Jerusalem
and the Middle East
Church Association

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Yes, if you want a model of the church attempting to live the Gospel, give Jordan a try. A very small percentage of Christians in a predominately Moslem land survive on the merits of their contribution to the common good. And among the Christians, Anglicans are a small number, making them a minority of a minority and the scale of their Institutions all the more remarkable.

The Revd. Fayek Haddad arranged a week-long programme and the local church leaders gave me a great deal of time, explaining their work, their problems and their hopes for the future. I had imagined a rather depressed Christian presence and I had imagined they would feel threatened and overwhelmed by the Moslem majority. I was happy to be wrong on both counts. The work of the Institutions and the needs of the people give a huge sense of purpose and of achievement, and nothing is better than that for morale.

Revd Fayek Haddad

In UK we have got used to churches which meet on a Sunday to pray, go away for a week and then do the same again. My travelling companion, not a churchy person, thought that was not what Jesus was about. But these Institutions, where Christians served the needs of all people, without discrimination, got his thumbs up because they are what Jesus is about. I could imagine thousands of young people crowding our churches if we had such projects to match their ideals and use their talents. Actions do speak louder than words and prove the love we preach. It was wonderful to see the work at Jofeh, a new school in the Jordan Valley near the Baptismal site, so if you ever go on Pilgrimage, make sure you call and see how the work with disabled children has won the respect and affection of everyone in a totally Moslem district. The Jofeh work is the child of the long-established Holy Land Institute for the Deaf which has its base in Salt. There Brother Andrew, an Anglican Benedictine, leads a special school which draws visitors from all over the world, some to study his methods, others to work voluntarily. The disability of deafness often leaves the person without speech. It was eerie to watch games played in silence but marvellous to see the rapidity with which children could communicate with each other by sign language at other times, even to making jokes! Brother Andrew spoke warmly of the dedication of the staff, of the special skills of those who make the hearing aids in the Audiology Unit. It was good to see pictures of Archbishop Rowan Williams at the centre, having a lesson in sign language, and of the late King Hussein and the present King who have both given their presence and their patronage to this Anglican work which serves the whole country.

Brother Andrew Jofeh School Brother Andrew

The bishop of the diocese, the Rt. Revd. Suheil Dawani, oversees the church in Jordan as well as in Israel, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. He must be at the centre of as much political conflict as any bishop in the world. The government of Jordan which has coped with a constant influx of refugees made homeless by the Israeli occupation of Palestine now faces a similar influx made homeless in Iraq. Most of these people are understandably bitter and many feel that it is Western Christians who have caused their plight. This puts the Jordanian Christians at great risk as ‘collaborators’ and relations with Moslem neighbours become more fraught with every USA-UK Middle East intervention.

This makes the work of Rev. Samir Esaid and his wife Sabah in the northern city of Irbid, which is an almost entirely Moslem district, all the more important. Their school is attempting to integrate young unsighted children with the mainstream, a challenge which is making people think again about disability. It is heart-wrenching to see unsighted teachers teaching Braille to unsighted pupils. Their school, which is embryonic, has drawn on the knowledge and experience of Rev Fayek Haddad and his wife Du’aa whose school at St Saviour’s Zerka is long established and has achieved integration for the visually handicapped and become a model for others.

Braille teaching in Irbid

One of the most impressive diocesan projects fills a vast 160 acre site, surrounded by Palestinian refugee camps, near Amman. It is the Theodor Schneller Vocational Training Centre, originally a German foundation and still strongly supported by the Lutheran church. It is now directed by the Rev. Hanna Mansour. It provides a home and mainstream education for war orphans, for the traumatized and for other victims of conflict. After a sound schooling the boys choose, at age 16, higher education at another College or the Vocational training offered on site by first class tutors in Car maintenance, welding, carpentry and joinery and the other skills in demand. It is very seldom that a Schneller boy will be unemployed. Father Hanna, who is also Secretary of the Provincial Synod, sees the whole work in theological terms “we believe in the Incarnation – our God entered the world to be involved with all its complexities - and so here we are!”.

Rev Hanna Mansour Theodor Schneller Vocational Training Centre

In Amman, the diocese is responsible for two notable and very popular establishments run in the style of the traditional English Public School. The Director of ‘Ahliyyah School for Girls’, Mrs Haifa Najjar describes Jordan as the centre of the world and her school as drawing on the best offered around the world - rationalism from the west, spirituality from the east, integrity from the north and wholeness from the south This philosophy worked out in depth has produced a school of high-flying international achievement. Nearby is the ‘Bishop’s School for Boys’, some of its fame comes from its Royal connection - the late King Hussein was there as a boy. Later in life, as King, he planted the tree which now stands in the entrance courtyard. The Director, Mr. Luay Shomaly, is passionate to maintain the school’s tradition and at the same time to move into the very demanding new age of modern education, a tension which leads to many challenges at schools all over the world.

Ahliyyah School for Girls Bishop’s School for Boys

I am grateful to all those who showed me so many encouraging signs of the Gospel at work.

Timothy Biles Photos: Anselm Ibing/Editor

Information on the Diocese of Jerusalem