Healing Through Partnership: The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina and the Diocese of Egypt
Healing and Sharing Christ: The Diocese of Egypt’s Hospital Ministry
Anglican Diocese of South Carolina
The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina (ADOSC) has long enjoyed a special relationship with the Diocese of Egypt. Most recently, in 2025, the Diocesan Council, at the recommendation of the diocesan Anglican Missional Partnership Committee, renewed a formal companion relationship with the Anglican Province of Alexandria, which includes the Diocese of Egypt. The Province also includes the Dioceses of North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Gambella.
Episcopal Anglican Province of Alexandria
ADOSC recently received an invitation from the Diocese of Egypt to participate in its ministry providing medical care by assisting in the purchase of a CT Scan unit for their hospital in Sadat City. Medical mission has been part of the ministry of the Diocese of Egypt since the turn of the twentieth century, when an Irish Missionary, Dr. Frank Harpur, equipped a boat as a mobile medical clinic to serve communities up and down the Nile River. He eventually felt led to stop in the town of Menouf, and the mobile clinic was converted into a permanent hospital in 1910. It still serves and thrives today as the Harpur Memorial Hospital in Menouf. On the centennial anniversary of the Menouf hospital’s founding, the Diocese opened its sister hospital in Sadat City in 2010. The Harpur Memorial Hospital in Sadat City now needs a CT Scan unit at a purchase price of over $258,000.
I have had the personal opportunity to visit both hospitals to see the level of care and love extended to their patients. In 2019, I joined a group of students from Trinity Anglican Seminary, including two of our own seminarians at the time, on a visit to the Sadat City hospital. More recently, in February 2025, a pilgrimage group of sixteen of us from the diocese visited the hospital in Menouf. We witnessed firsthand the vision and mission of their ministry to be a distinguished place of holistic healing and a beacon of light to all for God’s glory, and, with God’s help, to offer loving healthcare and hope to all people.
As described on the Sadat City Hospital’s website: “Today, the hospital sees between 150-200 patients each day. The hospital seeks the welfare of all people, serving and loving our neighbors, both Muslim and Christian. This is a powerful way of engaging with our communities, especially as over 95% of patients are Muslim. The hospital is proud to provide trustworthy medical services at the highest quality, at prices designed to serve patients from any economic level. To keep the prices low, the diocese ran a fund-raising campaign for the new hospital building and made occasional requests for equipment. However, the hospital operating costs, including salaries, are covered by the small patient fees. The self-sustainability is a testament to the high value with which the communities receive the services.”
The healthcare ministry of the Diocese of Egypt needs support and offers ongoing opportunities for partnerships in addressing these needs. Sadat City is a rapidly growing area strategically located near the Cairo-Alexandria highway, making it a hotspot for industrial injuries, road traffic accidents, and emergency medical cases. The current absence of an in-house CT Scan significantly delays diagnosis, referrals, and life-saving interventions. The holistic mission of the Diocese of Egypt allows its hospitals to integrate professional medical excellence with Christian compassion, viewing healthcare as a sacred ministry.
While the Diocese of South Carolina will be assisting to meet these needs, charitable contributions are welcome and urgently needed from all who are willing to help. If you want to know more, please visit the website shown below or contact the diocesan Canon for Global Mission, The Rev’d Canon Bob Lawrence at blawrence@adosc.org for detailed information provided from Egypt to address this need.
The Rev. Robert (Bob) S. Lawrence
The Rev. Robert (Bob) S. Lawrence is Canon for Global Missions for the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. Long involved in world mission, he has chaired the diocesan mission committee since 2010. He serves as the diocesan advocate for the ACNA Global Mission Initiative and represents the diocese among the ACNA Global Partners. He served as a Trustee for the New Wineskins Mission Network from 2015 through November 20, 2025, serving the past year as the board chair. He continues to serve on the boards of SOMA and Great Lakes Outreach. He was a diocesan delegate to the last three GAFCON gatherings in Nairobi, Jerusalem, and Kigali, and he continues to be a clergy delegate from his diocese to the annual meetings of the ACNA Provincial Council. Bob is the recent past Executive Director of St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, where he served from September 2010 to April 2022. He is a retired Navy veteran, having served 16 years as a Naval Aviator and 11 years as a Chaplain. His parish ministry includes Trinity Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, VA, St. Matthew's Church in Darlington, SC, St. Michael's Church in Charleston, SC, and Christ Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC. He presently assists at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston, SC. Bob is married to Lynn Howard Lawrence. They are the parents of three married sons and grandparents to seven grandchildren who know them as JaJa and Lula.
