Category: Mar Elias Educational Institutions

2019 Living Stones Pilgrimage Registration is open!

Join Pilgrims of Ibillin to meet today’s Peacemakers in 2019
in Palestine and Israel! View a sample itinerary.

Mar Elias High School English class, teacher, and pilgrimage guests
  • If you’re more interested in meeting people than exploring ancient ruins (though you’ll do both);
  • if you want to walk where Jesus walked but also meet descendants of his neighbors and relatives;
  • if you want behind-the-scenes exposure to the Israeli/Palestinian situation, beyond what you see in mainstream media coverage; PLEASE JOIN US!

Click here for full itinerary and registration information for May 13-26 trip,

and click here for October 15-28 info and registration. Register now for  Living Stones Pilgrimages.

This tour is active and strenuous, and the schedule keeps us busy. Participants should be comfortable walking on uneven walkways with lots of hills, sometimes for an hour or more. (Use of walking poles or canes is fine, but be prepared for a few times when rest stops might be an hour apart.)

Questions? Please email or call or text Joan Deming, the tour leader: jdeming7@gmail.com or 608-235-1046.

MEEI Winners: HYPE Foundation Youth Start-up Competition

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Mahmoud Hugerat, Adi Makhol, and their teacher Nemer Elias at the HYPE Youth Startup Competition in Milan.

 

Thirty-seven high schools worldwide entered the 2015 HYPE Foundation competition, “making a difference with youth in the fields of Empowerment, Leadership, Personal Development, Social Action and Impact-Entrepreneurship.” Each team developed a new concept for a computer app and created a Powerpoint presentation to introduce their concept to a panel of judges. Only 7 of the 37 teams were chosen to compete at EXPO Milano 2015 in late October, and Mar Elias was in that elite group. The Mar Elias team of Mahmoud Hogerat and Adi Makhol, with their teacher Mr. Nemer Elias traveled to Italy in October to give their presentation before the HYPE judges at Expo Milano, and they won 2nd place over-all.  Congratulations to the traveling team, and to the 2 other members of their app-development team, Maria Aboud and Rany Sosan, who didn’t  get to make the Italy trip but whose work on the team helped ensure success!

This is the second major computer science contest won by Mar Elias students in 2015. In June, a different team of four Mar Elias students won Israel’s “Hackathon” with an app they developed to provide information on emergency first aid and links to the nearest healthcare resources.

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The Mar Elias winning team together with the 1st place team from California

MEEI’s HYPE Foundation entry was an App they called “Handy N Hand,” designed to match up elderly people and youth volunteers through a vetted, secure process. The young people would provide services like rides to appointments, help with chores, or even simple companionship. Elderly citizens in need would get reliable help, while the youth would receive volunteer credit (a requirement for Israeli high school matriculation). The App isn’t yet reality, but the young entrepreneurs who developed it hope for funding soon, to bring the idea to life. Stay tuned!

After 4 Weeks, the Christian School Strike Ends!

NEWS FLASH: The Strike was settled on Sunday, 27 September. Classes in all Christian Schools start for the new school year on Monday, 28 September. Teachers and students are excited and ready. Watch for another blog entry soon updating the situation, but here is one of today’s articles with the basic information: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/christian-school-strike-israel-end-34077495

26 September 2015, just before the end of the strike:
A Message from Archbishop Emeritus Elias Chacour
after returning home to Ibillin from a speaking tour September 12-20 in Grosse Pointe, Ann Arbor, Adrian, Tecumseh, and Holland, MI; and in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, IN.

“The people I met in the many places where I spoke are for me part of the extremely beautiful face of America. These represent to me peace­ builders, which means they are children of God.

At home, I found everyimage4one still very concerned about the school strike. We hate the strike and want our children back in school. Nonetheless, this strike revealed to us the very strong solidarity from our Muslim brothers and sisters in Israel. Had it not been for their outspoken solidarity, we would have been left on the side.

