Maronite Voice - Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

The MaroniteOutreach:Why Every PennyCountsby Carole and Alain SadakaRecently the Maronite Outreach heldits fifth annual meeting to reviewMaronite Outreach and discuss its accomplishmentsDedicated to the over the last year and since its inception,preservation of putting those years in perspective andChristianity in setting future goals and milestones. WithLebanon the main goal always being thepreservation of Christianity in Lebanon,the members reviewed how current programs havecontributed to this goal over the years.An organization that was established since 1998, and hasgrown in ten years to ten chapters spread over six states, theMaronite Outreach has offered over 400,000 US Dollars inaid to Christians in Lebanon. This translated to 135scholarships sent to students in Catholic schools, 120 directsponsorships providing for daily as well as medical andeducational assistance of Christian children in need, and therebuilding or rehabilitation of nine Churches destroyedduring the war.$750 per collection or an average of $50 per family. With thislittle amount from each family we were able to raise enoughmoney to have a positive impact on the lives of Christianchildren in Lebanon. As an example, our San FranciscoChapter, working within the parish of our Lady of Lebanonin Millbrae [San Francisco], California, had forty-threechildren submit twenty-five piggy banks for a total of $900in funds raised.The money collected from these piggy banks isdesignated to the scholarship fund used to keep Lebanesechildren in school, especially in Catholic schools. In the bigpicture, pennies add up to thousands of dollars that pay thetuition of several students, thereby allowing teachers to getpaid and Catholic schools to stay open and continuespreading the message of Christ in Lebanon. In return forcontributing part of their allowances to the piggy bankproject, the children are rewarded with coloring books thateducate them about our Maronite faith and heritage.We hope this encourages all our parishes to continuecontributing to this simple project and hopefully invite othersto join in and grow these funds to allow more children inLebanon to benefit from your generosity.For more information on all Maronite Outreach projectsand how you can help, please visit us atwww.maroniteoutreach.org or call (213) 458-0580. The Maronite Pontifical by His Excellency Bishop StephenHector Doueihi, Bishop Emeritus of the Eparchy of SaintMaron of Brooklyn. The Maronite Pontifical contains allrites delegated to the bishop in the liturgical celebrations. Itdescribes the actions which the pontiff, as a celebrant,performs and the prayers he says during these celebrations. Itincludes mainly the rites of ordination to the priesthood andthe solemn consecrations reserved to the bishop in theChristian worship.The Maronite Pontifical is available for $20 plus $5shipping.Fr. Antoine Bakh, Pastor, with children of St. John MaronChurch in Anaheim, California.Through different projects led by over seventy volunteersnationwide, and through the help of our generouscommunities, this was all possible. One project in particularthat has been very popular among parishioners and hasgained increasing success is the “Piggy Bank” project. Thissimple program was built on the basic idea of “childrenhelping children.” It raises the awareness for the needs ofchildren in Lebanon and provides an avenue for children inthe United States to directly help those less fortunate thanthem.Every penny counts, and this has been proven by the factthat $15,000 was recently raised from the Piggy Bankcollections alone. This was achieved by conducting twocollections in each of our ten chapters, which translates toMary in the Maronite Church, by Archbishop BoutrosGemayel and translated by Fr. Georges El-Khalli, is nowavailable from Saint Maron Publications for $15 plus $4shipping.The Maronites, History and Constants by Antoine KhouryHarb. This 245-page hardcover book on the history of theMaronite Church contains more than 600 full-colorillustrations and is available for $45 plus $5 shipping.To order your copy (ies) please write to:Saint Maron Publications4611 Sadler RoadGlen Allen, Virginia 23060For further information, call (804) 762-4301. For a completelisting of publications carried by Saint Maron Publications,please visit www.stmaron.org. The Maronite Voice Volume V Issue No. III Page 16 March 2009