New York churches look to Iraq on 9/11

NEW YORK—On the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania, churches in Manhattan planned to gather to pray.

Although a terrorist threat has risen in the Middle East in the form of ISIS, the churches planned to pray not for the safety of Manhattan but for the persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

Diana Mao, who works for an anti-trafficking organization in the city and attends Times Square Church, organized the gathering. Mao has a friend working for the UN in Iraq who sends her updates from the ground there. Johanna Cappon, who attends and helps lead worship at Every Nation Church, also helped organize. Both Mao and Cappon have traveled in the Middle East.

“When Iraq unfolded I was talking to friends and we were thinking about what we could do,” Mao said. “It was hard to hear about all the atrocities that were happening. We want to take action and don’t know where to start. Prayer is a good place to start.”

Times Square Church is also very globally focused, holding an international prayer meeting online every Tuesday. Together, the women reached out to networks of other big and small evangelical churches in the city: Trinity Grace Church (which has parishes throughout the city), Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Baptist churches, and charismatic churches. The Metropolitan New York Baptist Association on the Upper West Side offered to host tonight’s prayer gathering.

“It’s the body coming together,” said Mao.

Last month, members at churches in the city set up a prayer chain for Iraq. One member from Apostles Church, an evangelical church with multiple parishes in the city, set up a Google spreadsheet of prayer needs and emailed it to his church, and those members forwarded it on to other church email lists throughout the city. People from various evangelical churches—Apostles, Redeemer, Trinity Grace, and others—signed up for 15-minute slots to pray over the course of five days.

“Perhaps we get the privilege of living in the greatest city in the world, at this specific moment, for such a time as this,” the Apostles member who started the list wrote.

Britain recently raised its terror alert to its second highest level, citing threats from ISIS and the several hundred British fighters who have joined the jihadists. But the United States has said ISIS currently does not pose a threat to U.S. soil.

Meanwhile, the UN has estimated that in the month of August, 1,265 civilians were killed in Iraq’s war with ISIS. The UN said that estimate is likely well below the actual death toll.

“We do see the power of God more in situations that are deemed hopeless,” Mao said. “It’s a timely moment to fall on our face.”