Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Northwestern Lieutenancy

More Reflections on the Alaska Pilgrimage
Lynn Roberts

Our last day we toured St. Joseph's hospital which the Order supports. They are going to build a new maternity wing. The Israeli government is trying to fine, or tax, them $900,000 for the old road repairs around the hospital.

holy land pilgrimages
pilgrimage
Led by Franciscan Father Mario DiCicco, O.F.M.
President and Rector
Franciscan School of Theology, Berkeley, CA
September 18 – 29, 2010
Land only $2025
Contact Father DiCicco (510) 848-5232
A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH AND
OF SOLIDARITY
October 26 – November 10, 2010
The Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire, Bishop of the
Diocese of Stockton, and the Northwestern Lieutenancy of
the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
invite you to join them for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
and Rome.
Please contact

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Cyprus
By Terry O’Brien, KGCHS

The Lieutenants of the Order were invited by Cardinal Grand Master Foley to participate in a pilgrimage to Cyprus on the occasion of the June visit of Pope Benedict XVI. The Order was well represented by members of the Grand Magisterium and Lieutenants from around the world, including the Northwestern Lieutenancy. When processing and seated as a group in our robes we made a very favorable impression!

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA,

SISTER CITY: BETHLEHEM

As an introduction to the Sir John H. McGuckin Mentoring Program, three students from Bethlehem University are interns in the Bay Area for the summer and one is in Southern California. The following are biographies of each of the new interns:

Name: Nadine Elias Jildeh
Residence: Jerusalem
Major: Accounting
Host Family: Mr. Albet Hazboun
Company: El Dorado Hills Town Center - El Dorado Hills
Short Bio:

GETTING TO KNOW OUR MEMBERS

The Brother Vincent Malham Center

The Brother Vincent Malham Center was blessed and dedicated on Wednesday,
April 14, 2010. The Center is located in an historic 100 year old Bethlehem home located next to Manger Square off Milk Grotto Street and comes to Bethlehem University through the kindness of donations through the Brother Vincent Malham Memorial Fund and the consistent generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Moley, whose support throughout the years has been very instrumental in providing quality higher education to the Palestinian people .

HOLY LAND PILGRIMAGE – MAY 2010
Mary Ann Molitor - Councillor, Alaska

From the onset of our Pilgrimage almost a year ago we became Pilgrims seeking to learn all that we could prior to our departure. Once we were in the Holy Land the stories and events came to life. Every day began with Archbishop Schwietz leading us in daily prayers and the Rosary while we traveled by bus. Fr. Richard Tero had a prepared reading and meditation for every biblical site we visited. The Archbishop and Fr. Tero concelebrated Masses every day.

GEORGE AYOUB ORDAINED:

HIS DREAM CAME TRUE!

On Saturday, June 19, 2010, in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, deacon George Ayoub, of the Reineh Latin parish, was ordained priest by the imposition of the hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal. The ceremony was attended as well by the Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, bishops Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo and
Kamal Bathish, Canon Adib Zoomot, Rector of the Latin seminary, Archimandrite
Elias Odeh, the Latin priest of Reineh, Father Ricardo Bustos OFM, the Basilica

Newsletter
June 2010
Città del Vaticano Message from the Cardinal Grand Master

Dear Knights and Ladies,

Mark your Calendar

Annual Meeting in Reno
OPEN WIDE THE GATES OF JERUSALEM
October 8 – 11, 2010
Peppermill Hotel
Reno, Nevada

The Reno Steering Committee is looking forward to greeting you in Reno for the 17th Annual Meeting of our Lieutenancy and renewing old friendships and welcoming our new Investees. The Annual Meeting is a time for the whole Lieutenancy to get together and strengthen the bond we all share in our concern for our fellow Christians in the Holy Land.

Dear Knights and Ladies,

Mark Twain once stated: “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Yes, it is foggy and overcast here in San Francisco, but for most of you, hopefully, the sun is shining and you are relaxing with family and friends this summer.

