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HCEF Delegation Lays Groundwork to Continue its Support for Holy Land Christians through an HCEF Presence in the UK
16-Mar-04
Contact: Robert Younes, M.D.
(301) 983 3022, 301-951-9400
younes@hcef.org
Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Dr. Harry Hagopian, HCEF Outreach Coordinator in the UK, hosted Rateb Rabie, HCEF President, and Julie James, HCEF Outreach Coordinator, for a series of meetings in London. The HCEF delegation held its initial meeting with The Revd Canon Jonathan Gough, Archbishop of Canterbury's Secretary for Ecumenism, at Lambeth Palace.
The HCEF delegation went on to meet with Fr. Frank Turner, SJ, Assistant General Secretary, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), and his colleague Dr. David Ryall, Department of International Affairs, CBCEW. They also met with Dr. Michael Whelan, KGCHS, Lieutenant of England and Wales and Robert Benson, KCSG KGCHS, of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. The Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in England and Wales have an active commitment to assisting the schools of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem through an entity called the Cambridge Nazareth Trust (CNT).
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), ecumenical council in the UK, hosted the HCEF delegation over lunch and described its work as an organization through which the churches can network with one another in a unified manner on particular issues and toward particular goals. David Goodborun, CTBI General Secretary, Paul Renshaw, CTBI International Affairs, and Simon Barrow, CTBI Churches' Commission on Mission, attended the meeting and expressed their openness to a continued relationship with HCEF.
Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian of the Armenian Orthodox Church and Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church invited the HCEF representatives for an informational briefing and discussion of the needs of Holy Land Christians and the ways that Orthodox Christians in the UK might be able to participate in HCEF's programs and help strengthen the Christian presence in the Holy Land. Both bishops lent their full support and blessing for HCEF's efforts in the UK and will communicate HCEF's mission and goals to the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches at its next meeting.
The HCEF delegation also met with Pat Gaffney, General Secretary for Pax Christi International in the United Kingdom, about their work in the Holy Land and with several Arab Christians to discuss the nature of the diaspora community in the UK and the possibility of Arab Christians' assistance on regional grassroots committees.
The next step for introducing HCEF to the UK would be the formation of a local Holy Land Christian Support Network (HCSN) working committee that can begin the grassroots effort to reach out to parish communities and build person-to-person relationships as much as work with the existing Church structures in the UK.
If you would like further information or details about HCEF's activities or are interested in working on the HCSN Committee in the United Kingdom, please contact either Dr. Harry Hagopian at harry@hcsn.org or Julie James at juliejames@hcef.org.
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*The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization 501 (c) 3, committed to improving the lives of Christians in the Holy Land through building bonds of solidarity with between Christians in the United States and Christians in the Holy Land. We have two goals: inform Americans about the Christians in the Holy Land and provide humanitarian assistance for the needy in the land where Jesus Christ was born, preached, died and rose again. HCEF, 6935 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 214, Bethesda, MD 20815 (301) 951-9400, Toll Free (866) 871-4233 (HCEF), www.hcef.org Email: news@hcef.org
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