Jerusalem
and the Middle East
Church Association

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The Canterbury Group

During 2007 the two Chaplains left for other areas of ministry. Bill and Edie Schwartz moved to Qatar and Jeff and Annie Mead moved to Texas. The Search Committee was very active and by February Wally & Kathy Schilling had arrived and will live in Dharan while Rocki & Bo Profitt will live in Ras Tanura. They will be located in these two camps, but will serve as a team in the four camps.

The war in Iraq continues to impact the work of the Chaplaincy and that of the Middle East generally, but there are increasing numbers of expatriates working in Saudi Arabia. The Canterbury Group has faced a great challenge in providing funds to maintain two full-time Chaplains and the increased expenses of running the Chaplaincy, but they have secured pledges to cover the costs and to ensure the books balance for the next three years.

Being a Moslem country, Friday is the busiest day for services, but there are opportunities for worship each day of the week except Thursday which is kept for Retreats; sales; auctions and other community activities. During 2007 there were a total of 5,001 communicants and £30,000 was released to provide for the work of the clinics in Aden; an orphanage in Palestine and the Deaf School in Egypt.

Church of The Epiphany, Doha, Qatar.

Bill Schwartz, who has completed some years of distinguished ministry in the Canterbury Group has moved with his wife Edie to take up the ministry in Qatar following the retirement of Ian Young, who had served as the Chaplain in Doha for twenty years.The Anglican Church in Qatar is now an official Institution in the country and one of the major challenges for the new Chaplain will be the building of one of the first Christian Churches in Qatar in recent centuries.

For some years permission has been granted by the ruling family for worship facilities to be provided for Christians. The planned facilities have now been redesigned and expanded, so that it can be built in stages and provide adequate facilities for the future.

Weekly communion services have been established for four different congregations, two in Doha, and others in Dukhan and Al Khor. Attendance has grown noticeably and it is encouraging that enthusiasm is the prevailing sentiment.

Christ Church & Clinics, Aden

Peter Crooks, the Chaplain with his wife Nancy, have now completed four years and each year has been more exciting and fulfilling than the previous one. Congregational life at Christ Church is happy, sustaining and inclusive. The average congregation at the main service of the week is 35, which normally includes a dozen young people. The expatriates are drawn from fifteen different nationalities and almost as many different denominations.

During 2007 the Eye Clinic had 6,700 outpatients and 700 cataract operations were performed. The Medical Clinic which was established eleven years ago saw 14,000 patients in 2007. One of the significant developments in the past year has been the creation of a well appointed laboratory.

In a country where public health provision is pitifully inadequate and the cost of private medical care far beyond the reach of most people, the church clinics enjoy the respect and affection of many in Aden, and far beyond. The annual cost of maintaining this ministry is roughly £100,000 a year.

St Christopher’s Cathedral and Awali Church, Bahrain

The new bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus & the Gulf, the Rt. Revd. Michael Lewis, was enthroned in St. Christopher’s Cathedral on December 1, 2007, when most of the Gulf clergy were present together with representatives of the various local communities.

The Family Services at the Cathedral and the Awali Church are popular, with up to 40% of the worshippers under the age of eighteen. Daily worship is held at the Cathedral, but being a Moslem country and the weekend being Friday and Saturday main Services are held on Friday and Saturday as well as Sunday.

Fifty one other fellowships use the facilities at the Cathedral for worship each week.

Naomi and I were privileged to look after the ministry January 23-February 9, while the clergy were away at their Annual Diocesan Synod and Retreat in Cyprus.

St. Pauls, Kuwait

Andrew Thompson, the Chaplain, supported by his wife Navina and with their three children, report an exceptionally exciting 2007 with 15 baptisms during the year, 11 of which were adults. The three separate congregations have all shown significant growth during the year, especially the Chinese congregation.

St.Paul’s hosts nineteen other congregations each week which range from Syrian Orthodox, Arab Evangelicals through to Brethren and Pentecostal groups.

Every week the church has a Prayer Meeting; Bible Study Group; Alpha and Beta courses, Christian leadership course and a Chinese language course to learn English.

Abuses of expatriate workers from Asia led to the Chaplain being invited to write regularly for the Arab Times. This led to the church helping to feed over a thousand Bangladeshi striking cleaners for two months.

The Mission To Seafarers in The Arabian Gulf

Stephen Miller and Steve Traynar had an exciting year in the U.A.E. with the launch of M/V Flying Angels when H.R.H Prince Charles commissioned the vessel. It was inaugurated into service by Sheikh Salebh bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Chairman of the Port of Fujeriah, and brought fully into service by April 15.

During the year 1617 ship visits were made by the Chaplains. 41 Communion services were held. Over 4,000 Christmas presents were given to the crews of 147 ships.

The Chaplains were involved in helping 77 different crews or individuals with Justice and Welfare cases.

Victor Salve is the Mission to Seafarers Chaplain in Bahrain. His main work during the year has been in planning and getting built a Seafarers Centre on the port side and also over-seeing the provision and establishment of a new Seafarers Centre at the new mega port, which should open by the end of 2008.

Limassol, New Port, Cyprus

Marvin Bamford, the Chaplain, reports from a small but exceptionally busy port, reminding us that 95% of transported goods across the world are transported by ship. 300 gifts were distributed to every sailor in the port on Christmas Eve. Visiting the ships and welcoming Seafarers to the Mission Centre is Marvin’s main work.

The Gideons provide New Testaments and Bibles in various languages, which are given free of charge to enquiring Seafarers. The Mission Centre is well equipped with three computers; photocopier; fax machine, and the lounge has a facility for seafarers to link up their lap-tops free of charge. 889 ship visits were recorded during 2007 and 987 seafarers visited the Limassol Mission Centre.

Information on the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf