Anglican Aid report — 3,000 dead in Goma

“Tim Swan CEO of Anglican Aid issues an urgent update.

We have just heard from Bishop Martin Gordon in Goma. He said that at least 3,000 people have been killed in his city. Many thousands have been injured, and hospitals are overwhelmed. UNICEF estimates 330,000 additional children are missing out on school as a result of the recent fighting, as 2,500 schools are closed. There is widespread sexual violence, theft, and looting.

Local clergy told Bishop Martin of the fear they felt as they hid in their homes, listening to gunfire as the city was taken over. …”

– John Sandeman at The Other Cheek shares this troubling news via Canon Tim Swan. And there’s a link to Anglican Aid’s appeal page.

Syrian Patriarchs denounce ‘Dangerous Escalation of Violence’ as hundreds of Alawites and Christians are killed

Food for prayer:

“In recent days, Syria has witnessed a dangerous escalation of violence, brutality, and killings, resulting in attacks on innocent civilians, including women and children. Homes have been violated, their sanctity disregarded, and properties looted—scenes that starkly reflect the immense suffering endured by the Syrian people.

The Christian Churches while strongly condemning any act that threatens civil peace, denounce and condemn the massacres targeting innocent civilians, and call for an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values.

The Churches also call for the swift creation of conditions conducive to achieving national reconciliation among the Syrian people. They urge efforts to establish an environment that facilitates the transition to a state that respects all its citizens and lays the foundation for a society based on equal citizenship and genuine partnership, free from the logic of vengeance and exclusion. At the same time, they reaffirm the unity of Syrian territory and reject any attempts to divide it.

The Churches call on all concerned parties within Syria to assume their responsibilities, put an end to the violence, and seek peaceful solutions that uphold human dignity and preserve national unity.

We pray that God may protect Syria and its people and that peace may prevail throughout the land.

JOHN X
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East MOR

IGNATIUS APHREM II
Syriac Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church

YOUSSEF ABSI
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East”

– Details and links to more information here.

“The Christians of Syria are one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Today, however, that community faces the very real possibility of being extinguished altogether. …”

Mainstream media pays little attention to reports of massacre in eastern DR Congo

“On 12 February 2025, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants entered the village of Mayba in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and abducted at least 70 Christian civilians.

The captives were subsequently taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they were executed by beheading via machetes. Their bodies were discovered on February 14. …”

– This Wikipedia article includes references to a number of reports of a massacre in a church in eastern DR Congo.

Update (25 February) – SydneyAnglicans.net has this story:

Christians massacred in Congo chaos.

Pray for Congo as atrocities echo those of the Rwandan genocide

“Horrific reports are emerging from the Democratic Republic of Congo as the nation is being torn apart by fighting which has echoes of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s…

In the isolated city of Goma, rebels have conducted a campaign of looting, rape and indiscriminate killing.

The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid has launched an emergency appeal to provide food, clothing, and medicine to those in extreme need. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell shares something of what is happening in Congo, and what you can do to help those suffering (including by praying).

Related:

Back in 1997, ACL News spoke with Bishop Peter Dawson, then recently returned from DR Congo (then Zaire). He called for prayer for the churches of Congo. It would be good to pray such prayers now. (See the prayer included in today’s Sydney Anglicans report.)

Read the interview here.

Make America pro-life again

“Christians across America have been praying for the incoming administration. Regardless of our personal politics – we have been praying for the leadership of this nation, that they govern with wisdom, integrity, and a heart for the Lord.

This week, you had your new President and Vice President inaugurated in the Capitol. Again, putting party politics aside, because this has nothing to do with who we like or who we do not like – this has entirely to do with living in a Christian nation, living by Christian values, with a Christian moral compass. …

In less than a week, this has already become the most pro-life government in history.”

– Anglo-Catholic priest Calvin Robinson, now a resident of the USA, prays that governments around the world will be inspired to emulate recent actions of the new Administration.

(via Anglican.ink.)

Related: 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

‘A wound that can’t heal’: Church calls for recognition of genocide

“The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne has joined calls for the 1915–1923 Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides to be recognised by the state government.

More than 3 million Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac and Greek Orthodox Christians suffered from the systematic mass murder, expulsion and forced conversion beginning on 24 April 1915.

This population continues to be one of the most persecuted, dispossessed and scattered in the world. …”

– Report from The Melbourne Anglican.

Praying for those in authority — and for the US Elections

With the US elections a week away, Christians understand that no human leader can deliver the salvation and security we need.

But we also know that leaders can promote peace, and they can promote strife.

For that reason, do remember, and be encouraged to act on, these words from 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – ESV.

