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HCEF 5th Annual International Conference, Oct. 24 and 25, 2003 with the theme Holy Land Christians: A Living Bridge to Peace.
18-Feb-03
Robert Younes,MD
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation*
News Release
HCEF Announces the 5th Annual International Conference
Friday, October 24th and Saturday, October 25th, 2003
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The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) is convening its 5th Annual International Conference Friday, October 24th and Saturday, October 25th, 2003.
This year’s theme is:
Holy Land Christians: A Living Bridge to Peace
Recent developments in the Middle East, including the Holy Land, make this an especially important time to focus on opportunities for bringing peace and growth to this challenged region so that its people may realize the potential that God has created for them.
HCEF has appointed as conference co-chairs Dr. Stephen Corbin, DDS, MPH and Julia James. In addition to his volunteer teaching duties at his home church, Crusader Lutheran Church in Rockville, MD, Dr. Corbin actively serves as Dean, Special Olympics University. Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization providing sports, health and other services to intellectually challenged individuals in more than 150 countries. Julia James has been the editor of HCEF’s Living Stones newsletter for the past three years. She teaches in her parish, St. Ambrose Catholic Church, in Cheverly, MD, and helped to coordinate HCEF’s recent highly successful Clergy Symposium in Washington, D.C. .Sir Rateb Rabie, HCEF president said’ Dr. Corbin and Mrs. James’ expertise in leadership development and organizational identity will contribute to developing another highly successful HCEF international conference”.
The 5th International Conference will be held at National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. It will welcome hundreds of attendees to two days of informative and provocative speakers and workshops on topics that elucidate the plight of the Holy Land Christians and describe clear strategies for how Western Christians can be of spiritual and material support in maintaining the Christian presence on the Holy Land.
There will be a Palestinian Cultural Night celebrating the life and customs of the Palestinians, including Arabic food and traditional entertainment. This event will take place on Saturday, October 25th in Stone Fellowship Hall at the National Presbyterian Church.
There will also be an Awards Banquet on Saturday evening at the Capitol Hilton, 16th & K Street, Washington, DC 20036. The Living Stones Solidarity Awards and Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation Awards will be presented during this banquet.
Over twenty speakers from the Holy Land and the United States will address the conference. Confirmed speakers include:
+ Fr. Elias Chacour, Founder and Director of Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin, Israel
+ “Three Women from Jerusalem”, sponsored by Partners for Peace, one Muslim, one Jewish, and one Christian woman speak about their shared lives
+ a youth group from Bethlehem will present a vision of the future as seen by the Christian youth
+ Fr. Majdi Siryani and Fr. Hanna Kildane, Directors of Schools for the Latin Patriarch ate of Jerusalem
+ Afif Safieh, Palestinian General Delegate to the United Kingdom and Holy See and others to be confirmed
Refer to the HCEF website for updated details on speakers and events www.hcef.org
*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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