Welcome to Bearing Witness |
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We are thrilled to share this short video introducing our new education program, Bearing Witness: A Journey with Holy Land Christians.
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Bearing Witness is an invitation to learn firsthand about the lives and daily challenges of Christians who live and minister in the Holy Land. Viewers will also hear the perspectives of Muslims and Jews from the region as they talk about their identities and what brings them hope for the future.
By listening to these voices, hearing about the social, political, and economic contexts across the region, and learning about the schools and hospitals of the Diocese of Jerusalem that embody the ministry of Jesus in the present day, you will be transformed.
Bearing Witness is a five-session, video-based study program designed for small groups meeting either in-person or online under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Each of the five sessions focuses on an aspect Jesus’s ministry – Belonging, Healing, Teaching, Breaking Barriers, and Building Hope. To learn more about Bearing Witness, please sign up for updates about its launch in mid-2023 and how you, your congregation, and your diocese can take part.
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A generous gift furnishes new classrooms and a library at AEES in Ramallah |
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When Mr. Shouky Shaheen of Atlanta, a long-time supporter of the Arab Evangelical Episcopal School (AEES) wanted to honor his late Ramallah-born father, Azeez Shaheen, AEES headmaster, Iyad Rafidi, had just the construction project in mind.
The school, founded in 1954 as a home for impoverished and orphaned girls, has grown to become a well-respected K-12 academic co-ed school serving 845 students and their families. However, AEES was in dire need of additional classrooms and new labs for technology and science instruction and a new library/media center to support students at the secondary level. With two gifts totaling more than $500,000 from Mr. Shaheen’s family foundation, the new Azeez Shaheen floor was completed in mid-2022.
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Iyad Rafidi with Sr. Najah Rantisi in the new wing |
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When school opened in the fall, visiting AFEDJ trustees and staff found wonderful classrooms, resource rooms, and a library that are bright and spacious but empty. The new wing was unused by students and teachers because funding was still needed for furnishings and equipment. That all changed in December when Mr. Shaheen, through his family foundation, made a generous donation to fully furnish the floor and complete the project to honor his father.
“Mr. Shaheen’s ongoing support for our school continues to help us maintain our mission for our students and to the Ramallah community,” said Rafidi.
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Pilgrim Stories: AFEDJ Trustee Judy Quick asks
"Why does the Holy Land draw me in?"
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After her visit to 11 Diocese of Jerusalem institutions with AFEDJ trustees and staff in October, Deacon Judy Quick returned home to offer a reflection in the Fall 2022 edition of The Alabama Episcopalian.
She wrote, in part,
"The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem bears witness to the love and healing power of Jesus. Though part of a dwindling minority of Christians in the Holy Land, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, under the leadership of Archbishop Hosam Naoum, is building bridges of hope and understanding among all of the Abrahamic faiths. We saw hope in the Holy Land, a glimpse of God’s perfect shalom."
Read Judy's entire piece here.
(Above) Judy, at center, with two young women from the vocational program of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf.
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If you missed our Advent calendar, it’s not too late to catch up |
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Advent may be over, but our online Holy Land Advent calendar promises joy and surprises through the season of Epiphany. |
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All doors of our Advent calendar will remain open through mid-February.
Visitors will find short videos that offer first-hand stories from the Christian leaders in the Holy Land and those they serve: students and teachers, clients and patients as well as American friends who talk about why they are passionate about these ministries.
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AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF JERUSALEM
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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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