13 July 2010 – Bishop Dawani continues to personally supervise the renovations at St. Paul’s Church just a few blocks from the Cathedral. The resurrection of St. Paul’s is an important step and statement of peace and reconciliation with the past. The Church was closed in 1948 when Arabs were moved to the east side of Jerusalem, then part of Jordan, leaving the first Arab Episcopal Church out of reach on the west side of Jerusalem in the new state of Israel.

For decades, the Church quietly stood testimony to its Arab Christian foundation in a religiously conservative Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem. This autumn, Bishop Dawani hopes to be able to open the Church as an icon of Christian witness. He envisions a church where Christians come together in peace and intends to make the church available for ecumenical use as a symbol of Christian unity and cooperation.

Donations to this renovation project are gratefully accepted.