December 20, 2009.
Dear Friends,
On December 20, 2009 Badaliya Prayer members will welcome Dr. Maria Khoury,
a Harvard University graduate from Taybeh, Palestine, at the 11 am Mass at St.
Paul's Church in Cambridge MA. Following the Mass, Dr Khoury will join
us for coffee hour in the Harvard University Catholic Student Center.
Dr. Khoury, author of Witness in the Holy Land, will share her experiences
of living and raising a famly in the oldest and only Christian village in the
Palestinian territories in the Holy Land. Dr Khoury graduated from Hellenic
College in 1982, from Harvard University in 1985, and from Boston University
in 1992 with a Ph.D. in Education. Born in Tripoli, Greece, she was raised in
Denver, Colorado. Her articles have been published world-wide in numerous newspapers
and magazines and have been translated into various languages in an effort to
increase awareness of the presence of Christians in the Holy Land and of the
difficulties they face.
Dr. Khoury is a volunteer at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Taybeh, Palestine,
as a fundraiser for a housing project to help sustain the small Christian community.
She has also spent three years training teachers in new classroom strategies
in the Latin Patriarchate Schools throughout Palestine. She served as the only
female principal at the Friends Boys School of Ramallah in 1996 and worked closely
with church leaders in Jerusalem as a consultant for the World Council of Churches
in 2004. She also headed the project to establish the International Academy
of Art-Palestine in 2007. She serves on the Advisory Council of World Vision
Jerusalem and the Taybeh Education Fund which she founded as an endowment to
help students with tuition in local colleges in Palestine. She was a speaker
at the International Bishops' Conference at Bethlehem University in January
of 2004, and at over 100 churches throughout the United States. She was the
keynote speaker for the 2008 Orthodox Institute. Dr. Maria Khoury has organized
five successful village festivals in Palestine, called Taybeh Oktoberfest, which
was initiated in 2005 to boost the local economy that suffers from 50% unemployment,
and as a means to non-violent action and peaceful resistance.
The Khourys returned to the Holy Land in 1995 following the Oslo Peace Agreement
and boosted the economy with an investment in a microbrewery producing the one
and only Palestinian beer, "Taybeh Beer". In 2001 they diversified to help farmers
in fair trade bottling of Taybeh Olive Oil. Dr. Khoury writes children's books
promoting ancient Christian values, centuries-old traditions, and spiritual
growth as part of the "Christina Book Series," which is published in Jerusalem.
In May many of us were able to visit the Latin Church in Taybeh, called "Christ
the King" and were welcomed by Father Raed Abusahlia who has worked closely
with Dr. Khoury. Dr. Khoury and her husband's choice to return to this small
village in an effort to help the Christian community to survive there is an
example for members of the Badaliya of the strength of Christian faith that
calls us all to be bearers of Christ's message of hope and love for all of humanity,
especially for the poorest among us.
As Christians everywhere prepare to celebrate anew the birth of Christ may we
as Badaliya give birth to His love in our hearts and offer God's Peace
to all our Muslim, Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters. May our Peace
Dove Lamp from Taybeh, Palestine be a reminder of the Light that shines forth
in our own darkest moments and of the hope that our friends in Taybeh have shared
with us through their lived experience.
A Blessed Christmas Season and Peace to you.
Dorothy