Christmas means Hope: 2008 Christmas Appeal

Christmas means Hope

December 2008

Dear Friends of Sabeel,

May the season of Advent inspire you with Hope and bring you to the Peace of Christmas.

I have been doing a number of things with Sabeel this year, including speaking at the conference in Philadelphia last April and supporting the recent conference in Detroit.  In April, I traveled with Friends of Sabeel Chairman Rev. Dick Toll, and others to Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and The Sabeel Center in Jerusalem.  I want you to know that my pilgrimage and fact-finding trip has convinced me that I must be very much engaged in the issue of justice and peace for Palestinians and Israelis.  The experience strengthened my relationship with Sabeel and urges me to ask for your generous donation to this Christmas appeal.  Friends of Sabeel performs such an important function in bringing American churches to the vanguard of the movement to help end this terrible occupation and establish a just peace for all peoples of the Holy Land.

The beautiful faces of Palestinian children on the enclosed card were photographed by one of the members of our group Linda Panetta, a human rights activist and photo journalist. The collage of faces reminds us of what we are working for—the future.  These innocent little kids need a different kind of life, something to hope for, and you can be a part of that through your support and participation in Sabeel.

Please use this card during Advent to inspire one other person to get involved.  Send it to someone special and ask them to make a Christmas donation to Sabeel.  In this way we can grow the Sabeel movement, which is spreading all around the world, and especially here in the states where we must work hard to change our government’s foreign policy.

We wish we could produce thousands of these cards but our funds at the end of the year limit us to one for each of you.  You already know about Sabeel and understand its mission to engage Christians and their church leaders in the hard work of justice, nonviolence, and peace.  Please make a generous gift for Christmas. A donation form and envelope are enclosed.

I am so grateful to be a part of this effort and give thanks for your support. Together we proceed in hope into the future and the fulfillment of God’s promise. We wait in Hope, we work for Justice, and we pray for Peace.

Sincerely,

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton
Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit
Advisory Board Member, Friends of Sabeel—North America