Biographical Statement

In the fall of 1982 Mary Ann Gilbert of Indianola, Iowa began Intercessors for the Suffering Church (ISC) as a group to "unite into one mind and one spirit those called by God to intercede especially for those members of Christ's body [the church] who are now undergoing persecution." Her efforts began by providing interested individuals with relevant information by letter, copied articles, organization and individual contact information and a bi-monthly prayer calendar. She saw ICS as a supplement to the many organizations already highlighting and serving the cause of religious persecution. ICS was an informal effort and was never incorporated. To further her ministry Gilbert spoke to a wide range of gatherings from prayer groups to Women Aglow meetings. For three years she served as co-host of a radio program on KWKY (Des Moines) sponsored by Iowans for Israel. As part of that program, she frequently highlighted a prisoner of religion/conscience to encourage individuals to "adopt" a prisoner. Much of the information on these prisoners came from Keston College resources among many other sources. Other aspects to the ministry included support for refugees of the Nicaraguan dictatorship, and political action on behalf of the Jewish refuseniks. In 1998, after donating her papers relating to the persecuted church to Wheaton College, Gilbert and her husband, William (a retired Simpson College professor), moved to East Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. becoming a dual citizin in 2007. In 2005 Gilbert was appointed Canada East (Atlantic) Regional Director for the Canadian Branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). This appointment was the culmination of over 20 years work devoted to ministry to Israel and the Jewish people. In 2007 Gilbert enrolled at Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, NS to pursue a Graduate Diploma in Christian studies.

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