St. George’s College, Jerusalem launches ‘Let Light Shine Out of Darkness’ campaign
St. George’s College, Jerusalem has endured through times of relative stability and political crisis since its founding in 1920 as a theological college for Palestinian seminarians through its redevelopment in the 1960s as a center for formation and reconciliation for clergy and laity from the across the Anglican Communion.
Unlike tour companies that often only swoop in and out of Christian holy sites in the Holy Land, St. George’s College courses break bread with Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, meet with Muslim leaders on Haram al-Sharif, meet with Muslim women in a refugee camp in Bethlehem, visit the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem, and sometimes even visit Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Through second-tier courses such as “Sharing Perspectives,” Jews, Christians and Muslims live and journey together as an interfaith community at St. George’s College, encountering the land and its people in the past and present, exploring historical, geographical, religious and political complexities, and considering how the Holy One is revealed uniquely in each of the Abrahamic faiths.
Modern Diplomacy estimates that up to 47% of all global conflict is rooted in religion. The great twentieth century theologian Hans Kung said, “There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions and no peace among the religions without dialogue.” St. George’s College is the Anglican Communion’s essential and primary center for religious dialogue and understanding through pilgrimage, formation, education, encounter, and reconciliation.
The armed conflict that began on October 7, 2023, in Israel and Gaza forced the temporary closure of St. George’s College for in-person pilgrimage. To date, the College remains closed. Never before has a crisis so existentially challenged St. George’s. The Colleges $2 million annual budget is comprised of earned revenue streams (pilgrim fees, gift shop sales, non-pilgrim lodging fees, etc.) and through the generous contributions of its alumni. In the current crisis, the College’s earned revenue streams have been totally disrupted.
In response, in October of 2024, the North American Committee for St. George’s College, which functions as an incorporated board of support for St. George’s, initiated a $1.19 million capital campaign to support the college’s ministry. The goal of the campaign is twofold: first, to provide funds to sustain the college’s operational costs during a time when the college is unable to host pilgrims due to the ongoing war in Gaza and, secondly, to build the endowment, which is the college’s primary source of funding beyond the income generated from pilgrim fees, for future financial resilience.
The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum
The North American Committee (NAC) is delighted to announce that as of the start of the Lenten season, it has raised just over $1.2 million in gifts and pledges to the campaign. NAC president the Reverend Barkley Thompson comments, “The outpouring of love and support for St. George’s College is an incredible testament of faith. Through this campaign, we insist that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.”
The Anglican Church of Canada, which is also represented on the North American Committee, is running a concurrent Canadian campaign, which hopes to raise additional funds. NAC is further pleased to announce that committees of support in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are initiating campaigns. There has been a groundswell of support throughout the Anglican Communion in recognition of the cherished role that St. George’s College plays in our common life as the official pilgrimage center of the Anglican Communion and a gateway to the Land of the Holy One and the Diocese of Jerusalem Due to this generous and robust international support, we have raised our goal to $1.5 million as our campaign continues through the Lenten season.
The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum, Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, says of the campaign, “We are asking all our friends around the world to come together to help St. George’s College and to walk with us during the dark times of war and distress, so that we can continue to celebrate St. George’s as a beacon of life and love in Jerusalem and from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.”
To learn more about and to make a tax-deductible gift to the campaign, please visit www.stgeorgescollegejerusalemnac.org.