The first day began with a Quiet Morning at a nearby monastery interspersed with several helpful Bible studies from Bishop Michael Langrish of Exeter, who was once the vicar of one of our rural parishes in Warwickshire. In the quietness between his talks we enjoyed the hillside above the monastery – the greenness of the grass, the spring flowers and the sight of orange and lemon groves in the distance. It was a good start to a full programme.

Each formal session included two reports from two of the thirteen parishes represented. Yemen, coming at the end of the alphabet is always the last to present. It would be presumptuous to say that the bishop kept the best till last, but in truth, Nancy did us proud. “It really came from your heart,” said a parish representative from St Paul’s Kuwait enthusiastically.

At Synod we were again struck by the incredible diversity of the Diocese and its congregations – from Paphos with a large congregation comprised almost entirely of retired British to our newest one in occupied northern Cyprus with a congregation made up mostly of African students studying in Famagusta, to Abu Dhabi, which like all the Gulf churches plays hosts to many congregations. The following is from the church report of St Andrews, Abu Dhabi: “The compound teems with hundreds and thousands of worshippers throughout Friday from 5 am until nearly midnight, and every weekday evening, some sixty different congregations. Often several different worship services can be heard in full swing at the same time … the ecstatic exuberance of Pentecostal groups competing with the measured chanting of Orthodox congregations or the drums and ululating of Ethiopian housemaids.”

To say that the Synod was good and enjoyable does not mean to say that it was easy. There was some honest, realistic and frank debate, particularly about money, the Dean of Bahrain Cathedral stating bluntly, “We shall be in financial oblivion in the next five years unless we act now.” In the course of the debate Bishop Clive called for space for prayer about the situation and later a working party was appointed to investigate the issues – a good combination.

To our slight surprise, Christ Church and the work of the clinics featured significantly in these discussions. They are, in the Bishop’s words, “key elements” in the Diocese’ current mission, along with the ministry at St George’s, Baghdad and the building of a new church centre in Doha. Our total operating costs here last year – less our salary and a grant from the Christian Blind Mission, largely for specialist equipment and the ongoing training of Dr Amal in Pakistan – came to $125,000 … the equivalent, said a visiting friend dryly, of the annual salary of a senior European executive working in Dubai.

Here in Aden that money goes a long way. Last year 20,000 patients were seen; 1179 eye operations were performed. Many refugees were helped. Our buildings were kept in good repair. Seafarers were visited and the chaplaincy sustained. Of this money, $40,000 was raised through fees for operations, local families’ annual medical subscriptions, the weekly Friday church offerings and increasingly and most usefully, through our guest rooms, which were redecorated and refurbished in November last year. The remaining $85,000 came from the Diocese – a larger figure than in previous years due in part to the gradual but anticipated decrease in funding from the Mustard Seed Foundation. It is not perhaps an enormous sum of money by a Dubai executive’s standards, but it is a lot for the Diocese and the parishes that comprise it, who have also to pay their own way.

Still, we were greatly encouraged by the keen interest and concern shown at the Diocesan Synod in the work and ministry here – several chaplains and their lay people admitting embarrassedly that they had simply not been aware of the needs here and expressing a strong desire to help. We plan in the next couple of months to return to Cyprus to visit the churches on behalf of Aden and if possible to do the same through the Gulf in the early autumn.

With some able friends here in our congregation we have started working on the production of a presentation about the work, which could be widely distributed. Other material they have produced has been excellent. In addition, we are following up leads given us in Cyprus about other potential funding agencies, particularly those who supply medicines. And today, Peter’s youngest brother, who worked for many years with Tear Fund, wrote suggesting amongst other things that churches might like to consider sponsoring fifty eye operations each year or adopting a needy family who come to our medical clinic. Our minds are fizzing! If this increases the funding and broadens the base for interest and prayer for the ministry and for this country that would be wonderful.

If you can think of ways in which to raise the profile of the work here and its funding, we will be really grateful to know. It is truly a work of faith and a labour of love known and respected far beyond Aden, as the following story, which featured in our annual report, illustrates.

During Ramadan, we had a phone call from a woman in Sanaa, enquiring what “humanitarian help” we offered people. We explained. She seemed satisfied and said that she would visit when she was next in Aden. Six weeks or so later she appeared here. She spoke good English, which she said she had learned in Mogadishu. Again, she asked about humanitarian help and we replied as before. She sounded resigned, her face except for her eyes, was well covered. As she thanked us and made as if to leave, we asked her whether there was anything else. She hesitated, and then asked if we believed in evil spirits. We told her that we did and she then told us briefly an unhappy story. Later, with her consent, we prayed for her in the name of Jesus. As she left us, we asked how it was that she had found her way to Christ Church. “Oh,” she replied simply, “a friend, a neighbour in Sanaa came here for an operation. She told me, “The people there are kind.”

We do hope that we have not wearied you with so much focus on the Synod, the Diocese and our finances. In the last newsletter we tried to set the work here within the wider context of Yemen today and included extracts from local papers relating to the current economic and political situation. On this occasion it seemed timely to say something of the diocese to which we belong and of which we are so glad to be a part.

After Synod, we lingered on on the island, visiting one day a friend in Limassol, who has long been an authority on alternative energy, to discuss the possibility of installing solar panels for electricity here. On another day we took off into the hills and ended up in a most authentic local restaurant filled with Greek families enjoying Sunday lunch.

The next day we flew to Amman for a conference/consultation arranged by the CMS. It was super – informal, purposeful and moving, enriched and enlivened by the presence of at least a dozen children. We were grateful to have been invited for we are now only associate members.

Nancy took a few hours out to sketch in an olive grove;

the next day we saw it under snow. The matter of the contentious Danish cartoons surfaced in several conversations and reports. Two days ago there was here in Aden a peaceful demonstration of 10,000 people against the cartoons. It is a difficult and dangerous issue but it has provoked some genuinely useful conversations with local friends.

During our time away, we came across the following stark statement by a distinguished Muslim apologist: “God does not reveal Himself. He does not reveal Himself to anyone in any way. God reveals only His will … and we have it in perfection in the Quran. But Islam does not equate the Quran with the nature or essence of God. It is the Word of God, the Commandment of God, the Will of God. But God does not reveal Himself to anyone.” (The Message of Mission. Howard Peskitt & Vinoth Ramanchandra, page 72) These words are not directly related to the current situation but we could not help but recall them when in our worship this past week we read these familiar and incomparably wonderful words of Jesus. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17.3)

More news about recent events and developments here can be viewed on our website where our report for Diocesan Synod is now posted.

Some of you will know that the 12th of October this year marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the medical clinic. There is so much to be grateful for. Celebrations are being planned over the weekend of 10-12 November – after Ramadan and the Eid. We will try to have more details soon.

With our warmest thanks and very best wishes in Christ

Peter and Nancy

PS. In case you think that the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is being profligate the five star hotel in Larnaca was had at very, very competitive rates!