Good Friday Offering Materials Available
Episcopal News Service. February 21, 1985 [85037]
NEW YORK (DPS, Feb. 21) -- "The Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the sheep" is the theme of this year's Good Friday Offering, focusing on the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
The first Anglican bishop of Jersualem was consecrated in 1841, and, since 1922, the Episcopal Church has joined with sister churches of the Anglican Communion on Good Friday to pray and give for work in the Holy Land. According to a letter to Episcopal bishops from the Rt. Rev. G. Edward Haynsworth, executive for World Mission at the Episcopal Church Center: "The Good Friday Offering is the life blood of many of the institutions of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East."
The church there moved into a new phase in 1976, when the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East became an autonomous province within the Anglican Communion. The work of the four dioceses which make up the province is diverse and spread over an area of six million square miles, stretching from Lebanon to Ethiopia and from Iran to Algeria. While the work in Cyprus and the Persian Gulf area is mainly with expatriates from many different countries, that in the Diocese of Jerusalem itself is with refugees and the very poor. The 32 social service institutions in this diocese serve a great variety of medical, educational and pastoral needs.
In a letter to the members of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop John M. Allin said: "Unfortunately, the land of our Lord is still a place of war, distrust, conflict, suffering and death. The work of the Church continues in spite of overwhelming difficulties. The witness and courage of this small church is a challenge to all of us," adding, "The ministry among refugees, displaced persons and orphans must go on if the Church is going to be faithful to its pastoral calling."
The World Mission and Communication units at the Episcopal Church Center have prepared materials, which include a poster, a bulletin cover, a bulletin insert explaining the work of the province, and offering envelopes, to help promote the offering in parishes across the United States. Sample copies, along with order forms, are being mailed to all Episcopal parishes.