In 2003, shortly after graduating from college, I (Ben) moved to Cairo, Egypt to serve as the Youth Director at St John’s the Baptist Anglican Church. While I was serving at St. John’s, I attended the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo where I studied Middle Eastern Christianity. Emily and I got married in 2005; Emily moved to Cairo where she volunteered at a prenatal Clinic for Sudanese, refugees, coached at the American High School, and helped with the Youth Group. We loved living in Egypt and were sad to leave. However, Emily wanted to return to the US and gain some basic nursing experience, and I wanted to attend to seminary and earn a Masters of Divinity.
After three great years in Princeton, we began to look for opportunities to use our gifts and passions. (See previous posts for details on our life in Princeton). We hoped to serve in the Middle East, but were open to looking elsewhere. As a part of the ordination process in the PCUSA, I was in contact with St. John’s and learned that they were looking for an associate pastor of Youth, Young Adults, and Education. After several conversations with the church, we felt that serving in Cairo would be a wonderful opportunity to use our passions to help fill a need.
St. John’s is an English speaking church that serves the expatriate community in Cairo. The majority of the members of the church are American, but there are a large number of Europeans, Australians, and other people who desire to worship in English. St. John’s is a part of the Anglican Communion, but less than half of the congregation are Anglican; they are an eclectic group from many nationalities and denominations. The church is located in the Cairo suburb of Maadi. Maadi is one of the greenest and quietest neighborhoods in Cairo, and is home to the largest number of expatriates.
My role at St. John’s will be varied as I spend my time in Youth Ministry, Young Adult ministry, overseeing the Christian Education programs, and performing preaching/liturgical duties in our worship service. Rev. Chandler and I have been emailing in anticipation of the specific programs/ministries I will be working on when I arrive. I will be sure to inform y’all when things are up and running, but for now I will restrain myself from sharing exactly what I think I will be doing. I do so for my sake, not yours; I don’t want to get too excited about any one idea before I have had the chance to hear if the people I will be serving are excited about the idea. Emily and I have also been in contact with the Athletic Director at the American High School and it looks like we will be coaching Cross Country.
Emily is still in the process of figuring out the specifics of what she will be doing in Cairo. Emily loves providing medical care to kids and families. Most of the positions available for American nurses are either with large Multi-National Corporations or with small Egyptian clinics. We were unable to find any positions with western corporations that would allow her to serve under-priveleged Egyptians, or children. There is a broad spectrum of Egyptian organizations; some of these might provide a wonderful opportunity, whereas others would be extremely difficult to work for as an American with minimal arabic. So Emily’s plan is to study Arabic, Coach Cross Country and Track, substitute as a school nurse, and volunteer at a clinic for impoverished Egyptians. This will allow her to explore a variety of possibilities and provide flexibility should she find a fulltime position that would be a good fit.
Well I should get back to studying for my Greek translation final tomorrow, but I wanted to provide you with some details about what we will be doing in Egypt. There are some photos of the church and the neighborhood where we will live, etc in the preceding post.
Ben & Emily
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