Convention Eucharist offering to go to Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City

In response to a concern raised by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and endorsed by 102 bishops of The Episcopal Church including Bishop Hanley, this year’s diocesan convention Eucharist offering will go to Al Ahli Hospital in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.  Al Ahli Hospital provides emergency care to Gaza residents, many of whom have no means or access to medical care. The hospital is located in a community in which 60% of the residents live in refugee camps. According to an article by The Episcopal News Service (ENS), Al Ahli Hospital is ”the only facility of its sort in the Gaza Strip that is not run by the Hamas government and as such, it is able to provide care without any outside interference or political calculation.”

The offering will be collected at the Eucharist on Friday morning of convention.  Checks may be made to The Diocese of Oregon with Gaza Hospital in the memo line.

Al Ahli Hospital is located in Gaza City and occupies a beautiful campus in the city center. With well-tended grounds, it is a haven of peace in the middle of one of the world’s most troubled places. The political status of Gaza affects all aspects of life here because of restrictions on movement of materials and people in and out. Electricity, medicines, food, fuel, and personnel are all restricted to some extent. However, Al Ahli Hospital continues to provide some of the finest medical care available in the region. For example, Ahli runs completely free of charge a program for early detection of breast cancer among women above 40 years of age. Two programs deserve special mention: the center for elderly women and the mobile clinic program which twice weekly provides free medical care and food to people from surrounding towns and villages. In a land where hardship is commonplace, the conditions in Gaza stand out, but Al Ahli Hospital generates a beacon of peace and hope for the people it serves.

Mission: The Ahli mission is to glorify God and bear witness to His love as manifested in the life of Jesus Christ. Ahli Hospital is doing this through the provision of high quality patient centered health care services, and maintains the financial viability of its operation. The hospital offers to serve all who seek treatment without prejudice to any religious or ethnic community and irrespective of social class, gender and political affiliation. These services are delivered in a spirit of love and service.  Ahli Hospital recognizes the value of its staff and volunteers and promotes equal and compassionate treatment with dignity and respect to all.

Vision: To continue providing the finest medical care possible under the most adverse circumstances to the marginalized 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