St Paul's Anglican Church – over 50 years of Ministry in Kuwait St Paul's Anglican Church celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. Originally built by the Kuwait Oil Company as part of its commitment to meet the spiritual needs of the workforce, the church was consecrated and dedicated by the then Bishop of Jerusalem Weston Henry Stewart on November 16th, 1956. St Paul's was chosen as the name for the new church because St Paul was the only apostle who is named in the New Testament as having spent time in Arabia.
The story of St Pauls in Kuwait and other denominations is told in: The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf Over the years, the community of St Paul's has witnessed the changing fortunes of Kuwait. During the Iraqi invasion the church was miraculously left unscathed by the hostile troops and this seemed to have been due to a Kurdish Christian contingent in the Iraqi army who took it upon themselves to guard the property of St Paul's. The Kurds even used the premises to conduct their own Christian service. The English chaplain at that time was seized by Saddam Hussein when he attempted to lead a convoy to freedom. The chaplain spent the rest of the war as a POW in Baghdad, where he continued to faithfully minister to his fellow prisoners. Ironically, it was the bombardment by the allied air-forces which caused the most damage to the church building. All the stained glass windows were blown out by the bomb blasts and have since been replaced. Due to most of the Western Christian community fleeing or were in hiding, it was the Indian Christian community who rallied alongside the liberating allied troops to restore St Paul’s Church to a place of active worship.
One of the most moving events held in the church, was the first Remembrance Sunday held after the liberation of Kuwait. At this event, the families of the forty seven British armed forces personnel who lost their lives in the conflict attended the church service and laid poppy wreathes at the foot of the Gulf War Memorial. Today, the community Paul’s church reflects the international expatriate population who presently reside in Kuwait. As well as the Sunday evening services (begins at 6.30pm) there is a congregation who meets every Friday morning at 10.30am in Salwa. (For maps and Directions see Worship)
St Paul's Church seeks to be faithful in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and encouraging the Christian community to allow the Holy Spirit to transform their lives so that in turn, they can be a positive blessing to the nation of Kuwait
As well as the Anglican community, this building is also the spiritual home for over eighteen congregations who represent several different denominations, nationalities and languages. |
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