ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS: 

Support Pilgrims of Ibillin throughAlternative or Fair TradeGiving in 2009.  Your purchases or donations not only provide much-needed income for Christians in Israel/Palestine; you also tell "the Living Stones" that they are remembered and loved by Christian brothers and sisters around the world. 

Encourage your church or group to embrace one or more of these programs this year:

I.  Alternative Giving Faire: 

In exchange for a financial donation of $5 or $10, members and friends of your church can receive a gift card showing that a gift of _____________ has been given in honor of the person to whom they will give the card.  Ideas for possible gifts/amounts:

• $5 provides one week's tuition at Mar Elias High School, the school described in Archbishop Elias Chacour's book We Belong to the Land.
• $5 provides a share of Science Lab equipment for the elementary school in Ibillin.
• $5 provides a transportation scholarship for a student who rides a bus an hour each way to attend MEEI.
• $10 provides a share of a new library computer.
• $10 provides a share in a peace education project involving Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Druze.

Questions?  Contact Joan Deming.  Click below for Gift Card pdfs that can be used for Alternative Gifts this Christmas:

 Alternative Gift Card - one-sided

 Alternative Gift Card - two-sided

II.  Christmas Gift Faire - Fair Trade Crafts and Handmade Items

Order consignment crafts and other items handmade by Palestinians and offer them for sale during the pre-Christmas season.  Two excellent resources:

• Bethlehem Imports.  Contact Cerena Fischer, importer:  1159 W. Hialeah Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60133.  Email:  Bethlehemimport2@aol.com, phone 630-289-4942.  Visit the website at http://www.bethlehemimports.org/.

• Holy Land Artisans.  Contact Lissa Caldwell:  157 Deer Glade Lane, Waynesville, NC 28786.  Email: holylandartisans@msn.com.  Phone 828-452-5961 or 828-734-8110.  Visit the website at http://holylandartisans.tripod.com/.

III.  Purchase Olive Oil Soap directly from St. George Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Zababdeh,

and offer it to your congregation for a suggested donation (usually $5/bar).  While the payment needs to be made "up front," these direct sales allow Christians in the West Bank to support themselves when trade and travel restrictions prevent them from getting their olive oil to any other market.  Directions for ordering and payment can be found at the church's website:  http://www.stgeorginzababdeh.com/soapproject.shtml.   Call Joan Deming if you have questions about how this works: 608-241-9281.