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Feb 16, 2011

Good Friday Offering Supports Jerusalem and Middle East

The Good Friday offering to assist churches in Jerusalem and the Middle East is an 89-year-old tradition in the Episcopal Church. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wrote to churches saying the tradition, “offers us the opportunity to join in deepening the bond we have with the churches and people in the land of the Holy One.”

 

Funds collected on Good Friday are gathered and distributed to the Dioceses of Jerusalem and Cyprus and the Gulf, all members of the Anglican Communion. Among the many projects assisted by past Good Friday offerings are: Diocese of Jerusalem’s St. Peter’s Elderly Home for Christian seniors, St. Andrew’s Clinic for diabetes, educational scholarships and St Andrew’s Housing Projects for young Christian couples; and in the diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, the many medical ministries of Ras Morbat Clinic based at Christ Church in Aden, Yemen, such as a clinic for mothers and babies, eye care, a vocational school, and ministry to seafarers.

 

Resources for understanding and implementing the Good Friday offering in local congregations are available here: www.episcopalchurch.org/gfo and here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/110049_126699_ENG_HTM.htm

 

For more information contact the Rev. David Copley, Episcopal Church Mission Personnel Officer and Team Leader,