Saint Stephen, Easter 5A
The main reading for this week is about the martyrdom of St Stephen. So I started to think about some of the modern day martyrs. One that came to mind is Oscar Romero who was murdered just over 25 years ago.
A couple of days ago I read a recent article by Robert Fisk published in The Independent titled Our presidents and prime ministers are poseurs. Where are the Great Men of today? [read the article]. It brought into sharp focus some of the more recent martyrs of the modern world. In the article he noted two people in particular that caught my eye. Margaret Hassan, the CARE International charity worker who was murdered in Iraq. And, Rachel Corrie, the American girl who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she stood in its path to protect Palestinian homes in Gaza.
About two weeks ago Marla Ruzicka was killed by a suicide bomber in Baghdad. Just 28 years old, Marla was one of only a handful of foreign human-rights workers to set foot in Iraq this year. Marla had founded the organisation CIVIC, a small organization working to obtain U.S. Government assistance for communities and families in need, while helping to shine a spotlight on the human costs of war. This flash animation on the front page of their website may well be worth using as part of a reflection on martyrs.
I would suggest the song Like a Candle written by Craig Mitchell may also be a good song for a reflection/response time. You can find the music and an MP3 of the song on the resource page for this week.
If you want more stuff about persecution and human rights abuse you might want to check out these websites:
Human Rights
and Christian Persecution
Amnesty International (Australia)
Voice of the Martyrs (Australia)
- Dean's blog
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