A message from two of our members who toured an Anglican hospital in the Holy Land:
In May 2019 Chuck and I spent two weeks in the Holy Land. Our first Sunday we attended a church service at Saint George’s Anglican church, the Cathedral for the Diocese of Jerusalem. After the service we stayed for lunch, meeting pilgrims from around the world who are housed at the Cathedral complex. The Diocese of Jerusalem does amazing work, running 2 hospitals: Al Ahli in Gaza, and St Luke’s in the city of Nablus in the West Bank. As well they run Child Rehabilitation Centres, education centres, a clinic for diabetics, and are building a retirement home. These services are all under the umbrella of the Diocese. They are offered to Palestinians and to Israelis, Christians and non-Christians, wealthy and poor. Anyone who needs help.
We had the opportunity to tour St Luke’s, a 60-bed hospital that is known for its neurosurgery, obstetrics, and neonatal departments. The Women’s Thank offering from Episcopal and Anglican churches of North America refurbished their maternity rooms. They deliver on average 300 babies a month!
Throughout the hospital were small plaques acknowledging the donations from Deaneries around the country. I didn’t see any from our area but thought it would be nice.
With the current situation in Israel/Gaza and the West Bank, it is more important than ever to support the humanitarian efforts of the Diocese of Jerusalem.
(Photo: St Luke’s Hospital Director, Head of Nursing, and 2 midwives)