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This Easter, St. Laurence is supporting the Gaza and West Bank Emergency Appeal from Alongside Hope, the Anglican Church of Canada's agency for relief and development and one of our parish partners.

Why this appeal?

In my Easter message this year, I wrote about the resurrection taking place under empire, in an occupied land, and about God speaking a word of life where the powers of the world had spoken only death. That is not ancient history. It is happening now, in the very same geography, and to people who are part of our own Anglican family.

The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem

The Diocese of Jerusalem is one of the most remarkable corners of the Anglican Communion. Between 5 to 7,000 Anglican Christians are spread across Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Christians of all denominations make up less than 1.5% of the population of Israel and Palestine. It is a tiny community carrying an extraordinary witness.

The Diocese's ministry has three core dimensions:

  • Pastoral: caring for and loving the individuals and communities in which the church is present.
  • Strategic: bearing Christian witness through institutions that serve local needs regardless of ethnic or religious background, reflecting the servant King, Jesus.
  • Bridge builder for peace and reconciliation, promoting friendship, understanding, and mutual respect through ecumenical and inter-faith work.

Those institutions are not abstract. The Diocese runs twenty schools serving 6,400 children across the region: from Christ School in Nazareth, founded in 1851, with 1,000 students graduating trilingual in Arabic, Hebrew, and English; to St. John's School in Haifa, known for its peace-education curriculum; to vocational training in Ramallah; to the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt, Jordan, serving deaf and deaf-blind students with outreach to Syrian refugee camps. These schools educate the peacemakers of tomorrow and offer admission to many who could not otherwise afford it.

The Diocese's healthcare ministries include Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, founded in 1882 and offering 80 beds in one of the most difficult operating environments on earth. There is St. Luke's Hospital in Nablus, with 60 beds providing general, surgical, and neonatal intensive care. There are clinics in Ramallah and the northern West Bank, rehabilitation centres, and mobile outreach programmes. All serve those in need regardless of faith, ethnicity, or ability to pay.

To learn more about the Diocese of Jerusalem and its ministries, visit Diocese of Jerusalem. 

What is happening now?

The situation across the Middle East has escalated sharply. On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, killing Iran's Supreme Leader and triggering retaliatory missile and drone strikes across the region. The conflict has spread to Lebanon, the Gulf states, and beyond. At least 1,247 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since early March. In Iran, nearly 2,000 have been killed.

In Gaza, the toll since October 2023 now stands at more than 72,000 killed and over 172,000 injured. Even after the ceasefire in October 2025, more than 700 people have been killed. Hospitals have been systematically damaged. In the West Bank, settler violence, demolitions, and military operations continue to drive displacement and suffering.

Every country in which the Diocese of Jerusalem operates, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, is now directly affected by this conflict. Al-Ahli Arab Hospital continues to treat patients against extraordinary odds. Schools are doing what they can. Communities are holding on.

This is not charity at arm's length. This is an Anglican diocese doing what the resurrection calls all of us to do: offering life, healing, and dignity in a place of devastation, without distinction. In the ruins, hospital walls are upheld. In the midst of hatred, our sisters and brothers offer healing. That is what the risen life looks like when it takes shape among us.

How to give

We would love as many of us as possible to give through the parish so we can track our collective effort and share the difference we make together. Please mark your envelope or e-transfer "Alongside Hope, Gaza."