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The Anglican Church has as its point
of vision and unity its bishops, and of course we have said goodbye
to Clive and Jane across the diocese in our own local ways. We are
indebted to them both for 11 years of faithful loving pastoral care,
service and leadership.
The Vacancy in See Committee re-convened and met first in Bahrain in
March and again in Dubai in May. Twenty seven nominations were
whittled down to seven and then to two, and the Archdeacons and
their wives went to the UK in June to meet the final two prospective
bishops and their wives. Throughout the whole process we have been
confident of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God leading us to
perceive God’s choice of bishop to lead us into the future.
Throughout this process the Standing Committee has had to reinvent
itself giving close scrutiny to the financial situation in the
diocese, which still gives deep cause for concern, and concentrate
on the administration of the diocese. The needs of each chaplaincy
are the overriding concern, many of which require support and
encouragement in a context that currently is at the heart of the
world media attention. This we often feel is a great responsibility
laid upon us.
The knowledge that we have a body of people like the Friends of
Cyprus and the Gulf and many other groups and individuals around the
world praying for us is a great source of strength and
encouragement.
The Very Rev’d Steve Collis (Archdeacon of Cyprus)
The Very Rev’d Alan Hayday (Archdeacon in the Gulf)
The Archdeacons gave a “roundup” of news
from the Diocese, but as most of this had already appeared in the
last edition of The Olive Branch I have only added any new items of
interest. (Ed.)
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