May the promise of the child Jesus in Bethlehem fill your hearts
and your homes this Christmas season!

Dear Friends:

As this blessed season of Christmas unfolds, our thoughts and prayers are directed to the Holy Land where the child Jesus brought the promise of peace, joy and salvation to all the world.  This inspiring land of His miracles is still home to Christian descendents of the original community of Christ’s followers.  The lives of Palestinian Christians are intertwined with the holiest sites of our faith.  For centuries, pilgrims have traveled here to celebrate and renew their own personal journeys of faith.

Christians in the region need to know we all care and will walk with them as they struggle to survive and live the message of the Savior in the land where He was born, lived and died.  Sadly, Holy Land Christian communities, the sacred sites and our future ability to access them are seriously threatened.  In addition, the long term security of the entire region and all who live there – Jews, Muslims and Christians, is being increasingly jeopardized.  We have been privileged to travel to the Holy Land recently, go to Bethlehem, walk through the communities on the Mount of Olives, and visit with Christian families, caregivers, clerics and shopkeepers.  What we witnessed was heart wrenching.

Bethlehem, the sacred site of Christ’s birth, has long been a vibrant and welcoming community of faith and commerce.  Today, streets are quiet and shops are deserted.  Bethlehem is being isolated with bypass roads, barriers and security policies.  Many in the resident Christian community have been forced to leave because of a loss of jobs due to the collapsed economy and their inability to travel to their jobs.

Citizens of our oldest Christian communities face ever increasing restrictions on their ability to visit the holiest sites of their faith in nearby Jerusalem.  Newly constructed barriers block communities from their traditional farm lands, water supplies, work places, schools, hospitals, homes of relatives, and even their churches. 

Widespread confiscation of homes and property owned by Christians continues in order to accommodate a growing network of walls, highways of restricted use and military zones.  For centuries, Christian farmers have relied on the land and the olive groves to provide for their families.  Today, these fields are being confiscated and plowed under.

Christians in the Holy Land desperately need your help and prayers.  The Holy Land Christians Society (HLCS) works directly with leaders in the affected region with programs to improve opportunities for education, health care, and economic development. We are also committed to help concerned people in the United States become more aware of the complex challenges and opportunities confronting the communities in this troubled region.

We are hopeful in our efforts to bring measures of some peace and prosperity to the region.  We are blessed with the wonderful involvement of colleagues from the Jewish and Muslim communities as well as Christians.  Together, we are currently focused on such priorities as:

Small Business Loan Program.  Micro-financing to assist men and women who are molding or rebuilding local job opportunities.  Administered through local churches, this new assistance program is generating much needed hope and critical help to individual entrepreneurs who only need a modest helping hand to succeed. 
 
 Father Firas Aridah of Aboud, Palestine writes: “…We are here in Aboud. We live always with difficulties in the Land of Holiness where we ask for the strength to remain faithful to our mission as Christians. Your presence here gives the strength to our people to feel that they are not alone in this world. We want to thank you all for the good intention and sacrifice to help our people by helping them with small projects to live their dignity. We pray for you to continue telling the truth in our name.  And we want to thank the supporters of HLCS for their sacrifice to help my people. By this Microfinance project we can help many families to find themselves in this world full of sadness, and to find many kind people like you to give happiness for this world...”
(Father Firas testified before the US Congress this June on the current condition of the Christians in Palestine).
 
Scholarships to help students of Bethlehem families attend Christian schools in their communities. HLCS firmly believes that the future of peace depends upon the formation and education of youth in the community, and Christian schools are uniquely equipped to accomplish this balance of peace.

The family of 6th grader Sandy Barham writes, “…thank you dearly for supporting our daughter with her school tuition.  We are in dire need for this help because of the difficult conditions here. We thank our Lord Jesus who sent you our way…”

The parent of 4th grader Tamer Ayoub writes, “I graciously thank everyone who supported our needy Christian families to get through this crisis and stay firm in the birthplace of Christ.”

Outreach.  We continue to raise awareness of the plight of Holy Land Christians with members of Congress and Administration officials.

We need your help – with prayers, financial assistance and telling the story of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land.  As we have said, Christians in the region need to know we all care and as they work to live the message of the Savior. Your assistance with tuition, health care, modest loans for local businesses is critical at this time.

Thank you for your consideration, your concern and prayers as we all seek ways to project Christ’s message of peace, hope and joy to and from the land of His nativity. 

Wishing you every blessing of this holy season,

Feras Qumseya

President
Holy Land Christians Society