Paul Calvert spoke with Dr Garth Gilmour, the Executive Director of CMJ, about their work pioneering modern medical treatment in Jerusalem, and Christian education.

Cadbury ward

We were challenged by that and we chose to stay.

My daughter at that stage was one and a half years old and it was a real challenge, but it was exiting.

The school closed. Everything closed for the time of the war. The Government closed all businesses and confined everybody, basically, to their homes.

But at the time that the school was open until the war, and immediately afterwards, it was very exciting to get back together, and meet and exchange war stories as it were. Even though we remained largely unaffected, we had no idea where the scuds were going to land. We were watching the TV reports, listening to the radio, and reading what newspapers we could get our hands on. We also listened to terrified phone calls from families overseas who were far more scared than we were about what was happening.

It was a remarkable time.

Paul: Did family back in England think that you were absolutely crazy to stay here?

Dr Gilmour: They did. They tried to get us to leave, but we felt that it wasn't worth it. It was right for us to stay. It was important for us to stay and we wanted to stay.

It wasn't a difficult decision at all. When you are in the centre of God's purposes for your life, there is a peace that comes even in the midst of war and rumours of war. I don't want to use this as a cliché, but it transcends any kind of logic or reason that may be used against you. Our families had very good reasons for wanting us to leave, but we had very good reasons for staying and they were the right reasons.

Paul: CMJ today is not just a school, there is so much more. What other projects do you run?

Dr Gilmour: We were founded in the UK. The UK still has a very strong presence. CMJ UK is a lively, active and productive ministry amongst Jewish people and in churches in Britain.

We are part of a worldwide ministry now though. We've branches in Ireland, North America, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and a fledgling branch in Singapore. So we are worldwide.

Here in Israel we have a diversity of ministries. At the heart of it all is Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem. It's the oldest Protestant Evangelical church in the whole Middle East and is still active. Officially we are an Anglican church. Some Anglicans may not recognise much Anglicanism in what we do, but we do have liturgical services on Sunday. On Saturday a local Hebrew speaking Jewish congregation of Jewish believers uses the church. It's full and noisy and active and exiting. On Sunday we have normal Anglican services where ex-patriots like myself and local people, both Jews and Arabs, all come to the service.

The guest house takes up most of the rest of the compound that surrounds the church. It is a successful, lovely, and well-known traditional guest house. It is building a reputation for ambience and quietness in the midst of the business of the Old City.

We have an outstanding and increasingly well-known coffee shop and restaurant there. Israelis more and more are making up the majority of the people who come and stay there, which is very exciting for us.