The ‘Call to Serve’ summer school for young leaders in Anglican churches across the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East was held this week in Famagusta. 

St. Mark’s in Famagusta and St Andrew’s, Kyrenia hosted services for participants, who came from churches across the Province: Amman in Jordan, Nablus in the West Bank, Galilee, Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar and Famagusta.

The group comprised Palestinian, Indian, Sri Lankan and Nigerian young people aged 18-35, who said that some of the things they would take away from the week were  ‘new experiences’, ‘ a wider perspective’, ‘new frameworks for understanding and methods for dealing with difficult situations ‘.
Participants said that they valued the meaningful personal connections they had developed with others from across the Province and held felt encouraged and strengthened by this. 

The summer school was supported by USPG (www.uspg.org.uk) and organised by the Anglican Alliance and representatives of churches in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Amman, Aya Napa and Kyrenia, with members of St Mark’s Famagusta providing invaluable practical support.

Dr Peniel Rajkumar, from USPG, provided an engaging and thought-provoking series of presentations and activities on the theme of  ‘The Tent of Abraham and Sarah’. 

Revd Anne Futcher from Larnaca gave a presentation at St Andrew’s on the Social Concern work of our Diocese and participants took part in an educational tour of North Nicosia, provided by the Home for Cooperation (www.home4cooperation.info). The group also visited St Barnabas, Salamis and Varosha. This was particularly moving and poignant, because of events in the West Bank on that day. 

The summer school included Eucharists celebrated by Bishop Sean, Fr Nael Abu Rahmoun, Vicar of Nazareth (at St Andrew’s) Revd Deborah of Limassol – and concluded with a Eucharist lead by Fr Mark Derry of Qatar, which Bishop Sean attended. 

At the time of writing, the participants are travelling to their respective homes across the Middle East to continue their missions, knowing, – in the words of one – that ‘peace is fragile and costly and we must do our best to nurture it’ and that, quoting Dr Peniel – ‘we should not be spectators, but spectactors’, and feeling ‘connected, united and inspired’ . 

The 2024 Provincial Youth Conference (Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Muddle East) kicks off in Famagusta on Monday (26 August) and will be coming to St Andrew’s on Tuesday 27th.
Members of our church community are most welcome to join participants at St Andrew’s for any part of  Tuesday’s programme:

Arrive at St Andrew’s.
10:00 Holy Communion – lead by Fr Nael Abu Rahmoun, the Vicar of Nazareth
11:30 Presentation on the Social Concerns work of the Diocese – Revd Anne Futcher
13:15 Lunch – in the church hall.
& Free time for participants to visit the harbour, etc
15:00 Departure to Nicosia

The conferees draws together around 30 participants from the Diocese of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus and the Gulf. It is the second such event to be held in the Province, following last year’s conference in the Jordanian town of Rafah.
The conference theme—Under the Tent of Abraham and Sarah: Rethinking Mission for Young Leaders in the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East—will shape a week of sharing, worship and learning.

“At a time when so many in the region are in despair, it is more important than ever that young people are able to come together to draw strength and share in the joy of Christ,” said Bishop Sean.

The conference programme includes sessions led by the Reverend Canon Dr Peniel Rajkumar of USPG, as well as talks, group discussion, and visits to points of interest across the divided island—and opportunities for reflection and prayer. St Andrew’s and St Mark’s Famagusta will host services of Holy Communion.

I
Sunday’s Service Sheet is the last of very many to be produced by Anne Lloyd, who hands over the reins to Geraldine Fayers in September.

We thank Anne for her dedicated work over the years, her infinite patience with last-minute changes and her unstinting good humour.

We welcome Geraldine into the role, which we know is in safe hands and thank her for agreeing to take this on.

St Andrew’s once again welcomes Fr Ken Gabbadon – this Sunday 18th August.
Fr Ken was very well received on his last visit back in July and his musical sermon was greatly appreciated.
What treats are in store for this Sunday?

A short service continues to take place on Zoom every Wednesday evening until the end of August.

All are most welcome.

Here is the zoom link and order of service from the Diocesan website: 

https://www.cypgulf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Summer-Midweek-Service-Wednesday-Evening-Prayer-1.pdf

 In addition to his invaluable work at St Andrew’s Church, Bill Grundy is also Deputy Chair of the British Cemeteries Committee.
This keeps him very busy and he is frequently called on to take funerals.
Everything that Bill does in this role is very much appreciated by the families, as this recent Facebook post shows…

This Sunday’s preacher and celebrant needs no introduction. Our Reader, Bill Grundy, will be taking the service on August 11th. 

Did you know that Iraq is part of our Diocese? And Yemen?
And that we are in the same Province as Iran? 

The Diocesan Communications Team has produced this short, clear and very readable guide to our fascinating Diocese.

They hope it will be helpful to newcomers and anyone less familiar with the structure and work of  the Diocese.

Highly recommended !

Just click on the blue link here:

Who Are We? A Brief Guide to the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.

The Venerable Christopher and the Reverend Anne Futcher will be coming to Kyrenia this Sunday to take the service – and to say goodbye to their friends at St Andrew’s, before retiring to their home in South West England at the end of September.

Christopher and Anne came to Cyprus in 2019 as Parish Priest and Associate Priest at St Helena’s in Larnaca. Both of them have made a huge impact in the Diocese as a whole and Cyprus in particular.

Christopher is Archdeacon in Cyprus and Diocesan Director of Ministry, as well as Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser. Anne is Diocesan Social Concern Officer.

Frequent visitors to our church over the years, Anne and Christopher will be greatly missed by all of us at St Andrew’s. We wish them all the very best in their retirement.