It’s no secret the UAE is a Muslim country; but what if you don’t practice Islam? Never fear –there are plenty of other religions in town, all welcomed by the government. This time: Christian churches. We’ll cover the other major religions in an upcoming issue.

 

 

 

St Andrew’s Centre

Built on land generously provided by HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, St Andrew’s first opened in 1966 and has been hosting services at its current location since 1984. Complete with an English library and a thrift shop, St Andrew’s Centre has been an integral part of the Christian community for decades.

An Anglican service in English is held every Friday at 10.30am and every Sunday at 10am and 6pm in the main church.

A service is also held in Al Ain on the second and fourth Monday of the month at 5.30pm in St Mary’s Catholic Church.

Though St Andrew’s is an Anglican foundation, over fifty different congregations and groups meet throughout the week. Worship is conducted by a variety of denominations and in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog, Korean, and Arabic.

More information: www.standrewauh.org or call 02 446 1631 between 9am and 1pm.

The Evangelical Community Centre

The tiny organization that began in the living room of Carl and Barbara Sherbeck in 1972 has since grown into a congregation of over 700 strong that recently moved into a new building. Though not officially affiliated with any one denomination, ECC describes itself as “a Christ-centred, Bible-based, international family of believers.”

The Evangelical Community Church worships in English every Friday at 8.30am from September through May and at 10.15am year round.

A full program of bible study groups and Christian education programs are also available for all ages.

An additional 18 groups also meet throughout the week at ECC conducting services in several languages including Filipino, Afrikaans, and Mandarin.

More information: www.eccad.org or 02 445 5434.

St Joseph’s Centre

The foundation for the first Church in Abu Dhabi, St Joseph’s Cathedral, was laid in 1962 on a plot of land donated by then ruler HH Sheikh Shakbut. In its current location, the parish today has over 100,000 expatriate Catholics from all over the world and is still growing.

Daily masses are conducted in English every Monday to Wednesday at 6.30am and 7pm, Thursday at 6.30am and 6.45pm, Saturday at 6,30am.

Several obligatory masses are conducted every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at a variety of times and languages, including English, Tagalog, Malayalam, Urdu, and Arabic.

Children/Youth masses are held every Friday at 10.15am and Sunday at 6pm.

Masses are also conducted throughout the month in Konkani, Tamil, French, Singhalese, and Malankara.

More information: www.stjosephsabudhabi.org or 02 446 1929. 8.30am – 12.30pm and 4pm – 8pm, daily except Tuesday.

If you find this information has changed or have anything useful to add, let us know via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we’ll post an update.

[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 28]