Christmas Lutheran Church Bethlehem, Palestine

Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church, administers a church located in the West Bank Area of the Holy Land. The church houses an elementary school, aids Palestinian women, and ministers to youth dealing with the issues of alienation, unemployment and despair caused by war. Bethlehem, where Dr. Raheb’s ancestors have lived for hundreds of years, was a predominantly Christian community until the founding of Israel in 1948. Still a significant Christian population remained even after the 1967 war when Palestinian refugees, most desperately poor, were settled there. The recent contentious political situation, high unemployment rate, and continuing military conflicts have led to the decline of the Christian Church in Bethlehem, now less than 35%. Grants from German churches have enabled the congregation to restore the facility and to add thirty hostel rooms to the church for guests. This part of the church’s ministry educates visiting tourists whenever Israel allows them into the city.

Rev. Mitri Raheb
P.O. Box 162
Bethlehem, Palestine
Via Israel
mraheb@annadwa.org
www.annadwa.org