The Seventh Sunday of Easter is Jerusalem Sunday in the Anglican Church of Canada. We remember our partners, our sisters and brothers, in the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, with Archbishop Suheil Dawanni and Dean Hosam Naoum, and all their people in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. There will be opportunity on Sunday to give a special offering which will go to support the Diocese, especially its health-care institutions. Look for the envelope in your bulletin and give as generously as you are able. Thanks very much! Shukran iqtir.

Preaching and presiding at the Cathedral will be the Rev. Julie Collings, with deep gratitude from the Dean, who is home sick, but expects to be back soon after a couple days of good rest.  Thank you, Julie!   THERE IS NO DEAN’S FORUM ON SUNDAY, MAY 17.  SUNG EUCHARIST AS USUAL AT 10:30 A.M.

Jerusalem Sunday on May 17, 2015, is the second annual church observance to celebrate companionship in God’s mission between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.  The Diocese is a historic and active member of the Christian, ecumenical and interfaith community of the Middle East.  It is home to several thousand Arab Anglicans in thirty parishes and situated in one of the world’s holiest destinations for Christian, Jewish and Muslim pilgrims.

Regrettably, few religious tourists to the Holy Land today encounter Palestinian and other Arab Christians, or visit a parish church, school or hospital.  Jerusalem Sunday introduces us to the ‘living stones’ of the local Anglican church, to the descendants of the first Christian communities indigenous to the region.  Jerusalem Sunday is an opportunity to meet Arab sisters and brothers in Christ in the Anglican Communion, and hear them talk about discipleship in the 21st century.

The ministries of the Diocese of Jerusalem bring hope, skills, health, a peaceful future to those they serve.  Jerusalem Sunday is also an opportunity for Anglicans in Canada to send a measure of financial support to these ministries, especially the Penman Medical Clinic, Zababdeh, in the northern area of the West Bank.  The Penman Clinic, housed in the parish of St. Mathew, is a busy gathering place for townspeople, villagers and farmers seeking diagnostic tests, examinations and medical consultation.  It is the only clinic for many miles around, serving thousands of families per year.  Many who receive treatment in this and other diocesan institutions haven’t the money to pay for tests and prescriptions. The Directors of the Diocese’s medical ministries plan to relocate the Penman Clinic into its own building, refurbished with additional consultation rooms, diagnostic equipment and health care workers.  This will become a reality through the generous support of local, regional and international companions.

We can support the work of the Penman Clinic in Zababdeh on Sunday May 17 through a special Parish offering or Gifts for Mission.

Please write in the cheque memo:  Jerusalem Sunday 2015.  A tax receipt will be issued for all gifts over $10.  Again, thanks!  And God bless you with peace.  Salaam aleikum.