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and the Middle East
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Obituaries

I would like to thank all those who supported me while I was attending the American House of Bishops' meeting. By God's grace I was able to listen to them, but also to express my views. It is clear that there is a wide gap between the majority in the church in America and the rest of the Communion, and we all need to pray for Archbishop Rowan as he leads the Communion during this difficult time.

Alexandria School of Theology

I was much encouraged by attending the residential conference of the Alexandria School of Theology. The number of students has grown to about 130 from all different denominations, including a good number from the Episcopal Church. There are also about 15 Sudanese students, some of them sent by the Church of Sudan to study at AST and return to serve their Church. I am grateful to Revd Emad Azmy, the principal, and all the faculty and staff for their faithfulness and dedication in training leaders for the Church in the Middle East.

An extension for Menara School

The Menara School for children with special needs now has 35 children and has outgrown its facilities. It took a long time to finish the plans and get the building licence, and we praise the Lord that the work has begun on the extension.

We are sad to say goodbye to Mary Abadeer and her family. She started the School and under her leadership it has gained a great reputation for its excellent care and education. Mary will join Dr. Hany (her husband) who now works in a Christian hospital near Luxor. Mrs Jeanette Riskalla is the new principal.

We said goodbye to:

Jeanette Grimmer served faithfully for 10 years in the Menouf School and Community Service Centre. We and the people in Menouf refused to say goodbye, we preferred to say au revoir. She has done a great job and made many friends.

We also said goodbye to Revd Mark and Juliette Cregan in June, after serving the church in Alexandria for two years. We are very grateful for everything that they have done, and we pray that the Lord will guide them as they discern the next step.

Ruth Sayers, who supported me as my PA for more than two years, is back in the UK for a long home assignment, and we miss her.

Canon Godfrey and Daphne Taylor left after serving with us as acting Dean for more than a year. They worked very hard and developed many areas in the Cathedral. Canon Godfrey beautifully organised two big events, the installation of Bishop Derek Eaton, and my investiture.

The Revd Gerald Brulotte left Tunisia last summer and St George's is in the process of finding a new vicar. Do pray for Bishop Derek Eaton and Alice as they help the church in this process.

"Run the race, keep the pace"

We had a very good and successful Synod, on the theme ''Run the race, keep the pace''. At previous Synods I have been the only bishop, but this year we were four with Bishop Ghaiz, Bishop Andrew Proud and Bishop Derek Eaton, so we met as a House of Bishops to discuss the enculturation of liturgy. The Synod will encourage the churches to contribute ten per cent of their clergies’ stipends (to begin with).

Thank you to Philip Southby

Mr Philip Southby has decided, because of family demands, to step down from his position as Bishop's commissary and Diocesan business consultant. He will, however, continue to chair the Egyptian Diocesan Association. I give special thanks to Philip for his great support and encouragement along the last seven years.

Ordination of Deacons

On 17th of June I ordained Yousef Abu Galha from Sudan as Deacon in St Michael’s Church, Heliopolis. He will be responsible for the Sudanese congregation there. It was great to have Bishop Ezekiel Kondo and Bishop Andudu from Sudan participating in the service.

On the 20th of July we ordained Dr Bahig Ramzy, the diocesan executive director of administration, and a student in the Alexandria School of Theology, as Deacon at All Saints’ Cathedral. Dr Bahig will help with both the English and Arabic speaking congregations there. The Cathedral was packed and it was a joyful service.

New Deacon Yousef Abu Galha

New Deacon Dr Bahig Ramzy

Welcoming new people

We welcomed Joanna Mikhail as my PA, and Hany Salah as my public relations coordinator. Mike and Anne Potter and their two little girls have also joined us from New Zealand. They are the guesthouse managers.

Mr Selim Fouad was commissioned to be the coordinator for the Diocesan Training Taskforce. This is a very important task and he will need your prayers. The Revd Yashoua Yakoub is chairing a committee that will work on the enculturation of liturgy, which has already come up with many good ideas. The challenge is how we can worship as Egyptians while keeping our Anglican identity.

Dinners with the Youth

I very much enjoy having dinner every month with the youth from different churches. Last week we had snacks on a boat on the Nile, and it was a wonderful time of interaction with the youth. I am very grateful to Adel Salah and Clare Tarron for their hard work in youth ministry.

Joyful Conferences

Some 230 children came to a Children’s Conference at El Abour City. The Centre could not accommodate all the children from our churches who wanted to attend. I was impressed by what the children learned and the friendships that developed among them. I was encouraged to see the image of the future of the Church in the faces of these children. I am grateful to Manal Yashoua and Michel George, the Diocesan Children's Ministry officers, for all the work they are doing.

Clergy and their families met for their Conference by the Red Sea. Bible studies and discussion groups on the book of Revelation led by the Revd Dr Grant LeMarquand uplifted us. Bishop Andrew Proud and his wife Janice joined us.

Clergy and families Conference

During the conference we had a session where we assessed and criticised ourselves as a church. This was a very healthy thing to do and we came out determined to start prayer meetings and Bible studies in our churches.

We also collected among ourselves 4,000 Egyptian pounds to buy 100 new chairs for the Ras El Soda Centre, Alexandria. The Revd Emil and his wife Gigi were very excited about this gift. One hundred people attended the reopening meeting of the restored building. There is also a very large Sunday School. We still need to replace the damaged furniture and medical equipment but the great thing is that the Centre is now registered with the government.

Please pray for my visit to China along with Archbishops from Africa and Asia. The government of China invited us. The aim of the visit is to encourage the churches in China and to experience first hand the life of the Church there.

Mouneer