MEEI Graduation Postponed until July 5

Dear Friends of Pilgrims of Ibillin,

It is quite unbelievable that we write this letter without missiles and drones coming in and going out upon our heads threatening to damage properties and human beings.  

I had the privilege to be in Lebanon to meet our Patriarch and to participate in the international meeting of the Melkite Catholic Youth. It is during these four days that the situation worsened between Israel and Iran. In Lebanon we did not feel any urgency, it was like, if the war was in another world. While in Galilee the war seems to be invading the privacy of every human being.

I imagine all of us in Galilee experienced the deep fright, I am one among them. But suddenly the War Lords decided a ceasefire. What is incredible is that both sides claim victory, while indeed with what we see around us, it is wrong that there are two victors, since we feel and we experienced the sad fact that there are two losers, one more than the other, and there are victims on both sides. In fact, the victim of one side is considered as a terrorist, likewise, the victim of the other side. You imagine the horror, everyone lived as if he was part of the war!

I must humbly confess that although physically I am okay, but mentally I wonder where do I stand? It is a feeling of confusion. It is as if life is no more important. It is so hard to keep the smile of hope. We constantly remember that we are the children of the resurrection, if we die it is for God, if we live it is also for God. This extraordinary faith in Christ, holds us standing and keeps us going forward and acting as if we were united with the suffering of Christ in order to share with him the indescribable resurrection. 

Now we experience a period of calm, no more rockets, no more missiles. We are amazed and dare not believe that this situation would last long. The enemies are still there and the ceasefire seems to be nothing more than a preparation for a new round of violence. 

Our students at MEEI are at home enjoying the summer holiday. Our graduation party for the twelve graders was postponed because of the ongoing political and war situation. We are happy to announce that the graduation is going to be celebrated on the 5th of July. For many years we did not celebrate our graduation in peaceful times. I wish from all of my heart to have the possibility to invite all of you to partake in our joy of seeing 220 students leave the nest of the school and start flying in the open sky. They are equipped with hope and courage, with determination to be ambassadors of reconciliation.

We want to thank you with all our power, all those who helped us with their prayers, their friendship and their funds. Doing so you planted the seeds of justice and peace. Please continue to be our friends. We need this friendship in order to survive.

Yours Fraternally,

_________________________

Abuna Elias Chacour


Archbishop Emeritus of Galilee

While missiles were flying overhead for the last two weeks of June, we received quite a few messages from colleagues that conveyed their distress and how the out-of-control bellicosity impacted their daily existence.

From Mar Elias Alum Living in Jerusalem

I worry.

I worry for my family. For their safety, knowing they have no shelters to run to. Just minutes away from them, four women were killed. While some Israeli family nearby chanted, “May your village burn.” I carry that sound with me.

I worry for my friends. I don’t worry for myself.

I stay awake all night, not out of fear for my own life, but because I fear for the lives of those I love. I fear for every innocent life caught in this storm.

And yet, in my darkest moments—in my most furious, broken-hearted moments—a part of me wants the world to feel what it’s like. To live in constant fear. To hear bombs before sleep. To watch your school become rubble. To not know if your family is alive beneath that rubble. To grow up believing your life is worth less—simply because of who you are or where you were born.

The hypocrisy is unbearable. The audacity of those who cry victim while justifying years of suffering in Gaza — it crushes me.

It’s hard to be human in times like this. To carry grief and rage, fear and guilt, hope and despair—all at once.

But still, I hope. Still, I pray.

May this land, our home, one day witness peace.

______________________________________

From a Mar Elias Colleague

I'm writing to share what’s been on our hearts here in Galilee after a very difficult night.

Late last night, more than 50 rockets were fired toward Haifa and the Galilee. Many of these landed far too close to our homes. As you may have heard in the news, in Tamra—just minutes from Ibillin—four innocent people were killed. Many of our students come from Tamra.

This tragedy has therefore shaken us all…

And yet, in the midst of fear and sorrow, the Mar Elias family remains united. We are leaning on each other. And we are carrying forward with the work that matters most: teaching our students not only to succeed, but to believe, to listen deeply, and to keep building bridges—no matter how broken things may seem around us. The educational staff of MEEI will continue to meet with our students this week via Zoom, as all schools have transitioned to online learning until June 21. Graduation has been postponed. 

Please keep Father Chacour, our students, their families, and our whole region in your prayers. Your friendship means more than we can express, especially at this time.

