Celebrating 100 years of Episcopal Church gifts to Jerusalem and the Middle East, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites bishops, congregations, and supporters to participate in the centenary Good Friday Offering.
History of the Good Friday Offering
First gathered in 1922, the initial Good Friday Offering was an intentional response of The Episcopal Church. It supported Anglican ministries in the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East that were impacted by the following:
- The devastation of World War I
- The Spanish flu pandemic
- Social and political unrest affecting Armenian Christians, among others throughout that region
A lifeline of hope in times of genuine need in years past, the Good Friday Offering continues to support churches, medical programs, and schools today.
Presiding Bishop Curry encourages donations
“The Good Friday Offering offers us the opportunity to celebrate and rejoice in the hope and opportunity for the very young and the very old, for needy families, students, and many others in the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East,” Curry says in a Lenten letter to Episcopal parishioners. “For 10 decades we have provided an opportunity for every parish throughout our church to connect with the ministry of love and compassion carried out by our Anglican sisters and brothers” in the region.
He notes that gifts to the Good Friday Offering have “restored sight at the Ras Morbat Eye Clinic in war-torn Yemen, helped children with special needs at The Jerusalem Princess Basma Center, and enabled youth ministry at St. Matthew’s Church, Zebabdeh, in the West Bank,” among many other projects.
Acknowledging the ongoing challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Curry encourages participation in every parish. In addition, you can make donations online at iam.ec/goodfridayoffering, or by texting ‘GFO’ to 91999.
“The self-giving way of love and generosity makes a difference,” he writes. “That is what becoming a church that looks and acts like Jesus does.”
For more information, contact the Ven. Paul Feheley, Episcopal Church Middle East partnership officer.
The History of the Good Friday Offering
View the online offerings for the Good Friday Offering’s centennial year. Find stories, photos, artifacts, and history about the offering. See the way societies, the institutional church, borders, liturgical styles, missiology, and so much more have adapted and otherwise changed over 100 years. Each week, join us as we celebrate a century of gifts and rejoice in 2000 years of Good News.
Church of the Redeemer
Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
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