Joline Belliveau, National Chairperson of Service, September 20th, 2023
FOR: Chairpersons of Service (new structure), Christian Family Life, Community Life and Education and Health (previous structure) at All Levels
The National Day of Prayer for Christians in the Holy Land, sponsored by Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), is Thursday, September 21st. Provincial chairpersons should have received an email on September 15th, and I hope chairpersons at other levels were made aware of this special day. Held in conjunction with the World Council of Churches’ World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, this day is celebrated on the same day as International Day of Peace.
The League has partnered with CNEWA for eight years through the national voluntary fund. If interested, CNEWA still has peace lamps available for sale. This can be a way for people to participate and pray for peace.
The League also supports two projects in the Holy Land—Shepherd’s Field Hospital in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem and the Infant Welfare Centre in the old city of Jerusalem. A brief description of the projects and information for donating directly to receive a tax receipt is available on CNEWA’s website.
Thank you for your continued support for Christians living in the Middle East, with your financial support and prayers. You might consider joining a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to see where Jesus preached and lived among others and learn more about the experiences of Christians who undergo so much suffering and setbacks daily. I was blessed to travel to the Holy Land as a pilgrim, and the journey left me with a deeper insight into the daily life of a world so vastly different than my own in Canada.
“Everyone has a vocation—a path toward serving others” (Pope Francis).
Your sister in the League,
Joline Belliveau
National Chairperson of Service