Prayers have been answered for a Jewish woman who asked God to bring new life to a disused synagogue while on a dancing tour focused on intercession. Sadly, however, news that the Budapest place of worship has been re-opened came too late for Virginia White, who has died, aged 71, after battling cancer.

Founder of Sh’ma Kingdom Dancers

Tributes poured in from Israel, Brazil and the USA for an online memorial to ‘Ginnie’, a Sheffield-based follower of Jesus with an international ministry. As founder of the Sh’ma Kingdom Dancers, who performed in many countries to enhance worship and understanding of Yeshua (Jesus), she has toured the nations proclaiming the gospel of her Messiah.

“Dancing was a great way to introduce the teachings of the kingdom of God and the importance of Israel and Aliyah (helping Jews return to their ancient homeland),” Dr Fred Wright explained at the ceremony, adding that Ginnie fulfilled many roles, including that of organiser, motivator, networker, evangelist and teacher.

She was “like the woman with the alabaster jar”, a “one-off”, a “Deborah of our times” and “a queen of drama, but no drama queen.”

Intercession and prophetic actions

But her best ministry was intercession – “not just prayer, but also through prophetic actions”, he said. The tour to Budapest was a case in point. After visiting the banks of the Danube where many Jews were pushed into the river and drowned during the Nazi era, they came across the boarded-up synagogue, which prompted Ginnie to ask the Lord to “bring life back to where it was taken from” – a prayer just recently answered.

Worldwide influence

Ginnie, whose mother grew up in London’s East End amidst a degree of anti-Semitism, was born in Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire, and followed her sister Diane as a believer in Jesus. She taught music and drama in primary schools and later extended her talents to the wider world, including Africa, Brazil, Russia, the USA and India, as well as over 30 tours to Israel.

American preacher Howard Morgan said Ginnie would now be “dancing before the Lord” while others described her as “like the woman with the alabaster jar”, a “one-off”, a “Deborah of our times” and “a queen of drama, but no drama queen”.

Funds are being raised in her honour to help the process of Aliyah as well as the planting of trees in the Israeli desert.

Ginnie leaves a husband, Robert, and son, Alexander.