Following The Thread

Dorcas and her work still lives on, thanks to a church in the very shadow of the house of Simon the tanner.

Most tourists will not find this church by themselves. Tucked in a winding alleyway, built on landlocked ancient foundations, this spectacularly beautiful Eastern Orthodox church was scorched by fire 20 years before. Restored, its murals gleam today with pristine beauty.

Like all functioning churches, the real beauty is not in its windows and furnishings but in the spiritual life of its congregation. And this little church shines with a rare beauty beyond antiquities and treasures.

The church’s congregation is admittedly poor in gold and earthly treasures, largely comprised of low-paid foreign domestics in Israel on work visas. But, says their shepherd, a joyful, dark-eyed man, they are eager for the Word. As proof, the three services held weekly in Russian, Romanian, and Serb-Croatian are standing room only.

“We consider Dorcas the mother of our church,” he said. Then he told me the oral legend of Dorcas passed down through the years.

“She was a talented woman made wealthy from her craft as a seamstress,” he said. “She followed Jesus as His disciple and never married. Her life was poured out to build His church by helping the poor.”

The church Dorcas founded remembers her by collecting good used clothing, washing and repairing them, and distributing them to the needy. It is a matter of the poor helping the poorer.

The church in Jaffa, led by the spirit of Dorcas, continues to be built one stitch at a time. And like Dorcas, a mother of our faith who lived so long ago, the Church she founded continues to do what they can to clothe the naked as if they were clothing Christ Himself (Matthew 25).

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© Rebekah Montgomery 2008
For reprint requests, contact Rebekah at her website, www.Rebekah Montgomery.com

Rebekah Montgomery, author/speaker/teacher, is a gifted, dynamic communicator. She is the author of more than five books and has penned 1,100 articles. She shares tough real-life topics and biblical application in a simple easy to grasp manner. To book Rebekah for your next event visit www.rebekahmontgomery.com. Rebekah is also the editor of Right to the Heart of Women and a publisher at Jubilant Press.