Page 79 - Protestant Missionary Activity in the Arabian Gulf

of the Arabian Mission had ceased to exist and in its place

an independent, local ecclesiastical structure has evolved

which served to coordinate activities for 1,200 persons in

five congregations while sharing its facilities with eight

other Christian denominations in Kuwait, thereby accomodating
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a total Christian community of some 5,000 souls.

A similar evolution was taking place in Bahrain,where

the Evangelical Church was also composed of three separate

!
congregations. The Arabic language Congregation under Rev.

Ishaq Attallah and the English language Congregation under

Rev. Harold Davenport had some two hundred and fifty members
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between them. They were still receiving subsidies from the
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Reformed Church in 1973, but soon expected to be completely
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independent. The third, Malayalee congregation, was self-

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supporting. In addition to the Evangelical Church in Bahrain,

there was also a sizeable Catholic community and an Anglican
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community. The Anglican pastor served a town congregation in

Manamah and a second congregation in Awali, the BAPCO oil

camp. Jufair, the IT. S. Navy facility, also had its small
chapel, chaplain and expatriate congregation. 143

The congregations in Muscat were much smaller, perhaps

because Oman had not yet opened its doors to immigration in

the way Kuwait and Bahrain had done. Nor were the economic

opportunities in the Sultanate as attractive for drawing

expatriate Christians. Nevertheless there was a church in

Muscat and a chapel in Matrah. The English language Congrega­

tion was partially supporting its pastor with a contribution

A