Washington, DC-area supporters turn out to learn about cuts in U.S. aid
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More than 90 supporters and donors gathered at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Washington, DC on December 6 to reconnect with fellow Holy Land pilgrims and learn about the impact of cuts in U.S. aid affecting Diocese of Jerusalem humanitarian institutions, particularly Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza and Princess Basma Center for Disabled Children.
After a reflection on the importance of pilgrimage from Washington National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith, AFEDJ Executive Director John Lent shared news of the current conditions in the region and the critical need to support the ministries that belongs to all of us.
During the AFEDJ board's visit in October, trustees spoke with leaders of those institutions. In the short video below, listen to their powerful accounting of what will happen if the funding is not reinstated.
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Simulcast Christmas Service from Bethlehem on December 15
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On Saturday, December 15, at 9:30 am (EST), you are invited to join with worshippers in the Washington National Cathedral and Palestinian Christians in the Bethlehem Christmas Lutheran Church in the Holy Land as we celebrate together in real time this sacred season.
Share in the Christmas blessings.
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AFEDJ Trustee Cotty Peabody greets the Diocese of Jerusalem in Amman
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At the annual Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem Majma, similar to a diocesan convention, Cotty Peabody, an AFEDJ trustee from Scottsdale, Arizona, addressed those gathered and reflected on his recent trip and saw firsthand the effects of cuts in U.S. aid.
Addressing our friends in the Holy Land, Cotty remarked, “I was particularly struck by the spirit of optimism and hope that I saw in your faces and heard in your words. I wondered why you were not as angry and frustrated as I felt. Over and over you smiled at me and softly said that anger and revenge are just what our enemies want from us. It never works or helps us to succeed. Rather, you told me that we must be stronger and resilient and let our enemies know that we are united in our mission. That Jesus’ words to 'love thy neighbor as thyself' are more than just words. They are the creed that drives our lives every single day!"
Read his full remarks to Majma
here.
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Your donations make all the difference for Ahli Hospital water crisis
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When the 25 year-old hot water system at Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City suddenly collapsed in early November, it caused an immediate shut down of the water supply to the entire facility.
A healthcare facility cannot function without clean water.
With the onset of the heavy seasonal rains imminent, an immediate solution was necessary to continue to serve the vulnerable population in Gaza City. Ahil Hospital Director Suhaila Tarazi quickly determined the cost to repair the water system: $20,000.
As the result of your enthusiastic response to recent calls to support the work of Ahli Hospital, we wired funds to cover the cost of repairing the water system and provide additional ongoing support. Your contributions allowed AFEDJ to act swiftly to provide the safe, secure transfer of funds when they were most needed.
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Peek through a window to see children’s lives at the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf
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The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf serves deaf, deaf-blind, and hearing-impaired students on a peaceful campus in the ancient city of Salt, Jordan. The video below is a glimpse from our recent visit to this safe haven that our donors make possible for children with disabilities in Jordan.
"You must speak another language to serve the deaf, you must speak the language of love."
-- Archdeacon Luay Haddad, Director
Holy Land Institute for the Deaf
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Visit to Diocese of Jerusalem’s institutions continues to inspire AFEDJ trustees
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St. George’s School offers hope and a future to Palestinian young men
by the Rev. Canon Nicholas Porter, Brattleboro, Vermont
“[A]mong these at-risk young Palestinian men is exactly where hope, education, and productive life-skills are most needed. St. George’s School is patiently, courageously doing this difficult work.”
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Remember the Boys
by the Rev. Ann Broomell, New Haven, Connecticut
“In visits to schools of the Diocese since [2004] I have been impressed by the overriding goal to make school a joyous, happy place with bright colors, uplifting posters. Committed teachers and aides in all the schools we visited focus on transmitting Christian values, on building confidence and hope alongside academic and vocational skills.”
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Unafraid and ready to heal
by the Rev. Matthew Dayton-Welch, rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
“Suhaila [Tarazi, Ahli’s director] said a great deal during our visit about the hope of God, and the importance of all of us to share that hope with the world. But all the more important was what she did not say. She said nothing about quantifying the results of her hard work, a return on her investment. She made no correlation between the quality of her faithfulness and the world around her. She did not hinge her hope in God on whether or not the situation in Gaza improved.
“Instead, she knew that if things got worse, that would make all the more important Al Ahli Hospital’s ministry to those that suffer. The worse it got around here, the more prescient the healing hope of Jesus becomes. “Medicine is the means,” she told me, “but the product here is hope.”
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Saviour’s School in Jordan: Empowering a “can do generation” of girls
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"We give [girls] the courage and experience in school to face the challenges ahead. They are the can-do generation, and we offer them the education which will allow their leadership skills and personalities to strengthen and blossom.”
- Dua'a Bisharat, Director
Saviour's Episcopal School, Zarka, Jordan
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AFEDJ staff share the story of building hope in the Holy Land on the Diocese of Connecticut podcast
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AFEDJ Executive Director John Lent and Communications Director Heidi Shott sat down recently with hosts of the Diocese of Connecticut's podcast,
Coffee Hour at the Commons.
They talked about the institutions AFEDJ supports, what surprises the region holds for visitors, and how this work informs their spiritual journeys.
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American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem | 203-655-3575
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www.afedj.org
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Transforming lives of the vulnerable and displaced
in the Middle East through support of schools, hospitals,
and centers for children with disabilities.
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AFEDJ offers a safe, secure channel to make gifts to support the work of the humanitarian institutions of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.
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