Syria and Lebanon Partnership

(Formerly, Syria Appeal)

Note: The Outreach Foundation’s partner in this region is the National Evangelical [Presbyterian] Synod of Syria and Lebanon. Julie Burgess, the author of this update, has made 17 journeys with Outreach to the Middle East. This is Part II of her story (click here to read part I) that introduces us to 5 Syrian Presbyterians who are recent seminary graduates of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut who have been doing their “fieldwork” amongst some of the 20 Presbyterian congregations in Syria and who will, eventually, be called to serve, permanently, in one of them. ---Marilyn Borst, Associate Director of Partnership Development.

When you travel with The Outreach Foundation, as I have, frequently, in the past ten years, you spend hours on planes and in airports in order to finally arrive in the midst of God’s people in churches in faraway places. My best advice: take a book, or two.

As I have sat with and contemplated the stories of these five young men, over the past weeks, I remembered a book I took once, and I read it at Marilyn Borst’s recommendation. There on my shelf was Reversed Thunder by Eugene Peterson, and lodged therein I found my boarding passes from November 2014 --- a very memorable trip to Homs, Syria, just mere months after its liberation from ISIS. I remembered that book because Peterson describes John’s words as being those of a theologian, a poet, and a pastor. It was the pastoral relationship between John and the oppressed and disheartened churches of the first century that connected the stories of these five young men to Peterson’s words:

Every word, every number, every vision, every song is put to immediate use among these persons in the seven little congregations to which he is pastor. He is with them in their experiences of worship and apostasy, martyrdom and witness, love and vengeance, and develops the connections that maintain coherence between the beginning and the ending...What is frequently missed is that all the eschatology is put to immediate pastoral use. Eschatology is the most pastoral of all the theological perspectives, showing how the ending impinges on the present in such ways that the truth of the gospel is verified in life “in the middle.”

In the middle...isn’t that where we all find ourselves right now? In the middle of a pandemic. In the middle of an economic collapse. In the middle of political differences. Add to that being called to ministry in the middle of a war, and that is the story of the churches in Syria and these five ordinary-and yet-extraordinary young men. Peterson goes on to say that the subject of the Revelation is God and that its context – this particular setting of the story of God – is pastoral. That same revelation continues in the lives of Hassan, Adon, Sleiman, Kheirallah, and Yousef.

I asked them about the churches they are serving, about how the war has affected those congregations, about the Coronavirus pandemic, about the future of the church, and about what God was teaching them through the midst of it all:

Sleiman: The three congregations I served so far (Malkieh, Mahardeh, and Hama [Malkieh in the far northeast is in an area contested by Syria, Turkey, and the Kurds; Mahardeh and Hama were some of the last places to really experience peace after horrible attacks with many killed]) are wonderful, they like the church and they have many services especially with the kids. In these three areas, some people had left the country and some think of leaving especially the young people. I think the main challenge for the people is the hard economic situation, which started to be harder by the beginning of June. I learned that every hard situation is an opportunity to experience how God can strengthen us and achieve the Passover in the stormy sea of our life.

I think the future of the church depends on the economical situation in the country. The Christians here are like other citizens in Syria who are struggling because of the expensive demands of the basics in everyday life. Yes, I am hopeful and the congregations I served are hopeful because people like their churches genuinely. I will tell the Americans not to be sad about us. We are living in a bad situation and the life here is not fair enough, but we believe that God strengthens us and cares for us. We trust that God can use our brothers and sisters in the USA to support us emotionally and maybe a bit financially in order to be able to stay. 

Adon: There are three points which I think are important to take into consideration when talking about the future of the Christians in Syria and what I believe should be done. First is the relationship between all the Christian denominations. They should be ready to work and seek together to face the common suffering which they all live in. Therefore, all the Christian churches should improve their ecumenical work more and faster in order for it to work out. Second, I believe that the fate of Islam in the Middle East is the fate of Christianity as well. Therefore, both futures are connected. Thus if we find a comprehensive solution for the whole Middle East then we achieve a good future for all the people there and including Christians. The third and final point is the future of the Christians depends on the West, and how they continue to deal with the Middle East. For example, can the West in any way see the Middle East without relating to their own political and economical interests?

I know I am asking for a lot by addressing these three points trying to find a solution for the whole Middle East. But, for me, in order to continue what the American missionaries started here around 200 years ago, I feel responsible as I consider myself one fruit of that seed they planted here. We need more cooperation to start the Middle Eastern renaissance. I believe the churches in Syria can play a big role in the future by providing alternative solutions, not only for Christians but for all the Syrians, encouraging them to stay, rebuilding Syria again, and looking for a better society and life.

In this regard, I would like to tell Americans, as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us, the church of Syria cares about all the people and wants to help them all regardless of their region, ethnicity, or religion. Therefore, it needs your help to achieve this role in Syria by finding projects that boost its power, and secure its existence and future.

Hassan: The role of the church: Even though the church in Syria has been decreasing numerically after the war, I think the church has a role in our society. We may be a minority as Christians (and the minority of the Christian minority as Protestants) but still, we have a responsibility to live and share the values of the kingdom of God, (love, peace, hope, justice, dialogue) in an area like the Middle East. Of course, this is not an easy mission in a context full of daily social, political, and economic challenges.

