Although the Chaplaincy of Dubai & Sharjah was formally constituted on April 5th 1970, its true history starts some years earlier.

It may, now, be difficult for the residents of the area presently served by the Chaplaincy to visualise the situation in the Trucial States in the 1960’s when Abu Dhabi was a small new settlement clustered upon the sea front and accessible from Dubai by a hazardous and time consuming road journey which made the infrequent schedules of the Gulf Aviation DC3’s the attractive option for those who had a need to make the journey: Dubai was connected to the outskirts of Sharjah by a tarmac strip which was at the mercy of high tides in the Gulf and frequently under water, so that a journey after dark was for the intrepid, whilst a sand track lead from Sharjah to Ras Al Khaimah under the dunes which meant that the two settlements were linked only at low tide, and the East Coast villages of Khor Fakkan and Fujairah were reached either by dhow or by a soft sand track from the West Coast, through Falaj Al Moalla to the Dhaid oasis, thence along the rocky trail across the mountains to the far coast which was usually a day’s journey, and the traveller would have passed the settlements of Ajman and Umm Al Quwain en-route!

Dubai itself was a prosperous and thriving community with a new single-track toll-bridge linking the commercial centre of Deira with the seat of government in Bur Dubai: the two townships were huddled on either side of the entrance to the Creek, known as Khor Dubai, and the Clock Tower was the prominent landmark from which directions to other areas established: most retail shops were in Deira and Jashanmal’s in ‘Cinema Square’ was the afternoon meeting place of the small group of European residents of Dubai and Sharjah who would foregather there to collect newspapers, exchange invitations and gossip, and progress to the Hassani Supermarket for their provisions: further up the Dubai side of the Creek were beginning to be established buildings concerned with the expatriate population, including the English-Speaking School, the Indian School, and the recently completed Saint Mary’s Church.

Perhaps amongst the most significant differences between then and now was the need for all foreigners to obtain a visa for admission to the Trucial States from the Foreign Office in London which jealously guarded its responsibilities for external affairs on behalf of the seven Rulers of the separate states.

Oil had been discovered in Abu Dhabi and was about to come on stream in Dubai: oil from Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had been the factor that traditionally drew expatriates to a region which at that time was known for its hospitable people and inhospitable environment, and it was oil that originally lead to the establishment of a Christian Ministry in the predominantly Moslem Arab States. For some years, the provision of Religion in any form was the was the preserve of the personnel departments of the established oil companies such as the Iran/Iraq Oil Companies and the Qatar Petroleum Company: an Anglican Church of Saint Andrew was to be found on the corniche of Abu Dhabi, whilst the recently built Saint Mary’s Church in Dubai swiftly became so involved with its ministry to an expanding Roman Catholic population that it was difficult for Protestant-style worship to be accommodated there: this lead to a number of new arrivals attending Saint Martin’s Church at the British Garrison in Sharjah, where they were made very welcome by the Army and Royal Air Force Chaplains.

By the end of the ‘60s the area was, for the Anglican Church, under the aegis of the Archbishop in Jerusalem and a part of ‘The Chaplaincy of Qatar and the Trucial States’, with its Chaplain, the Reverend David Elliot, based upon Saint Andrews in Abu Dhabi. At this time, only the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches displayed any interest in the Gulf Region and, although other congregations such as the ancient Marthoma were visible, they were not in any way officially recognised: it had become customary for Church Services to be held in house when it was known that the Chaplain would be able to visit from Abu Dhabi, but this was far from satisfactory due to the poor state of communications, which meant that a congregation would meet when the Chaplain was unable to make the journey, and vice-versa. From 1968-69, with a view to making access to public worship more ‘public’, the venue was moved to the Courtroom in the British Agency, now the British Embassy, and a fixed time set for worship every Sunday: this was usually lay-led but with frequent assistance from the Army and RAF Chaplains of Sharjah. This change meant that the visiting Chaplain could be certain of meeting up with the congregation and, when this happened, ‘Evensong’ was replaced by a celebration of Holy Communion. The change also lead to a vast increase in attendances so that at Festivals the scene shifted to the British Agency tennis court!

The burgeoning expatriate population and the consequent increase in congregation lead directly to a demand for a more formal establishment and, in 1969, it was resolved to revise and adopt the somewhat informal constitution, to seek permission of His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Said Al Maktoum, then Ruler of Dubai, to build a church for all Christians to use, and to appoint a Chaplain to care for the spiritual welfare of the expatriate Christians living in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Trucial States: Sheikh Rashid not only acquiesced to the request for land but himself laid the foundation stone of Dubai’s Holy Trinity Church.

In September 1969 the Reverend Kenneth Ridgewell arrived to take up his appointment as the first Chaplain to "The Chaplaincy of Dubai & Sharjah”: his ‘parsonage’ was a now long demolished flat above a printing shop in Cinema (now Nasser) Square and he took responsibility for the maintenance of English-language worship whilst his congregation set out to raise the funds necessary to complete the Church building.

It had long been agreed that the new Church, in view of its geographical location, should be dedicated instead of consecrated, and it had been further agreed that its dedication should not be to any particular denomination but rather be truly catholic in embracing and welcoming all Christians.

