Good Friday offering
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.
To view Bishop Curry’s video message, click here.
First gathered in 1922, the initial Good Friday Offering was an intentional response of the Episcopal Church to support Anglican ministries in the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East that were impacted by the devastation of World War I, the Spanish flu pandemic, and 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.
“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 by every parish. In addition to in-person collections, donations can be made online 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.”
The Office of Global Partnerships offers downloadable resources about the Good Friday Offering, including bulletin covers, inserts, and posters. In honor of the 100th anniversary, a series of historical writeups and images by decade are being shared weekly online and on social media, and a celebratory event will be held at the 80th General Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, this summer.
For more information, contact the Ven. Paul Feheley, Episcopal Church Middle East partnership officer.