So far, my practical experience is brief.  While studying at NEST, we used to have regular fieldwork in different churches in addition to summer camps. After leaving NEST I was leading church services in a village called Mahardeh before the Corona epidemic. With the lockdown, our Synod was quick to react and suggested holding online services to stay in contact with our congregations. So, I am now sharing online meditations every Sunday with that church. I hope the situation will get better soon to continue our services in this village. This summer, I am moving to Al Jazeera area (far north east of Syria) where I have my next ministry.

Yousef: I started my ministry in the church of Aleppo, and served in many other churches, which are the church of Latakia, Homs, Al-Nabk, Al-Haffar, and Al-Malkieh. I am serving now at the Presbyterian Church in Yazdia, and I will be serving here till the end of July/2020. After that my ministry will be in the church of Aleppo again to the end of the year. 

I find myself facing a serious theological, ethical, and pastoral challenge because many people want to leave the country from one side, and many of them are carrying a very great faith in Christ from the other side. I tried to formalize my encouraging words to their situations and decisions, and I reached to the following formula: “I encourage you stay till the end in your church raising the voice of Christ and the message of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the difficulties. Nevertheless, no one can decide whether you have to stay at your home, city, or country except you because it is a life decision, and no one knows your circumstances like you. However, you, as very faithful people to the call of God in your life, are called to carry this faith in you as treasures in jars. In addition, if you have scattered, you are called, as the book of Acts said, to preach the word wherever you go.”

I am hopeful for three main reasons. My hope comes firstly from checking the history of Christians in the Middle East in general and in Syria in particular. Through the ages of history, the Christians were mostly under the pursue, and they faced a lot of challenges. However, the church in its diversity kept stable in this country and its cities. Secondly, the present ecumenical status of Christians in Syria can give hope for their future. The reality of the church challenges plays a positive role in the ecumenical sense. The Christians feel that they need and have to support each other in these times, and that can be noticed in the levels of clergy and laity also.  The ecumenism in Syrian churches can support the remnant of them in the country, and it can raise the voice of Christians in the midst of economic, social, and political needs. Thirdly, there is a general feeling of respect of Christians from other denominational and religious groups in Syria because of their general standing against violence in the country. This can also comfort the Christians as very welcomed members of Syrian society. These three reasons are giving hope in the future not only for me but also for our congregations.

Kheirallah (whose name means the goodness of God): In the two churches that I served, mainly Homs and Latakia, I met many young people who are very enthusiastic to Christian ministry and very committed to the church message. They ask and search for a deeper understanding of Christian faith and show a sincere intent to live this faith actively and practically by witnessing Christ’s love amid the suffering.

The church in Syria is vital in spite of its challenges and it can with its diversity of denominations give a paradigm for the religious institutions in the area in considering diversity not as a source of vengeance but as a source of richness.

The church can witness based on the biblical testimony and on its historical experience that violence leads only to destruction. It is not an easy task, but the future of the church is in striving for overcoming boundaries and destroying barriers between the members of the society through refusing the usage of religion as a cover of political and economic conflicts, encouraging Christians and Muslims to reevaluate their fundamental movements, and organizing mutual activities with others on everyday life issues. This task cannot be achieved by an academic conference but by simple serious practical initiatives such as that of (Space for Hope, a ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Homs that provides for interfaith gatherings of young people).

We are all called to witness in our lives of faith, to give a reason for the hope we profess, as it says in 1 Peter 3:15. These young men, leading in these middle times in Syria, are those witnesses for us. For me, it has made my faith stronger and shows me what hope looks like.

I would tell Americans that the church of Syria has the courage to be a witness of life and hope amid bad circumstances. I would tell them also that the church of Syria is part of the Syrian people and it feels itself responsible for the needs of its people regardless of their backgrounds as Jesus during his life felt himself responsible for all the people around him. The church in Syria is witnessing Christ by facing oppression, terrorism, and fundamentalism and by striving for a better future for everybody in the region; for that, it needs your prayers and help in finding intellectual and economic projects that enhance its existence in its root land. (Kheirallah)

Let me go back to Peterson’s Reversed Thunder for the end of this message:

“Everything that has been heard and seen of God finds its way in one way or another into the words of witness. All scriptures find their way into the ordinary speech of the Christian. Daniel’s Gabriel holding Ezekiel’s scroll commands St. John to preach Moses’ revelation and behold Elijah’s fire come down from heaven. The scriptures, pondered and assimilated in Christian witness, are expressed in fresh and surprising ways, and result, cumulatively, in “loud voices in heaven” (Rev. 11:15).

These pastoral voices that you have heard through their words are the words of scripture in the ordinary words of human beings living out that connection from Genesis to Revelation, from Gabriel to John, in the context of pastoring the church in difficult circumstances. Their words offer hope in the here and now, and their witness continues from the beginning, through the middle, until the end. We are not at the end yet, so let us all continue to witness in the middle.

---Julie Burgess
West Hills Church, Omaha

The Outreach Foundation gives thanks to God that you continue on this journey with us alongside the faithful, witnessing Church in Syria, especially now that peace is being restored, even as the needs of families and the Church’s ministries continue. You may make a gift in one of two ways: send a check to our office or make an online gift at give.theoutreachfoundation.org.