Special points of interest: Because you Cared in 2016—p. 1 Jerusalem Forgiveness Conference Includes Abuna Chacour and Mar Elias Teachers—p. 2 Mar Elias Students Lead in Charity and Honesty—p. 2 Living Stones Pilgrimages 2017 - please join us!—p. 3 Retirement Announcement—p. 3 Donation and book order form—p. 4 Pilgrims of Ibillin Volume 21, Issue 1 March 2017 Pilgrims’ Post Because You Cared in 2016 …. These Good Things Happened: Board of Directors Rev. Dr. Duncan Ferguson President Rev. Dr. Robert Sawyer Vice President Rev. Tom Piela Secretary Mr. Donald Liebich Treasurer Mr. Christopher Dekki Mr. Billy Ekofo Rev. Dr. Lucy Forster-Smith Rev. Dr. Peter Henry Dr. Giselle Khoury Rev. Dr. Monte Luker Dr. Brenda Mehos Ms. Sarah Morgan Rev. Susan Mozena Mrs. Jane Sele Dr. Ted Sele Mr. George Shalabi Mr. James Thomson Rev. Charloe White Execuve Director and Editor: Rev. Joan Deming 1541 Comanche Glen Madison, WI 53704 joan@pilgrimsofibillin.org At Mar Elias: M ariam Bawardi Middle School’s Science Labs received state of the art new equip- ment and a nine-year-old computer lab got new computers. T he Mar Elias Schools’ Board of Directors, guided by Pilgrims of Ibillin’s Duncan Fergu- son and Joan Deming, completed and are imple- menting a new Strategic Plan to guide the schools’ development through 2020. A new extra-curricular Learning Center has been launched at Mar Elias after years of dreaming, to provide both tutoring and enrichment classes for students from MEEI and from the neighboring region. The first classes to be offered in the Learning Center this year will be tutoring in English, Hebrew, and math for middle and high school; Psychometric exam preparation classes for Israeli University-bound students; and enrichment programs in drama and chess. (A robotics class is next-up.) This program is only happening because of the partnership and support of friends like you! At our Peace-Building Partners: T hrough the Diyar Consortium’s Girls’ Soc- cer Program in Bethlehem, you gave 120 girls the experience of building athletic and team- work skills in a safe and culturally appropriate set- ting. Pilgrims’ gifts provided advanced training for the Girls Soccer coaches. Their efforts continue to give positive experiences and build self-respect for girls from refugee camps, the walled-in city of Bethlehem, and surrounding villages. I n Zababdeh, your gifts this year provided scholarships for more than twenty students to be enrolled in the excellent Catholic School instead of having to attend the poor-quality government (public) school. Father Firas Khoury Diab shouts from his church rooftop: “Thank you for your love for my Living Stones!” T he Open House in Ramle continues to pro- vide the only local preschool program availa- ble in Arabic for toddlers to age 3. Dalia Landau, the Open House staff, and all the children’s fami- lies say “Shukran, Toda.” W i’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center runs Peer Mediation Training in Bethlehem Schools for students of all ages. In 2016, Wi’am also ran very successful programs giving hundreds of Bethlehem children positive activities through a 40-day summer day-camp. Wi’am’s Christmas programs gave hundreds of area children—both Christians and Muslims—a chance to celebrate and enjoy parties and gifts. In essence, you helped children be children in a spirit of hope. These Mar Elias Middle School Students and ALL our partners say a heartfelt THANK YOU for your generous support — in gifts, prayers, and interest.
Transcript
Special points of interest:
Because you Cared in 2016—p. 1
Jerusalem Forgiveness Conference Includes Abuna Chacour and Mar Elias Teachers—p. 2
Mar Elias Students Lead in Charity and Honesty—p. 2
Living Stones Pilgrimages 2017 - please join us!—p. 3
Retirement Announcement—p. 3
Donation and book order form—p. 4
Pilgrims of Ibillin
Volume 2
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ue 1
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Pilgrims’ Post
Because You Cared in 2016 …. These Good Things Happened:
Board of Directors
Rev. Dr. Duncan Ferguson President Rev. Dr. Robert Sawyer Vice President Rev. Tom Pietila Secretary Mr. Donald Liebich Treasurer
Mr. Christopher Dekki Mr. Billy Ekofo Rev. Dr. Lucy Forster-Smith Rev. Dr. Peter Henry Dr. Giselle Khoury Rev. Dr. Monte Luker Dr. Brenda Mehos Ms. Sarah Morgan Rev. Susan Mozena Mrs. Jane Settle Dr. Ted Settle Mr. George Shalabi Mr. James Thomson Rev. Charlotte White
Executive Director and Editor: Rev. Joan Deming 1541 Comanche Glen Madison, WI 53704 [email protected]
At Mar Elias:
M ariam Bawardi Middle School’s Science Labs received state of the art new equip-
ment and a nine-year-old computer lab got new computers.
