WCRC Calls for Prayer for Syria

The World Communion of Reformed Churches has issued a call for prayers for the people of Syria in response to a message sent this week from the head of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon.

Written by Rev. Fadi Dagher, general secretary of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, the letter describes a country that is in great pain and has experienced severe disruptions as a civil war continues.

The letter, which was sent to many church leaders, further describes as "beyond description" the destruction of major cities that are home to Christians.

The Christian Reformed Church is a member of WCRC.

The letter from the evangelical church leader also states that some Syrian churches have been “purposely hit and destroyed” in the fighting and “some Christians have been directly threatened, and the stories of acts of crime makes one sick to the stomach.”

Unrest in Syria began with protests in the streets in 2011. Protesters demanded the end to nearly five decades of  Ba’ath Party rule as well as the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, according to news reports.

The Syrian president responded by sending the Syrian army to quell protests, which in turn led to the formation of rebel groups now battling the government forces.

“Friends, it is now finally over a year and a half that we have been deeply disturbed by the sad events in Syria -- events so tragic as never before, where life is interrupted on every level,” writes Dagher in his letter.

Some of the synod’s churches have been unable to meet because of the widespread conflict. Beyond this, says Dagher, many Syrian Christians are suffering.

“Naturally, no Christian community can escape the fate of the communities among which they live, thus all share in the suffering and the struggle for life, and all sense the loss of the basic conditions for normal life,” the general secretary writes.

As a result of the ongoing violence, an estimated two million people have fled Syria and many others remain trying to live on “very limited resources.”

Dagher ends his letter with an acknowledgment that it is important to seek reform, freedom of speech and equal opportunities, but it is especially crucial for churches to pray for “peace and security for now and normal future for our children that make them want to stay at home in Syria.”