THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND - Priestfield Parish Church

as well as to provide a resource for our partners such as
a youth group from the Sabeel Ecumenical Centre and a
charity bazaar each spring. The guesthouse interior has
also been kept up to date with continued improvements
to accommodation and to the library.
Despite the Gaza conflict at the beginning of 2009, and the
global economic crisis which impacted the first quarter
of the year, the Guesthouse’s financial performance
remained high, returning £102,000 in lease payment and
net operating profit, while covering more of the “shared”
central costs of the Church’s operations in the country and
spending very little on advertising. A particular success
has been the relaunching of the Guesthouse’s weekend
brunches, which have attracted a varied clientele and
increased revenue while also building a “buzzing” but
not intrusive atmosphere. The Guesthouse hosted 28
groups in 2009, and pilgrims were common guests, both
as individuals and groups, and the guesthouse has been
happy to welcome many visitors from the Church of
Scotland.
Scots Hotel, Tiberias
Mr Shimon Kipnis has skilfully managed the Scots Hotel
through a challenging year in terms of economic recession
and political conflict, both of which struck the premium
tourism in the regions hard, so that the Scots Hotel was
not as badly hit as the general market in Tiberias and
Galilee. The hotel’s occupancy rate was 59% and despite
more than 60% unexpected increase in municipal rates it
returned £176,000 in lease payments and net operating
profit. It continues to receive plaudits and positive press
both locally and abroad as a high-quality boutique hotel,
professional and with a warm and friendly atmosphere,
employing a loyal team from a multi-ethnic and multireligious
local community.
During the year the hotel has welcomed Christians either as
individuals or in groups. In addition to hosting 206 pilgrim
groups from outside Israel and Palestine, the hotel has
been a centre of hospitality for 50 local Christian groups to
WORLD MISSION COUNCIL 7/27
whom the hotel and Church are made available through
subsidies. It is hoped that the demand on subsidies will
increase and anticipated that the demand can be met
from the hotel.
Social Enterprise
During the past year, the Leadership Team of the Church
of Scotland’s Centres in Israel Palestine, including the
heads of each Centre and the two Ministers, have
come together regularly to share their experiences and
encourage each other. In spring 2010, this team took two
days away to build stronger relationships and consider
their roles as part of a single entity in Israel Palestine. Part
of this process of examining and defining our Values,
Vision and Mission over the year has been a growing
sense of responsibility to our history, community and
environment, and steady progress along the road to
being united as a social enterprise.
Working towards an assessment by Good Corporation
on corporate responsibility of each Centre, including
educational quality indicators for Tabeetha as well as
indicators of governance, community relations, good
employment and good management, the team now aims
towards a higher goal of having a positive impact on the
local community and its challenges. This will infuse the
principles of reconciliation being implemented in the
Centre for Peace, Reconciliation and Interfaith Dialogue,
and link with similar initiatives in other Councils and
areas of the Church of Scotland both within and outwith
Scotland and Israel Palestine.
Scottish Churches World Exchange
Since its inception in 1992 the Church of Scotland has
led the way in the development of World Exchange as an
ecumenical instrument of the Churches in Scotland. SCWE
is jointly owned and managed by the Church of Scotland,
the Scottish Episcopal Church, the United Reformed
Church and the Roman Catholic Church through SCIAF.
This ecumenical structure has given considerable freedom
to experiment with different forms of voluntary service
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