The mobile dental clinic in Gaza
The Church in Wales is urging people to respond to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s appeal for people affected by the conflict in Gaza.
The appeal, launched today (Aug 7), is to help more than half a million people who have had to leave their homes after four weeks of fighting. More than 1,800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 67 Israelis, mainly soldiers, are believed to have died in the conflict.
The Church is also concerned about the fate of the mobile dental clinic it funds in Gaza which it has been unable to contact.
The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said, “People are now in desperate need in Gaza. We cannot shy away from that and do nothing for fear of getting entangled in a complex political situation. We have as much of a duty to respond with love to their basic humanitarian needs as we would to those in our own families or communities.
“We must also pray for all those who are suffering and pray for a lasting solution to end this terrible conflict.
“I urge people to donate money to the Disaster Emergency Committee which they can do through Christian Aid. Churches can also help by holding collections this Sunday and including Gaza in their prayers.”
Collection forms and prayers can be downloaded from the Christian Aid website www.christianaid.org.uk . Donations to the DEC appeal can also be made on the Christian Aid site.
The Archdeacon of Margam, Philip Morris, who chairs the Church in Wales’ International Group, said concern is growing for the Church-funded mobile dental clinic in Gaza.
The clinic, with its distinctive Welsh red dragon stickers, operates in the Shejaiyah district of Gaza – an area which has been the focus of recent bombardment. The Church has been unable to establish contact with the Near East Council of Churches (NECC), which runs the clinic as well as other humanitarian aid projects.
Archdeacon Philip said, “The NECC describes its work as ‘an injection of hope – touching people, healing them, and giving them hope’. The Church in Wales, through its funding of the dental clinic, sees itself as being part of that work, without any political agenda, simply providing humanitarian aid where it is needed, as it has done in many other parts of the world through its Jubilee Fund. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Gaza and Israel at this time. We look forward to hearing news from the Council of Churches in Gaza, and of the dental clinic.”
You can contribute to the work of the NECC through its dental clinic and health centres by sending money or a cheque, made payable to the Church in Wales Jubilee Fund, to The Church in Wales, 39, Cathedral Rd, Cardiff, CF11 9XF.
