Jerusalem
and the Middle East
Church Association

Download a PDF of our magazine (1.9mb)

Editorial
Treasurer's notes

News

Dr. Stephen Need Ordained Priest
A Ministry of Reconciliation

Stephen Need with Bishop Suheil

There is a spirit of joining together in the Jerusalem Church and Diocese. Earlier in the year the cathedral hosted a gathering of senior clergy from the historic churches of Jerusalem, which have so often been in conflict with each other. Before the Lambeth conference the bishop hosted the Presiding Bishop of the American church and later he invited to the cathedral the 250 GAFCON bishops who refused to attend Lambeth because of the presence of the American church. Jerusalem is setting an inclusive model in a spirit of reconciliation.

And so it was no surprise, when on September 28th. the academic head of St. George’s College was ordained priest by the bishop to hear the chosen Scripture “Christ…gave us the ministry of reconciliation, He reconciled the world to Himself, entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation…” Stephen, a New Testament scholar who has served the College for many years and as Dean for the last three, will now be added to the team of clergy ministering the cathedral and its many-sided worship. In the past the College and the Cathedral, though sharing the same campus, have led separate lives. The Cathedral ministers to Arabic speaking locals and international pilgrims, the College runs academic Biblical courses with students from around the globe. Now, they will be joined together in the person of Stephen Need, a clear expression of the binding together, the ministry of reconciliation. This is the spirit which the church in Jerusalem seeks to bring to the conflicts of the tragically divided Middle East.

Second Women's Conference

"Being Together Makes a Difference"

The Conference, held in Amman, was attended by 50 women and was run in partnership with the Diocese of Tokyo. Mrs. Shafeeqa Dawani, the bishop’s wife, initiated and inspired the event and was thankful to those who hosted the members at a refugee camp and on visits to local churches and at Mt. Nebo. Her vision for future conferences includes more international participation. She says “As the wife of a priest for the past 30 years I have often dreamed about a role for women in the church, now it is taking form and becoming a reality”. She hopes future Conferences will face these issues ecumenically.

The Conference was greatly honoured and encouraged to receive a visit from HRH Princess Basma.

Diocesan Summer Camps

Fun and Faith for the Future

The ‘Life of Prayer’ was the theme for three consecutive camps, each based at St. Margaret’s Guest House in Nazareth, which catered for young people of three different age groups in their quest to understand the place of prayer in the Christian life. All the camps were led by diocesan priests, supported by large numbers of lay volunteers. There was relaxation by the pool and fun preparing sketches and dances for the last night entertainment, but all the time there were also lessons of living in community. The prayer theme was developed with visits to meet nuns in a convent to learn about the value of silence and to see icons being painted and to hear of their place as aids to worship.

In addition to the diocesan camps almost every Diocesan Institution had its own camp, among them there was one in Ramallah run by the Episcopal Technological & Vocational Training Centre (ETVTC). Only established in 2001 it has already grown to provide quality technological education for 380 students, both Christian and Moslem. Communication technology skills are the core of the programme but it also includes a Hotel Services Department, provision for music and ballet and ceramic arts. The annual technological and cultural Summer Camp is a way of reaching out to the community and providing Palestinian youth with self-confidence, a positive hope for the future and the skills to make that hope come true.

Princess Basma Centre

New Roles

Under the direction of Mrs. Betty Majaj the Centre on the Mount of Olives which serves those with special needs has always been a progressive centre of excellence. Two new ministries are now developing there. One is to add diagnosis and therapy for autistic children, a work which will be unique in the region and demands special skills, for which staff are receiving special training. The other is that the Centre is now the base for The Jerusalem Resesarch Centre of Dr. Hisham Nassar who is the Bishop’s Consultant/Adviser for the Healthcare Institutions of the Diocese. This work is housed by the Princess Basma Centre but is independent of it. Dr. Hisham’s expertise will serve the whole diocese.

Damascus

Sudanese and Iraqi Refugee centre

Sudanese refugees have been flowing into Jordan and on to Syria in recent years in large numbers. An African congregation called the All Saints’ Fellowship was sponsored by All Saints’ Church in Damascus and met on Friday evenings. As this initiative developed its numbers grew and in 1997, Stephen Khamis (before he was ordained) began leadership of the Sudanese Fellowship which became a sister church to All Saints and an official part of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.

Bishop Suheil consecrates the church in Damascus

After Stephen migrated to the USA his place was taken by the Reverend Butrus Satimon and under his stewardship, the congregation has acquired and renovated a church in the Jaramana area. The building was consecrated by Bishop Suheil on Sept 19th. Its appearance and usefulness as a centre of ministry is a tribute to Butrus and his hard working church members. This Arabic-speaking, mainly Sudanese congregation, now finds itself host to more refugees, this time Iraqi Christians fleeing the consequences of war.

St Luke's Hospital, Nablus

A Time of Renewal

For many reasons, the hospital in Nablus has faced frequent challenges in recent years. We are happy to report that St. Luke’s is now experiencing a rebirth and a renewal that promise to ensure its continuing ministry for many years to come!

Earlier this year Dr. Waliid Quirreh was appointed to be the new General Director at St. Luke’s and he set out immediately to address many of the issues facing the hospital. Among his first actions was to bring about the opening of the beautiful new Emergency Room and Trauma Centre which will provide a much needed service to the community as well as guarantee a new source of revenue for the hospital. In addition, the new Neurosurgery program continues to thrive. The results of these and other initiatives have already been impressive. Hospital occupancy rate, patient days, outpatient visits, and laboratory and x-ray tests have increased three-fold just in the past few months.

It is so heartening to know that every visitor to St. Luke’s now sees a reborn energy and spirit in the faces of the many loyal employees of the hospital who continue to care for their patients with dedicated

Gratitude and congratulations are due to the staff and to all who have responded to the leadership of Bishop Suheil, Dr. Hisham Nassar, (the Bishop’s Consultant for Healthcare Institutions) and Dr. Quirreh, the Director which has brought about a renewal that is serving the people of Nablus.