ABU DHABI AND DUBAI // Thousands of worshippers from dozens of denominations congregated at St Andrew’s Church in the capital to mark one of the most important days of the Christian calendar – Good Friday.
The commemoration of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion brought together followers from the Anglican, Methodist, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and Pentecostal churches, to name a few.
And in Dubai, 30,000 people turned out at a church compound to hear sermons in several languages.
Rev Canon Andrew Thompson, senior Anglican chaplain and the overseer of St Andrew’s Church compound in the capital, said: “The UAE has brought us all together in the same space, and that is a gift.”
Rev Thompson, who has lived in the Middle East for 27 years, said that in many other countries his church would be isolated from others, but in Abu Dhabi denominations were brought together to celebrate the diversity of the worldwide Christian family.
“On a weekly basis I get to rub shoulders with Greek Orthodox, Indian Pentecostalists and Korean Methodists,” he said.
Despite the Good Friday ceremonies having to be held in a smaller hall due to renovations to the church’s main hall, back-to-back services for more than 40 churches were held throughout the day, starting at 6am and continuing until midnight.
More than 20,000 worshippers were expected at the St Andrew’s compound throughout the day.
As a follower of the Church of Pakistan, Shahzad Nasim said he was marking the day by fasting from sunrise to sunset.
“For me, Good Friday is about abstinence and sharing in the suffering of Jesus Christ by depriving oneself of pleasures,” he said.
A registered nurse, Mr Nasim said he was glad to be able to attend Good Friday services, as work shifts sometimes keep him away from church on weekends.
“Today is a gift to us all and, in turn, we should help the poor people, pray and confess our sins,” he said.
For Camilla Underwood, 20, of the Anglican Church, Easter was one of the holidays that brought her back to her parents who work in Abu Dhabi.
“Obviously it’s a sad day that reminds you what Jesus did and what he means to you, but it’s also a time for coming together with your family,” said the Bristol University student, who had flown in from the UK for the week.
In Dubai, Christians sang hymns and prayed during a day of reflection and introspection, as thousands of worshippers filed into churches to mark the day.
Psalms were recited as sermons in several languages including English, Hindi and Tagalog were held throughout yesterday at the Holy Trinity Church in Dubai, which at 45 years is one of the emirate’s oldest churches.
“There is large-scale suffering all around us in various conflicts, and also there are conflicts in our own lives,” said Rev Dr Ruwan Palapathwala, who conducted services yesterday.
“During the period of Lent, Christians go through soul-searching because this is a time for retrospection, fasting and prayer – when we purge ourselves from any anger, jealousy, envy, hatred or pride because this is the Good Friday path. Without this we cannot celebrate Easter because we must be open to God and see through ourselves.”
One of the most sacred times for Christians, the 40-day Lent period ends on Sunday with an Easter mass. It is a period when the faithful remember the life of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and then celebrate his resurrection.
“Easter for us Christians is rising to a new life, when we become children of light and not darkness, and we rise to a new life as children of God. It is our hope for the future of returning to God, from whom we have come,” said Rev Palapathwala.
The Holy Trinity Church is part of the chaplaincy of Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, and allows 141 other congregations, including Coptic, Evangelical, the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox, and those from the Korean and Indonesian churches, to worship in halls within its compound in Oud Metha Road.
Parishioners such a Anshu Vakil look to the church for community gatherings, but also for solace during personal crises.
“I got married here two years ago so this church is important to me,” said Mrs Vakil.
“When I was disturbed about my health recently I went to the reverend and he helped console me.”
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Sceptre
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
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If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
