Episcopal Press and News
Episcopal Church Officials Report 'All Systems are Go' in Efforts to Respond to Gulf War
Episcopal News Service. February 14, 1991 [91034]
Since the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf, the Episcopal Church has continued to carry out a strategy of assistance and presence to the victims of the war.
"All systems are go," reported the Rev. Donald W. Beers, executive to the suffragan bishop for the Armed Forces. Beers said that his office has been extremely busy, but that it has already responded to a variety of needs on a national and international level.
"John Brown, bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, has reported to us that chaplains are busy, but [that they have nonetheless been able to provide] an excellent ministry of presence in Saudi Arabia," Beers said.
The army has sent many chaplains to Germany to replace those who have left for Saudi Arabia. "We have two Episcopal chaplains in Germany currently, and a coordinator who will serve as a liaison between our office and dependent families who need help," Beers said.
Beers reported that the 24-hour hotline at the Episcopal Church Center has received several calls from around the country offering to support the church's effort or seeking information. "We are able to report that our efforts to coordinate a ministry to the armed forces are working well so far."
Approximately 30 Episcopal chaplains have been assigned to military bases in the United States where previous chaplains have gone to Germany or the Persian Gulf, Beers said.
The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief is providing the financial backbone of the church's response to the war. "We know that the church is responding with generosity to the appeals by the PB's Fund," said Nan Marvel, director of the grants program for the fund. "We are already at work getting the support where it is needed -- particularly for dependents of Americans overseas," she said.
Marvel reported that the fund has set aside $10,000 to assist dependent families of servicemen and women overseas and an additional $10,000 for dependent families in need of financial assistance in the United States.
Overseas, the fund has sent $5,000 to Church World Service for ecumenical efforts to relieve the refugee problem in the Persian Gulf. "We have also sent $10,000 through the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East for relief from the food shortage in Jerusalem," Marvel added. "And we have sent more than $30,000 to Bishop Kafity in Jerusalem and Bishop Khoury in Jordan to relieve the refugee crisis in those two countries."
An ongoing effort by Episcopalians to support the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East -- the Good Friday Offering -- was transformed into a more urgent appeal in light of the war. A tradition since 1922, the Good Friday Offering raised $190,000 for the four dioceses of this Anglican province last year.
The theme of the Good Friday Offering this year is "Deliverance," according to Margaret Larom, information officer of the Office for World Mission. "We are really hoping that parishioners will find the offering a tangible opportunity to wage peace rather than war," she said.
"Many Episcopalians probably do not know that there are Anglican churches and chaplaincies scattered throughout the Gulf region," Larom said.
The dioceses usually use the money to help finance their social service programs or institutions, such as schools, according to Larom. "For example, last year the Diocese of Jerusalem spent money on ministries within Israel and the Occupied Territories, and on projects in Amman and Beirut," she said.
"This year, the bishops know that the Good Friday Offering will be desperately needed to cope with disasters wrought by the war -- the churches in Iraq and Kuwait may need to be rebuilt, refugees will need to be cared for, hospitals and schools will need attention. Pastoral concerns will need to be addressed in churches and chaplaincies throughout the region," Larom added.
"On Good Friday, as the eyes of the worldwide church are focused on Jerusalem, they see the church of our Lord in the Holy Land carrying the cross of Jesus," Kafity wrote in an appeal to support the Good Friday Offering. "It is because of his cross that we were promised deliverance. Because of his deliverance, one of the many gifts given to the church in Jerusalem is the responsibility to shoulder and share the cross."
Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning has supported Kafity's emphasis on carrying the cross in a letter to all parishes, urging them to support the Good Friday Offering. "We must not let the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem, in Egypt, in Iran, in Cyprus and the Gulf, share the burdens alone," he wrote.