Mennonite Church Canada calls for prayer for Ethiopia and Eritrea

United Nations Aid Agencies call for a temporary ceasefire in Ethiopia

 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) announced and held a nationwide fasting and prayer for peace on Nov 16. "Believers are still praying for peace, individually and collectively," they announced. "At present, our hope is in God alone. We kindly request the Mennonite families in North America and around the world to pray for our country. We need peace to continue to bring the good news of Jesus Christ and plant churches."

As a nationwide community of faith, Mennonite Church Canada calls on congregations to pray for peace and healing in Ethiopia. We ask for prayer for the congregations here in Canada who carry deep concerns for their loved ones in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Pray also for the pastors, leaders and the people of Meserete Kristos Church as they seek to bring God’s peace to the people of their country.

Ethiopia currently experiences a threefold threat of pandemic, famine and war. Crops are devastated due to a locust infestation and Ethiopia is now in the midst of intense conflict while in the grip of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Displacement of people, economic upheaval and decreased communications only heighten the anxiety. The violence threatens Eritrean refugees whose camps are located near the Eritrean boarder in the conflict area.

Photo captions: 1) Pastors living and serving in two refugee camps near the Eritrean border in Tigray region near current fighting. Pastor Jonathan Abrham from Shalom Worship and Healing Centre (Kitchener, Ont.) in back row with sunglasses. Fanosie Legesse, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Intercultural Mission Minister, kneeling. (Source: MCEC.)

 2) The sign out front of the MKC church in Mekelle the capitol city of the Tigray region which is at the centre of the conflict. Fanosie Legesse, MCEC Intercultural Mission Minister, and Norm Dyck, MCEC Mission Minister. 

3) Pastor Desta of the Mekelle MKC church is seated on the far right next to Fanosie. Fanosie Legesse, Norm Dyck, Pastor Jonathan Abrham, Shalom Worship and Healing Center (Kitchener, Ont.).

United Nations aid agencies are calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Ethiopia following more than two weeks of fighting. The conflict has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands more. More than 30,000 refugees have fled to Sudan, and over half of them are children. The United Nations Refugee Agency warns that Ethiopia is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

Mennonite Church Canada has just under a dozen congregations across Canada with roots in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Many have families, friends and loved ones caught in the crisis.

Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia is the largest Anabaptist community worldwide, and a member of Mennonite World Conference. Some of those who flee are church members’ loved ones. In the midst of this, pastors are caring for each other and for their congregations.  

For more than 15 years, Mennonite Church Canada has supported the development of Meserete Kristos College, which serves as a significant leadership-training centre. Recently, Meserete Kristos Church and Mennonite Church Canada have formalized a sister-church relationship with a focus on mutual encouragement, prayer and support in areas of leadership development and church planting.

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Media contacts:

Norm Dyck

Mission Minister

Mennonite Church Eastern Canada

ndyck@mcec.ca

 

Jeanette Hanson

Director of International Witness

Mennonite Church Canada

jhanson@mennonitechurch.ca