It may be a cliché, but God certainly does work in mysterious ways.
So says Reverend Joe Harvey, ordained priest by Archbishop Samy on May 26th at his church in Menouf.
Portsmouth-born Joe could never have foreseen how the last few years would have worked out when he went as a student to Oxford, to train as a primary school teacher, with little or no knowledge of the Anglican Church. It was while he was at Oxford that he joined the congregation of the famous St Aldate’s Church there. That decision changed his life in more ways than one. He met his future wife, Sarah at that church, and also he began to sense that God had something in mind for him.
To discern what that might be, Joe got in touch with CMS (Church Missionary Society), who offered him a teaching post in Egypt. The place he arrived at was an unremarkable town in the Nile Delta area called Menouf. It was notable for its Anglican Hospital – the largest and best regarded hospital in the district – the Harpur Memorial Hospital, and its Anglican school where Joe was to teach. CMS has a special relationship with Menouf because it was a CMS missionary who founded the hospital early in the twentieth century. The local Anglican church was in the grounds of the hospital. It had not had a resident priest for three years and exhibited few signs of life.
Joe decided to try and build a congregation there and became licensed as a lay minister. As a result of his oversight the church congregation grew. The families of the hospital staff ‘discovered’ it, and a whole new church family came into being. Joe began to wonder whether he had been called to Menouf for a different purpose than that he had imagined, and with the help of CMS embarked on further discernment and training that led to his being made a deacon in 2022. A year later, in a packed church, supported by a wonderfully diverse congregation of all ages, a very happy Archbishop Samy ordained him priest.
The service itself was a real family affair with more children present than are normally seen at ordinations! The music group set the tone; the archbishop preached, and several diocesan priests as well as assistant Bishop Anthony (and JMECA Chair) laid hands on Joe.
Joe and Sarah clearly love Egypt. Joe has learned Arabic, and of course that has endeared him to local people, but his warm and friendly personality are ideally suited to his situation. Obviously, his congregation love him. Dr Ian and his family arrived from Canada about the same time as Joe and he has seen the church grow. A paediatrician working in the hospital, he and his family were looking for a place where they could meet human need, but that also had a spiritual dimension, and they are delighted to be part of this new stage in Joe’s life.
It’s great to be here tonight, there’s a momentum here and we shall just carry on growing under Joe’s leadership.
Dr Ian
He, like Joe, has been ‘touched’ by Egypt. His three-year-old son is wearing an Egyptian Mo Salah football shirt. That says it all.