NZ asked to help in Holy Land

Palestinians Scouts play bagpipes during a procession.

by PAT McCARTHY
AUCKLAND — New Zealand’s knights and dames of the Holy Sepulchre are helping to establish
a centre for Catholic Scouts in the Holy Land city of Bethlehem.
The fundraising effort is the result of a request from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to the New Zealand section of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Palestinians Scouts play bagpipes during a procession.

Scouting began among the Christian population of Palestine more than 100 years ago, only
a few years after the movement arose in England under Lord Baden-Powell.
There are more than a dozen groups of Catholic Scouts and Guides in Palestine, with around
2500 members, but they lack a permanent campsite and centre.
The patriarchate has provided land in Bethlehem for a campsite, and a centre is under construction.
Members of the equestrian order in New Zealand have been asked to contribute $9800 for
furniture and, if possible, $10,400 for tents and external facilities.
Besides the usual Scout activities — sleeping together in tents, cooking around the fire and eating together — the Palestinian Scouts play an important part in civic and religious life.
In their uniforms with gold and white sashes around the neck, they are especially prominent in processions, with many of their members playing bagpipes.
The equestrian order traces its origins to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century.
One of its main functions in modern times is to support the declining Christian population in the Holy Land.
The New Zealand section, based in Auckland, was established in 2011.
The patriarchate — the equivalent of a Catholic archdiocese — covers Israel, the Palestinian
Territories, Jordan and Cyprus.
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, PO Box 33-747, Takapuna, Auckland 0740.

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