Urgent call continues for peace in Syria

Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
-Isaiah 58:12

“We call for violence to cease in Syria immediately and pray for peace to spread like ripples from there throughout the entire region.” -World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) Executive Committee, 15 May 2015

Since this call for peace for Syria, millions of people have been displaced from their homes and hundreds of thousands have been killed. The war has not abated and has grown more intense in recent weeks. Despite an agreement by the United Nations for a ceasefire, death and destruction continue to reign down on innocent people, especially in Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus.

Najla Kassab, our president and a member of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL), has said, “Innocent civilians are paying the price. We condemn killing on both sides and condemn all groups who are supporting both sides and are providing weapons to the area.”

The WCRC renews its call to all governments involved in this situation to take concrete steps to bring peace to all of Syria, to honor the ceasefire and to allow adequate aid to reach the victims.

The WCRC calls on its member churches to continue their efforts to advocate for peace, welcome refugees and support NESSL and other churches that are on the frontlines of providing assistance to those impacted by the war.

We offer this prayer:

When bombs drop
When life is at risk
When children are orphaned
Because bombs drop
We seek your peace O Lord
Looking for the time when we will exchange
Our weapons of mass destruction
For plowshares and pruning hooks
Remove our fear
And help us to build trust
Because with every bomb that drops
We are less human
Restore us
Reconcile us
Reunite us
That together we may say
No more bombs
Amen.

Additional Information:

• A renewed call for immediate peace in Syria (7 April 2017)
• Syrian Christians create space for hope (24 August 2016)
• Reformed Partnership Fund: Rescuing Syrian children (15 April 2016)
• Statement on the Middle East (15 May 2015)

 

_{Image of Syrian children from Aleppo by yeowatzup from Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, used under Creative Commons license, via Wikimedia Commons.}