Map of potential missile strike locations distributed by the Israeli government to the population

Mariam Bawardi Elementary and Middle School Principal Juhaina Mattar participated in a professional development course called “Leadership in Times of Crisis”, along with other Arab and Jewish school principals.

The course is being held by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, created in response to the strain in Arab-Jewish relations following the war.

Its goal is to develop a practical action plan focused on strengthening students’ character and promoting a culture of shared and respectful coexistence.

“…taken at Easter 1973, when I was a student at Lumen Vitae in Brussels and our Professor of Biblical Anthropology, Fr Jean Radermakers, led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the holiest places we went to was Ibillin, and I took these photos there. The first is of Fr Elias with his young friends; the second is of him speaking with Fr Jean Rademakers — they had been students together in Jerusalem” — Gai Smith

In mid-June we held a webinar with Executive Director Essrea Cherin, board member Tom Scott, and fellow travelers Burke Enssle and Ross Callendar who spent 10 days together on a service trip to Mar Elias and Hope School in Bethlehem. If you were unable to attend, catch the recording here.

During the webinar, Burke Enssle, shared a stirring message and call:

“I Was in Prison and You Came to Me”:

A Call to Visit Palestine

Askar Refugee Camp: Area: ~0.13 km² (Old + New Askar)

Population: ~20,000

Approximately 70 square feet per person

(This is extremely dense — for comparison, a U.S. prison cell is around 48–70 sq ft per inmate.)

Jesus said “I was in prison and you came to me.” This is not a metaphor. It is a command. It is a glimpse into the kind of love that reflects the heart of God—one that sees Jesus not in comfort or power, but in those that are forgotten, confined, and condemned.

Today, that prison has a name. For many, it is Palestine.

Under decades of military occupation, millions of Palestinians live behind walls—some literal, some "legal", but all unjust. An untold number of Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, many without charge or trial. Children are taken from their homes in night raids. Families are separated. Checkpoints divide cities and lives. Gaza is under siege. The West Bank is next and is fractured by settlements and military control.

To visit Palestine is not simply political—it is profoundly Christian.

It is to say, “We see you. You are not alone. Your suffering matters.” It is to obey Christ, who identifies not with the powerful, but with the persecuted. It is to enter into a place the world avoids and to find Jesus waiting there, in the faces of the afflicted.

This is the time for the Church to rise in faithful witness.

We are not called to passive prayers alone, but to active presence. Jesus does not ask, “Did you agree with their politics?” He asks, “Did you visit me?” The people of Palestine—especially those in prison, under siege, or crushed by occupation—are calling out. And Christ calls us through them.


Let us go to Palestine.

Let us cross the checkpoints, sit with the families, visit the prisoners, walk the refugee camps, and listen to the groans of the land. Not to fix—but to witness. To weep. To stand. And to love, as Jesus loved.

Because when we go there, we go to Him.

Since our founding in 1995,

Pilgrims of Ibillin has granted nearly $6 million!

These graphs give you a visual sense of Pilgrims of Ibillin giving over the years (data is missing for '99 and '05 in our records). You'll note there are four years with particularly significant grants and these are due to a very generous grant from the Fish Foundation (2008-2010) and a generous supporter, Jean Hopson bequeathed nearly $700,000 to Mar Elias in her will in 2020.

The pie chart shows the division of grants disseminated to partners — blue for MEEI scholarships and the dark green represents other projects at MEEI.

All of this made possible with your generous support and we thank you!

Abuna's newly published book,

The Sermon on the Mount:

An Invitation to Receive and Advance the Reign of God:

Then, Across Time, and Now



is available for purchase!

Get a copy here

This book provides the essential meaning of the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, how these teachings spoke directly to Jesus' listeners, and then moves directly to how these teachings of Jesus have relevance for people today.

The context of the teaching in Israel and Palestine is provided with an introduction to the life and mission of Jesus.

The Sermon on the Mount is identified as the life calling of the Christian and the way that a contemporary reader can sense and learn the will of God.

There are examples of how Jesus taught the teachings of the Sermon to assist people in applying these universal teachings not only to their personal lives but also to their setting with layered governments such as the Roman and Jewish and how the teachings speak to issues of social justice, poverty, and illness. Included in the book are those who shared with Jesus the mission of assisting people to the identification of the pathway to life lived in the presence of God.

Your donations support the ongoing work of

Pilgrims' Peace Partners in fostering a just peace

through education in Israel and Palestine.



Thank you.