GRACE Update / BU Appeal – May 2023
Knights and Dames of the Northern Lieutenancy of the EOHSJ:
We are writing this note to bring everyone up to date on the fruits of your efforts to directly support Christians in the Holy Land. At our last Investiture meeting we introduced the concept of choosing a project from the list generated by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ). We chose to provide interactive classroom projectors for LPJ schools. It is our intention to continue this process, selecting a new project each year. It is anticipated that this will be announced at the September meeting.
What have we accomplished?
Our initial efforts were quite successful: between those funds collected after the meeting, the end of year appeal, and the opportunity to add a donation when paying dues, we raised approximately $70,000 in total. About $63,000 went to the special project fund, with the remaining $7,000 supporting Bethlehem University student needs. At the Winter Councilors’ meeting this past February, it was determined that we should plan on expanding our efforts to support Christian students at Bethlehem University. Previous efforts have included some local areas funding one or more scholarships. While this was successful where implemented, it was felt that a Lieutenancy-wide process should be developed next.
Who are we helping:
Students at Bethlehem University (BU) come from a range of backgrounds and needs. The Christian students we support plan to stay in their homeland after completing their education. To learn more about them, we recently had a livestream interview with four current BU students. If you missed it online, it is available on our North American website (
https://eohsjnorthamerica.org ) Please watch it if you can.
What are our next steps:
We are happy to announce that we will add an additional opportunity to support these students as a Lieutenancy. The financial needs of students are assessed and scholarships are distributed in the late summer, prior to the new academic year. With this in mind, we would like to present an opportunity to donate for this specific need at this time. Your donation will be passed through our Lieutenancy directly to BU this summer, where they will determine the greatest need.
You can donate now using this link (Click
HERE) or by mailing a check to:
Sir David Byrne, KC*HS Treasurer
PO Box 540004
Omaha, NE 68154
Please put “Bethlehem University scholarship support” in the memo line.
Thank you, and with Blessings of the Easter season,
Mary and Michael Partington, GRACE Committee co-chairs
