Erich+: This is indeed sad news. I remember some years ago when St
George's in Baghdad advertised for a vicar-apparently they never found
one. Between this and the kidnapping of one of the Uniate bishops
(albeit briefly) earlier this year things for the Church in Mesopotamia
are not doing well at all. The Assyrians (except in Kurdistan) are
starting to leave too. Under Saddam Hussein their lot was much much
better all round. When will it end? Blessings. GDVW+
Thought ya'll
might be interested in this.
>
> Erich+
>
> Anglican leadership in Iraq feared dead
> By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, and Jenny Booth
>
> The entire lay leadership team of the main Anglican church in Iraq is
> presumed
> to have been killed after they were attacked while returning from a
> conference
> in Jordan.
>
> The team of five Iraqi-born Anglicans including the lay pastor and his
> deputy,
> should have returned two weeks ago from the conference.
>
> Canon Andrew White, of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle
> East, who
> is the clergyman in charge of the church, said: "Anglican leaders in
> Baghdad
> have been missing for two weeks and they are presumed dead."
>
> Those missing include Maher Dakel, the lay pastor; his wife, Mona, who
> leads the
> women's section of the church; their son Yeheya; the church's pianist and
> music
> director, Firas Raad; the deputy lay pastor; and their driver, whose name
> has
> not been disclosed.
>
> Canon White last heard news of the five on September 13, when he was told
> that
> they had been attacked the day before while returning from Jordan on the
> notoriously dangerous road between Ramadi and Fallujah.
>
> "It is the most dangerous area in Iraq," he said. "One of two things must
> have
> happened. They either got kidnapped or they died. But we have had no
> ransom
> demand or anything."
>
> He said other members of the church had been convinced they had been taken
> to
> hospital by the Americans, which was one reason they had not released the
> news
> for so long. But repeated checks with the US forces and the Pentagon had
> drawn
> a blank.
>
> The loss brings to 12 the number of Iraqis that Canon White has lost in
> his
> reconciliation work in Iraq, although these are the first connected to the
> church. He did not think they were targeted because they were Anglicans.
>
> "The fact is that attacks on people on that road happen all the time,
> particularly on people who appear to be richer or middle class."
>
> Canon White, until recently the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative
> to the
> Middle East, and who helped reopen St George's in Baghdad after the Iraqi
> war
> in 2003, said: "We are all devastated. This is the very core of our
> Anglican
> Church in Iraq. With such a large congregation of about 800 strong, losing
> key
> leadership will be devastating."
>
> Though none of the congregation is traditionally Anglican, the church now
> has
> one of the largest congregations in Baghdad.
>
> The Right Rev Colin Bennetts, Bishop of Coventry, said: "I find this news
> particularly sad and poignant. When we first visited Iraq in 1999 it was
> my
> privilege to preach at the re-opening of St George’s Church in the centre
> of
> Baghdad. We all saw this as a sign of hope and a new beginning under the
> desperate and despotic regime of Saddam.
>
> "Since that time the church has grown from a handful of worshippers to a
> congregation of hundreds. For them to lose their leadership in this way is
> a
> sad and terrible blow. I urge Christians everywhere to continue to pray
> for the
> Church in Iraq in these even more troublesome times."
>
> --
> The Very Rev'd Erich A. Zwingert, SSC, Rector
> St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church
> 101 Homewood Blvd., Delray Beach, FL 33445
> 561.265.1960
>
> --
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