The Mar Elias Schools’ Board of Directors, guided by Pilgrims of Ibillin’s Duncan Fergu-
son and Joan Deming, completed and are imple-menting a new Strategic Plan to guide the schools’ development through 2020.
A new extra-curricular Learning Center has been launched at Mar Elias after years of
dreaming, to provide both tutoring and enrichment classes for students from MEEI and from the neighboring region. The first classes to be offered in the Learning Center this year will be tutoring in English, Hebrew, and math for middle and high school; Psychometric exam preparation classes for Israeli University-bound students; and enrichment programs in drama and chess. (A robotics class is next-up.) This program is only happening because of the partnership and support of friends like you!
At our Peace-Building Partners:
Through the Diyar Consortium’s Girls’ Soc-cer Program in Bethlehem, you gave 120
girls the experience of building athletic and team-work skills in a safe and culturally appropriate set-ting. Pilgrims’ gifts provided advanced training for the Girls Soccer coaches. Their efforts continue to give positive experiences and build self-respect for girls from refugee camps, the walled-in city of Bethlehem, and surrounding villages.
In Zababdeh, your gifts this year provided scholarships for more than twenty students to be
enrolled in the excellent Catholic School instead of having to attend the poor-quality government
(public) school. Father Firas Khoury Diab shouts from his church rooftop: “Thank you for your love for my Living Stones!”
The Open House in Ramle continues to pro-vide the only local preschool program availa-
ble in Arabic for toddlers to age 3. Dalia Landau, the Open House staff, and all the children’s fami-lies say “Shukran, Toda.”
W i’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center runs Peer Mediation Training in
Bethlehem Schools for students of all ages. In 2016, Wi’am also ran very successful programs giving hundreds of Bethlehem children positive activities through a 40-day summer day-camp. Wi’am’s Christmas programs gave hundreds of area children—both Christians and Muslims—a chance to celebrate and enjoy parties and gifts. In essence, you helped children be children in a spirit of hope.
These Mar Elias Middle School Students and ALL our partners say a heartfelt THANK YOU for your generous
support — in gifts, prayers, and interest.
Page 2 P
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Mare Elias Forgiveness Education to be featured:
T hree years ago, Dr. Robert Enright first
visited the Mar Elias Schools in Ibillin to offer a new resource: the For-giveness Education curricu-lum he created almost 20 years ago for Northern Ireland and inner-city U.S. schools. Dr. Enright, of the University of Wisconsin Educational Psych Dept., is acclaimed internationally for his groundbreaking work on teaching the skills of forgiving, and is the founder of the Internation-al Forgiveness Institute.
During 2014-2015, Dr. Enright came to Ibillin three times to offer his program, develop a unique approach for Mar Elias, and train high school teachers to incorporate forgiveness training into high school English classes. Over the last two academic years, forgiveness education has become an integral part of the “values curriculum” that helps set Mar Elias apart as a place where students learn the skills of peace-making.
Now Abuna Elias Chacour and Mar Elias English teachers will share their experiences with Forgiveness Education this summer in the first-ever Jerusalem Con-ference on Forgiveness:
Venue: Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center
Registration fee: $10.00
Who should attend the conference?
The Conference is open to all who seek a deeper under-standing of forgiveness across the three Abrahamic faiths and who have an interst in bringing forgiveness to the home, school, and other community organizations.
This is a 2-day conference. Day 1 will include speakers
from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam discussing what it means to forgive, the importance of forgiveness, and how to better interact with others through forgiveness. Day 2 will help participants learn how to bring forgiveness to our chil-dren and adolescents in school and at home. The program includes academic presentations, personal testimonies, and opportunities for everyone to contribute their ideas.
International Speakers on Day 2 will include a keynote by Abuna Chacour, and discussion by educators who have been applying forgiveness in schools from different world venues. These include teachers from Northern Ireland, Greece, the US, and the Galilee. High School teacher Veronica Tabarani will represent Mar Elias.
What are the benefits of forgiveness?
Research shows that forgiving others has significant benefits.
1. Physical. More relaxed, more energy, possibly restoredhealth. One study showed improved cardiac functioningin patients.
2. Emotional. Studies show that learning to forgive can sub-stantially decrease anger, anxiety, and depression.
3. Mental. Studies show that forgiveness can increase asense of hope, bolster self-esteem, and help decrease neg-ative attitudes and increase positive attitudes.
4. Social. Studies show that people who forgive begin to seethe inherent (built-in) worth of others and the self. Thiscan lead to more harmonious interactions with others
5. Spiritual. People who forgive begin to see a connectionbetween offering forgiveness to others and the depth andbeauty of their faith.