It’s also heart warming to see a very large segment of the Jewish society expressing their full solidarity with our Christian schools. We are harvesting what we have sown in tears and passion. Indeed, we don’t want to strike against Israel or to mar the picture of this country; we want to do anything possible to build a real democratic and just society. Our strike went on because we were hurting deeply. We were cornered by the Ministry of Education to shout enough is enough.

We risk the danger of becoming unable to fulfill our mission of justice and charity towards reconciliation within Israeli society. Our mission and our responsibility are only education. It means, we need to create a unity of the citizens within the vast diversity of affiliations, whether religious, political, racial, or any other legitimate diversity.

I urge you never to give up, what we are doing is of a unique importance. Be happy and proud and continue the way on.

Abuna signature

Abuna Elias Chacour

Melkite Catholic Archbishop em. of Galilee, Israel

 

Abuna Chacour asks solidarity during Christian Schools strike

Thank you for your care for the Living Stones of Israel/Palestine!

English class, Mariam Bawardi Elementary School
Instead of having classrooms busy like this one, Mar Elias buildings are empty as Christian Schools strike.

The first of September should have been the first day of school for 2015-16 at Mar Elias High School, Mariam Bawardi Elementary School, and the Mariam Bawardi Kindergarten in Ibillin. Instead, the teachers and students from all the Christian Schools in Israel and East Jerusalem are out on strike. Since two years ago, drastic budget cuts from the Israeli Ministry of Education and restrictive rules disproportionately affecting the Christian schools have put them all in an untenable situation in which their very survival is at stake.

Negotiations have been going on for a year and a half, but the Israeli Ministry of Education and the government have not budged. Israeli President Reuven Rivlen hosted a meeting on August 24 between Christian School leadership and the Minister of Education, hoping for a breakthrough, but no real relief was offered.

This strike involves 33,000 students and 3,000 teachers. Almost 3,000 of those affected attend or teach at Mar Elias.

On the eve of the strike, Abuna wrote: “September 1st is the day on which all Israeli schools, among them our Mar Elias Schools, begin the scholastic year. Unfortunately, in the light of tight and unreasonable restrictions that the Ministry of Education has for years been implementing and imposing on our Christian schools, we have collectively decided not to open our schools unless we reach a fair agreement through which to grant our students their rights to study fully and equally as their Jewish peers. Please share this sad news all around in the hope that it would reach people with authority.”

Because of your care for Mar Elias, we wanted you to know. To read the full statement about the strike and its background from the Office of Christian Schools in Israel, please visit the “Come and See” website. In addition, I’ll post articles on our Pilgrims of Ibillin Facebook page or check back here on our website blog page as I find more resources to help those of us “outside the loop” understand the situation.

Additional resources:

Thanks for your prayers and care! In solidarity and still with great hope,

Joan Deming
Pilgrims of Ibillin Executive Director
joan@pilgrimsofibillin.org

Mar Elias Peace Tour – a Great Success!

TIMG_0518hey came, They saw, They loved everything!

Thirteen current students, two recent graduates and one teacher from Mar Elias High School in Ibillin spent 2 weeks in the US in July, discovering America (well, the Upper Midwest) and winning hearts and opening minds all along their journey. They came as Ambassadors for their school, sponsored by Pilgrims of Ibillin —picking up from Abuna Elias Chacour the call to share how Peace is being built on Desktops in Ibillin.

For all, it was their first trip to the United States, and they especially loved arriving in time to celebrate the 4th of July. (Cedar Point rollercoasters and fireworks! Shopping, boating, bike-riding, and picnics!) But they also gave 2 excellent presentations July 5th at Grosse Pointe Memorial Presbyterian Church, and large audiences came to hear them, despite the major holiday weekend.

