Andy
: ?Canon Andrew White, who once led peacemaking and reconciliation efforts at the world-renowned Coventry Cathedral, has been serving in Baghdad for ten years. It is an extraordinary story of heroism and faith. Even if the cultural effects of his tireless efforts for reconciliation and bridge-building are yet to be fully seen, his ministry is a reminder of how fragile yet durable Christ's kingdom is in this fractured world.?He drives to church in an armourplated car, escorted by 25 members of the Iraqi Army. As he preaches, he and his congregation are protected by soldiers cradling machineguns. Each week, familiar faces disappear — kidnapped, abducted or blown up by a suicide bomber. And each week politicians, generals, Muslim clerics and desperate mothers stream in to St George’s Anglican church to beg the help of an English vicar in ending violence, promoting dialogue and negotiating the release of hostages. For Canon Andrew White, fighting for peace has an all too literal meaning. His parish is the most murderous in the world: Baghdad.
Nate
: ?AP caption: "A painter decorates a security wall sealing off the southern section of the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008." I love the particular choice of scenery, which I'd guess is as foreign to Baghdadis as ... well, as this particular type of wall itself.?