 [email protected]
Development Director & Newsletter Editor Rev. Joan Deming 1541 Comanche Glen Madison, WI 53704 608-241-9281 [email protected]
Pilgrims’ Post
T ed writes:
It is about 7:15 in the morning. From our guesthouse room window, we see Allah walking across the blacktop parking area behind the Mariam Bawardi Elementary School toward the gate at the street entrance. He unlocks and opens the gate. Another school day has begun. Soon the asphalt playground under our window will be full of energetic elementary school children running around playing while waiting for school to begin.
The elementary and middle schools have 44 teachers, all serving as faculty for Mariam Bawardi Elementary School, part of the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin.
Some of the teachers move between the two schools. Included in the 44 teachers is a music teacher, an art teacher, and two gym teachers. Both music and art teachers move from classroom to classroom to teach. In the
1st and 2nd grades, each class has a teacher and a teacher’s helper. Here are a few photos from the opening days of the new school year. (Note: Check our Pilgrims of Ibillin Facebook page to see more photos and a video of second graders singing with gusto.)
Teachers and an aide work with students in one of three
2nd grade classes at Mariam Bawardi Elem. School in
Ibillin. The class includes 35 students! With 3 classes for
each grade level, total enrollment in grades 1-6 is 631
for 2012-13 . And there’s STILL a waiting list!
Mariam Bawardi Middle Schoolers (7th & 8th grades)
wait in the early morning sunlight to begin a school day.
Each of ten homerooms/classes includes at least 37
students! Total Middle School enrollment = 374.
1200 Mar Elias High School 9th through 12th graders
wait the opening of a new school year Sept. 1, 2012. They
come from 35 villages and 50% ride buses up to an hour
each way to attend Mar Elias.
Living Stones Pilgrimage Opportunity — Travel with a Purpose January 29—February 11, 2013
Led by Rev. Bob Sawyer & George Shalabi ~ [email protected] or 336-499-5310
Our November 2012 pilgrimage is full, but the winter trip is still open, with a place available for you. Join us for a tour that's more than a tourist experience of Israel/Palestine. Check our website for full brochure and registration form.
Cost: $1600 program fee to Pilgrims of Ibillin; pay airfare separately to our travel agent for the New York-Tel Aviv round trip, plus the cost of your connecting flight from wherever you live to New York.
Registration deadline—October 15, 2012.
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH: Announcing an Opportunity to be Engaged in
Peacemaking with Archbishop Elias Chacour and Other Peace-builders
The Board of Directors of Pilgrims of Ibillin invites applications for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director leads Pilgrims of Ibillin in representing “Abuna” Chacour in the U.S. and in providing support for the Mar Elias Educational Institutions and other peace building partners in Israel/Palestine. A Position Description and synopsis of Pilgrims of Ibillin’s history, goals and future plans is available on the Pilgrims of Ibillin website. If you are interested in applying for this position or have further questions, please contact:
Don Liebich, Vice President 196 Nez Perce Circle, Hailey, ID 83333 ~ [email protected] ~ 208-578-8004
THE GOALS OF PILGRIMS OF IBILLIN
To promote justice and peace, encourage open dialogue, and support peaceful co-existence among diverse cultural and religious groups in Israel/Palestine
To support the continuing existence of the threatened Christian communities in Israel/Palestine
To support educational efforts and institutions which accept a diverse population for enrollment and emphasize the values of mutual understanding and respect for the dignity of every individual
To educate American citizens regarding efforts toward peacemaking and reconciliation of diverse peoples in Israel/Palestine.
organization requires more regular attention than I can now give. So my role with Pilgrims will change, but certainly not my interest or involvement. There are many things I can continue to do, and I hope the Board of Directors will continue to call on me.
Nor will the friendships end. They have developed through contacts with chapters, Abuna’s visits, pilgrimages, correspondence, Board meetings, and many other ways. Furthermore, it has been a wonderful experience to get to know and work with Abuna, Lubna, and others at the Archbishopric in Haifa; with so many at MEEI in Ibillin; and with all our partners in peace-building. I will miss the regular contacts.
I don’t plan on any “good-byes!” While my role will change, I look forward to continuing to work in some way with you and for Pilgrims of Ibillin.
Sincerely, Bob Sawyer
D ear Friends of Pilgrims of Ibillin,
Over the last year and a half there have been some major changes for me personally, especially the death of my wife, Jill. A lot of prayer and personal reflection have
led me to make some decisions in order to reshape my days a bit. One of the decisions is to resign as Executive Director of Pilgrims of Ibillin.
I am as committed as ever to the vision and mission of Pilgrims of Ibillin and the Mar Elias Educational Institutions. However, I have realized that effective administration of the
A Letter from Bob Sawyer
Bob Sawyer and George Shalabi, Co-Leaders of the
winter 2013 Living Stones Pilgrimage, are shown with
Abuna Firas Khoury Diab of Zababdeh, Palestine.
Page 3 David Fainsilber’s Challenge: Triathlon & Dreads-Cutting to Help MEEI
I nspired to try Social
Networking as a
platform for Personal
Fundraising?
If you like David’s story of using a personal challenge to raise funds for the work of MEEI and Pilgrims of Ibillin’s other peace-building partners, contact Joan Deming for more information. You, too, can invite friends or family to support you while they also engage in peace-building!
