Being salt and light demands two things:
we practice purity in the midst of a fallen world and
yet we live in proximity to this fallen world.
If you don't hold up both truth in tension,
you invariably become useless and separated from the world God loves.
- David Kinnaman
PRAYERS FOR NE SYRIA
It has been a long time since we've heard about Syria in the news. However, people are living in horrible conditions. So many buildings, homes, infrastructure was destroyed by either ISIS or Syria that it is impacting every part of life.
Today we are called to pray specifically for the Northeastern part of Syria. In addition to the destruction caused by ISIS and armed conflict - prolonged drought and drying rivers have made stability even more precarious. The prolonged drought in the region has been linked to climate change worldwide. But in northeast Syria, the country's historic breadbasket, its effects have been compounded by more than a decade of war, a devastated economy, damaged infrastructure and increasing poverty, leaving a vulnerable society even more at risk of destabilization. The U.S. space agency, NASA, which studies climate change, says the drought that began in 1998 is the worst that some psarts of the Middle East have seen in nine centuries.
For communities in Syria for whom violence and resource depletion is part of everyday life, we pray. We pray for local, federal, and international efforts to restore the waterways and farmlands that has nourished the region for centuries. Guide us, Lord, to know how to help our neighbors.
Amidst Fear of Invasion, Ukrainian Civilians Evacuate & Face Uncertain Future
Warnings from the Russian-backed separatist governments in eastern Ukraine of an imminent attack by Ukraine had driven many families to gather their children and flee. There is evidence suggesting that the sudden evacuations of the Russian-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were planned and likely to have been designed to set the stage for a formal Russian intervention in the country’s east. The leaders of the Russian proxy states in eastern Ukraine filmed their announcements of the evacuations days before they were made public, according to video metadata. For the women, children, and others who are being evacuated, the result is undeniably real and traumatic, as they arrive by the hundreds in a neighboring region that appears unprepared for the tide of evacuees. Many are taking steps to prepare for an uncertain future.
We pray for families now fleeing with uncertainty ahead - with the fear of war and invasion imminent. We ask, Lord, for safety, and perhaps, for the first time in a long time, refuge for communities who’ve known nothing but threats and instability for nearly a decade. Come, O Lord.
POSTSCRIPT
The situation between Russia and Ukraine has escalated. Hope for a diplomatic way out of a new, potentially devastating war in Europe seems almost gone. Let us continue to pray for the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, and for the European Union, USA, Canada and other countries who are trying to stop Vladimir Putin.
3 WEEK PROTEST IN OTTAWA COMES TO AN END
Over this past weekend, Canadian police secured the downtown core of Ottawa and put-up fencing to allow city workers to clean up trash and snow plows and tow trucks to clear streets after two days of tense standoffs ended a three-week protest. The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers, but the blockade turned into a demonstration against all COVID-19 mandates, with some demanding the removal of the Prime Minister and the government. Demonstrators had used trucks and vehicles to block the city center since Jan. 28, disrupting local residents and businesses with excessive noise, diesel fumes, and reported incidents of racism and intimidation. This prompted the government to invoke rarely used emergency powers, passed by the House of Commons on Feb 22. So far, 191 arrests have been made, and seventy-six vehicles have been towed, police said.
God, we give thanks to live in a nation that allows for peaceful protest. At the same time, we desire to care for our neighbors and the common good of all peoples, and so we are thankful for the calm that has washed over the streets of Ottawa. We also know that this protest has unearthed a wave of divisiveness and anger that doesn’t go away after people go home. Help us Lord to take the time to really listen to people who have differing views. Help us to understand what is behind some of the rhetoric. Help us, Lord, to be good neighbors, to disagree with grace, and give wisdom to our elected leaders with what comes next.
