Church staff involved in ecumenical prayer service for peace in Syria.

Photo by Jonathan Stauffer

His Eminence Archbishop Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim speaks at the ecumenical prayer service for peace in Syria. The special worship service was held in Alexandria, Va., at Saint Aphraim Church of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.

On Tuesday, June 12, at 7:30 p.m. an ecumenical prayer service for peace in Syria took place with involvement from Church of the Brethren staff. The program was initiated and organized by Nathan Hosler, ecumenical peace coordinator for the National Council of Churches (NCC) and advocacy officer for the Church of the Brethren, in collaboration with Father Fady Abdulahad, a Syrian priest ministering in Alexandria, Va.

About 70 people met at Saint Aphraim Church of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch to pray and fellowship together. His Eminence Archbishop Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim planned the order of worship and led in prayers and a sermon. The joint service was organized in response to the ongoing and intensifying violence in Syria. While the leaders of the church wished to avoid a particular political stand, it was agreed that the group should come together in prayer.

Sermons by the Archbishop and Hosler focused on the need to pray and our call as Christians to work for peace. Emphasis was placed on the call to end violence and standing in solidarity across church or religious lines. In addition to a number of chanted prayers and songs in Syriac, Arabic, and English, Gwen Miller from Washington City Church of the Brethren led a hymn, “Move in Our Midst.”

Source:6/14/2012 Newsline