6. Legacy. Those who forgive tend to want to leave morelove in this world than discord and division.
To learn more: www.internationalforgiveness.com/what-is-forgiveness/.
You’re Invited — Open to All
July 12-13, 2017
Jerusalem Conference on Forgiveness: Presenters will include Abuna Elias Chacour
Information and registration:
https://internationalforgiveness.com/jerusalem-
conference.htm
Providing Shelter for Umm Al Hiran
In January, Mar Elias students and parents were the first in Israel to respond with practical help after a distressing escala-tion of Israeli home demolitions, this time inside Israel. Fifteen homes were bulldozed by Israeli authorities in the Bedouin village of Umm al Hiran, located in the Negev desert, to make way for a new Jewish village, to be called Hiran. The MEEI student council organized students to go door to door in their home villages in a coordinated fund-raising effort. With the $10,000 they raised, they bought and shipped a mobile home to Umm al Hiran. Their “caravan” was the first to be given to the displaced residents of Umm al Hiran, and Mar Elias was fea-tured prominently in news stories throughout Israel. Stay tuned: Israel is now threatening to destroy the donated homes.
Top Ranking among Israeli Schools for Honesty in
National Matriculation Exams
For the third year in a row, Mar Elias received the highest ranking possible among Israeli schools for having 0% cheating or plagiarism on the Bagrut matriculation exams that are re-quired to earn Israel’s national graduation diploma. Congratula-tions to the students and administrators for this stellar achieve-ment!
Page 3 A Pilgrimage Invitation: Join us to meet the Living Stones
I f traveling is an option for you, don’t miss the opportunity to join one of our Living Stones Pilgrimages in 2017 — May 15-27 or October 16-29.
And if you know someone else who might be interested, please forward this invitation. Meet the Living Stones of Palestine and Israel!
Registration for both pilgrimages is open now. We do still have room. Pil-grimage cost is $1950, plus airfare and insurance. All on-the-ground costs are covered except a few lunches on your own.
Pilgrims of Ibillin offers a unique study/travel opportunity to meet leaders who are working for understanding and a just peace on both sides of the Green Line. You'll meet Christians, Muslims, and Jews from Israel and Pales-tine — hear their stories, see the challenging realities they live with, and begin to understand the complexity of building peace in the Holy Land. You'll also visit holy sites, find new life in biblical tradition, and deepen your own faith.
Do you have questions about the safety of traveling in this region? Check out responses (see our travel blog at www.livingstonespilgrimage.org) from recent participants. Our local guides and hosts monitor the news constantly. We may change some plans as we go, but we will stay safe -- and busy!
Note that this is a physically active trip. Be prepared for walking on uneven paths, often uphill or down. I'd love to hear if you are interested, even if you're not ready to commit. Register by April 15th (for the spring trip) if at all possi-ble, but please call or email Joan Deming about availability any time.
Questions or comments? Call me at 608-235-1046 or email [email protected].
Full itinerary and registration info are available online at http://www.pilgrimsofibillin.org/living-stones-pilgrimage/
A guided tour of the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock are among our tour’s special opportunities.
W e regret to inform you that the Rev. Joan Deming is planning to retire from her position as Executive Director of Pilgrims of Ibillin at the end of 2017. She has served this important mission for ten years with great wisdom, skill, and dedication. Her initial
work with Pilgrims was primarily fund-raising, but in 2013 she was appointed to the senior position of Executive Director. Under her leadership, Pilgrims has expanded its mission in Israel and Palestine, increased its capacity to make grants to the mission partners, and led Pilgrimages to the Holy Land that gave people an opportunity to visit the Biblical sites and be informed about the complexity of the po-litical environment in that part of the world. She has worked diligently for a just peace in Israel and Palestine. Joan will likely continue to lead pilgrimages under the auspices of Pilgrims. An announcement about the open position will be posted in the near future.
And a Note from Joan
I ’m grateful for Duncan’s kind words and all the affirmation. I thought it was important to share this decision so that an announcement of a search this spring won’t come out of the blue.
However, I’m still fully engaged through this year, and don’t want to enter “lame-duck-hood” prematurely. As you’ll note elsewhere, I’m leading 2 Living Stones Pilgrimages in 2017 and hope to continue doing that for Pilgrims into the future if it fits with the vision of the next director and the board. I also plan to continue fund-raising and friend-raising through this whole year for the amazing programs and partners we work with in Israel Palestine. I am so grateful for all the rela-tionships Pilgrims has opened for me. This is not even a hint of good-bye. But it gives me a good chance to say how grateful I am. Shukran, Toda, many Thanks!
A Note from Pilgrims’ Board President, Duncan Ferguson
