A
few weeks ago, I changed my social media profile photo. Like many others, I was
responding to the awful situation in Mosul, Iraq, where my fellow Christians
are reportedly being forced to convert to Islam, or otherwise being threatened
with execution. It was a vague attempt to do something - anything - to help. I
was standing in solidarity, if nothing else, and hopefully encouraging others
to do the same.
The
trouble of standing in solidarity however, is that when it's done from being a
laptop screen in a cosy branch of Costa Coffee, it achieves pretty much
nothing.
Fast
forward a few weeks, and the situation is worse than ever. I don't need to
recount here the horrible stories of forced conversions, people starving up
mountains and beheaded children.
Here's
the thing: we can't stand by while this happens. We just can't. If we call
ourselves Christians - or even just human beings - we have to care enough to
put down whatever we're doing and take a few minutes to engage.
So
what, practically, can we do? I've spent a little while thinking, praying and
asking others about that question, and here is a start.
Further
Reading
