American Christians are coming together to pray for Syrian refugees who are feeling conflict in their country which began about five years ago in early spring of 2011.
Christians from different denominations are uniting under a prayer campaign #prayforrefugees to pray that they receive the love of God and are protected on their journey. Prayers will also be offered for brothers and sisters in Christ who are caring for refugee communities, so that they could help them better and ease the pain of suffering refugees.
The campaign is pioneered by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention. Other major organizations working with ERLC to support the refugee crisis are Baptist Global Response, Global Hunger Relief, Justice Conference, Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and PrayerMate, among many others.
A Christian relief charity, World Vision International, based in Washington, has also participated in the campaign that aims to reach Christians across America.
"American Christians are a diverse community. We don't agree about everything. And the Syrian crisis involves complicated and controversial issues. But as Christians, we can all affirm the beliefs that each human being is created and loved by God; that we are commanded to serve the suffering, and in fact, we are to find Christ himself in those who are hurting the most," said Rich Stearns, president of World Vision.
Similar views were echoed by Stephan Bauman, President of World Relief, which is the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, working towards relief and development of the poorest communities around the world.
Bauman said that though Americans may not agree with the best political and logistical solution, "any Christian can pray for peace in Syria; for protection and relief for those who are innocently caught in the crossfire; and for those serving the hurting."
The campaign started on February 10, Ash Wednesday, and will continue till March 27, Easter Sunday. However, special prayer events will be held across America to mark the fifth anniversary of the conflict on March 15.
The ERLC website notes that the Syrian refugee crisis is the worst since World War II, with more than 13.5 million people affected. Over four million have migrated to other countries as refugees, where they live in dingy and unhygienic living conditions. Millions of children have left their education, which makes them vulnerable to early marriage and child labor, and might have long-time repercussions on their lives as well.
Social media updates on the campaign can be found on #prayforrefugees at Twitter and Facebook, with picture uploads on Instagram.