The group was selected by their teacher, Emil Haloun, as students who would represent the values and unique gifts of Mar Elias, have good English skills, be outgoing enough to enjoy meeting lots of new people, and be positive members of their group. Emil could not have found fifteen more compatible, wonderful ambassadors. They were a well-balanced group: 8 guys, 7 girls; 8 Muslims and 7 Christians (but not the same 7 and 8). They came from 4 different villages. Several started attending Mar Elias as 3-year-olds, a few transferred in as 6th graders, and about half transferred in from other schools as 9th graders. Half of the group ride a bus for up to 45 minutes one way (past other high schools) in order to attend Mar Elias. The other half are from Ibillin.

As Pilgrims’ executive director, I had the privilege of working with local pastors and hosts to plan the trip, and got to lead/accompany them from their arrival July 2nd in Detroit to their departure from Chicago on July 14th. It was the most fun (and the most work) I’ve had in a long time. HUGE THANKS to some special organizers who made the tour fantastic for all:

  • Rev. Peter Henry mobilized host families, drivers, picnic providers, boat owners, and teen companions for the first five days of the trip in Grosse Pointe.
  • In Ann Arbor, Harris and Margaret McClamroch and Nancy Oliver organized a wonderful dinner and overnight for the students with their church’s Pilgrims of Ibillin supporters.
  • After a ferry ride across Lake Michigan, Rev. John Hobbins in Oshkosh, WI, picked up the organizer mantle and kept the group breathless with fun activities — including connecting with the Oshkosh IBC (International Book Club).

The trip ended with 5 days in Madison and Evanston. For details, check out their blog website: www.mareliaspeacetour.org/our-travel-entries/.

On their last afternoon together the students spent time reflecting on highlights of the trip. They were overwhelmed with the hospitality of thirty host families(!), the warmth of everyone’s interest, and the positive connections they made between new American friends and the school they all love. — jcd

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Oshkosh to Ibillin: Oh Freedom!

By John Hobbins, co-founder, International Book Club.

For a wonderful article about the January 7th Skype meeting of the Oshkosh and Ibillin Book Clubs, read this article from the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, written by Bethany Lerch, and Oshkosh native who has volunteered in Palestine.

Ten- and 11-year-olds in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and 15- to 18-year-olds in Ibillin, Israel read the same book in English, “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson, a piece of historical fiction that pivots on the difference between inner and outer freedom, and then skyped about it.

Isabel and Curzon, the main characters of the book, are slaves of African descent caught in the Revolutionary War in 1776 in New York City (a fifth of whose population was slave at the time),

IBC Ibillin - Mar Elias H.S. students 7 Jan 2015
IBC Ibillin – Mar Elias H.S. students 7 Jan 2015

Isabel and Curzon are strong-willed kids, brave as lions, the only truly free people in the narrative. Yet they are slaves, owned by other human beings, mistreated and abused.

“We identify with Isabel and Curzon,” many said, both in Oshkosh and Ibillin.

As Martin Luther affirmed, a truly free person is subject to none and yet is still able to be the most dutiful servant of all. A life of rigor and purpose hangs precisely in that balance.

From “Chains,” by Laurie Halse Anderson:

” You must find your road through the valley of darkness that will lead you to the river Jordan …. Everything that stands between you and freedom is the river Jordan.”

“Look at me,” he said. I bent down a little, bringing my face level with his. He tilted my chin to the side so he could examine the brand on my cheek. I tried to pull away, but he held fast.

“A scar is a sign of strength,” he said quietly. “The sign of a survivor.”

He leaned forward and lightly kissed my cheek, right on the branding mark. His lips felt like a tired butterfly that landed once, then fluttered away. I stepped back and touched the cheek. The men were returning to the barricades. Other servants had formed a line for the pump. Grandfather winked and handed me the buckets.

“Look hard for your river Jordan, my child. You’ll find it.”

“River Jordan is chilly and cold, Hallelujah / Chills the body but not the soul. Hallelujah.”
– Negro Spiritual

The reading program across continents is supported by Pilgrims of Ibillin, the Rotary clubs of Oshkosh, and the OASD (Oshkosh Area School District).

