WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Sahara

As I wrote about in a recent post, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year is providing a supplemental paragraph about countries in the weekly Ecumenical Prayer Cycle created by the World Council of Churches. We pray for each country listed in the prayer cycle during the Intercessory Prayers at Saint Peter's on Sundays and the paragraph is included in our bulletin insert to provide context for those intercessions.

This week's countries (1/20 - 1/26) are Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Sahara. While the paragraph below provides some basic information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We give thanks for relative stability in the Western Sahara, an area in Northern Africa that is currently listed by the United Nations as the largest non-self-governing territory in the world.  We pray that the UN’s personal envoy, Christopher Ross, can negotiate a path forward between the government of Morocco, which occupies much of the territory, and the Polisario Front, a national liberation movement.  While unrest continues in Libya, we give thanks that political rights and civil liberties have improved over the past year, according to a recent report released by Freedom House.  We pray for increased stability in Tunisia and peace to all those affected by the recent hostage crisis in Liberia.

God's peace,
Dustin 

Dustin is currently a vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice building in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.