THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY

1
THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY
DIOCESE OF CYPRUS AND THE GULF

• A Vision Of Faith
• In A Land Of Hope
• "Welcome To The Future"
• www.epiphany-qatar.org

Updated October 2008
2
INTRODUCTION
The Building and Fundraising projects are being
led by Fr Bill Schwartz Priest Bill and Edie
joined our Church in October 2007 and have been
the solid foundation for the direction that this
project has taken. Jaywant Michael Chairperson,
Fundraising Committee Jaywant has been an active
member of the congregation for two years and has
brought together a small group of willing hands,
to help gather in funds, whilst including the
congregation and community in various
projects. Bill Pottiger Chairperson, Building
Committee Bill, an architect, and his family have
been members of our church community for 19 years
and his involvement and expertise has taken this
project forward. The land was deeded by the Emir,
and blessed by both Archbishop George Carey in
the initial stages of the project and then by
Archbishop Rowan Williams on his first trip
abroad after his enthronement.
3
THE HISTORY OF ANGLICAN WORSHIP IN QATAR
The history of Anglican worship in Qatar began
with visits to the oil field by Anglican
chaplains of the Iraq Petroleum Company from Iraq
in the 1930s and 40s. The Anglican Archbishop in
Jerusalem, in whose diocese Qatar lay, visited
Doha and Umm Said. His successors have kept this
visiting a regular feature even since.   The
Province of Jerusalem and the East had been
divided in 1976 into four dioceses and the parish
of Abu Dhabi and Qatar came under the diocese of
Cyprus and the Gulf.   In the earliest days
services were held only in Umm Said and Dukhan.
Later these were extended to Doha as the
Christian population arrived from 1949 and began
to grow. Lay readers licensed by the Anglican
Bishops would hold services on days when
chaplains could not be present.   It will be
seen from this that the Anglican worship under
the direction of the Archbishop in Jerusalem and
later the Bishop in Cyprus has been continuous in
Qatar since the late 1930s
4
THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH IN QATAR
The government of Qatar decided to grant a large
plot of land for Christians to use for worship.
They have chosen to organize the allocation of
space in broad groupings Orthodox, Catholic and
Protestant. The Catholic site is the largest,
reflecting the large percentage of Catholics
among the expatriate community. There are three
small Orthodox sites, reflecting not only
percentage of the expatriate population here, but
also the strong distinctives between different
Orthodox traditions. There are two "Protestant"
sites, one for Protestants from India and the
last site is for Protestants from the "rest" of
the world. Recognizing the world-wide scope of
the Anglican Communion, that part of the
allocation was deeded to the Anglican Church and
we are expected to build a facility which will
facilitate worship for "the Protestants".
5
Therefore, our plan includes a wide embrace. The
main church (seating 750) is being designed to
look and function like a traditional church
building, but with additional facility for modern
worship styles. We hope that all
liturgical/traditional denominations will find
the church not only welcoming and appropriately
laid out for sacramental worship, but also
beautiful as is fitting for a place of worship.
Along with the main church we are also including
a number of different sized rooms (seating
ranging from 250 to 50) to accommodate
non-denominational groups who prefer to gather in
less traditional spaces for worship. While we
will have a baptismal font as a central feature
of the main church where liturgical/sacramental
worship will be held, we will also have a
baptismal pool in the courtyard to enable
immersion/adult baptism for traditions who see
baptism as a dominical tradition rather than a
sacrament.
6
We expect to enable up to 2500 people at a time
in twelve different worship spaces. We also
expect that the facility will be used by
successive groups all day on weekends, and every
evening of the week. It will not be exaggerating
to estimate that 20,000 people would worship at
the Anglican Center in any given week. The plans
include children's rooms for education at
different ages a side chapel for quiet
meditation and an additional chapel kept separate
for weddings and other kinds of gatherings for
worship and prayer which would be in addition to
the normal weekly schedule of services. We hope
to run a thrift shop, recycling second hand
clothes at minimum price for the workers who live
on the lower strata of the economy.
7
CHURCH BUILDING
We are very pleased to announce that the
construction on the Anglican Church Centre in
Doha has now begun! Phase 1 will include 2
large meeting halls to seat 225 each, kitchen and
toilets, offfice and childrens education toilets
etc, rooms and courtyard site development, electr
ical substation and guardroom and is expected to
be completed by 31 December 2009. Phase 2 will
include welcome court, main sanctuary to seat 650
and small chapel. Phase 3 will include 1 large
meeting hall to seat 225, 2 meeting halls to seat
125, courtyard, toilets, small chapel and 6
classrooms.
8
The Rt. Rev. Michael Lewis, Anglican Bishop in
Cyprus and the Gulf, visited the site on
September 28, 2008 to lead prayers for the
successful completion of the project, for the
safety of the workers, and to offer special
thanksgiving to God for his mercy and compassion
to all people living in Qatar. The service was
attended by diplomats, representatives of the
Catholic, Orthodox, and Oriental churches, and
leaders of many Evangelical Christian fellowship
groups in Doha.
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
BUILDING COSTS
Cost of construction QR 48 million US 12
million UK 6 million
Cost of consultants QR 3 million US 1 million UK
0.5 million
The risks of phasing are Redundant costs when
you build in phases you repeat some work or
cancel work when moving from phase to phase.
Escalation of construction costs in Doha at
30/year. Delayed revenue the church will
welcome other protestant groups to use our space,
the income from this is expected to be quite
significant, as in Bahrain and UAE.
12
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
We have been earnestly raising funds through
direct giving among the membership of the
congregation and through fund-raising events in
the local community. We have also received some
significant donations from sympathetic friends
and other church sources. Donations have also
come in from other congregations in Doha who have
joined us in the vision of building the Centre
here. Many of these congregations are pledging
toward the ongoing costs in the months to come.
We have enough funds in hand to cover the costs
of consultants, architects, quantity-surveyors
etc, and now to keep the contractor busy for a
few months ahead of the cash flow, but we will
need help to keep the project moving. We have
established a partnering agreement with the
contractor which will keep costs to a
minimum. Fundraising is to continue in the form
of local activities (involving the Church
community), international donations (UK, USA and
Canada) and local donations. 
13
DESIGN IDEAS
A large fragment of plaster with a row of ornate
crosses And floral pattern
A plaster cross from the Sir Bani Yas Church,
part of a decorative frieze.
Church Site
14
(No Transcript)
15
CONTACT www.epiphany-qatar.org

• Rev. William Schwartz
• Priest
• epiphany_at_qatar.net.qa
• Jaywant Michael
• Chairperson / Fundraising Committee
• - 100hill_at_securenym.net
• Bill Pottiger
• Chairperson / Building Committee
• pottiger_at_qatar.net.qa