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We got what it takes!

1 Dec

What does it take to begin a partnership between St. Andrew-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Milford and the Latin Patriarchate School in Beit Jala?

passion for learning

love of children

hope and gratitude

desire and longing

talent and faith

… and …

SASEAS principal, Tom

Beit Jala teacher, Eman          Beit Jala teacher, Waseim

… and …

the “techies” – Waseim (LPSBJ) … George (SASEAS) 

… and …

the “teachers” – Sue (America) … Eman (Palestine)

What does it take to build and continue a partnership between our SASEAS and their LPSBJ?

passion for learning

love of children

hope and gratitude

desire and longing

talent and faith

Eman … Tom … Waseim … George … Sue

We got what it takes!

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Peace the Angels Sang About

23 Nov

In the fields near Bethlehem … “Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Bethlehem is still not enjoying the peace that the angels sang about on that first Christmas night.

When we sing the Gloria at Mass, we begin, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.” We sing the hymn of the angels at Christmas.

Eman, a teacher in the Catholic school in Beit Jala near Bethlehem, was at St. Andrew a few weeks ago, with other teachers from Catholic schools throughout the Holy Land. Coming from the West Bank, from Jordan and from Israel, the teachers spent time with teachers from our school, learning together and establishing a partnership for continued learning together.

At Sunday Mass as we sang the Gloria, we noticed Eman looking up.

A teacher from Bethlehem looking up as the hymn of the angels is sung. Was she hearing the angels? Was she expecting to hear them? Was she thinking of the angels and their peace song? Was she thinking of her students in Bethlehem who long for the peace about which angels sing?

We did not ask. We thought it best to leave it between her, the angels and the Prince of Peace born in Bethlehem.

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In the Olive Garden with Ibrahim

10 Nov

Below is an article about Father Ibrahim Shomali and the Christians of Beit Jala. It appears on the website of the Latin Patriarchate Jerusalem (the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jerusalem).

Father Ibrahim is the parish priest of Annunciation Church in Beit Jala. St. Andrew parish is in a twinning relationship with his parish, and our SASEAS school is in a twinning relationship with his parish school. Father Ibrahim will be visiting us in Milford in December, and will be with us for Sunday Mass, ensha’allah. Next June I will visit him in Beit Jala, and will celebrate Mass with him in the olive field of Beit Jala, God willing.

Beit Jala Christians pray to stop wall

Christians of Beit Jala attended an open-air Mass on Friday, November 4th to pray together against the Israeli decision to confiscate a part of their land. The Israeli government intends to extend the separation wall at the entrance of the Cremisan valley.

To protest against this decision, faithful gathered with the Pastor of Beit Jala, Father Ibrahim Shomali and Father Mario Corniole for an open-air Mass. An Israeli committee approved a plan to build 1,100 new houses on the south slopes of Gilo last September. To do this, the route of the wall “will confiscate land belonging to Christian people and Christian church,” reports a statement of the Latin parish. The idea is simple: protesting not by violence but by prayer. In the same statement, the parish priest and Christians of Beit Jala denounce “the  confiscation [by Israel] of the last green area in Beit Jala (Bethlehem district)”, considering “the annexation of the most beautiful lands in the Bethlehem area as a direct attack against the Palestinian people and especially  against Palestinian Christians.”

Soliciting members of the Quartet for the Middle East – including the United Nations, the Russian Federation, the United States and the European Union – and also calling upon the rest of the international community, the parish of Beit Jala called President Mahmoud Abbas’ government, the Latin Patriarchate and the civil society to do “everything possible to keep the land in the hands of its rightful owners.”

In the light of the message from Synod for the Middle East last year regarding the Christian presence in the Holy Land: “It is Church’s duty to support our presence. Therefore, we call the Holy See and Pope Benedict XVI to act  immediately, using all possible means to help protect our people.”

The Mass was celebrated in a field of olive trees which will probably be cut and uprooted. As recalled by Father Mario Corniole, olives were silent witnesses of Jesus’ suffering and agony in Gethsemane. Thus, Beit Jala parishioners attached to their land and their olive trees will meet every Friday on this “Gethésménai” where they still live in fear, but also with the hope that their land will always be respected.