Thus it was that on 13th December 1970, Holy Trinity Church was dedicated as
an inter-denominational building in the presence of the Right Reverend George Appleton, then Archbishop in Jerusalem, and a crowd of well-wishers of many faiths so numerous that it was not possible to accommodate them in the Church: the service was held in front of it with the entrance doors wide and the light streaming out. Church leaders from all around attended this unique celebration and the inaugural sermon was preached by Father Eusebius Daveri, the priest from Saint Mary’s Church.

With the departure of the British forces from Sharjah in December 1971 as a result of the establishment of the United Arab Emirates, responsibility for the original Saint Martin’s Church devolved, with its civilian congregation, upon the Chaplaincy. Sadly, development of the Qasimi area of Sharjah necessitated demolition of that Church which has twice been replaced, by the Ruler of Sharjah, with other buildings from the old British base which were considered suitable for conversion to Chaplaincy use. Maintenance of regular worship in English was shared, as was the case until comparatively recently, by lay-leaders and the Chaplain who would visit at least monthly to celebrate Holy Communion.

Upon the departure of Kenneth Ridgewell, and in the light of the growing importance of Dubai as a maritime centre consequent upon the development of Port Rashid, it was decided that the Chaplaincy should join forces with the London-based Mission to Seamen in providing a vibrant ministry; an agreement was reached that provided for the Mission to nominate a Chaplain responsible for both areas of ministry, paid and accommodated by the Chaplaincy but, with other costs met by them; additionally, the Mission agreed to grant the Chaplaincy generous assistance in funds to build a permanent house at the Holy Trinity Compound. Initially the late Cannon Haydn Parry MC arrived on a non-stipendiary basis to launch the scheme; he, and his wife Margaret, were housed in a flat above what is now Al Maktoum Street in Deira overlooking the Moslem Cemetery, and commenced a most valuable part of the Chaplaincy’s future work. Although a semi-invalid, Cannon Parry travelled to all accessible parts of the Chaplaincy where his warm, caring and humorous disposition endeared him and the work to all with whom he came into contact thereby considerably easing the path for his successors. Work was started on the Chaplaincy House and plans made to build a Community Hall, which was a facility greatly in demand throughout the, then, expatriate community.

Haydn Parry’s brief, but valuable, ministry was followed immediately by the late Phillip Sturdy who, initially, took up residence with his wife, Mary, in the Deira flat but was soon to move into the newly-completed house in the compound from where he was able to greatly consolidate the Chaplaincy work as well as being in a position to oversee the construction of the “Community Hall”. Mary Sturdy devoted much time and effort to developing the “Women’s Guild”, which owed its origins to the very earliest pre-Chaplaincy days, into a cohesive and prayerful Chaplaincy support group; the Guild also provided a useful backdrop to most fund-raising efforts, as well as post-worship catering and being the nucleus of such things as the Annual Christmas Bazaar Committee! With the completion of the hall, a purpose-built “Thrift Shop” was opened with the aim of providing additional funds for the maintenance and expansion of God’s work within the Chaplaincy as well as providing a useful forum where women could meet to discuss matters of mutual interest, frequently when dropping off or collecting their children from the neighbourhood schools. At this time, Dubai was growing at a rate that was hard to comprehend even to those who lived and worked there, and the demands on Phillip’s ministry grew week by week; establishing a Chaplaincy presence in Sharjah was proving to be less easy than had been anticipated, whilst the continuing growth of Dubai as a major seaport was in itself as greater numbers of seamen with seafarers problems came ashore. A base for seamen ceased to be a hoped-for luxury and became an urgent necessity: Phillip was able to negotiate with the Ruler, Sheikh Rashid, for the gift of the old DPC Clinic, adjacent to Port Rashid as just such a base and, with the aid of The Mission to Seamen in London, and a committee of expatriate representatives of Government Officers, Port Administrators, and locally based shipping companies was instrumental in helping to establish “The Dubai International Seafarer’s Center”. This Center eventually took on its own lay staff and became autonomous, while a separate Mission to Seamen Committee was established to guarantee the continuity of that aspect of the work.

When the time came for Phillip and Mary to return to Britain, their places were taken by John and Linda Paxton who similarly had been chosen by The Mission to Seamen. The pattern of worship and work remained much as in Phillip Sturdy’s time and was really a much needed period of consolidation when John did much to encourage and strengthen the congregation at Saint Martin’s as well as enlarging upon the physical presence of a Chaplain in the Port, but it swiftly became apparent that the work in both the Chaplaincy and the Port was growing so speedily that that the joint ministry was no longer viable and that it would be necessary to separate it; John was asked to choose which part of the split he would prefer to be responsible for and elected to continue serving The Mission to Seamen; unfortunately at that time the Dubai Branch was not in a position to support a priest with a wife and young twin children so John had to prepare for a move back to Britain, but not before he had the privilege of preaching at a service in Holy Trinity attended by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh which took place on Sunday February 25th 1979 and was, by a happy coincidence, John’s 30th birthday!

Apart from the obvious physical developments, the last ten years has seen a major and inspired expansion in Outreach and Christian Ministry; of course communications throughout the Chaplaincy have been immeasurably improved in comparison to those sketched in the preamble to this brief history and full advantage has been taken for the opportunities to take the Chaplaincy and God’s work to the people. Most significantly, the ordained staff has doubled with the appointment of a Priest as Associate Chaplain based in Sharjah, and worship is offered publicly and regularly not only in Dubai and Sharjah, but also in the new settlement of Jebel Ali, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan whilst the independence of the Chaplaincy has allowed the Mission to Seamen, equally, to expand its dedicated work.