Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem–June Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Greetings and Peace in the Name of our Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus Christ!
June has been a very busy and truly productive month! God’s grace has been abundant!
It is always with genuine anticipation that I attend the graduation ceremonies of our Anglican schools as I am encouraged by the extraordinary dedication of the teaching staff and the brilliance of the students. Our work to sustain the Diocese’s important ministry of education is made all the more worthwhile when seeing young people, many of whom are Muslim youth, graduating from our schools ready to fulfill their dreams and make a positive contribution to their community and the wider world. With my daughter, Luba, graduating from Bir Zeit University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, this year’s round of graduation ceremonies had a special touch as Shafeeqa and I, with hundreds of other proud parents, shared this important milestone with our daughter. The visit by His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, his wife, Caroline, and their son, Peter, to the Holy Land near the end of June was a truly historic occasion. The Archbishop’s clear and affirming message of support for the sustainment and growth of the indigenous Christian presence in the Land of the Holy One raised our hope and increased our confidence that Christians here in the cradle of Christianity’s birth are important to the whole of the Anglican Communion and indeed the Church Universal.
This month’s activities included many meetings with various partners who are working with me to achieve financial self-sufficiency for the Diocese of Jerusalem. Ongoing discussions regarding two income generating projects, the St. George Development Project and the Queen Helena Project, as well as dear friends who are participating with me in a feasibility study to determine the possibility of conducting a financial campaign, were all very encouraging. It is my prayer that God will continue to bless these efforts and allow the Diocese to develop sufficient and stable funding resources to allow the ministries of healthcare and education to flourish throughout the five countries that make up the Diocese of Jerusalem. I am grateful to everyone joining me in various and important initiatives to establish the financial self-sufficiency and sustainability of our Diocese and its institutions.
May God grant each of you and your families his blessing and peace.
Peace, Salaam,
The Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani,
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem