An evening of awareness, education, and action for persecuted Middle Eastern Christians will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 5-8:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Egg Harbor Township.
In the five years of Syria’s civil war, over 470,000 Syrians have been killed or wounded. Middle Eastern Christians, targeted by ISIS, have lost their lives, homes and churches.
At his general audience on Oct. 12, Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire, even if only for a short time, to allow for the evacuation of civilians, especially children. Sending his prayers for “all victims of the inhumane conflict in Syria,” he requested that a ceasefire be “implemented and respected at least for the time needed to allow for the evacuation of civilians, most of all children, who are still trapped under fierce bombings.”
Two weeks ago, Pope Francis named Archbishop Mario Zenari as one of the 17 new cardinals of the Catholic Church, revealing the pontiff’s concern and support for the battered country.
Jesse O. Kurtz, Sixth Ward Councilman of Atlantic City, sits on the Pastoral Council at the Parish of Saint Monica. In collaboration Holy Trinity Parish, Margate’s Knights of Columbus Council 7316; Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church; and Pleasantville’s Our Lady Star of the East, Maronite Catholic Church, he organized the Oct. 29 event, which the group hopes is just the beginning.
Upon realizing “the way our Christian brothers and sisters are being killed enslaved, and driven from their ancestral homes simply because they are Christians, the tragedy has weighed upon me to try and drive awareness to the genocide and bring Christians together here in our area to mobilize and act,” he said.
“We need to bring our persecuted brethren hope and relief,” he added.
The evening is a free event, and includes food, and choir performances of traditional Middle Eastern hymns.
Free will offerings will be accepted. Proceeds from the evening will go to the Knights of Columbus “Christians at Risk” fund, the International Orthodox Christian Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, in order to directly aid and assist persecuted Christians.
To register, visit www.christiansunitedforpeacesyria.org
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