In January, Patty Shelly, professor of Bible and religion at Bethel College in North Newton, and Doug Miller, professor of biblical and religious studies at Tabor College, Hillsboro, had “the unique experience,” as Shelly put it, of traveling with students to a country at war.

By Melanie Zuercher, Bethel College News Archives., Feb 11, 2009

Pilgrims often return home from the Holy Land with a feeling of having personally experienced the scandal that is division between churches. Father Frans Bouwen, a priest of the Missionaries of Africa in Jerusalem who faithfully joins his fellow White Fathers in fulfilling their calling to pray for unity, has observed the evolution of ecumenical dialogue for the past 40 years. He spoke with us about the matter, providing a glimpse of current affairs.

Marie-Armelle Beaulieu, Custodia di Terra Santa

SAT-7 KIDS, the first and only Arabic Christian satellite TV channel dedicated exclusively to the children of the Middle East and North Africa, celebrates its first anniversary on December 10, 2008.

The channel launched as a Christmas present to the millions of children living in the Arab world during the 2007 holiday season, and this year SAT-7 KIDS will continue to bless viewers with a variety of Christmas specials. Over the next weeks, children in the region can watch Arabic cartoons (such as VeggieTales® “The Toy Who Stole Christmas” and Hermie & Friends® “Fruit Cake Christmas”) films including “Legend of the Candy Cane” and “The Miracle Maker” and many locally produced specials including SAT-7 KIDS’s first ever live telecast.

SAT7 Press release, Dec 4, 2008

BibleLands has been at work in Israel and the Occupied Territories, Lebanon and Egypt for more than 150 years, working with indigenous partners to help ease the suffering of impoverished communities.

In Israel and the Occupied Territories in particular, that work continues in the face of daily acts of terrorism, military action, curfews, travel restrictions and perpetual shortages of the most basic necessities.

Christian Today Interview, October 7, 2008

“Why did you come back?” It’s a question people ask my wife and I when they find out that we used to live in the U.S. until we came back to live in our hometown, Nazareth.

If I put a dollar into my savings account every time someone asked us this question, we would not be millionaires, but at least a $1,000 richer. I always try to tell them in a way or another that living abroad is not all that simple and fun. My wife Gosayna tells them that the fact we came back says something!

But why did we come back?

by Habib Karam and Gosayna Karam, Special For "Come and See"

“Ramadan is the biggest TV viewing time in the Middle East and North Africa. As soon as sunset comes and Muslim families break their day-long fasts, many sit for a big meal and watch TV. Local TV channels compete to capture the biggest audience share, and they know that violent and controversial films can help,” says David Harder, SAT-7’s Communications Manager.

SAT-7 is offering Christians a positive alternative of Bible-based programmes, 80 per cent of which are made in the region by Middle Eastern Christians.

Christian Today, Sep 4, 2008

The Mar Elias campus, a complex of Christian educational institutions in the village of Ibillin near Shfaram, covers a steep slope. It includes a kindergarten, an elementary school, a high school and a university, which, according to information provided by the Council of Higher Education, is likely to soon become the first Arab academic campus in Israel.

The senior vice president of these institutions, Dr. Raed Mualem, knows no rest. His main project at the moment is expanding studies to branches in Nazareth and Mi'ilya, a Christian town in western Galilee, at a planned investment of tens of millions of dollars. About 1,300 students are now studying in the various educational frameworks in Ibillin. "We are apparently the first in the country to offer pedagogical continuity, from kindergarten through high school and university," says Mualem.

By Ora Kashti, Haaretz, Sep 8, 2008