Maronite Outreach Holds National Meeting in San Francisco

Fifty members of the Maronite Outreach gathered for their second annual national meeting on Saturday May 21, 2005 at Stanford University. The meeting was hosted by the Our Lady of Lebanon in Millbrae chapter of the Maronite Outreach. The attendees greeted each other warmly as many hadn’t seen one another since last year’s work shop and many more were new to this year’s meeting. Maronite Outreach members representing their chapters came from Texas, Arizona, Southern and Northern California, New York, and Mexico. From the East to the West, they were all united by the mission of “preserving Christianity in Lebanon” through humanitarian projects.

After a heartfelt prayer led by Fr. Toufik from Our Lady of Lebanon Millbrae, the group began the nine hour work shop. They reviewed the current achievements, approved the national organizational structure, and formulated goals and a strategic plan for the future. There was emphasis on fine tuning the working model that up to date has shown great success through transparency, efficiency, and practicality. Enthusiasm and hope were clearly visible as attendees reported on their respective chapters’ achievements and actively participated in drafting a course for the future.

Over the last 5 years, the Maronite Outreach has successfully grown from a small committee at St John Maron Church in Anaheim into a national organization active in seven parishes across the United States under the blessing and support of Bishops Robert Shaheen and Gregory Mansour. So far, through the contributions of parishioners and friends at all seven chapters, the Maronite Outreach has provided 120 scholarships, assisted in the rebuilding of 6 churches in Lebanon, facilitated the sponsorship of over 60 children, and linked over 200 Lebanese-American children to children in Lebanon through the piggy bank project. Furthermore, in the summer of 2004 the Maronite Outreach conducted a successful “Route to our Roots” tour which hosted over 40 people and guided them through all of Lebanon reconnecting many of them to their own ancestral history.

Building on the success and impact of their efforts, members of the Maronite Outreach drafted a plan to implement their goals for the upcoming year, creating action items with time lines for all current projects. Each project will be headed by a team of young professionals who will report to an advisory board that was elected midway through the gathering. As the Maronite Outreach grown in order to respond to the increasing economic and social pressures facing the Christians in Lebanon, all members and supported remain faithful to the philosophy of the organization which emphasized its belonging to the church, its emphasis on every parishioner’s participation, and its dedication to the less fortunate members of our family in Lebanon.

The Maronite Outreach leadership and members would like to thank every priest of every parish with an active chapter for their support and guidance which have allowed this dream to turn into a reality. The Maronite Outreach is grateful for its members, trusting and hoping that they will lead our community to greater success through their trust in God.

To contribute to the Maronite Outreach efforts with a donation or through becoming a member, please send us an email or call Dr. Anthony El-Khoueiry at (213) 458 0580.