The following video of the Prayer March for Persecuted Christians was posted by the organizers, Burning Bush Ministries in Orlando. They did a superb job of putting together this event:

Below are the notes that accompany this video. They list me as coming from “out of the country”, but that’s obviously a mistake (it happens to me a lot, because of the “Vienna” connection).

On May 17, 2014, 200+ people gathered in Orlando, FL for the Prayer March For Persecuted Christians coordinated by Rev. Bruce Lieske and Alan Kornman. Tom and Carole Hays, Barbara Lieske, Dolores Divine, Judy Finnie, and a team of dedicated volunteers ultimately responsible for making this event a reality.

People of all faiths, races, and denominations joined together to raise awareness of Christian persecution around the world.

An international group of speakers from Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Germany, and Europe tell their personal stories of persecution. Meet many of them as you watch this video.

Recent events in Nigeria where 300 Christian girls were kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, raped, and tortured by the Islamist Jihadi group Boko Haram, caught the attention of the world. 10% of the kidnapped girls who were Muslim were set free by their captors. The fate of the remaining girls is grim.

What Is Christian Persecution

Rev. Bruce Lieske writes, “We believe that the prayer march for persecuted Christians held in Orlando, Florida on May 17, 2014 is the beginning of a North American movement. For too long Christians have been silent about the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. In the past we have heard little about this growing problem. It does not fit the preferred narrative of the secular news media, and for the most part our pulpits are silent. Pastors appear to be intimidated by the lie of ‘political correctness’ or cowed by implied threats from Muslim organizations. Christians are now the most persecuted people group on earth. They suffer imprisonment, beheadings, rape, public torture and kidnappings — often resulting in forced marriages, sex slavery and false conversions to Islam. Their homes, churches and schools are burned, such as happened in Pakistan in 2013 when 200 homes and two churches were burned because of an alleged blasphemy against Muhammad.

Silent no more. Martin Luther King said, “In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” The prayer march in downtown Orlando was attended by 200 people carrying signs which had slogans like “Stop Burning Down Churches in Pakistan” and “Religious Freedom also in Islamic Countries.” Many Christians know the stories about the early Christian martyrs being thrown to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, but today over 100,000 Christians are murdered every year for their faith, and pulpits are strangely silent. This silence, stemming from lack of awareness, or fear of criticism and reprisal, is the very intimidation that the enemies of Christ seek to impose. God has not given His Church a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. The movement has begun.

We will be silent no more.

Awareness Across the USA Grows

Marches and rallies for persecuted Christians were initiated without any coordination in Dallas, TX by Eric Martin and Bill Warner in Nashville, TN. It is our hope that next year on May 17 we will see Marches For Persecuted Christians being organized in cities all across America and Europe.

Church leaders from across Orlando who participated, we thank them for sending the message to Central Florida residents that persecution of any group will not be tolerated.

Sadly, many of the largest Churches and Synagogues in Orlando we contacted were not responsive to this important issue that is gaining national awareness. It is our hope that everyone will reach out to their ecumenical leadership and tell them to support the March in 2015.

If you would like someone to speak at one of your events or talk with your clergy contact PrayerMarch@Yahoo.com.

Special thanks to:

Sister Hatune Dogan, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, Henrik Clausen, Ann Marchini, Ned M and Valerie Price who travelled from out of the country to be at this event.

Previous posts about the Prayer March for Persecuted Christian, Orlando, May 2014: