+ Newslet ter Issue 25 Winter/Spring 2022 +
A safe arrival in Bethlehem – thanks to you! The city of Bethlehem welcomed a new baby boy this Christmas! Baby Christiano arrived safely into the arms of his mum, Nariman on the 9th December at Al Dibs Hospital near Bethlehem. 2021 was not an easy year for the family. Like many believers in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas, Nariman’s husband, Najeeb, has struggled to find work and the family fell into debt paying for groceries and electricity. Nariman and baby Christiano
While excited to be expecting a new child, the couple were desperately worried about how they would afford the costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The good news is that this is where Friends of the Holy Land were able to step in and help. Thanks to our donors’ generosity, we were able to help cover the cost of pre- and postnatal check-ups and Nariman’s hospital stay.
Unfortunately, Nariman is not alone in needing our support. It was for this reason that we chose to make alleviating some of the most pressing needs related to health and medical care the focus for our Christmas campaign. As you will read inside, once more we have been blown away by our supporters’ kindness and will be able to help more families like Nariman’s in 2022, so thank you!
Girls in Amman, Jordan enjoying music lessons on instruments purchased by FHL
In this issue... + Stories from families we support in the Holy Land + Our fundraisers in action + Ways to get involved in prayer and sharing our mission in 2022 + ...and plenty more!
Nariman says, “I want to express our appreciation to Friends of the Holy Land for not only the financial help, but also the fact the ladies from the office regularly visit to see how we are doing. We feel cared for, supported and not forgotten because of you. Thank you.”
Meet our newest FHL UK team member… Prebendary John Reese recently joined FHL as a volunteer on our Management Committee to help oversee our Prayer and Spirituality engagement. Having spent some time as Chaplain at St. George’s College in Jerusalem, Revd John knows the Holy Land well. We are delighted to have him spearheading our Prayer Bank this year amongst other things. Find out more inside.
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Newsletter Issue 25 Winter/Spring 2022
Holy Land News Giving the gift of life
Our Christmas campaign Now, in Royal David’s City drew attention to the ongoing struggle many families in the Holy Land are facing meeting the cost of healthcare, especially due to the economic hardships brought about by Covid-19. Devoid of nearly all international visitors for the best part of two years now, the Christian communities of the Holy Land which rely so heavily on tourism are on their knees, desperate for a return to employment and financial security. Yet despite the uncertainties due to the pandemic, the everyday business of bringing forth new life, routine and emergency medical care and other health issues continue just as before. It is hard to imagine in the UK where we are blessed with the NHS, the burden that finding the money for diagnoses, treatment or medicine adds to a family with a loved one who is sick or expecting a child. Without the option of health insurance, we sought to stand in the gap and ensure needs are met despite the current crisis. We asked for your support, and once again, we were overwhelmed by your generosity, raising just over £100,000 with gift aid!
Lives touched by your generosity The following short stories are about some of the families and individuals whom we have been able to help thanks to your generosity throughout 2021, to give you some insight as to the difference you are making in lives across the Holy Land. THANK YOU!
The Hazboun Family – an ongoing case Both souvenir shop employees, Waleed and his wife Mervat have seen their family income drop dramatically during the pandemic. Their eldest son, Nabil, has many health problems including diabetes. Despite this, he is managing to study Hotel Management at Bethlehem University. Their daughter Lourd is 17 and studying at Terra Sancta School for girls. Her younger brother, Amer is at Terra Sancta School for boys. Unfortunately, last year Amer suffered an eye injury which required two operations. Friends of the Holy Land were able to assist with the cost of these as well as providing some financial support to the family who find themselves in debt for rent, utilities and school fees. Both boys are on our waiting list for student support, and we hope to be able to add them to the programme in the new year.
Father and daughter recovering - emergency help provided Michael, 74 and his daughter Diala, 32, live near Bethlehem. In the last two years, they were both found to have tumours that urgently needed removal. Diala’s operation cost more than her monthly wage. Since she is the family’s only breadwinner, Friends of the Holy Land took the pressure off by contributing nearly half of the surgery’s cost. Michael’s surgery at the end of last year was even more expensive at over £1,000. Again, thanks to your generous donations during the pandemic, we were able to contribute towards the costs.
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Daniel
Helping a vulnerable family facing long-term challenges Samer and Jane have five children and with Samer’s elderly parents living with them as well, their household in Beit Sahour is a busy one. Eldest son, Daniel is 17 and suffers with a developmental delay meaning that he requires specialised care. We have been paying the fees for him to attend the Life Gate Centre for Rehabilitation since 2019. Daniel has been making progress in this centre where he studies reading, writing and sewing. A recent cancer diagnosis for Samer’s father has stretched the family finances even thinner, so we have been able to provide additional grants to help them with some of their bills during this time.
