Three churches have been car bombed in the past two weeks in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk: St Ephrem’s Syrian Orthodox Church, Holy Family Syrian Catholic Church and the nearby Evangelical church. A sad but inevitable result for Christian life and mission in Iraq:

Christians are continuing to emigrate from violent areas of Iraq. Five families have left Kirkuk since the attacks two weeks ago and the archbishop estimates that thousands of Christians have left the city over the past 30 years.

“This exodus of Christians is going on all the time. It is a big loss for those Christians who want to continue here. How long can they resist the pressure to leave?”

Please pray with me,

To you, O Lord,

on bended knees

our heads we bow in prayer:

that you may hear

our cry for blood-drenched lands

and their exhausted people,

who have seen too much death,

and have been afraid too long

to understand your love,

comprehend your presence,

acknowledge your goodness

and concern for them, a battered people;

yearning for freedom

as they bear yiour cross.

Prayer by Lesley G. Anderson, The SPCK Book of Christian Prayer, SPCK, London, 1995, p.131.

Full report, Iraqi Christians worry after car bomb hits third Kirkuk Church.  See also, Plight of Iraqi Christians.