Support for our Iranian brethren, sisters & friends
As we look out at the world today, whether in Ukraine, Syria or Iran (or any other area in conflict) we cannot escape the tragic human cost of war, oppression and the advancement of regimes or ideologies.
There is a lot of darkness, and not much light.
This is a world thirsty for compassion, mercy, love, care, kindness, selflessness, equity, justice, peace and truth – and we pray to God for all of these things with the return of Jesus Christ. Indeed, as brothers and sisters of Christ, we belong to a Heavenly Kingdom, and we long to see it here on earth with a desperate yearning and a fervent hope, because we believe it is the only solution to all these problems.
This hope is a light to us in a dark place.
For now, though, while we wait we are heart-broken at the state of the world under man’s rule ...
We witness in sorrow and horror countless precious lives extinguished or forever altered in the most brutal of ways, in the most heart-breaking of circumstances. We see in terrified faces the helpless realisation that this day could be the last or else another filled with violence. Some have names - Mahsa Amini, Hadis Najafi - and we grieve with their families. Many are unnamed … a grim statistic of a world at war with itself.
We hear of communication lines being closed and internet access being blocked leaving families and friends desperately incapable of speaking to loved ones, of hearing a voice ... proof of life. The anguish and the turmoil this brings is hard to understand but fills us with compassion and a desire to reach out and help.
We witness the indiscriminate quelling of opposing voices, the heavy-handed silencing of criticism, the manufactured propaganda and the prevention of balanced reporting. We see truth eroded, because truth does not fit the current narrative.
In our church we have many members from Iran and Iraq who have fled their homeland, leaving loved ones behind in lands that offer little freedom to pursue a Christian faith in peace and safety. We know of others in these places (and elsewhere like Ukraine and Russia) who are committed Christians but live in mortal fear of proclaiming their faith. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and their families are being torn apart by violence. Without making a political statement and without standing in protest we want to say that we stand with all members of our spiritual family, we want to support them where we can, how we can. We want to show love in action and to offer heartfelt prayers to God to bring comfort and show us hope in Jesus Christ.
We pray for Jesus to come back soon, for peace.
We pray for comfort and guidance.
We pray for the strength to keep trying to show others the qualities that this world is thirsty for, by thinking, acting and being like Jesus.
Prayer may seem small and passive, it may feel like ‘just words’. But we believe it is the most powerful activity we can engage in because those words are heard in heaven by God and Jesus and there is no limit to what they can do.