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آمين‎ and Amen

23 Oct

The message was one of HOPE. The prayer was for PEACE.

This time the children of our Catholic school at St. Andrew-Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton prayed the rosary not just “for” our sisters and brothers in the Holy Land. They prayed “with” their brothers and sisters of the Holy Land, during the visit of four Palestinian teachers from the Holy Land.

Each decade of the rosary on the wall and in their hands was a different color. For each decade there was a different intention and reflection. 

The first mystery of the five decade rosary was the “Visit of the Magi.” The color was green. The symbol was hope. The language was English.

The second mystery was “Jesus Speaks with the Samaritan Woman.” Appropriately, it was prayed in Arabic by the teacher from Nablus, the site of Jacob’s well, from which the teacher and her students still drink. The symbol was peace and unity; the color was blue.

Back to English, the third mystery, “Jesus Cures the Centurion’s Servant,” with white being the color, carried with it a message of healing, light and understanding.

The teacher from Beit Jala (Bethlehem) led the fourth mystery, “Jesus Sends Out His Disciples,” with its symbol of the Holy Spirit and its color of red.

The children finished with the fifth mystery in English, “The Conversion of Paul.” The yellow beads of the decade brought with them thoughts of optimism and joy.

At the end of each Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be there was an Amen, heard in English and in Arabic. The sound of “Amen” in English is not much different from the sound of “Ameen” in Arabic. In the praying, the children realized that the teachers from the Holy Land were not much different from the teachers in their own classrooms. The visiting teachers probably saw in the faces and voices of our students the hopes and dreams of their own students back home in Nablus and Beit Jala.  

آمين‎ and Amen.

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Consider This Clermont: Palestinian Educators

23 Oct

Thank you, Theresa, Kellie and John!

Our local “Milford-Miami Advertiser” reported twice, with photos, on the visit of the Palestinian Educators to Milford. Enough thanks cannot be given to Theresa Herron, editor, and to reporters Kellie Geist-May and John Seney. They and their Community Press could not have done more.  

photo: John Seney/The Community Press

“Palestinian educators share experiences” by John Seney was published on October 13, with accompanying photos of the children and classrooms of the St. Andrew campus of SASEAS school. Take a look and read by clicking on the title.

 photo: John Seney/The Community Press

“Palestinian educators to partner with Milford, Cincinnati teachers” was published on September 23. Clicking on the headline will take you to Kellie Geist-May’s article.

photo: John Seney/The Community Press

If you want to express your appreciation, here are their email addresses: therron@communitypress.com
(Theresa Herron), kmay@communitypress.com (Kellie Geist-May) and jseney@communitypress.com
(John Seney).

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Andrew Got the Red Ribbon

12 Oct

The Roman Missal arrived just yesterday. Still in its packaging, it was begging for me to do something. What I decided to do was to let the school children open it

Today, at Mass with the 6th, 7th and 8th graders of our school, I volunteered the two students with a date of birth or a date of baptism closest to November 27 to open the package. For me the suspense was building, as I told them, “I haven’t seen it yet myself. The pages are going to be crisp. The binding and cover will be unblemished, no fingerprints or marks. The colored ribbons will be bright and ironed. The words will be fresh. The music is going to want to sing itself right off the page.” 

Standing on the sanctuary steps with their religion teachers and their music teacher, and with the music director and the deacon of St. Andrew parish, Kyle and Claire removed the outside plastic wrap. Inside the box they found the Missal covered with another coat of clear wrap. “Should we open it?” they asked. “Of course! It’s so big. Is it heavy?”   

The edges of the pages were gold. As they held it, they let me open it up to look inside. The book opened to the feast of the Annunciation. A full size picture was in color. The first letter of paragraphs of the prayers were capitalized and decorated. We found the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and put a ribbon at that place. St. Andrew, on November 30, got the red ribbon, being an Apostle.

The Church has given us a great big gift. Today at St. Andrew-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton we received the gift and opened it. Kyle took it into the sanctuary and opened it up on the altar. We are ready for Kyle’s birthday. I mean, we are getting ourselves ready – and are getting anxious – for the First Sunday of Advent to arrive.

The new English translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition has arrived and is in our custody. We love it!  

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