GAZA: Church Bells Silenced

Source: Mission Network News, August 4, 2014

Church bells have been silenced at a small Baptist church in Gaza. Since the region has turned into a war zone over the past few weeks, the small Baptist community is no longer holding church services.

An Open Doors contact shares: “We considered having a church service in our church on Sunday during the ceasefire. But since it became very clear that the ceasefire was not being kept, we decided it was irresponsible to meet together in the church.”

To encourage each other, the members of the church stay in touch with each other through telephone—if the lines are working—and also through organizing house meetings.

Apart from the Baptist church, the only two other active churches in all the Gaza Strip are the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Both churches have welcomed refugees from areas in Gaza that have taken heavy incoming artillery fire. Among the 1.7 million Muslims, there are approximately 1,500-2,000 Christians.

» Read full story and a related story on the emotional and spiritual toll of the war in Gaza.

»See also Colin Chapman’s analysis piece, Trying to Make Sense of Gaza (The Institute of Middle East Studies).

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