CRC Seeks Prayers for Ethiopia

Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRCNA, is asking churches to pray for the people of Ethiopia who have been placed under a state of emergency due to civil unrest.

“The CRC is sad and troubled to see what is going on in Ethiopia,” said Timmermans. “We would like our churches to pray for peace and dialogue that can help bring stability to the country.”

The Ethiopian government declared the six-month state of emergency on Oct. 8 following a week of strife that led to hundreds of deaths, thousands of arrests, and extensive property damage.

Under the state of emergency, travel between cities and communication are restricted, and the military is on high alert. Recently both the Canadian and U.S. governments issued warnings asking citizens of their countries to defer all nonessential travel to Ethiopia.

According to a report in The Economist, the problems in Ethiopia involve clashes between ethnic groups and the government over what some ethnic groups see as a lack of representation for their concerns. Most of Ethiopia is divided into regions that are dominated by different ethnic groups.

“We want to see the country grow and flourish, and we especially want to support the strong Christian population of Ethiopia and groups there that are working to bring about discussion and dialogue,” Timmermans said.

“These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we know that they are deeply invested in the process of peace.”

Ethiopia is the second-oldest Christian nation in the world with deep roots in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church that go back centuries. Protestant Christianity, which emerged in the 1800s and 1900s, has seen rapid growth in recent years.

In June 2016, Synod - the decision making body of the Christian Reformed Church - gave its approval for closer relationships with two Ethiopian Christian churches. The Presbyterian Church of Ethiopia became a “church in dialogue” and the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church joined into a partnership agreement with the CRCNA.

Besides these partnership relationships, the CRC’s disaster response and development agency, World Renew, has also been working in Ethiopia for several years. Currently, World Renew is responding to a severe drought in the country and is assisting Ethiopian orphans and vulnerable children who have lost one or both parents.

Timmermans said that Ethiopia has enjoyed sustained and progressive economic growth for more than two decades, with peace and stability over the past 20 years, and it would be a tragedy to see that change now.

Important to point out, he added, is that the Protestant and Orthodox churches of Ethiopia are working in concert with Muslim groups to bring about national reconciliation in the face of the current conflict.

“We want to offer them our support and prayers as they go about doing their work in a time that has become a challenge for so many people in the country.”