Gotta have faith

THE new leader of the Christian community in the kingdom was sworn in at an official installation service at St Christopher's Cathedral, writes Asma Salman.

The Very Reverend Chris Butt was officially installed by the Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, The Right Reverend Michael Lewis, while clergy from neighbouring Gulf States, visitors from the UK and members of the local Christian community attended the service.

"This is a significant moment in my life. It was a lovely service and the British Ambassador, Jamie Bowden gave a reading from the Bible. Six members from my previous church came to Bahrain to share the experience and show their support," said Mr Butt, 57, who was team rector of the English parish of South Gillingham in Kent for more than a decade.

Mr Butt arrived in Bahrain after attending a conference of Anglican clergy of North Africa and the Middle East and was immediately struck by the warm welcome he received. "The day after I arrived I was shaking hands with His Majesty King Hamad at the wedding reception of his son. The sheer scale of the reception opened my eyes.

"Meeting royalty in the UK would have been close to impossible. Soon after I went to the National Stadium to watch the football match between Bahrain and New Zealand and was impressed by the hospitality and friendliness of Bahrainis in the crowd."

This is the first time that Mr Butt has lived in a dominantly Muslim community. "The relationship of the church and Muslims is very important in Bahrain. The very fact that we are allowed to worship and have a cathedral in the middle of the island speaks for itself.

He explained: "I have come with no blueprint and my main role and responsibility is to provide guidance, leadership and service to the Christian community residing here.

"It will be a challenge to get to know everyone as there are 49 different groups that regularly meet at the cathedral every week."

A group that comes under the wing of St Christopher's Cathedral is the Mission to Seafarers, which runs the Seafarers' Welfare Centre for visiting sea men and women.

In the short time that the new Dean of St Christopher's Catherdral has been on the island, he feels that there is an immediate need for adequate welfare provision for sailors at the new Khalifa Bin Salman Port.

"We have to respond to the needs of visiting sailors as these people bring goods that are important to the island," he said.

The island has a history of having multi-faith communities. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Jains co-exist peacefully and the secular Bahraini government imposes no restrictions on them having a place of worship on the island.

The dean hopes that he will be able to foster good relations and understanding within different communities during his stay here.