PHILADELPHIA, Pa. and BELOIT, Wis., Sept. 8, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Our Lady of Palestine, a not for profit webstore, signs an exclusive international distribution agreement with Blest Art, Inc., a religious goods company of Beloit, Wisconsin, to sell handicraft products from the Holy Land originating from the Palestinian Territory and Israel.
PHOTO CAPTION: Our Lady of Palestine will launch on Monday September 14, 2020, The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
The agreement applies to all international territories through ecommerce channels. Randy Pagnotta, CEO, PENDX, Inc. established Our Lady of Palestine as a not for profit enterprise with its mission being to support both the Catholic and Christian artisans in the Holy Land (Bethlehem) and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem through the proceeds received from the sale of Christian handicrafts.
Mr. Pagnotta who is also a Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is very excited to partner with Blest Art’s Jeryes Qumseya, owner and his son Awad Qumseya, Director. Awad a native of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, brings nearly two decades of experience in working with artisans from the Holy Land Handicraft Cooperative Society that produce and sell through his company.
“We vetted several companies before selecting a partner. At the end of the process we felt Blest Art had the best overall experience in the market, with the culture and with the artisans. These were heavily weighted criteria in our selection process as they go directly to the core of our ability to achieve the mission established for Our Lady of Palestine,” says Randy Pagnotta, CEO PENDX, Inc.
There is no dearth of companies providing religious handicrafts purporting to be from the Holy Land. However, where the products originate from and who makes them, man or machine, is not so easy to determine at the point of purchase. Our Lady of Palestine saw a need to authenticate to the consumer that the products being purchased from the website are actually being made in the Holy Land by Holy Land Artisans and not somewhere else. In partnering with Blest Art Our Lady of Palestine can provide that authentication freeing up resources to focus on going to market.
The purchase of authenticated products from Our Lady of Palestine provides a threefold blessing for; the consumer, the local artisans and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (LPJ). The LPJ plays an invaluable role in the developmental needs of the Catholic and Christian community at large. With the added stress the region has been under since the COVID-19 pandemic our mission takes on a heighten sense of urgency.
“It is refreshing to see that members of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher are volunteering their time to support local artisans from the Holy Land market their products at a time when the tourism sector in the region came to a complete standstill resulting in massive loss of jobs. We pray for the success of the launch of this project designed to support the local Christian communities,” says Sami El-Yousef, Chief Executive Officer, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Our Lady of Palestine will launch on Monday September 14, 2020, The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Go to https://our-lady-of-palestine.myshopify.com/
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News Source: Our Lady of Palestine