LIVE FROM BETHLEHEM ON CHRISTMAS EVE,
SAT-7 to Broadcast Christmas Eve Service from the Christmas Lutheran Church

December 19, 2007

Nicosia, Cyprus- Two thousand years ago, angels announced the good news of Christ’s birth directly to shepherds gathered on the hills around Bethlehem.  This Christmas Eve, SAT-7 will broadcast a live service directly from the Christmas Lutheran Church in downtown Bethlehem, giving Arab Christians living across the Middle East and around the world the chance to participate in a celebration of Christ’s birth from within the very town where the savior was born.

"This is an historic step for SAT-7 and part of our on-going efforts to bring encouragement to the remnant of Christians left in both Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank and Gaza," says Terence Ascott SAT-7 CEO

The Christian community in Bethlehem is rapidly shrinking.  According to the latest (December 2007) issue of National Geographic Magazine, in 1900 Bethlehem was 90% Christian.  Today it is less than 30% and shrinking.  Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, senior pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church, says that many Arab Christians are emigrating from the town of Christ’s birth because of the serious economic and politica hardships they face.  He believes that if the current trends do not change, in the near future the Christian community may completely vanish from Bethlehem.

The church itself, located on the hilltop above the historic Bethlehem square and the Church of the Nativity, was the site of some fierce fighting in 2002 when Israeli forces occupied the building and used it as a vantage point and temporary jail.  During that time over 400 rounds were fired by Israeli soldiers from the building and it sustained significant damage.  Today the Church houses several ministries including the International Center of Bethlehem which seeks to actively promote the building of a Palestinian civil society.

According to Mr. Ascott, the live broadcast on SAT-7 is important because it enables the wider Arab community to see for themselves that Arab Christians have lived in the region for centuries and have a direct connection to the area where Christianity was literally birthed.

"It reinforces the authenticity and the historic roots of Arab Christianity in the region, something often overlooked by the Muslim population who learn little about the pre-Islamic era in their textbooks."

The Christmas Eve service at the Christmas Lutheran Church will take place at five o’clock local time on December 24 and will be conducted in five different languages. 

For interviews, photos or additional details contact:
SAT-7 Communications Manager David Harder,
DavidHarder@sat7.org
+357 22 76 1050

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SAT-7 is a Christian satellite network made by and for the people of the Middle East and North Africa. SAT-7 makes Christ’s message of hope available to every home in the Middle East. SAT-7 consists of three channels: SAT-7 ARABIC, SAT-7 PARS (Farsi/Turkish) and SAT-7 KIDS (Arabic). Each channel broadcasts on the Hotbird satellite pladforma. For more than a decade, SAT-7 has supported Christians living in the Middle East and North Africa, by providing a satellite platform through which they can strengthen their churches and witness to Christ.

To make a donation or for more information go to www.sat7.org (English), www.sat7.com (Arabic) and www.sat7PARS.com (Farsi) Donations can also be made to:

The Cyprus Popular Bank, Evagorou Branch
39 Evagorou Avenue, CY-1066 Nicosia, Cyprus.
Swift code (BIC) : LIKICY2N 
  
Account name: SAT-7 International Trust
Account numbers:
USD Account: 013-33-004591
IBAN: CY86 0030 0013 0000 0013 3300 4591
EUR Account: 013-33-010664 
IBAN: CY45 0030 0013 0000 0013 3301 0664
 
GBP account: 013-33-004583
IBAN: CY11 0030 0013 0000 0013 3300 4583