(Or invite others to help celebrate a birthday, anniversary, holiday, wedding…. The possibilities are infinite!) Contact Joan with questions at [email protected].
I first learned of Fr. Elias Chacour when I attended a Sabeel Conference in Nazareth and Jerusalem and he was there and
was introduced. An 80-year old woman sitting next to me mentioned Blood Brothers. She shared how returning to California after the first time hearing Abuna, she wondered how she could share his message. She bought a case of Blood Brothers and gave them away with a note. “Read it, keep it, give it way to a friend, or return it to me.”
So when I came home to rural Nebraska I went to our Christian Bookstore and asked about the book. They had never heard of it but they found out they could order a case for me.
I gave those away the same way the woman from California had done. One I sent to a couple in Vero Beach, Florida. My friend wrote back that in a few days he and his wife were traveling to israel/Palestine and that a day in Ibillin with Abuna was planned. I was envious but thrilled that even this couple, he in his 80's and not in good health, was still learning and growing!!
So I have wanted to be with him and hear him again. See you in Minneapolis!
D avid Fainsilber, a Canadian studying at Boston’s Hebrew
College to become a rabbi, visited Archbishop Elias Chacour with his rabbinical class at the Melkite Arch-bishopric in Haifa last spring.
David was so impressed by Abuna’s story that he visited Mar Elias in Ibillin, and his meeting there with Vice-Principal Elias Abu Ghanima convinced him that the Mar Elias Schools truly "Build Peace on Desktops."
Back in the US in July, David committed to a personal challenge—a triathlon, and the cutting of his dread-locks (18 years of growth)—to raise funds for 2 programs in Canada and the US that work to build bridges between young Israeli Jews and Palestinians. The US organization he chose was Pilgrims of Ibillin. As of mid-September, David has raised almost $2,500 for MEEI, & more for Canada’s Peace it Together!
Here’s the blog David wrote after his successful triathlon, September 1 at Lake George, NY:
A sense of gratefulness overwhelmed me. On the bike course of the triathlon, as I rode alongside hundreds of fancy road bikes, I couldn’t help but be appreciative of the old hybrid bike I rode, a gift from my Bubbie Shirley for my Bar Mitzvah 18 years ago!!
My bubbie could have never known the impact she had when giving me this precious gift, just like all the other gifts and blessings that led me to this triathlon. I was filled with gratitude thinking about all the support I have received over the course of my life: from my parents, sisters, and family, to the communities of friends I have collected over the years. What helps bring a person to the point where they can create a challenging goal for themselves and try their hardest to reach it?
The resilience I built up over months of training served me well during the triathlon, always trying to push myself just a bit farther with each training.
But what ultimately carried me to the finish line was YOU. Going into the race having received so many well wishes and blessings was enough to push me even harder on the course.
Included in these pre-race wishes , was this note from Pilgims of Ibillin: “As you race, know that friends in the town of Ibillin will join friends from here in cheering you on.”
And from Peace It Together: “David we are ever so grateful. Know that you have made an incredible contribution to our organizations, and to the cause of peace.”
Yes, I finished the race strong, carried on the wings of your support and donations, knowing that we have raised thousands for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. I am especially proud of the impact we have started to make on the youth of tomorrow. Thank you so much, to all who gave.
~~~
You can still join the momentum in this fundraising effort and give today! Check out our website story about David’s Fundraising cause and follow the link to his page at www.pilgrimsofibillin.org.
A Story Worth Sharing: from a “fan” telling why she’s
traveling from Nebraska to Minnesota to hear Abuna this Fall
Newsletter Address: 1541 Comanche Glen Madison, WI 53704
Visit us on the web! www.pilgrimsofibillin.org
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage PAID
Madison, WI Permit No. 1069
Join our e-List! Email [email protected]
October 2012 Pilgrims’ Post
Pilgrims of Ibillin
BOOK & DVD
ORDERS:
Indicate #
of Copies
________ Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour w/ David Hazard, foreword by James A. Baker III
________ We Belong to the Land, by Elias Chacour with Mary E. Jensen
_______ Blessed are the Peacemakers by Patricia Griggs with Elias Chacour (middle school readers and older)
_______ DVD: Building Peace on Desktops (12 min. documentary)
_______ DVD: A Man of Galilee (22 min. documentary)
Donations for these resources will be used to further the work of Pilgrims of Ibillin.
$________________Total enclosed (suggestion: $15 per item)
Make checks payable to Pilgrims of Ibillin or pay by secure credit card through our website: www.pilgrimsofibillin.org.
Name ______________________________________________ Email ________________________________________ Phone__________________________
Street/City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Send order to: Joan Deming, Development Director, 1541 Comanche Glen, Madison, WI 53704
“Hope is in the details: in one life, one family, one school.”
~Archbishop Elias Chacour
Enclosed is my/our gift to help Pilgrims of Ibillin make a difference in one life, family, or school at a time:
_____$25 _____$50 _____$100 _____$275* _____$500 _____Other $__________
*$275 = cost of one year’s high school tuition
□ I’m interested in giving to Pilgrims of Ibillin by electronic fund transfer (EFT).
□ Please send information about opportunities for planned gifts
□ Please list me as Anonymous in published listings of donor names.
If you wish to give by credit card, go to our website at http:/www.pilgrimsofibillin.org or complete the following:
Credit card #:______________________________________________
Expiration Date:____________________________________________
Name as it appears on card:
_________________________________________________________
