St. Andrew’s United Church of Cairo

This past weekend, a dozen women from St. Andrew’s participated in a retreat at the desert Coptic retreat center called Anafora.  Surrounded by sand and desert as well as water fountains and spiritually of the Coptic tradition, the group gathered under the title “Grounding Ourselves.”  Incorporated into the weekend’s activities were guided fellowship time, Bible studies on notable women in scripture and the weaving of a tapestry.

Festival Choir Planned for Easter

If you are interested in singing in a festival choir that would sing on Easter Sunday (April 4th at 10am), please join the group rehearsing on Friday’s at 11:30am in the sanctuary.  We welcome everyone, no matter if you are formally trained in music or not.

All are welcome to join us for worship during Holy Week.  The services dates and times are as follows:

Palm Sunday                  Friday/Sunday, March 26/28, 10 am
Maundy Thursday     Thursday, April 1, 7 pm
Good Friday                   Friday, April 2, 7 pm
Easter Sunday               Sunday, April 4, 10 am (Potluck brunch follows)

Sign Up for Easter Lilies

The church will be decorated with Easter lilies for Easter Sunday.  You are invited to order a lily in honor or memory of a loved one.  Please sign up on the clipboard distributed during fellowship or send Pastor Peter an email (pastor@standrewschurchcairo.com).  The cost is 25 LE per lily.  Thanks for assisting in decorating our worship space for our Easter celebration.

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Readers Needed
Just like at our normal worship services, lay readers are invited to share in the service leadership.  Specifically on Good Friday, St. Andrew’s plans to read the Passion of Jesus according to the Gospel of John.  In it, we will hear again the length to which God goes to display his love for the whole of the world.  Nine readers are invited to contribute during the service.  Please sign up on the clipboard distributed during fellowship or email Pastor Peter.  Readers will receive the readings in advance.

Easter Sunday Brunch Following Worship
As St. Andrew’s gathers for Easter Sunday worship to commemorate the resurrection of Christ on Sunday, April 4th, we plan to have a community potluck brunch immediately following the service.  Members are encouraged to assist in setup, cleanup, and bringing a dish to share with others.  Please consider bringing one of the following:  a main dish, salad or dessert.  We also are in need of disposable plates, cups, eating utensils and napkins.  Stay tuned for more information.

This past week, the St. Andrew’s Church Council decided to give the offering collected on Christmas Eve to Abu Zabaal, the last leper colony in Egypt.  Donations such as this gift allow for timely treatments before the disease develops.  For a recently BBC article published about the village, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8521577.stm.

On February 19-20, 2010, Stancil Campbell, Ann Shalaby, Denise England, Lyn Lightell and Tom Crowley participated in a Habitat for Humanity build in southern Egypt. It was a whirl-wind, two-day trip with not nearly enough time to see and experience Egypt’s rural village life but it was a wonderful opportunity to peek inside a farming community.

Habitat – Egypt is the largest Habitat in Africa and does building projects with both Christian and Muslim families. Habitat Egypt started in 1989, building 20-30 houses per year. At present, they help with over 2,000 houses each year and serve in more than 25 villages.

Most village houses lack running water and sewage systems. The homes have thatched roofs and dirt floors which cause constant flea and rodent problems. As sons marry, the new wife moves into the home with more children added along the way. Many families can not afford to add more levels to their house so homes are over crowded and some family members end up sleeping outside in the street. Because the family live-stock is extremely valuable to the family livelihood, they often live inside the house with the family to keep them safe. Habitat – Egypt aims to improve the living conditions in these poor villages.

The community we served in was El Kom el-Akhdar. It is located in southern Egypt, an hour away from the city of Minya. The population of this village is 10,000. 75% of the people fall below the poverty line, which in Egypt is less than $2 USD per day. Most of the villagers are farmers. The village has a primary school only. During our time serving we helped home owners haul limestone blocks, lay block, manually spray cement-type plaster onto inside walls, haul and sift sand for making concrete, and lay the wooden decking on roofs. It was amazing to see the differences in construction practices from the USA and Britain.

We were told that it was looked upon as a great honor to be one of the houses chosen to have Habitat volunteers come and help build. Not because any of us had more knowledge or skill than the villagers but because they value the chance to share their lives and work side-by-side with us. The home owners took great pride in introducing us to neighbors and sharing tea with us. Many villagers joined in the work so they could be a part of things and the neighbors all joined in with banter and fellowship. Some of the group were even treated to donkey rides.

Habitat for Humanity – Egypt is doing wonderful work and it is a privilege for St. Andrews to be part of it.  The Friday Group has been studying the Book of Acts which tells us God calls each of us to serve others.  The five of us did just that but we certainly received much more than we gave.  St. Andrews participates in one build every year.  Plan on attending next year.  You won’t be disappointed.

Almost forty people attended the second annual Janice Grey Piano Recital on Friday evening.  Over 650LE was raised in a free will offering to support the school programs of St. Andrew’s Refugee Services.  St. Andrew’s thanks Janice both for her talented gift to our church’s community and partnership with our programs.

This evening for Ash Wednesday services, members of St. Andrew’s, Heliopolis Community Church (non-denominational) and All Saint’s Cathedral (Anglican) gathered for an ecumenical worship service at All Saint’s in Zamalak, Cairo.  Roughly 80 worshipers attended the ecumenical worship service which included the imposition of the ashes and Holy Communion.  Various members of each community participated in the worship service, including the Presiding Minister Pastor Mike Parker, rector of All Saint’s Cathedral’s English-speaking congregation and preaching pastor Peter Johnson of St. Andrew’s.  Pastor Peter and Pastor Mike are pictured here.

Dear Friends,

Do you remember when you first arrived in Cairo?  As expatriates, how important was it for you to find people and places to assist in your settling process?

For Christians, part of the process of settling in to a new home is finding an active church in which to participate.  There, they hear the promise of God’s presence and gain strength for the faithful life from fellow members.  In sum, Christians are not fully settled until they have found a home in a local church.

This past weekend, I put visitor cards in the bulletin for the first time.  They are small, loose sheets of paper that can be filled out voluntarily and turned in by new worshipers.  I am grateful that six were returned.  With the information, I had the opportunity to contact them individually.  A few were added to this email newsletter.  Finally, I am hopeful that they will return to St. Andrew’s.  This is because I want this church to be their new home.

Thanks for your friendly and intentional efforts to welcome new people into our community.  The smallest of gestures can go a long way.

In Welcome,
Pastor Peter

Refugee Cuisine Cooking Class Set for Sunday, February 21st
As a congregation serving a variety of refugee populations in Cairo, we have the opportunity from time to time to enjoy unique and special cuisines.  If you would like to learn how to prepare traditional Iraqi foods, you are invited to attend a cooking class scheduled for Sunday, February 21st from 12 pm until 3 pm.  Each participant is asked to contribute 100 LE with proceeds benefiting the St. Andrew’s Refugee Services’ Refugee Legal Aid Project (RLAP).  Please contact the church office to sign up for the class.