(RNS) — Soon after she arrived in New Jersey, Episcopal Bishop Sally French discovered her new diocese had a little-used fund to support medical care for children and adolescents with lifelong and debilitating illnesses.
The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey’s Jane O.P. Turner Fund was sitting on $3.6 million in assets and doling out only a tiny fraction over the past 12 years.
On Friday (Nov. 21), French announced the diocese was giving $1 million from the fund to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East to help it provide medical care for Palestinian children and families in Gaza and the West Bank. Archbishop Hosam E. Naoum of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem appeared at a formal announcement via Zoom, alongside French.
“We realized that we had resources that we could potentially put to use,” French told RNS in a phone call. “We recognized nothing in the terms (of the fund) that say it must be in New Jersey, or even in this country. By offering this gift, we could make a real difference in the lives of children and youth and families in Gaza and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories. This for us is gospel work.”
The gift will help several medical institutions supported …