Angel’s Hills was the aptly named setting for a June Summer School, attended by nine participants in training for lay or ordained ministry—or in the early years of ministry—from across the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.
The Summer School has a close association with the Near East School of Theology (NEST) based in Beirut. NEST members Dr Rima Nasrallah and Dr Wilbert van Saane joined the faculty on this year’s programme, alongside JMECA trustee Dr Clare Amos, the lead director for theological education in the Province, and the Reverend Canon Dr John Holdsworth, canon theologian in the Diocese. Bishop Sean also spent a day with students, who came from eight parishes—six in the Gulf and two in Cyprus.
The Diocesan Director of Ministry, Venerable Christopher Futcher said that this was an opportunity to learn, having face-to-face contact with fellow-learners when much of the work is now done on zoom. This helps develop both fellowship of the learning community and Diocesan cohesion.
The theme was Hope, explored through a focus on Romans 5:3-5:
… we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Four Bible studies, on suffering, endurance, character and hope, expanded reflection on this guiding text. A daily preaching workshop worked on the Book of Ruth, looking at hope in the experience of migrants, and included a field visit to hear the stories of asylum-seekers in Larnaca.
Lectures looked at hope and resurrection, hope and resilience, hope and ecological crisis. Evening discussions followed presentations on witnessing to hope in responding to serious illness, dementia, populism and authoritarianism.
The final day included visits to Kykkos Monastery and the Monastery of St John Lambadistis–an opportunity to reflect on Christian art in icons and wall paintings as witness to hope.
Our shared reflections on the last evening revealed how all of us had been challenged by our studies together, said Christopher,
learning more about ourselves and our vocational paths, more about suffering and perseverance, more about relating Scripture to our personal lives, the lives of others, and the life of the world.