Church members and friends welcomed back Archbishop Elias Chacour at a breakfast co-sponsored by the Olive Branch Chapter of Pilgrims of Ibillin and the Middle East Task Force, Presbytery of Chicago.  Breakfast was cooked and served by TESS (Too Early and Shortstack Society) Men’s Breakfast Group of First Presbyterian Church, Wheaton, on Saturday, May 17, 2008.

Following the delicious breakfast Archbishop Chacour spoke of a model for peace that works; the model he has been using for the last 25 years, accomplishing what scores of politicians have failed to do.   In the process he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.

The breakfast was held in Stewart Hall.   After the breakfast everyone moved to the Sanctuary for Archbishop Chacour's presentation. He was introduced by Dr. Paul J. Kirbas, Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, who had led a group on a recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which included Ibillin and the Mar Elias Schools.

Archbishop Chacour is the founder of Mar Elias Schools, a Kindergarten through High School complex where Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Druze children all attend together.  Chacour, a Melkite Priest, is the first Arab Archbishop of Galilee, Israel, as well as the first Israeli citizen named a Catholic bishop.

On the right is Susan Drinan with Father David Dillon.  Sue, a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church, is Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Mar Elias University, Ibillin, Israel. She was among the speakers at the Commencement for the first graduating class of Mar Elias University on October 29, 2007. This was the first class to graduate from an Arab University in Israel, and graduates earned the distinction of attaining a diploma recognized in both the United States and in Israel.

Father David Dillon, Pastor of St. Matthew Catholic Church, Glendale Heights, IL, is an active member of the Olive Branch Chapter, Pilgrims of Ibillin.  Father Dillon traveled to Israel recently with the group led by Dr. Kirbas.

Cerena Fischer, Alice Williams, and Louise Mathis are selling items produced in Bethlehem and Beit Sahour (the town of the Shepherd’s Field next to Bethlehem) in Israel.   Proceeds from these items go directly to the Palestinian Christian artisans.   For more information or to purchase these beautiful items, contact Cerena Fischer at 630-289-4942 or by email at cmfischer2@aol.com. You can also view photos and obtain more information on the Bethlehem Imports website - http://www.bethlehemimports.org.

President George Bush, on his trip to the middle-east in January 2008, met with Christian leaders of Israel, namely, the Archbishop of Galilee, Elias Chacour.  The President and Condoleeza Rice spent 40 minutes with Archbishop Chacour, Bishop Marcuzzo, The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and several nuns from the Church of the Beatitudes, and even Raed Mualem, the Sr. Vice President of Mar Elias University.  Susan Drinan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mar Elias University was asked to compose a letter to the President which would be handed to him on this occasion. (View a copy of the letter.)  After the meeting Secretary Rice invited Raed Mualem to come to Washington, DC to discuss new models for peace in the middle-east.  Who knows what happens; but, just that somebody finally understood that peace, real peace, begins on the tops of school desks, it is one more step in the peace process.

Photos can be viewed on the Mar Elias Campus website - http://mec.sahrat.net/?pid=216.