THE JERUSALEM STUDENTS ANNUAL MASS
The Jerusalem Students Annual Mass was celebrated on Sunday 14th November in St. Luke's Church, Thornhill at 12:15 pm which was streamed live and watched world wide including in the Holy Land.
Rev. Fr. Mark & Rev. Fr. Wen had given their approval to celebrate the Jerusalem Students Mass for the intention of the students, scholarship sponsors and the Holy Land. Brother Henry Tang announced the intention. Brother Greg performed the beautiful hymns including JERUSALEM MY DESTINY.
The objective of Jerusalem Students is to sponsor the education of needy Christian students in the Holy Land to help them get a decent education, go to university, graduate and ultimately form successful families that will grow to populate the land where Jesus walked and preached thus preserving the Christian presence in the Holy Land and reversing their diminishing trend. The program supports the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate school, in Shepherds' Fields, Beit Sahour, the town where the angel announced the good news of Jesus Christ’s birth to the shepherds, near Bethlehem.
The mass is celebrated in a different church of the sponsoring Knights of Columbus councils each year so as to get more parishioners to know about the Jerusalem Students Education Scholarship program. St. Luke's Council 4393 and its members have sponsored the scholarship for students since many years. Many Knights of Columbus councils sponsor education scholarships for needy students (70% of scholarship sponsors are Knights). TORONTO COUNCIL 1388 is the GOLD SPONSOR (9 students), and there is also an anonymous generous sponsor who has been donating C$10,000 for many years to support the deficit of the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate School in Beit Sahour.
Our Worthy Knights of Columbus Ontario State Deputy, Sir Knight Marcel Lemmen was the Chief Knights of Columbus Dignitary at the Jerusalem Students Mass and he gave a moving speech that "Education is the key that unlocks the golden door to freedom" while thanking the sponsors. The Faithful Navigator Sir Knight Rand Comishen & St. John Paul II Assembly 3325 had been offering the Honor Guard Service for many years. Although limited by the pandemic protocols, 20 sponsors and Honor Guard Sir Knights representing councils and parishioners attended and received their student file, grades, thank you card, letter from the principal and letter from the Archbishop of Jerusalem with appreciation certificates for the sponsors whose students already graduated.
This year is the 10th year anniversary of Jerusalem Students. The program has 12 students who were sponsored until graduation this year. 36 students already graduated and gone to higher learning joining universities in the Holy Land. 80 more students are still under scholarship. It is a very affordable program for any council or parishioner starting at C$21 per month for sharing the scholarship education of a needy Christian student.
Also this year, Jerusalem Students announced the first LEGACY SPONSOR, Sir Knight George Farahat God Bless His Soul. A Legacy Sponsor lives and leaves a LEGACY to make a difference for future lives, as his LEGACY is every life he will be touching for a long time. His son Christian Farahat received the file of the sponsored student.
Jerusalem Students is a Knights of Columbus project which was founded by the present Christian Refugee Relief Director Brother Hikmat Dandan. Cell: 416-893 8060
email: knightsofcolumbus@hotmail.com visit the website www.jerusalemstudents.org
If you want to watch this beautiful mass, copy the link here below:
https://youtu.be/PAAqQQZ6bXs
( Includes Honor Guard, full mass, hymns, State Deputy Speech about Jerusalem Students, distribution of student files, JERUSALEM MY DESTINY hymn)