Sheltering families in north Lebanon

From Anglican Aid (Sydney):

“Over the last month, many families from the conflict zone in south Lebanon have moved north, seeking safety. Believing that the Christians there would help them, some have sought help from Anglican Aid’s long-term partner, Good Shepherd School. In response, the school is now sheltering some of these displaced families.

Directors of Good Shepherd School, Reem and Emil Bourizk, have also taken some families into their home alongside their own children.

They told us yesterday that bombardments in their area early this week have brought the conflict very close to home. …”

– Read more, watch their video, pray, and support Good Shepherd School if you are able.

Anglican Aid CEO Statement: Responding to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East

“When the terrible violence erupted in Israel and Gaza in October last year, I was genuinely appalled and saddened. At the time, I wrote a prayer pleading for God’s protection of the innocent and urging Anglican Aid supporters to pray. Now, one year on, I continue to grieve over this devastating conflict, which has now also spread to Lebanon.  

As this conflict continues to escalate, Anglican Aid supporters may understandably want to give to provide aid to those who have been caught up in the crossfire. However, at this stage we are not launching an emergency appeal for Lebanon (or for Israel and Gaza), for two main reasons…”

– CEO of The Archbishop Of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, Canon Tim Swan, explains the current situation and asks for your prayers for peace.

A Day of Infamy for Israel and the Civilised World

In his The Briefing broadcast for Monday 7th October 2024, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Dr. Albert Mohler comments on what the year since the attacks on Israel has revealed.

– Listen here.

More World news you might not have seen

AP, the Presbyterian Church of Australia’s national online journal, regularly publishes brief items of world news you likely won’t see in the mainstream media.

From their latest summary (06 October 2024), for your information and your prayers:

“It’s now a year since the brutal Islamist atrocity that ignited the Middle East, the plight of our Christian brothers and sisters continues to worsen. In just the past few weeks the ongoing conflict has spilled over into Lebanon like never before. Christians (around a third of the population) are among the many Lebanese people who do not support the Hezbollah terrorist group. ‘We consider them the oppressors,’ said our project partner.

Some Christians have been forced to flee to the north, where IDPs Camps in some areas of the north are run by Hezbollah …

Please pray for Mojdeh Falahi, a Christian convert from Islam who was arrested on 9 September and at the time of writing was still being held in a detention centre run by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence …”

– Read it all here.

A prayer for the Middle East

At SydneyAnglicans.net, Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has posted this prayer which you could share, and use in your own prayers:

“Lord of the Nations,

We pray for the Middle East.

We pray for women, children and men who have been caught up in a war not of their own making. We pray for people separated, displaced from their homes and grieving the death of family, loved ones and neighbours. May they know your help, comfort and hope.

We pray for the release of those held hostage, for those impacted by rockets and missiles and for those traumatised and helpless. We pray for the restraint of evil, for peace and justice.

We pray especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. Please preserve them in the knowledge and love of your Son. May they be ambassadors of reconciliation among their own people.

We pray for Australians trying to get home from the war zones. We pray for our neighbours, friends and fellow citizens here in Australia who are grieving, anxious and fearful for their loved ones in other places or themselves. Comfort and sustain then, may they know your peace and presence. Help all Australians to live in respect, harmony and peace with one another.

And banish from the leaders of the nations the spirit that makes for war. We ask it in the name of the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

1 October 2024.”

– from SydneyAnglicans.net, where you will also find a Downloadable PDF file to print and share.

A prayer for the displaced

“I’m sure that, like me, many of you are deeply concerned about the ongoing civil war in Sudan, which is being increasingly covered by the international news media.

The deteriorating situation means the country is facing what the UN has described as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.” There are now 10.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs)* in Sudan, making this the largest displacement crisis in the world. Almost all of these IDPs are in areas with acute levels of food scarcity.

And it’s not just Sudan that is seeing an increase in IDPs.…”

– Canon Tim Swan, CEO of The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, writes to encourage you to pray – and offers a prayer you could use.

World news you might not have seen

AP, the Presbyterian Church of Australia’s national online journal, regularly publishes brief items of world news you probably won’t see in the mainstream media.

From their latest summary, for your information and your prayers:

“Iran … Laleh Saati, 45, an Iranian Christian convert from Islam, was sentenced on 16 March to two years’ imprisonment for ‘acting against national security by connecting with “Zionist” Christian organisations’. A further two-year ban on leaving Iran is effective upon her release. …

Nepal … Four Christians in Madhesh province, eastern Nepal, face trial, accused of trying to secure forced conversions to Christianity. … Seven Australian Christians in the town were detained and subsequently deported. …”

– Read it all here.

 

A Call to Prayer from the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America

From Archbishop Steve Wood [after the assassination attempt on former President Trump]:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the midst of this time of uncertainty, social tensions, and violence, please join Jacqui and me as we pray for peace in the United States tonight:

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, pg 654).

– Source.

And 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – ESV.

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