Winter 2002 Newsletter
Llandaff Cathedral hosts Jubilee Fund Concert Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, is to be the setting for an gala concert by the renowned Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor Michael Bell, leader Paul Lewis) and international soloists on Friday 22^nd March 2002, commencing at 7.30p.m. This is the first occasion that the Fund itself has organised an fund-raising event, having relied on donations from parishes, churches, schools, individuals and organisations. The varied programme includes March Slave (Tchaikovsky), Lensky’s Aria from Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), The Flower Song from Carmen (Bizet), Faure’s Pavane, the Finale from Symphony No 3 (Saint-Saens) and ‘Cello Concerto Op 85 by Elgar. The soloists are Mark Burrows (tenor), Charles Matthews (organ) and Kathryn Price (‘cello). Orchestra and soloists are giving their services without fee to the Jubilee Fund for the concert, for which we are very grateful. Tickets for the concert are available at £7.50 from Bishop David Thomas’ office (01873 858780), Mrs Louise Davies at the Church in Wales Offices (029 2034 8228, Archdeacon Philip Morris (01446 793770), or the Llandaff Diocesan Office (029 2057 8899). A special souvenir programme will be available on the night. Letters from the projects From José and Alicia Cicka, Northern Argentina: Our work consists of looking after the Church of San Pablo in a poor area of Salta with 40 members, the Sunday school with 50 children, a ladies' group and a youth group which started this year. We have four other churches, up to 350 km away… Geographically the areas I have to cover involve great distances and quite often I accompany the auxiliary bishop on his travels and I represent the Diocesan Council. My prayer intentions are: wisdom and physical strength, growth, training, support of the leaders and council of each church… I have had to leave to one side the work of the Church for a few weeks to work on water wells for aborigine communities. From Samia Khoury, president of Rawdat El-Zuhur School, to which the Jubilee Fund sent £1000 from the Church and Sunday Schools of Wales at Christmas: Dear Philip: What a lovely start for the day to read your message. You cannot imagine how much your concern and your generous contribution mean to us. We really appreciate your support, especially during these difficult times. From Constantine Dabbagh, Executive Secretary of the Near East Council of Churches, Gaza, to which the Jubilee Fund has committed $35,000 for the Mobile Dental Clinic in 2002: I would like to reiterate our thanks and appreciation for your continued solidarity and support. I seize this opportunity to wish all of you and your families a blessed Christmas and a very happy and peaceful new year.
	New Rwanda Project Support A new project for support in 2002 by the Church in Wales Jubilee Fund is in the Diocese of Byumba, Rwanda, which has formed widows from the genocide into groups for prayer and help and support in practical ways. The project is administered by the wife of the Bishop of Byumba, Mme Josephine Rwaje, with the Revd Meg Guillebaud, a mission partner with Mid-Africa Ministries, part of CMS. The first groups were set up in 1997, and the women began work by rebuilding their houses, many of which had been destroyed during the violence. Houses in Rwanda are made with baked mud bricks; the widows are able to prepare the foundations, make the bricks and build the walls. However the corrugated iron sheets which must be used for the roofing, cost about £100 and are too expensive for them to buy. The Jubilee Fund will help in the purchase of roofing. Other needs have become apparent. Many of the widows were desperately worried about their daughters who, without any work-skills, would vulnerable to unscrupulous men in the future. So the diocese aims to teach specific skills to these young girls, particularly sewing and dress-making, to equip them to earn a living. Many widows were raped during the genocide period and contracted AIDS. The diocese, through Solace Ministries, set up by Rwandan Christians in 1995, provides individual counselling and group therapy, and assistance for those who cannot pay medical fees. The Jubilee Fund has promised to help in meeting health needs. Jean Gakwandi, the Director of Solace Ministries, has written on receiving news of the Church in Wales Jubilee Fund’s promise: “We thank you so much for your encouraging e-mail “We have undertaken a faith venture because of sufferings that a part of our population is undergoing, namely widows and orphans. I cannot tell you how many nights I cannot sleep properly because of the many problems unsolved. As an example, a lot of children we care for as being expelled from schools because we are not yet able to pay their school fees. There are still homeless widows and children we need to help find an accommodation. “However, we thank God for your burden towards the ministry and your willingness to help as much as you can. At least now I know that with this grant from Wales we will be able to meet the health needs of the people we have been called to serve.”	Rawdat El-Zuhur celebrates 50 years 2002 marks the 50^th anniversary of the foundation of Rawdat El-Zuhur School in East Jerusalem, one of the projects supported by the Church in Wales Jubilee Fund. The school was started in 1952 by Elizabeth Nasir, the daughter of an Anglican clergyman, to provide an education for the daughters of poor families in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is now a co-educational school, and has 250 pupils from the ages of 3 to 13. ‘Rawdat El-Zuhur’ means ‘garden of flowers’, and its aim is to enable children to grow and bloom in an atmosphere of hope, peace and love. With the shortage of high school places in East Jerusalem, Rawdat El-Zuhur hopes to add upper classes to enable pupils to stay for an extra few years. The Principal writes: “What we feel is really basic is that the children will be older and more mature after the ninth or tenth grade, and will be able to hold on to all the principles and moral values which they have acquired at Rawdat El-Zuhur along the years.” Autumn 2001 Jubilee Fund Newsletter Spring 2001 Jubilee Fund Newsletter Summer 2000 Jubilee Fund Newsletter