Patrick Comerford
“Prepare a Place for Gaza this Christmas” – this is the Advent Appeal being run by the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough to raise funds for Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
The United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough are running this emergency appeal for Gaza throughout Advent. The appeal is being launched by Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin at 4 p.m. this afternoon (25 November), and the hope is to raise €150,000 for the hospital to use to improve facilities for on-call staff and to install solar panels to ensure a more secure electricity supply for the hospital.
The appeal is part of a longer-term link that is being nurtured between Dublin and Glendalough and the Diocese of Jerusalem.
Families throughout the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough are being urged to include an imaginary Gaza guest at their Christmas gatherings this year to help raise funds for the appeal. They can contribute by donating the cost of the meal for their Gaza guest and the price of a gift for a loved one.
Parishes, schools, hospitals, organisations and individuals throughout Dublin and Glendalough can get involved in supporting the appeal by holding an Advent fund-raising event for Gaza.
Commending the Advent Appeal, Archbishop Jackson said: “I am delighted that the Diocesan Council for Mission has taken this Appeal for Gaza forward in such an imaginative way. I should encourage everyone across the United Dioceses, in the Season of Advent and Christmas, to think of ways of reaching out across the world in the spirit of Christmas in response to this urgent need for financial support. Please lay a place at your table for someone, just like any of us, as a way of supporting friends abroad and contributing to the reconstruction of the Al Ahli Hospital which itself turns nobody away.”
The Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, Archbishop Suheil Dawani, said: “Our medical services are given irrespective of race, religion or ability to pay. We see in each person seeking our services the image and likeness of Almighty God and we affirm through our support the dignity of each individual who comes to us.”
The appeal is being co-ordinated by the Dublin and Glendalough Council for Mission in partnership with Bishops’ Appeal, the United Society (Us, the new name for USPG), and Friends of Sabeel.
The longer term link between the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East aims to offer friendship and solidarity in a region where the number of Christians is dwindling.
Al Ahli Hospital was built in 1882 by CMS and is owned and controlled by the Diocese of Jerusalem. The hospital’s vision is: “To continue providing the finest medical care possible under the most adverse circumstances to the marginalised and vulnerable poor people whose livelihood are threatened by the effect of human–made disaster, with special attention to the refugee and the poorest of the poor. The hospital is committed to building people’s capacity and competence alongside the development and maintenance of an adequate standard of diagnostic and clinical services.”
The overwhelming needs in the Diocese of Jerusalem are:
• 1.8 million people affected in the Gaza Strip
• Over 2,000 fatalities, of whom 1,312 are civilians and 513 of these are children • Over 10,000 injured (2,877 children, 3,061 women)
• 520,000 displaced people housed in UN/government schools or with host families
• 1.5 million people not in shelters with no water or extremely restricted access to water
• 10,690 housing units destroyed or severely damaged
• 141 schools damaged
• 5 hospitals shut down
• 24 (at least) health facilities damaged
• 2–4 hours of electricity per day on average
Donations can be made to Bishops’ Appeal either by envelopes that are available in all parish churches or by electronic transfer to IBAN: IE BOFI 9000 1749 8394 99 BIC: BOFIIE2D (reference Gaza).
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