Posted: 09/09/2015 at 6:17pm | IP Logged

Campus Christians Plan Prayer Vigil for Mideast Migrant Refugees

By Bill Bray, Special to ASSIST News Service

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (ANS, September 9, 2015) -- On Friday, September 11, local Operation Esther Prayer Circles in various states will celebrate their first anniversary, and begin the new academic year with a prayer vigil for the refugee migrants fleeing Islamic State terrorism.

Here in Virginia, UVA students are being urged to pray with community representatives for the refugee victims now fleeing to Europe at any time from 12 Noon to 6 PM, above the Well House Café in the Charlottesville House of Prayer, 118 10-1/2 Street off West Main, Charlottesville.

Prayer vigil participants will be able to light a candle, leave flowers or pray at the altar and leave a note in the prayer book.

Debra Yarde, President of the local circle is also collecting emergency donations for the refugee victims of ISIS.

The OSM intercessory “Operation Esther” national prayer theme for the 2015 school year continues to focus on ISIS persecutions in the Islamic State and the genocide of minorities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The national “Operation Esther” campaign kicked off last year in New York on Tuesday, September 2 at the site of the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial.

The “Operation Esther” 2015 prayer theme is taken from the Biblical accounts of Queen Esther who called for prayer and fasting during her attempts to save her people from genocide during the reign of King Xerxes I of Persia in 479 BC.

Prayers are being made by name for University leaders, student leaders, and political leaders of all the involved countries and homelands of the students. In addition, each week prayer is raised up for one of the 50 countries where local governments deny religious freedom and human rights to women and other minority groups, especially Christians.

Besides the persecuted and oppressed, the other cycles of prayer in a normal hour of Operation Esther Prayer Circle intercession include prayers along the themes of: self, family, school, leaders, the nations and the church. Students are encouraged to praise, worship and pray according to the Word of God, applying it to circumstances in their lives locally, state-wide, nationally, and internationally.

Photo captions: 1) Many of the migrants are very young.

Source: Assist News Service