“No hate was being preached: ‘This will teach us to be better Christians.’” Sunday morning a Dutch and Belgian television crew attended the service in a burnt church in Minya (250 km / 160 miles south of Cairo): the Gad al-Seed evangelical presbyterian church of my former master student and friend pastor Sameh Ibrahim, about which I earlier wrote in the post “Death Where is Your Sting.” Photo’s Burnt Church in Minya Egypt. While the story will be broadcast tonight in the Dutch television program Nieuwsuur, Jan Eikelboom and Ruth Vandewalle of the television crew shared already some very telling pictures on Twitter.
Dienst in protestantse kerk #minya pic.twitter.com/ZMEz4LIDah
— Jan Eikelboom (@janeikelboom) August 18, 2013
PIC Ontroerende beelden deze ochtend. Christenen bidden voor het eerst in hun verbrande kerk Gad el-Sid in Al Minya pic.twitter.com/IW7VP9kPpu
— Ruth Vandewalle (@ruthruthcairo) August 18, 2013
[“Moving pictures this morning. Christians are praying for the first time in their burnt Gad al-Seed church in Minya.”]
Dominee Sameh bidt met zijn gelovigen. Er werd geen haat gepredikt: “Dit zal ons leren betere christenen te zijn.” pic.twitter.com/E5GwYwMsV5
— Ruth Vandewalle (@ruthruthcairo) August 18, 2013
[“Rev. Sameh prays with his believers. No hate was being preached. ‘This will teach us to be better Christians.’”]
The following are pictures of other churches and property owned by Christians in Minya that was burnt.
Ongelooflijk wat ik vandaag zag in Minya.Kerken en gebouwen van christenen totaal verwoest in 1 dag. Een ware pogrom pic.twitter.com/Sh1WkqiwLx
— Ruth Vandewalle (@ruthruthcairo) August 18, 2013
Hier volgen de beloofde foto’s uit Minya, waar Christenen worden belaagd: dit is de koptische pastorie pic.twitter.com/phk4EhQ2wB
— Jan Eikelboom (@janeikelboom) August 18, 2013
De koptische kerk #minya pic.twitter.com/IMcvtXZQgx
— Jan Eikelboom (@janeikelboom) August 18, 2013
Een kantoor in een cultureel centrum van jezuiten #minya pic.twitter.com/cOphuJdku8
— Jan Eikelboom (@janeikelboom) August 18, 2013
Een restaurantboot #minya pic.twitter.com/7FPpLuM0OG
— Jan Eikelboom (@janeikelboom) August 18, 2013
Update Tuesday August 20, 2013. After the broadcast of the program Nieuwsuur, Jan Eikelboom tweets:
Ik kan me niet herinneren dat ik ooit zoveel reacties heb gekregen. Repo heeft blijkbaar een snaar geraakt en dat is goed om te zien.
— Jan Eikelboom (@janeikelboom) August 19, 2013
[“I can’t remember that I ever got so many reactions. The report has apparantly touched a string and it is good to see that.”]
Willem-Jan de Wit 
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Deep respect for your attitude of love, keeping seeing Muslims as your brothers and sisters, whoever they are, whatever they did. I’m so sorry for that ruinization. Peace be with you!
Have seen your destroyed church on the news and a part of the Sunday Service. I feel so sorry for this people. So much respect for not preaching hate but love for all Egyptians. People all over the world are praying for Egypt. God bless you all.
I have no words to express my deep sadness about things happening in Egypt, Christian minority is on the target, but is not the issue. I have deep respect for the power and wisdom you and your community spread around,
Rabina Ma’kon! Ya rab yehmi kel el masiheen bezt be masr! I am very sad to see that christians being attacked by terrorist and that they attacked lots of churches :(. I got only one thing to say to them: They Can Burn Ur Churches, But They Can’t Burn Our Faith. Deep respect for your attitude of love, respect and peace and that you keep seeing muslims as your brothers and sisters. God bless you!!
I could not have expressed myself better Marianna. May God protect every believer and place extra blessings on the ones who keep preaching love and brotherhood. Ameen.
🙂 Ameen!
I’ll pray for all of you, Blessings..
I’d like to express my sadness over what has happened to you as well as my admiration for how you are dealing with it. Under these tough circumstances you make it very clear that the church doesn’t HAVE the message, but that it IS the message.
Deeply impressed by your courage and faith. I pray for your city and your country in these hard times. May the Lord bless you and give peace and rest.
Also deeply impressed by your courage and faith. It made me think of the words of Peter in his first letter:
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”(1 Peter 1,3-9, KJV).
“The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Know that there are brothers and sisters praying for pastor Sameh Ibrahim, his congregation and all those other christians that suffer so much. May the Lord show his mercy. Blessings.
Thanks to God for the effect of His grace in your life. Proceed with showing his love in a world full of hate. To His glory and salvation of sinners. His gracious presence prayed to you all. God’s strength!
Praying for all of you! May God surround you with His love!
Our respect and prayers for our brothers and sisters in Egypt, who are suffering so much. Their faith and singing and not preaching hate but brotherhood inspires us and has our deep respect. Dear God, be gracious. Kyrie Eleison!
thank you very much for your prayers and your feelings.
Dear Rev. Sameh, Two years ago I have been in Egypt and since then I feel more connected to the things that are happening right now. For Christians and for the whole country. Today I say the TV-item that was made in your church. My deepest sympathy with you in what has happened. I pray that your beautiful attitude may continue to exist, to the glory of God Himself and as a witness of his love through Jesus Christ. Much blessings in this all, also to your congregation and the other churches in Minya.
Greatings in Him,
Jeroen Witteveen
You are in our prayers. God is with you in all things.
Living on the Great Plains in the middle of the USA, I find it difficult to imagine the turmoil of fellow Christians across the globe. My dear friends, Mark and Linda Nygard, were here recently and it was good to see that they have the same spirit of God and theirs and my hearts are heavy for you. No doubt God is at work in spite of what humans can do, and He does turn the world upside down in ways we can’t understand. Pray, pray, pray. God be with, and keep you yet another day proclaiming the love, grace and peace that God provides through Christ Jesus. If I could be in your presence I would put the sign of the cross on your foreheads!
I am not christian nor muslim, but I have the deepest respect for all Egyptians, how they survive these difficult moments with faith in the futur. This broadcast prooved that indeed there is place for everybody in Egypt.
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