Jerusalem
and the Middle East
Church Association

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Editorial
Chairman's & Treasurer's notes

News

Highlighting:

THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY, DOHA
www.epiphany-qatar.org

Ever since the Emir of Qatar made his gift of land in 2006, the Christian churches have been busy producing plans, raising funds and getting on with the work…. It is estimated that 20,000 people will worship at the new Anglican Centre in any given week.

The plan is for a capacity of about 2500 people in eight different worship spaces. The church will be used by successive groups all day at weekends, and also on every weekday evening. At the heart of the Centre is the Church of the Epiphany which will accommodate up to 650 worshippers, utilizing a design that will allow smaller groups to feel comfortable in the main ground floor area. The Church will be the spiritual home for the Anglican congregation and many other Christian congregations and groups who wish to worship there. This Ecumenical tradition of hospitality is well established in the Anglican Church in the Gulf where many Christian groups do not have their own buildings.

The plans include rooms for education for different age groups and a variety of Sunday schools, a side chapel for quiet meditation and an additional chapel for weddings and other gatherings for worship and prayer beyond the normal weekly schedule of services. There is also the intention to build a thrift shop to recycle second hand clothes at minimum price for the workers who live on the lower strata of the economy.

Canon Bill Schwartz, who is master-minding the project, adds: “Construction has slowed over the past couple of months while we await new planning permission for amended drawings (and work) which will save a considerable amount of money. At the same time we have been making good progress on getting donations of work and materials which will further reduce the overall costs. Visit www.epiphanyqatar. org/buildingprojectpage.html to download a presentation which brings the finances of the project up to the time of writing (April).

We have now moved the church administrator’s office to the site. Progress on the gatehouse complex is encouraging while we wait for the planning permission on the main building. We hope to finish the first phase of the project by the autumn. The lull in expenditure has allowed us to accumulate about £750,000 toward the ongoing costs. We need about that much again to finish Phase One. The good news is that Phase One is the major hurdle. We should be able to make progress more easily with Phases two and three-with continued support from friends around the world.

Speaking of help from friends around the world, one of our parishioners from South Africa is on his way to Nepal to climb Mt Everest. He is hoping that his effort to climb the highest mountain in the world might inspire others to understand that seemingly insurmountable projects like our building opportunity are achievable with teamwork and prayer. Howard would be very pleased if people would sponsor his climb with donations to the building project. Please visit http://epiphanyfundraising.com/page5.htm for more information.”