Fundraiser for Dar al-Kalima Lutheran College in Bethlehem

I hope to draw your attention to an important event that will take place on Sunday, September 18,  from 2:30-5:30 in the afternoon at Grace Lutheran Church, Palo Alto: a fundraising event for Dar al-Kalima Academy, the Lutheran college in Bethlehem, Palestine. 

Dar al-Kalima is a ministry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, one of the six congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (the other five congregations are located in Amman/Jordan, Beit Shour, Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Beit Jala).  

The population of Bethlehem, the birthplace of our faith, so to speak, once used to have a vibrant Christian majority (75% in 1947), most of which were either Roman Catholic, Maronite, or Greek Orthodox.  Today, due to the ongoing restrictions placed on its citizens by the State of Israel, many Christians have emigrated hoping to create a better future for themselves and their children abroad.  Today, Bethlehem’s Christian population hovers around 10 percent.

In order to provide an incentive for young Palestinians to remain in their homeland, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, under the leadership of its pastor, the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, has founded a two-year fine arts and education college.  Founded in 2006, the college operated for its first two academic years in a temporary location.  In 2010,  the college moved into its new permanent facility on Mount Murair in Bethlehem. 

In 1009 and 2010, Bay Area Lutheran congregations came together to support the work of Daral-Kalima College by raising funds – first for a music room ($50,000) , then for a multi-media room ($70,000).  

The third Bay Area wide fundraising event is scheduled for September 18.  The founder of the college, Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, will be the special guest at the event.  A Bethlehem native, he is a renowned educator, visionary, peacemaker and author.   He will speak on “The Arab Spring: the Promise and the Illusion.”      

This gathering is free to the public and will feature Middle Eastern music by the Georges Lammam Ensemble, Palestinian food, prize-winning documentaries by graduates of the Film School at Dar al-Kalima College and a Souk with Palestinian handicrafts and olive oil tasting. 

I hope you will be able to join my family and me for this great celebration of hope in the Holy Land.


As you may know, I studied for one year at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in 1985/86.  Although since that time I have learnt to see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a different perspective, I welcome any initiatives that seek to further peace in the Holy Land.  


By attending this event and by learning more about the Lutheran ministry in the Holy Land, you can do your own part in furthering peace in the region.

For more information on the college, click here.   

For more information about the event, talk to me.  For a travel blog from my 2008 study tour to Israel and Palestine click here. 

Salaam, Shalom, Peace, Frieden

Pr. Gabi