“Your help came just in time” Razan is a bright, articulate 17-year-old from Bethlehem. Her family’s income is insufficient to cover their basic needs and they have been accruing debts. Our supporters have made it possible for us to enable Razan to continue her studies at St Joseph’s School, and to assist with medical care for her mother and sister. She sent us a thank you message which you can view on YouTube. Razan says “Thank you so much for lifting just a little bit of the weight off our shoulders. I seriously can’t thank you enough.” https://youtu.be/WDO-gCqnG18
Protecting the future of these families Adriana, like many six-year-olds, loves drawing and sport. Supported by Friends of the Holy Land, she is doing really well at the Rosary School in Bethlehem, where two of her brothers also attend. Her family, like many of the other families at this school, is one of the poorest Christian families in town. Her father, who struggles with his health, barely makes enough each month to cover the rent, never mind the rest of their daily needs. They are another family grateful for the kindness of our donors; any support we are able to provide is making a big difference to their lives. Siblings, Afram and Elizabeth are from Beit Jala. Following a cancer diagnosis and treatment for their mother two years ago, their father is the sole breadwinner. Without your generosity, Afram and Elizabeth would not be able to continue their studies at St. Aphram School where they are doing well. Thank you for giving these families hope for their children’s future.
Adriana, Afram and Elizabeth who all benefit from FHL’s support for school fees
At Friends of the Holy Land we are working with those in great need, their stories are true, but names and images may have been changed to protect their privacy. Thank you for your understanding.
Giving hope to vulnerable Christians
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Newsletter Issue 25 Winter/Spring 2022
News Round Up The Pandemic has continued to cause serious upheaval Sadly, over the last six months of 2021 the pandemic, and the regulations imposed to combat it, continued to make life difficult for Christians in all parts of the Holy Land. For the second year in a row, the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem were muted as there were no international pilgrims; only local Christians and those Christians who were able to travel from Israel were able to attend the events. As we have highlighted since the start of the pandemic, so many of the Christian communities in the West Bank, Israel and Jordan are reliant on income connected directly or indirectly to tourism and are devastated by these almost two years of prolonged unemployment. Without a state welfare system in the West Bank, Gaza and Jordan, families are desperately trying to make ends meet and our Bethlehem office is busier than ever before. There has been good news at the start of 2022 as Israel opened up to tourists again from all major countries on 9th January. We hope this can hold through the year, yet the general worries of the travelling public do not bode well for a swift return to levels of pilgrims seen before the pandemic. A large pilgrimage can take some time to organise and there is general pessimism in the tourist industry that pilgrim numbers to the Holy Land will not come back to anywhere near 2019 levels for 5 years. We encourage you to make plans to visit early; this Easter could be the best opportunity to visit Jerusalem and enjoy the celebrations for years!
Christmas in Bethlehem pre-pandemic
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Current Threat to the Christian Presence in the Holy Land On December 13th the Patriarchs and Heads of Local Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement highlighting concerns that “Throughout the Holy Land, Christians have become the target of frequent and sustained attacks by fringe radical groups. Since 2012 there have been countless incidents of physical and verbal assaults against priests and other clergy, attacks on Christian churches, with holy sites regularly vandalized and desecrated, and ongoing intimidation of local Christians who simply seek to worship freely and go about their daily lives. These tactics are being used by such radical groups in a systematic attempt to drive the Christian community out of Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land.” The statement goes on “We acknowledge with gratitude the declared commitment of the Israeli government to uphold a safe and secure home for Christians in the Holy Land and to preserve the Christian community as an integral part of the tapestry of the local community.”. The release of this statement, and the follow up debate and articles in the press, reinforce the importance of our mission to help sustain the vulnerable Christian communities of the Holy Land so that they may remain despite their daily challenges. We ask for your help to spread awareness of their plight and to share our mission in your local community.
Our pledge
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to show you clearly how you help! We are keen to update you with our news and for you to see clearly the impact that your donations and other support makes. However, we know we all lead busy lives so if you ever feel overburdened with emails, post or social media, please let us know. Maybe you’d like to switch from digital to less frequent postal communications or go paper-free and just receive short monthly or quarterly emails. Whatever your preference, we want to respect your choices so please just drop us an email with your wishes on office@ friendsoftheholyland.org.uk or call the office on 01926 512980.