While the weather may be dreary here, the past few months have brought forth exciting events for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Please peruse this newsletter to learn more about:

Archbishop Schwietz’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land with nineteen other pilgrims.

Arieh Cohen - Asia News
[full article]
The Churches of Jerusalem are perplexed and concerned by the municipal authorities threat to cut off water supplies to the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Since water supplies were first operational in the area, successive governments have always provided access to the Holy Sepulchre free of charge as a public service to the pilgrims and act of courtesy to the religious, Catholic and non-Catholic, who custody the sanctuary.

Ecumenical News International
[full article]
Palestinian Christian organizations have urged protests by church groups around the world against an Israeli assault on ships bringing aid to Gaza, which Israel says has led to the deaths of at least 10 activists on board the convoy.

The Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine said on 31 May it "strongly condemns this massacre against unarmed civilians which visibly violates international law and human rights".

Activists say Israeli troops came on board shooting; Israel says its soldiers were shot at and attacked with weapons, the BBC reported, quoting an Israeli spokesperson.

Judith Evans - London Times Online
[full article]
Outrage spread around the world this morning as news broke that Israeli forces had attacked a convoy bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, killing at least ten people in international waters. Israel says its forces faced resistance from activists armed with knives and metal bars – but the international outcry has continued. Here is the reaction to the violence:

By Jose Leyva
[full article]

Nine centuries ago, the Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem defended the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried, fighting the Muslims with their swords, sometimes dying in the battle. Today, however, the order is engaged in a very different kind of effort: fighting to stem the flow of Christians out of Israel.

In the last two years, the society of the knights in New York City raised more than $15 million to support the few remaining Christian communities in the Holy Land. The money goes to monastic orders in Jerusalem such as the Franciscans or the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, as well as housing and schools for the Christian population in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories.

“Some people envision that some day there will be no followers of Christ in the Holy Land,” said Joseph Spinnato, who is part of the Grand Magisterium, the highest governing body of the order in Rome, directly supervised by the Pope. “That is something that we just don’t want to see”.

Reuters
[full article]
As a boy growing up in Jerusalem, Yacoub Dahdal saw Christians from all over the Middle East converge on the city at Easter time to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

Thousands would be hosted in the homes of the city's residents. Many would depart the city as godparents to newly born Jerusalemites baptized during the pilgrimage season.

"It was a festival with every meaning of the word," said Dahdal, now aged 72 and a senior member of the Palestinian Christian community in Jerusalem. "The Egyptians would come by train, the Lebanese and Syrians by bus," he said.

"Imagine when you were down in the Old City, you would hear all the different accents: Lebanese, Jordanian, Egyptian, Syrian, mixed together," he said. "It was a real joy."

Today, he reflects on a very different Easter atmosphere in a city where tension is often more apparent than spirituality.

VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. William
Hanna Shomali, chancellor of the patriarchal diocese of Jerusalem of the
Latins, as auxiliary of the same diocese (Catholics 160,700, priests 271,
permanent deacons 2, religious 1,432). The bishop-elect was born in Beit- Sahour,
Palestine in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1972.

Legacy Program

Please consider the Legacy Program that is offered through
the Northwestern Lieutenancy of the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre
as an important means of providing financial assistance to help meet
the many needs of the Christians in the Holy Land. Think
of it as a method of deferred maintenance in keeping
up the worthy programs of our Lieutenancy that are so
valuable to the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
Contact Sir Fred Lee (209-957-7425) for information
about this method of giving within your estate.

Message from Rabbis For Human Rights.

Stop Evictions in Sheikh Jarrah!

Dear Albert,

Many North American Jews are unaware of the tension building in East Jerusalem. The following report (based on interviews with Nasser Gawi, Sheikh Jarrah resident evicted in August, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Director of RHR, and Maya Wind, RHR Intern, and my own eye witness) provides a brief overview of current issues related to Jerusalem that demand our attention. Our report spotlights areas which are both politically heated and ones in which human rights are most vulnerable. In an effort to keep you updated so that you can, in turn, provide balanced information to your constituents, RHR-NA will attempt to update you with regular news briefs.