Pray for Turkey on Sunday July 18, 2010

Pray for Turkey on Sunday July 18, 2010

 

Prayers for Turkey: Luke 10:38-42

 

Hospitality is a characteristic of the Middle East and Martha was doing what was expected of her. Someone had to prepare the tea and serve the food. We pray for the Mary’s of this world. There are times when we are not so welcoming to the stranger in our midst. We pray for the refugees, the migrants, and the foreign workers who pass through these lands. We pray for those who work with the Istanbul Interparish Migrant Program and who provide the human face of caring for those who can be caught in a harsh reality.  Give them the strength to continue to care and the wisdom to make difficult decisions when given limited resources.

  • We pray for those who have escaped terrifying circumstances and seek to make a new start yet face major health problems such as Pastor Yusuf and his family from Eritrea.
  • We praise God for the successful end of the 2009-2010 school year and pray for the students who await the results of their university entrance exams.
  • We pray for tolerance of and safety for Christians in Turkey, given the growing threat of ultra-nationalism as exemplified by the recent murder of Catholic Bishop Luigi Padovese in Iskenderun.
  • We pray that the children of Abraham can find ways to dialogue with one another and to resolve their problems in just and peaceful ways.

(Prayer by Alison Stendahl)

Global Ministries International Partners in Turkey:

  • Istanbul Interparish Migrant Program: Predecessors of the current Global Ministries personnel in Istanbul organized local parishes to serve the influx of refugees to that city during the First Gulf War in 1991. Hearing the continuing call to minister to the needs of economic migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees stranded in Turkey – they number close to 100,000 today – the parishes over the years have sustained and further developed this ecumenical program of Christian mission. The focus is on the most marginalized group of migrants, namely women with children. Services include food, clothing, health care, counseling, voluntary repatriation, adult education and emergency shelter subsidies. IIMP is a critical presence in the lives of those they help. Its work overlaps with NGOs that advocate for the rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Global Ministries personnel are officers on the IIMP Board.
  • Health and Education Foundation: The Health and Education Foundation, a Turkish secular philanthropy, began in 1968 to protect and renew the educational and medical institutions of the American Board, which represents the founder of these institutions more than a century ago. The Health and Education Foundation consists of volunteers who are the graduates of the American Board schools. There are three high schools in Turkey (Tarsus, Istanbul, Izmir), a hospital in Gaziantep (SEV American Hospital) and a printing press (SEV-YAY), founded by the American Board but now managed by the Health and Education Foundation, which has full responsibility and authority for them. The institutions exemplify the positive possibilities for bridging cultural divides and building trustful relationships that are needed in today’s pluralistic world. Global Ministries follows with hope and interest the progress of these historical institutions through its office in Turkey, the American Board.

Global Ministries Personnel in Turkey:

Ken & Betty Frank serve with the American Board in Istanbul, Turkey.  They share the job of General Secretary of the American Board.  They also serve on the board of the Istanbul Interparish Migrant Program (IIMP) and work in its programs.

Alison Stendahl serves as Academic Dean of and a math teacher at Uskudar American Academy in Istanbul, Turkey. She also represents, along with Peter Makari, Global Ministries on the Near East School of Theology (NEST) Board in Beirut, Lebanon.