Prayers for Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church

(link)


Coptic pope has spinal surgery at Cleveland Clinic
Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church based in Egypt had successful spinal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and is expected to be released soon, the research hospital said Tuesday.

"He is in excellent condition and recovering well in his hospital suite," the clinic said. No details were released.

The surgery was performed Sunday by Dr. Iain Kalfas, chairman of neurosurgery at the clinic.

Shenouda, 83, has started physical therapy in his room and is expected to be released from the hospital soon, according to the clinic, which said he would continue physical therapy when he returns to Egypt.

Shenouda has led the Coptic Orthodox Church since 1971. Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's more than 70 million people and are the largest Christian minority in the Middle East.

Under his leadership, the church has established congregations in the United States, South America, New Zealand and Australia. Its four North American congregations in 1971 have grown to more than 100.

Prayers for a speedy recovery and the blessings of the Lord.

Prayers and Support for Pro-Life Law

Please read this artcle (link).

I'll try to add more later.

Married Three Years Today!!!!!

Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My wife's blog

So my wife has a blog that I really enjoy reading (link).

Ahh...the signs of marriage. See each other all the time, work together but in different departments and still read each other's blogs. No wonder we are pretty good on communication. We talk in first, second and third person.

Armenian Genocide Statue Destroyed in France

Gateway Pundit has the story (link).

All I can say is that maybe if people keep acting in response to the French Bill, then people will learn about the Genocide.

I pray no one gets hurt, but such childish acts of vandalism and political name calling might bring attention to the least talked about crime against humanity of our time.

Islamic Group Beheads Assyrian Priest, Crucifies 14 Year Old Boy in North Iraq

Mosul, Iraq (AINA) -- On Monday, October 9, a prominent Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) priest, Fr. Paulos Iskander (Paul Alexander), was kidnapped by an unknown Islamic group. His ransom was posted at either $250,000 or $350,000. This group had demanded that signs be posted once again on his church apologizing for the Pope's remarks as a condition for negotiations to begin.

Father Alexander was beheaded on Wednesday.

An email from a priest in Sweden, Adris Hanna, describes the Muslim terror campaign against the Christians in Iraq:

The Syriac-Orhtodox priest Paulos Iskandar was kidnapped this Monday, October 9, and beheaded today Wednesday October 11.

The Bishop in Mosul wrote me an email tonight and told me that the funeral will be held in Mosul tomorrow.

Christians are living a terrified life in Mosul and Baghdad. Several priests have been kidnapped, girls are being raped and murdered and a couple of days ago a fourteen year old boy was crucified in the Christian neighborhood Albasra.

I have also spoken to a group of nuns that were robbed and treated brutally on their way between Baghdad to Amman in Jordan.

The murder of father Paulus is the final blow for Christians, and now only hell is expected for the Christians of Iraq.

We the oriental Christians in Sweden and the rest of the Western world must protest against the genocide. We must do what we can to stop the rape, threats, hatred, robberies, murders… We must do something.(source)

Also on the story:

link

And where is Fox, CNN, MSNBC...anyone.

Kidnappers Forcing Teenage Girl to Convert to Islam. Plus an Update as more news comes out. Kidnapped Girl Escapes to Family

The Free Copts have the story (link).

I'll repost it here:


On October 2nd at 2:30 p.m., Lorans Wageah Emeel, a 15-year-old Christian girl, was kidnapped by Muslims in the Egyptian city of El Mahala Al Kobra. The incident was publicized by El Tareek, the only Arabic Christian newspaper in the Middle East. It is reported that the abductors are trying to force Lorans, a student of Saida Nafesa High School in El Mahalla Al Kobra, to deny Christ and accept Islam.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. Cairo time, on October 3rd, the Emeel family gathered around the El Mahala Al Kobra police station, pleading with the officers to return Lorans to them. Her parents accused a Muslim man of kidnapping their daughter at 2:30 in the afternoon and filed a police report at the station.

The kidnapping of Christian teenage girls in Muslim nations has reached into the thousands. Many are forced through physical violence to convert to Islam. Other girls are often lured into becoming Muslims with promises of material wealth. The Voice of the Martyrs sponsors safe houses in Islamic countries to protect Christian teenage girls who have been threatened with or have escaped from abduction. These Christian refuges are also places where young women learn job skills and receive spiritual training.

Please offer your prayers. But also...Contact our own government here in the United States. Make this an issue. Make the sufferings of our brothers and sisters an issue for our own government. Our tax dollars are going to support (in the form of military aid to Egypt) the government that turns a blind eye to this.

Some links on how to mail Congress about the United States and their role in this:

Link
House of Representatives faq

Link
THE COMPLETE LIST OF E-MAIL ADDRESSES & FAX NUMBERS FOR CONGRESS, SENATE & GOVERNORS

Link
Congress.org


Update (From Voice of the Martyrs)

An Egyptian Christian teenager escaped her Muslim kidnappers last week hours after they had drugged her on a public bus. They threatened to rape her and convert her to Islam if her family did not leave their Nile Delta city of El-Mahala el-Kobra. Laurence Wagih Emil, 15, escaped the ground-floor room where she was being held in Cairo's southern Helwan suburb at 10 p.m. last Tuesday (October 3) while her captors were away breaking their Ramadan fast.