Email: If you already receive emails from us, you can adjust the frequency using the link in the red box at the bottom of the email, not just unsubscribe. This should solve any email overload you might feel. Help us get our message to you – we try to keep our email messages short and full of the news you need but as email servers become more sensitive to potential spam, they may not get through. Therefore, we ask you to ‘whitelist’ us. While this sounds technical, it is simply the case of clicking on our address and adding us to your contacts. By doing this, you are signalling to your internet provider that you trust messages from us. In this way, we can be sure our emails are delivered to your inbox (not your spam folder).
Post: Some people prefer to get their news by post to read at their leisure. Over the last year we have refined our methods of generating our post communications so that the average cost to send it to you is less than 45p, including postage! Even so, we choose to keep this as our lowest frequency of communication; we produce only two newsletters a year. If you don’t receive anything from us in the post and would like to, we probably don’t have your address so please email the office and we can remedy that. Once you have read the newsletter, please feel free to pass it on to your friend, your neighbour or your local clergy.
Social Media: We share most of our latest news in bite-sized posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. We also share information from partners we work with and any general news relevant to our mission. These short snippets, videos and images provide you with current information. They are also a great way for new people to hear about our work and follow links to find out more. Every time you read, like and share our posts, so new people see them; in this simple way, which takes no time, you can bring new supporters to our mission. Please help us by making it part of your weekly routine to like and share our posts on each platform you use. You can find our account names on the back page of this newsletter. As always, if you have any questions, comments or feedback then please do reach out. Help us make 2022 the year we spread positive news from the Holy Land!
Giving hope to vulnerable Christians
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Newsletter Issue 25 Winter/Spring 2022
UK News Fun-tastic fundraisers It has been great to see our UK supporters organising events over the past few months to raise funds and awareness for Friends of the Holy Land. November was a particularly busy month with three events held in the Midlands.
In Kenilworth, over 70 people attended a quiz night organised by their local FHL group. Ten teams took part in the quiz at St Francis of Assisi church and participants also enjoyed a fish and chip supper and a raffle. They raised a brilliant £600 during the evening.
Thank you! Our thanks to the organisers, hosts and participants of these events. The restrictions brought about by the pandemic dramatically impacted our ability to meet up to fundraise at events over the past 22 months, so we are delighted to see our supporters out in action again. We know there are already more events to follow in 2022! Many more groups and individuals are becoming confident to plan events for this year that share the work of Friends of the Holy Land and raise funds locally. Please do get in touch if you are looking for some inspiration in designing the event or some resources, we can help plan together. Even if you have the event organised, please let us know as we can help promote your event in your local media to help make it even more successful. Finally, don’t forget to take lots of photos we can share in our next newsletter!
Fish and chips were also the order of the day at the Lichfield FHL group’s Race Night on the 27th of November. Much fun was had as wooden horses were raced across the hall – each being pulled by a competitor! There were seven races across the evening, each with local sponsorship, raising a fantastic £800 for us.
Meanwhile on the same night, a very successful Wine and Supper event was held at St Ambrose Church in Kidderminster by the Wyre Forest FHL group. A two-course cold supper was served alongside wine-tasting and a wine quiz for the 60 guests! There was also a raffle and the opportunity to purchase olive wood items and Christmas cards at a stall with stock from our shop. An incredible £1,700 was raised through the various activities.
Friends of the Holy Land Carol Service 2021 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" John 1:5
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"For even in the blackest of despair, glimmers of light do continue to shine….it is the calling of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land to remain – remain faithful to the scriptures, to remain faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, and so to remain faithful in the land in which God revealed himself in Jesus Christ. In this way, by remaining, they have sought to be faithful to the Mission of God who himself remains ever present, ever drawing his creation to fulfilment in his Kingdom." Those in attendance were moved by the service and greatly enjoyed the refreshments and fellowship afterwards. Bishop Michael’s full reflection can be found on our website. We encourage you to take the time to read it and let it prompt you in your prayers for our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land.
Bishop Michael Langrish leading the carol service (left), Tea and fellowship after the service (right)
Our Carol Service at Our Lady of Victories, Kensington at the start of December was a real highlight of the Advent season; it felt so incredibly special for us to meet and celebrate the birth of our Saviour in person during this ecumenical service. All the elements fitted together perfectly. The choir of Our Lady of Victories roused the hearts of the congregation, both the around 100 attending in person and the 200 watching via live stream, and the wonder and joy of the season was clearly evident through the readings and the reflection given by our Patron, Bishop Michael Langrish. We were blessed to hear from Bishop Michael in what had been a last-minute change to the programme. His words felt very timely and really captured the hope that so many of us hold for the Christian communities battling for survival in the Holy Land.
https://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/news/ christmas-reflection-from-our-carol-service
Cooking a delicious Palestinian dish on Zoom! Watch this space - We have plans for national and hybrid events later this year. For example, our live-stream cooking demo from St Martha’s House in Bethlehem was a huge success. Look out for a similar event and others in our news!
