ATLANTA — Thousands of people in Israel and Palestine are suffering almost two weeks after the militant group Hamas launched an attack. Now a metro Atlanta church is taking action this weekend and raising money to send overseas.
Many of those who attend St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church have family members in the Middle East and want to help those affected by the Israel-Hamas War, so they're turning an annual event into a fundraiser.
The pain and tears of the war hits the heart of Father Gabriel Tannous.
“What's happening is just shameful. It's wrong. It breaks your heart to see people dying left and right," Tannous said.
Father Tannous' grandparents fled to Jordan after the war in 1947.
“That's the region that's in common day Tel Aviv, Lod. My mother's parents are from Jerusalem," Tannous said.
Now, the church is taking action by raising money for humanitarian aid in the Middle East during its Middle Eastern Festival on Saturday, Oct. 21.
“We will have many Middle Eastern foods, Arabic coffee, we'll have pastries," Tannous said.
Council Chairwoman Tatiana Matthews said 100% of the proceeds from the festival will go to help those in need.
“We know that our funding will pay for food, water, and general comfort for the people in that area who are suffering," Matthews said.
Those at the church said the message behind the fundraiser goes far beyond the walls of where they worship.
“These are very sad times in the world, and us as orthodox Christians are called to love," Matthews said.
“We hope and we pray that we don't ever have to see these images ever and ever again and that peace will be established in the Middle East," Tannous said.
The fundraiser will take place this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at:
- St. Elias Orthodox Church
2045 Ponce De Leonn Avenue NE
Atlanta, Ga. 30307