St. George’s College buffeted by war

The conflict in the Holy Land is having an impact on the financial viability of St. George’s College, an Anglican centre for pilgrimage in Jerusalem.

“We’ve had no pilgrim groups since last October, and at the moment we can’t see the end of the war and can’t imagine when they will come back,” says the Very Rev. Richard Sewell, dean of the college.

Dean Sewell was in Toronto on Sept. 29 to preach at St. James Cathedral and deliver the Snell Lecture (see pages 8-9). He was here at the invitation of the Very Rev. Stephan Hance, rector of the cathedral and dean of Toronto. The two men are old friends.

During an interview, Dean Sewell said the war has had a profound impact on the region’s economy, including businesses that cater to tourists and pilgrims, many of which are owned and operated by Christians. While some individuals continue to make their way there to stand in solidarity with Israelis or Palestinians, groups of pilgrims have stopped going.

“People who are dependent on the tourist and pilgrim business have no income, so they are really struggling,” he said. “Poverty and hunger are beginning to be a thing. In the West Bank, there is no social security, so if you don’t have work and don’t have income, you have no money. There is nothing the government will do to support you.”

St. George’s College hasn’t been spared the economic fallout. After enduring two years of shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, which decimated its financial reserves, it was looking forward to rebounding in 2023. Then the war started.

“We were fully booked for the year, and then bang, it finished in one stroke,” said Dean Sewell. “All of the bookings collapsed. We lost all of them. It was devastating.”

The college is currently closed to in-person visits and pilgrimages, and staff hours have been cut back. He has no idea when it will open again. “Nobody knows what the trajectory of this war is. Nobody can see an end. We hope for it sooner, not later, but it could be a month, two months, a year. We just have to be ready when it does.”

In times of peace, the college offers courses that include guided pilgrimages to the holy sites in Israel and Palestine. It provides residential accommodation for up to 40 pilgrims at a time. Located steps away from the Old City of Jerusalem, it is a popular destination for pilgrims from around the world. It celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2020.

To keep in touch with its supporters during the war, the college posts videos of the holy sites on its website. It also makes use of podcasts, social media and Zoom. “It’s not an adequate alternative to in-person, face-to-face contact in the land, but when you can’t do that, it’s a pretty good second,” he says. “People can engage with us in lots of ways. We’re not silent and we haven’t disappeared, even though we’re closed to in-person visits and pilgrimage.”

The college is planning a fundraising campaign to help pay staff for the coming year and rebuild its financial reserves. Before and after his visit to Toronto, Dean Sewell met with Episcopalians in the United States to discuss the appeal, which will launch on Dec. 1. “So far, the response has been really encouraging. We feel prayerfully, humbly confident that the Lord will bless us with what we need.”

He says it’s important to keep the staff employed during the war, not only so the college will be ready when the time comes to reopen, but to provide them with a means of living. “I don’t want to say to my staff, who are predominantly Palestinian, that we’re going to have to let you go. There are no alternative jobs at the moment, so I would be consigning them to poverty. I’m really hopeful that we will have the funds to be able to tide them over for the time being.”