Giving hope to vulnerable Christians
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Newsletter Issue 25 Winter/Spring 2022
Write or update your Will for free! Last October, we introduced you to the opportunity to have a new simple Will written, or an existing Will updated, by a professional solicitor, completely free of charge.
Please be assured, if you choose to take this offer, you don’t have to leave a gift in your Will to Friends of the Holy Land. Although, of course, we would be incredibly grateful if you did.
Perhaps as the new year begins and pandemic concerns rumble on, writing or updating your Will is something you have been considering as part of your annual ‘housekeeping’. If that is the case, we are delighted to tell you that our offer is still open.
Including a gift in your Will, no matter the size, allows Friends of the Holy Land to make a lasting difference in the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters. Your gift can ensure that the causes you care about now will be able to continue in the future:
Friends of the Holy Land is a member of The National Free Wills Network which comprises over 900 solicitors around the UK. By accessing this network, you can easily find a reliable, local professional to help you and we are pleased to help by paying for your simple Will to be written or updated.
+ £750 could provide one Christian house with a secure water supply
It is widely accepted that having a professionally written Will is the best way to ensure your wishes are followed in the future. However, fewer people realise that the Law Society recommends you review your Will at least every 5 years as personal circumstances change. Our offer allows you to do this with a professional solicitor for free. This is a limited offer that will operate on a first-come, firstserved basis for the next few months, or until the funds available are exhausted.
+ £2,500 could refurbish one Christian house in the old city of Bethlehem + £10,000 could allow a Christian child to complete his/her school education + £50,000 could help support the St Martha’s House Day Centre in Bethlehem (used by 30 vulnerable elderly ladies) for one whole year. Please don’t feel obliged to write us into your Will or even to write a Will at all. We just wanted to share with you this wonderful benefit we can offer you. For more information, see our website https://www. friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/freewill or contact our office.
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Get involved Making prayer a priority by Prebendary John Reese Prayer and Spirituality (Volunteer) As a new year begins, the Year of our Lord 2022, we invite more and more people to be Praying Friends of the Holy Land. At https://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/ prayer you can find out more about the importance of joining together as those Jesus has called His ‘friends’ (John 15.15), remembering that He ‘lives to intercede for us’ (Hebrews 7.25). Jesus stands beside the Father on our behalf, as we seek to stand alongside our sisters and brothers in the Land He made holy. You will also find here the new Friends of the Holy Land Prayer and short forms of prayer for regular use as we move through the seasons of the Christian year. To join us as a praying friend of the Holy Land and to receive updates about praying with us, please click the link at Join our Prayer Bank. In 2022, let’s make our being with God, with our brothers and sisters on our hearts, the firm foundation of all that we do as Friends of the Holy Land. ‘The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord’.
Friends of the Holy Land Prayer Almighty Father, Faithful God, bless our brothers and sisters in the land of the Holy One. Grant peace in that land, peace in their homes and peace in their hearts. Inspire the Friends of the Holy Land to build on your foundations of justice, mercy and peace, as partners with our Christian brothers and sisters. Give to pilgrims a new vision of your Kingdom, fill them with compassion and love. Keep the cries of this land in our hearts. This we pray in the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ. Amen.
Giving hope to vulnerable Christians
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Newsletter Issue 25 Winter/Spring 2022
Help Involve your Church Build a bridge between your church here and our sisters and brothers in the Holy Land as they work to bring peace and transformational change to all.
Holy Land Christians have the will and faith to change lives and communities in the face of eye-watering challenges, but often lack the material means. We recognise that their work is our work as part of one household of God. Sharing in their lives nourishes us, showing us what the gospel looks like in the lands of Christ and his first followers. We invite you to join with us by encouraging your church to Pray, Act, Give and Visit.
Pray
Act
With little respite from the pandemic and the heightened tensions evident between the different communities, now, more than ever, your prayers matter. Our beneficiaries frequently tell us that your prayers are a source of strength and inspiration. They love to know that people across the world are praying for them as they face the challenges of life amid conflict, poverty and injustice. We ask you to encourage your church congregation to gather together regularly in prayer for our brothers and sisters. Perhaps register a parish prayer group on our Prayer Bank as Praying Friends of the Holy Land as outlined on page 9, so that we might come together as one community.
