On the eve of the arrival in Washington, DC of Pope Francis, there will be a Monday evening vigil at Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The vigil will focus on welcoming His Holiness and urging him to speak out as strongly and clearly on behalf of the suffering Church in the Middle East while he is in Washington, DC as he has in the past.
The 6:30 PM vigil is sponsored by the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, Philos Project, and Movie to Movement. It will offer an opportunity to stand in solidarity with brothers and sisters from Iraq and Syria who are being persecuted, abducted, tortured, used as sex slaves, and killed by ISIS and other Islamist jihadist groups.
So often, those who read the horrific accounts of persecution and death of Christians, Yazidis, Turkmen, and other religious minorities under ISIS wonder what — if anything — they can do. For any who can be in Washington, DC this evening at 6:30 PM, here is one thing they can do. News of the vigil will reach and encourage Christians and other persecuted refugees and IDPs. It will spur vigil participants to ongoing prayer and action. And it will raise the profile of Assyrian Christians and other persecuted minorities.
Although Christians are the first target of ISIS because of their faith, they are the last to be considered by the Obama Administration, the media, and much of the world community. Now that all parts of Europe are being overwhelmed by migrants, the neglect of the descendants of these ancient Christian communities has increased. For the most part, the Christians remain in unfinished concrete buildings in such places as Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. They have to wonder if anyone cares about them.
Please let us show them that brothers and sisters in the West, and in this case, right in the American nation’s capital, are standing with them and the honoring their faith. Details for the vigil, including speakers, are listed on the photo above. If you are not able to be present, please do pray for our brothers and sisters, and pray that Pope Francis will make a strong plea on their behalf.
Comment by Fr. Richard Jones on September 21, 2015 at 7:55 pm
The Uprising just concluded our time of prayer for the persecuted Church in the Middle-East. May their sufferings be untited with the sufferings of our Lord and bring Him glory. Let His power and virtue be with our brothers and sisters in the ancient lands of His habitation. Thanks be to God, now and for ever to the ages of ages. Amen.
May God’s grace and mercy be upon all those who joined with us in prayer this evening.