Anne E. Zaki (aez2@calvin.edu) is a Resource Development Specialist for Global and Multi-Cultural Resources at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
It’s time we held a special service of prayer for the Middle Eastern Church.
Some of you may be taken aback by this. Is there such a thing as the “Middle Eastern Church?” Is there really a Christian presence in the Middle East? And if there is, what does it look like?
In August 2006, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship sponsored an amazing trip to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore. Nine Institute staff members, myself included, spent a month meeting with worshiping communities there.
Sunday, October 2, 2005, marks the sixty-ninth year that churches around the globe are celebrating World Communion Sunday. Originating in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1936, with the hope that other denominations would join in, it took only a few years before the celebration spread far beyond its origins. On this Sunday, as we gather around the Lord’s table, we are reminded of our oneness in Christ and celebrate with our fellow believers the faith and work of the Church worldwide.
I often don’t know what to pray for when thinking of the Middle East. The prayer “peace for the Middle East” though melodic doesn’t seem to cut it. How do we pray when we hear of the horrors of those who call themselves the Islamic State? How do we pray when we hear of abductions, beheadings, bombings, and destruction? How ought we to pray?
