Praying for Our Christian Family in Iraq

If you’ve had an eye on the news lately, you’ve no doubt heard reports about the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), more recently known as “The Islamic State.”

They’re a well-armed Muslim extremist group sweeping throughout Iraq, exercising both military and political control over the regions they conquer.

Just the other day we saw grisly images of the beheading of the American journalist, James Foley. ISIS claimed responsibility for his murder.

Beyond the political complications usually addressed on the nightly news are disturbing accounts that hit much closer to home for all of us who profess the name of Christ.

Our fellow believers in Iraq are suffering intense persecution.

Thousands have been forced to flee their homes, their abandoned neighborhoods pillaged and destroyed. On the run, food and water are scarce, and survival is difficult. If they’re captured, families are torn apart. Women and children are often sold.

And these Christians face two choices – convert or die.

The hardships these people are enduring are hard to think about. It’s tempting to minimize human tragedy like this by telling ourselves it’s happening someplace far, far away. But as one of our guests on today’s broadcast, Reverend Canon Andrew White, Chaplain of St. George’s Church in Iraq, says,

We are not far away. We are your brothers and your sisters. It’s happening to us. Not ‘them.’ Us! We are suffering together.

Canon White’s words reflect the truth of Scripture. First Corinthians 12:26 tells us: “If one member suffers (meaning a member of the Christian community) … all suffer together.”

Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East need our love, prayer, and support. So don’t miss this important program titled, “Praying for Our Christian Family in Iraq.” Along with Reverend Canon Andrew White, we’ll hear from Diana Momeka, with the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, of Mosul, Iraq. We’ll also talk with Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), who’ll give us the broader picture of Christian persecution in the Middle East and why he believes the media hasn’t covered it much until now.

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