Christmas Letter from Abuna Elias Chacour

lbillin, December 2014

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Pilgrims of Ibillin,

While I served as Archbishop in Galilee, I always sent an Annual Christmas Greeting; it was always a feeling of communion and of deep gratitude. This year it is somehow different; I am writing to you as a retired Archbishop. Indeed, I decided over a year and a half ago to retire and go back to my natural milieu. In fact I am most privileged to be back at Mar Elias Educational Institutions, where one never gets older but we mature constantly. I was pleased and grateful to give up the honor of serving as Archbishop.

Now every morning when I open the entrance door of my residence, I see the trees, I see the small mountain behind the church, and I see also the arrival of the students, and I pray “Thank you Lord for this day”. That is why I am writing to you, to say thank you, brothers and sisters, for your solidarity and, very specially, for your prayers.

You have been and are still an important factor in my faith in peace. Among my dear dreams would be to see you again in Galilee. We always have a place for you. Our students are most happy to meet with you personally and have an exchange about the present and the future. In case it is difficult for you to come over, I would be most delighted to have a possibility to see you again, whether in Europe or in America or in Australia or in Africa. Wherever you live, you contributed to form my dream, and for that, I say “Thank You”.

As a retired Archbishop, I have full control over my days, which is not to say I am jobless. My office is open to anybody who comes, and many do come individually or in groups. I make sure that I have enough time to pray and read. How could you want a happier life for me? It is much more that I deserve. Imagine me standing at the entrance of my residence, watching literally hundreds of cars coming every day, and very intensely so when there is a parents’ meeting. In fact, we create a travel jam that goes as far as the center of the village. For me, it is not merely a car phenomenon, but it is so many hundreds of parents, Christians and Muslims, Jews and Druze, who stream to the school. We are grateful, happy and concerned to give these people the best image of themselves being all alike: Born babies in the image and the likeness of God himself.

Isn’t that the main message of Christmas: “Be not afraid, I bring you good tidings of great joy, a savior has been born to you”? This is what I wish to remind you very humbly.

My dear brothers and sisters, do not stop witnessing the birth of “The Prince of Peace”, and please pray for us, here in the Holy Land, to hear the calling of the angels: “Glory be to God in the highest and peace on earth to men and women on whom His favor rests” (Luke 2:14).

“Christ is born – do praise him, Christ has come to our world – do glorify him”.

Sincerely,

Abuna Signature

 

Ahuna Elias Chacour Archbishop em. Of Galilee

Yes, it was safe! And we could not have felt more welcome.

Check out the wonderful blog written by members of the 19-person Living Stones Pilgrimage group as we toured Palestine and Israel in October. It was perhaps not the easiest time to visit the Holy Land. But we could not have been welcomed more warmly. In a year when many groups either cancelled their trips or visited Israel/Palestine with far fewer pilgrims than planned, we were amazed to be able to do everything we had planned on — and even did it in the order we expected.

Although we visited Biblical holy sites throughout our journey, the most memorable moments all came in encounters with Peacemakers — an amazing array of Palestinian Christians and Muslims in the West Bank and Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders in Israel.  We didn’t meet one person with a rosy outlook on Israel’s or Palestine’s future, but every single person we met offered reasons to be hopeful.  Grassroots programs emphasize arts and culture — and insist on treating every human being as child of God, worthy of respect. They insist on beauty, on gardens, on play, on music.  Simply getting up every day and going to school or work is an act of both resistance and hope. “How can you remain hopeful?” we continually asked. “What other choice is there?” came the answers.  Nonviolence and positive daily activities are investments in a brighter tomorrow.

Read the group’s blog here: http://2014livingstonespilgrimage.wordpress.com

Pilgrimage Group after tree-planting at Mar Elias
Pilgrimage Group after tree-planting at Mar Elias

Why not consider joining Pilgrims of Ibillin in a 2015 Living Stones tour? Plans are in the works now for 2 pilgrimages next year: in May and in October. Watch the website for details soon, or contact Joan Deming for more information.