In terms of football crowds it may not have been impressive, but a service in Doha to celebrate the World Cup, drew its biggest ever congregation of around 600. The service was held at the Anglican Church of the Epiphany whose compound is one of several in ‘church city’ on the outskirts of town and near to one of the new stadia.
Rector Fr Mark Derry explains,
There was a huge sense of pride amongst the expat migrants of what had been achieved, whether engineers, labourers, nurses, doctors or teachers, concerning the Qatar Project of which they all felt a part and wanted to share in its success.
The service was held two days before the first match and gave enthusiastic fans who had arrived a chance to join in some enthusiastic singing!
The preacher for this special occasion was the Very Rev Andy Bowerman, Provost of Bradford cathedral, one-time Chaplain to Southampton FC and a personal spiritual guide to several top footballers. He was no stranger to the Gulf, having been Mission to Seafarers Director in Dubai before moving to Bradford. Most important of all, he is an ardent football supporter. They prayed for a successful and family orientated event, and believe that their prayers were answered as the lack of alcohol provided a uniquely safe setting.
The Anglican church is no stranger to international worship. Fifty-one different nationalities worship there in English as well as congregations who worship in Tamil and Igbo. Apart from the Anglican congregation, the site contains some twenty-six additional halls which host ninety-one other Christian congregations. Between 35000 and 38000 people use the Anglican compound each month. That is in addition to the other church sites, and the 8000 parking spaces provided are hugely inadequate. The Church building was completed 2013. The project was funded with help from JMECA (The Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association), which supports church building projects across the Middle East as part of its work.
Fr Mark attended three of the matches. He and his wife dressed appropriately (see below)! He says that was incredibly well received, “with police officers and others adjusting our headdress when we wore it incorrectly.” Mark believes it was good to be able to demonstrate a corrective to some Western media negativity.
Article and photos: John Holdsworth