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Writing from Milwaukee

Our dear Brothers and sisters, greetings to you in the Name of our wonderful Redeemer Jesus Christ.

I am writing from Milwaukee, USA, the place of our Companion Diocese. Nancy and I are enjoying our time here, learning more about the ministry of the Diocese under the leadership of our dear friend Bishop Roger White. It is also a time of relaxation for us both. At the Companionship Committee we have discussed ways of developing co-operation, communication and support between the Dioceses.

At Synod we were all encouraged by the strong and anointed messages from Revd Canon Rennis Ponniah from the Singapore Diocese, who led studies and discussions around the theme 'Rebuilding the Temple'. In the business sessions we had excellent discussions and interactions about important issues including Inculturation, Combined Services, Youth Strategic Plan, and the Ministry of Women. Throughout we had a great sense of togetherness as we continued our spiritual journey.

Gratitude to President and Mrs Mubarak

President Mubarak issued decree number 119 for 2002 to rebuild the Church of St Mark, Menouf. We praise the Lord for this and thank God for our Government who is encouraging our Church.

Our Diocese nominated Mrs Sussanah Mubarak, the wife of our President, for an award from the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was in recognition of her great efforts in the fields of Education, Health, the Development of the Role of Women in the Community and the encouragement of Non-Governmental Organisations (Muslim and Christian) to further their roles in the development of Egypt. Archbishop George Carey and Mrs Carey supported this nomination and held a special reception for Mrs Mubarak at Lambeth Palace. Mrs Mubarak was thanked for her outstanding contributions and presented with a commemorative silver plate. The Egyptian media reported this event widely.

We are grateful to God for the support our Diocese has received from the Archbishop and his dear wife Eileen through their years of service at Lambeth.

150 youth gather

I was so encouraged to be part of the Youth Day on July 19th. More than 150 Arabic speaking youth gathered in the Cathedral hall for a day of fellowship. They sang, prayed, heard the Word of God and concluded the day with a boat trip on the Nile.

Dr Hany Roshdy, a lay minister from Alexandria, has been appointed the co-ordinator of Youth Ministry in the Diocese.

Future of Anglicanism

Over 300 clergy, laity and bishops met in Oxford to discuss the future of our Anglican Communion. The Revd Yassua Yaacoke also attended the conference. It was a very enriching time for us and we were encouraged to hear and talk with people from all over the Communion, all desirous of keeping the Word of God central in our spiritual journey.

It is a great challenge for our worldwide church to reach out to the broken world around us. To do this we need to be relevant to the modern world without compromising our faith in God and His Word.

Our own Clergy Conference was an excellent time of spiritual and social encouragement for the clergy and families from our Diocese. We are most grateful to the Revd Andy Wheeler and his wife Sue who led us.

Finally I would like to encourage you all to reach out to the community where you are and share the glad news of our Lord and his great love to all. Keep remembering that we are moving from maintenance to mission in all we do.

Mouneer

FROM THE DEAN

New People

Cathedrals convey the unchanging. But scratch the surface and there is constant change. With the regular turn-over of ex-patriates' contracts and the resettlement of some refugees, change in personnel is often rapid here.

In July we welcomed the Revd Ismail Badr Kuku from the Church of Sudan, to give leadership in Sudanese ministry here. His wide experience in education and leadership is proving a great asset as he works with the Revd Peter Ayor. The aim is to develop new programmes to equip Sudanese lay people for leadership, especially against the day of a return to Sudan.

In August, President Bush's special envoy to Sudan, John Danforth, spoke in the Cathedral of the progress towards peace. The response here seems to be 'wait and see'. If the flow of refugees from Sudan halted it would make a significant difference to the Cathedral's ministry, but in the meantime it's business and busy-ness as usual! The Clinic, Advocacy, Counselling and Practical Assistance wings of the programme are as active as ever. We welcome David and Gillian Maganda, CMS Ireland, to assist in this area.

A new year began in September for our School for Displaced Persons based at the Cathedral, with John Bashir as the Director. His predecessor has been resettled in Australia. John and his family came from Sudan in the past year. John has wide experience as a teacher, including a stint assisting in the rehabilitation of Lord's Resistance Army children, so that they might rejoin their families.

New Programmes

A dream of 12 months ago has become a reality. In August a new Youth Club facility was opened in the Cathedral Crypt. The initiative has come from youth of our Arabic Speaking congregation, but the club also involves Sudanese and other ex-patriate youth. Table tennis and billiards tables and other games are the focus and there is a plan to also provide internet cafe facilities.

A Music and Movement programme is also beginning in the Cathedral Library, especially for mums with toddlers. Both of these programmes are seen as ways of reaching out to new people.

New Dreams

And we continue to dream dreams. In coming months we hope to develop two new projects. The first is a Cathedral Centre, where we can better display and promote the crafts produced by needy people in a variety of ministries of our Cathedral and Diocese, such as Tukul Crafts from our Displaced Peoples programme, Boulac Ministry to poor local people, Prison Ministries, headed by the Revd Mouneer Sostanees, the Deaf Unit in Old Cairo, and the Hospital at Menouf. The Centre will both facilitate sales, and support and be a window on the ministries of the Diocese.

The other is for a Cathedral Cafe, both a meeting point for members and a potential contact with those we exist for, our non-members.

We continue to struggle to fit all these activities on site, but we are encouraged by new people coming to worship.

Tony Andrews