Congregations unite in song for Christian refugees in Iraq

Beheadings, mass executions, pogroms, forced exodus, coerced conversions—all these acts based on ancient hatreds have returned with a vengeance to the Middle East. These religion-based persecutions fell hard upon Christians in northern Iraq, most of whom have fled their homes seeking refuge beyond the reach of Islamic State extremists bent on eradicating all traces of the 2,000-year-old traditions of Christianity in the region.

Beheadings, mass executions, pogroms, forced exodus, coerced conversions—all these acts based on ancient hatreds have returned with a vengeance to the Middle East. These religion-based persecutions fell hard upon Christians in northern Iraq, most of whom have fled their homes seeking refuge beyond the reach of Islamic State extremists bent on eradicating all traces of the 2,000-year-old traditions of Christianity in the region.

And two East County congregations of different faiths united on the evening of Feb. 28, for a multilingual concert to raise money and awareness to help these suffering Iraqi Christian refugees. The Church of Saint Luke is a Catholic church. St. Thomas the Apostle Syriac Orthodox Church rents space for worship and fellowship at the facilities belonging to St. Luke. Although these religious faiths both trace their origins to Peter, the disciple of Jesus, as their founder, they now operate under the authority of the Pope and the Patriarch, respectively, and are not in formal communion. However, their theological differences pale as other Christians in their ambit are in desperate need.

Father Fadi Yousif leads the church of St. Thomas the Apostle. Born in Baghdad, he left Iraq to pursue his studies in 1998. He arrived in the U.S. in 2006, pastoring the St. Thomas church since 2007. The congregation numbers about 500, and Yousif and some of his parishioners maintain ties with their Iraqi Christian counterparts.

Rev. Ronald E. Cochran, lead pastor of St. Luke Church, and Yousif stood together, introducing the event, formally titled the Ecumenical Benefit Concert for Christian Refugees in Iraq. Cochran described the genesis of their common efforts.

“We often have asked, what can we do together? There is a situation now that we both care about, Christians being run out of their homes and churches, which is evil in itself,” he said. “We pray that Muslim hearts are changed, so that they have the courage to put a stop to this. We have given up on the leadership.”

Cochran further noted that large-scale official actions to end the genocidal carnage have been “ineffectual,” and that he understands and empathizes with the thought to rescue those willing to live in peace while “bombing the heck out of the rest.”

Yousif said, “We are two cultures, two traditions, two faiths. When we pray, we connect to God and to the people.”

He described the current circumstances in northern Iraq, as that only a few charitable organizations and a few churches with limited resources are providing for the needs of refugee Iraqi Christians, who are now staying in the region of Kurdistan. Christians have abandoned their homes in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, where Islamic State extremists have sacked the Christian churches. The Monastery of St. Matthew was evacuated, and the monks had to leave. Thousands of Christians lived in Mosul prior to their flight this past summer. The terrorists confiscated the Christians’ identification cards, visas, and credit cards, taking any valuables from the fleeing refugees.

Yousif outlined the lengthy history of Christianity in the area. He noted that followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch, Turkey. Christianity and Christian churches in the area date to the first century. St. Thomas, the apostle of Jesus, for whom his church is named, visited and founded a church in Mosul, as archaeological documents discovered in 1963 have disclosed. But today in Mosul, which Yousif identifies as having been a “stronghold of Christianity,” for the first time in 2,000 years, there are no masses, no Christian religious services and no presence of Christians.

Worldwide there are around 6 million Syriac Orthodox Christians.

Many of the thousands of Iraqi Christians who have been dispossessed are enduring the hardship of living outdoors in fields near villages or in suburbs. Yousif described the experience of one church pastor whose grounds are housing around 100 displaced Christians. The refugees there are developing skin conditions from living in close proximity and lacking adequate facilities for hygiene.

The concert, a little over an hour long, was split between performances from musicians and singers of the two churches. More than 150 attendees in the audience gathered for the benefit event. For the first half of the concert, a trio from St. Thomas performed hymns with lyrics drawn mostly from the Psalms, singing in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and Arabic. Then, choir members and accompanists from St. Luke took the lead singing hymns for the second half of the concert. The larger group’s initial musical piece was Mozart’s “Ave Verum,” which they sang in Latin. Subsequent hymns were in English. The performances were lovely and moving, as tributes to fellow Christians suffering merely for holding fast to their religious faith. 

A free will offering was taken for donations from concertgoers, who donated $3,658.  With the $1,725 raised before Saturday, the benefit fund’s running total stands at $5,383.

Inspiration for the Saturday event came from joint efforts of Yousif and Jim Crockett, who is business manager of St. Luke Catholic Church. Crockett had overheard Yousif speaking about the magnitude of the unfolding crisis situation last summer, and the two men agreed to find ways to provide help. With Cochran’s permission, Crockett and Yousif initiated fundraising efforts, with an email campaign and Facebook and Twitter accounts. In the fall, St. Luke Church took up a special collection. The pair began planning for the concert in January.

In August, Pope Francis contributed $1 million to the Iraqi Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq, after sending an emissary to investigate the deteriorating situation.

According to Crockett, this was the first time St. Luke and St. Thomas congregations have come together in church for a large event. This was also the first church event that Crockett has taken charge of.

What does Yousif believe will ultimately solve this? He is adamant that the stranded Iraqi Christians must immigrate in order to regain their religious liberty and freedom of conscience.

Anyone wishing to aid the suffering Iraqi Christians may contact Crockett for more information by emailing busmgr@thechurchofstluke.org or by phoning (619) 442-1697. Checks, with a notation “For the Iraqi Christian Refugee Fund,” can be sent to The Church of St. Luke, 1980 Hillsdale Road, E Cajon, CA 92019. The parish office is also open weekdays, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.