We can help your church connect meaningfully in its social witness to the plight of Christians in the Holy Land. One of the simplest yet most effective things you can do is to identify a ‘Friends of the Holy Land Ambassador’ for your church. Their role is to ensure that the church congregation and the local Christian community is kept up to date by helping to distribute our newsletter twice a year along with our prayer cards for everyone who would like one. You can invite a Friends of the Holy Land speaker to come to your church to speak either at a special event or to share a short reflection on a Sunday morning. We love getting out and about to meet our supporting churches, particularly because we love to thank you in person. Please call the office on 01926 512980 or email office@friendsoftheholyland.org.uk so that they can take your details or register your church at www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/register.
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Give
Visit
We know the financial challenges that many churches are facing as a result of Covid-19 and we are so grateful for the churches that have continued to send donations through these difficult times. As the summer months approach, people are more comfortable getting together, so there is a wonderful opportunity for your church to organise a fundraising event. There are many places to find ideas for such events, some of them on our website. Such events renew and strengthen a community’s relationships as well as being good for individual mental health and providing practical help to our sisters and brothers.
With so many Christians in the Holy Land dependent for their livelihood on tourism, life for so many will not have any hope until the pilgrims return. For ourselves and our church communities a Holy Land Pilgrimage provides the opportunity for us to step away from the trials and fears of the pandemic and to seek a time of quiet reflection in the area marked especially by God’s intervention. Nowhere on earth is more sanctified than the Holy Land, the places in which God has chosen to “pitch his tent” among us.
If you are planning a fundraising event, like you see on page 6, please get in touch with our office so we can provide you with marketing and materials support. Please also follow our monthly updates for events that we will be planning later in the year that you can participate in as a group.
We are happy to meet up with any group that are planning their pilgrimage. Before you go, we can provide some direction from our pool of experience, and we can facilitate meetings with our active Christian families and projects in the Holy Land to add to your memories. We have an information page to help you plan your pilgrimage www. friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/pilgrimage.
Preparing for Lent with our Lenten Books not one but two books to help your reflection!
The People of the Passion Reflections by Alison Askew. Holy Week Voices from the Holy Land proved very popular last year and is being offered again for those that do not yet have a copy as a private prayer resource for Lent, to inspire a prayer group in your parish or community or as a gift, perhaps for someone you have not been able to meet for the last couple of years. Available direct from Friends of the Holy Land at £9.99 inc pp. Call the office 01926 512980 or shop online: www.friendsoftheholyland. org.uk/shop/lenten-book
A series of evocative and thought-provoking meditations based on events of Holy Week, followed by a set of questions for personal reflection or group discussion. By approaching these events through the eyes of those who were involved, the reader is enabled to engage with the events themselves as they are brought to life in a fresh way. Available from Amazon and all good book shops. £6.99 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/180369128X/ref=cm_ sw_em_r_mt_dp_H4RTVPTENKDNDZTB8DVX
Giving hope to vulnerable Christians
The last two years of the pandemic have been exceedingly difficult for many small charities such as Friends of the Holy Land, without major reserves. When traditional fundraising activities were forced to stop, many have failed or reduced the projects they support. As an example, the other two charities that previously supported the School of Joy, stopped this commitment leaving Friends of the Holy Land as the sole funder. We recognise that our supporters are exceptionally generous with their giving which allowed us to not only continue with our projects, such as the School of Joy, but also reach so many new beneficiaries. We are deeply grateful that, you have stepped up to raise major amounts during our appeals in recent years, surpassing our targets on several occasions - ALL beneficiaries in the Holy Land thank you!
As we move into a new year with the hope of a return to normality, we ask you to consider helping us add greater stability to our income and security to our projects. You may know that as a small efficient charity, we distribute our funds on an annual basis leaving only essential reserves, so as a new financial year approaches, the only money that we can count on to support projects comes from regular monthly donations that are already established. So today, we ask you to consider making a regular gift to Friends of the Holy Land. A monthly gift of only £25 adds up over the course of a year – in this case, it would provide us with the funds needed to support a primary school child’s education.
Many of our projects require regular funds to keep going. For example, St. Martha’s House in Bethlehem requires approximately £5,500 per month to keep its doors open to the elderly Christian women it supports. As sole providers for this much-needed project as well, we want to be sure we can continue to provide this essential help to these most vulnerable and lonely women. If a regular gift is something you could commit to, no matter the amount, please return the enclosed form to set up a standing order or go online to our donation page www. friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/ donate and set up a direct debit by clicking the regular gift button. Thank you for your consideration and support!
@FriendsoftheHolyLand @social_FHL @friends_of_the_holy_land www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk
Farmer Ward Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2DH Tel: 01926 512980 Charity number: 1130054