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From UAE-
Senior Anglicans in the UAE on Sunday said they
welcomed “a new beginning” for the Christian community in the country
after more than a dozen non-Muslim places of worship received official
legal status.
Abu Dhabi’s oldest church, together with the UAE’s first Hindu temple, were among 18 places of worship registered by authorities for the first time.
Many of the churches have existed in the Emirates for decades, with some having been given the land they are built on by Sheikh Zayed, the nation’s Founding Father.
Now, however, after an award ceremony, the sites will have official legal protection under a Department of Community Development initiative.
“Today marks the coming of age between the church and the
United Arab Emirates,” said Rev Canon Andrew Thompson, senior Anglican
Chaplain of St Andrew’s Church – one of the churches to receive a
licence.
More here-
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/abu-dhabi-s-churches-and-hindu-temple-receive-official-legal-status-1.913528
From UAE-
A UAE-based Christian priest's book showing how Jesus had more in
common with Arabian Islamic culture rather than western is to be
published into Arabic.
Jesus of Arabia was penned by Rev Andy Thompson, the
chaplain at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Abu Dhabi, and it also
examines the bridges between Islam and Christianity.
The book was first published in English in 2014 and now the Arabic
version will launch at St Andrew's on Tuesday. It is rare that a book
written by a Christian resident about Jesus receives such a treatment
and Rev Thompson says the event is a pre-Christmas celebration of Jesus
for both Muslims and Christians.
“A lot of conversations between Muslims and Christians get bogged
down in dogma and it is not really helpful,” said Mr Thompson. “I want
to promote education between our two communities which is different from
proselytising.
More here-
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/abu-dhabi-priest-s-book-about-jesus-in-islam-to-be-published-into-arabic-1.798700
From UAE-
A UAE delegation is on its way to Washington DC with a message of peace.
A reverend and a pastor, who lead services in Abu Dhabi churches,
will tell the world about the religious freedoms enjoyed by their
congregations in an Islamic country.
The delegation — that also comprises officials from government backed
anti-radicalisation organisations such as the Muslim Council of Elders,
Sawab and Hedayah centres — will be participating in a religious
freedom conference, Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, organised
by the US State Department.
“I am representing the Christians living in the UAE and what it would
be like to be a Christian leader in a Muslim country like the UAE,”
said Andy Thompson, head of St Andrew’s Anglican Church in the capital.
“I think what is best for me is to tell a good news story from the Middle East.”
He said some people can have preconceived ideas of what it means to be a Christian living in the Middle East.
“From the Middle East there all sorts of stereotypes of Muslim
countries. I can be an unofficial ambassador to explain that Christians
are not persecuted in the UAE.
“From the media in the west, they picture a very negative perception
of the Islamic community. I will do anything I can to counter that,” Mr
Thompson said.
More here-
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/religious-leaders-of-the-uae-head-to-us-to-spread-message-of-peace-1.753339
From Canada-
On Fridays one can practically walk over car rooftops in the Mushrif neighbourhood as the faithful park wherever they can before rushing to services.
Roman Catholics hurry to mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Metres away, a chorus of voices rises from inside St. Andrew’s as Anglicans begin a hymn. The sound mixes with the chatter of dozens of children waiting in the morning sun for bible lessons to start.
In the midst of the churches is the local mosque, where Muslim men wander up the steps of the pale stone building as they answer the call to prayer.
The Christians praying peacefully among their Muslim neighbours point to a unique phenomenon in the Middle East: in the United Arab Emirates, the number of churches is growing.
More here-
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/11/17/christian-churches-flourishing-in-united-arab-emirates.html
From UAE-
Christmas will be a bitter-sweet affair for Reverend Canon Stephen Wright as the Anglican chaplain draws the curtain on more than a decade of service to worshippers at Christ Church Jebel Ali.
For 11 years Rev Wright, who is married with three children, has overseen a multinational congregation.
“Our congregation ends up being quite multinational. Some of them come because it’s English language. There is a family from Madagascar that comes here because there’s no French service for their children, whereas if you were a Malayalam-language worshipper, everyone [in attendance would be] Indian.
“It doesn’t matter what denomination or sect you’re in, in our congregation we have people from all different groups.”
More here-
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/end-of-an-era-for-jebel-ali-anglican-church
From UAE-
