How do we Pray for Iraq?

Since I sat down at my computer to write, several mortars and rockets have landed here in the Green Zone. I call over Samir my Iraqi Assistant. “Can’t you tell them that today Monday is Memorial Day in the USA, May Bank Holiday in the UK and Pentecost Holiday in Denmark?” We are next door to the Danish Embassy and work closely with them, that is the only reason why I know. The fact is there are no days off here in Baghdad for anybody, we don’t really do holidays. I have just come from General Petraeus, the Command General. We have been talking about engagement with the religious leaders and what we are doing with them to engage with the move towards reducing violence. As usual the meeting with him was very positive. It does help having the Command General in ones congregation because if you want to get a really important message to him I can always preach it!

Pentecost here in Baghdad has been truly wonderful. Yes the tragedy has continued, the bombs, rockets and kidnappings have not stopped but God has been here. I went to church, taken by guards with big guns, and intense security procedures as usual. The worship was incredible. It was Yom Hamseen (fifty days) Pentecost. We worshipped and praised God, we had our sermon and Eucharist and after several hours I started to leave.

As I left I was held by person after person. There were tears and fear. Loved ones were killed, food was not on the table and others had loved ones kidnapped. All the stories were real, all their experience was terrible. What do we have to offer? Love, prayer and words are not enough, people need and want to see a difference. Yesterday evening I was interviewed for Christian TV. How do we pray? I was asked. I answered “I do not know”. All I can do is pray in the Spirit. When you are here in the midst of it all you often do not know how to pray, it is so much easier from afar. I was then told that people everywhere are praying. I was not feeling very diplomatic so I told them we need help and help is money. Here in Baghdad budgets and planning do not really work. We thought we had all we needed for Church then two weeks ago my lay assistant pastor was kidnapped.

We might not agree with paying ransoms but when it is people you love you have no choice. Here in Baghdad if you are asked for a ransom it is good news. Then there is a chance of getting people back. If you do not pay they are killed. The kidnappers wanted far more than we had in all of our accounts. We gathered all of our money together, borrowed a lot more then did a deal with the kidnappers to pay less. An agreement was eventually reached. We got our lay pastor back, there was such joy amongst his family, children and the church. Even then the problems had only just begun. His house was taken and all his possessions and the family are left living in part of the church.

This is just part of the daily life here in Iraq. I hear of how terrible it is for the Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria and it is very tough. There is no comparison though to life here in Iraq. Those who have escaped are the lucky ones as long as they can survive away from here. There are not words to describe the enormity of the tragedy here. There are not words to describe what our fellow brother and sister Christians are experiencing here. There are not words to decribe the depth and level of the pain in our Anglican congregation here. It is a tragedy beyond a tragedy, it is pain inconceivable yet the worship is the greatest I have ever experienced. The love of God is the most I have ever witnessed and in spite of the pain and tragedy I do not want to be away from my people. I love them, they love me and we love God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

What I say may seem rather emotional; well it is a rather emotional experience even being here. I make no apology. Do pray for us, but how, I do not know.

Canon Andrew White,
Anglican Chaplain to Iraq