Her father, Wagih Emil, had received several threatening text messages from his daughter's mobile phone. "Take the rest of your daughters and leave the city, or you will lose them one by one," said one. "The girl is not accepting easily, but she will embrace Islam for sure." Before family members recovered her, State Security Investigation officials interviewing Laurence Emil told her she would never see her parents again unless she reported a false story denying the kidnapping.

An Open Letter From The American Coptic Union to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

I'll post the text of the letter here:


Contact: Rafique Iscandar, American Coptic Union, 201-798-1451, americancu@hotmail.com

MEDIA ADVISORY, Oct. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- The President of the American Coptic Union (ACU) sends the following open letter to the US Department of State, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Dear Secretary of State Rice:

The American Coptic Union (ACU), which represents Coptic people in the United States and Egypt, is deeply concerned about the human rights abuses perpetrated against the Copts in Egypt. While these violations against our people have been escalating since September 11, 2001, the Egypt government has not protected its Coptic population—as Islamic terrorists and the Egyptian State Security Investigation authority continues to attack and persecute the Copts.

The daily horrors of shame-rape, ethnic cleansing, forced displacement and forced conversion, particularly in the southern part of Upper Egypt, are seriously eroding the Copts’ economic, social, and religious existence. Despite the good relationship and numerous calls by President George W. Bush to President Hosni Mubarak, the daily life of the Copts continues to deteriorate.

While the Egypt government continues to isolate its Coptic population, it has never discussed the constitutional rights of Egypt’s Christians nor has it legislated any new laws or presidential decrees to ensure human rights for the Copts. In fact, human rights activists are often harassed, attacked and falsely imprisoned in Egypt for speaking out.

As I write this letter to you, not one case of rape or kidnap, which was reported to the Egyptian authorities, has been filed. The ACU has personally documented and reported many of these crimes, which the Egyptian government has ignored.

Mary Bulak is a Coptic mother who lost two underage daughters, after they were kidnapped, raped and forcefully converted to Islam, Nov. 10, 2003. Although our organization has spent considerable time with officials from the U.S. Department of State and the USCIRF, giving full details of the horrible crimes and suffering endured by the Bulaks, the Egyptian government still refuses to end the suffering of this family (and thousands of other families who have endured similar persecution). Another crime committed by the Egyptian government is the killing of Sabry Zaky Esq., a Human Rights lawyer, July 23, 2004. This crime was also ignored and to this day, it remains unsolved despite several requests for investigation.

The American Coptic Union requests that you discuss the continued human rights abuses of the Copts in Egypt, along with the cases mentioned in this letter, during your upcoming meeting with the Egyptian government. We also suggest building a friendly grass roots effort with those Christians and Muslims who are loyal to the U.S. and its values for freedom.


Sincerely,


Rafique Iscandar
President

Woman uses Baby as Weapon

This is just disgusting (link):

Prosecutor says Pa. mom used 4-week-old baby to beat boyfriend; child seriously injured
By Associated Press
Monday, October 9, 2006

ERIE, Pa. - A woman used her 4-week-old baby as a weapon in a domestic dispute, swinging the infant through the air and striking her boyfriend with the child, authorities said.
The boy was in serious but stable condition Monday at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, police said.
“Never, never, never. I can never remember anything like this,” District Attorney Bradley Foulk told the Erie Times-News.

Chytoria Graham, 27, of Erie, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and simple assault. She was held Monday in the Erie County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
The infant, whose name was not released, suffered a fractured skull and some bleeding in the brain, authorities said. His head hit Graham’s boyfriend, the baby’s father, police Lt. Dan Spizarny said.

Authorities removed four other children from Graham’s home and placed them with the Erie County Office of Children and Youth, Foulk said.



Prayers for the child and all involved.

Updating to Blogger beta

I'm updating my blog to beta. It give me more control on style and additions. So it may look different off and on over the next few days.

The shootings at the Amish School

This has been the big story in PA (and the nation) this week. My prayers and heart goes out to the famlies of all involved. I saw this headline today:

Amish mourn after attack, urging forgiveness of gunman

A quote:

As they struggle to understand the slayings of five of their children in a one-room schoolhouse, the Amish in this Lancaster County village are urging forgiveness of the killer and are quietly accepting what comes their way as God's will.

and:

The Amish have also been reaching out to the family of the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, who committed suicide during the attack.

"The Amish neighbor came that very night, around 9 o'clock in the evening, and offered forgiveness to the family," Dwight Lefever, a Roberts family spokesman, told CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts. (source)

It is Respect Life Sunday

Say a prayer for all life. Born and unborn. Suffering and happy.

Love each other today.