Syria: Nun on Aleppo's front line

Sister Annie on a family visit

A religious Sister from Syria is to come to the UK to give first-hand testimony about life in Aleppo as part of a series of events organised by Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity helping those suffering persecution. Sister Annie Demerjian and Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore, Pakistan will give personal witness accounts at ACN events both in England and Scotland.

In her keynote addresses, Sister Annie is expected to describe her life-threatening work providing emergency aid and spiritual support to thousands of people trapped in Aleppo and Hassake, another city in northern Syria.

Sister Annie leads a team of volunteers who go house-to-house, providing ACN funded food, clean water, clothes, shoes, shelter, heating, electricity and medicine.

And Archbishop Shaw will talk about the work of the Church in Pakistan where growing extremism threatens the lives of people of all faiths, especially religious minorities. The Archbishop led the Church's response to the 27 March 2016 suicide bomb blast which targeted Christians relaxing in Lahore's Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park on Easter Sunday. The atrocity killed 72 people - 29 of them children - and 340 others were injured.

ACN has helped Archbishop Sebastian with support for people fleeing persecution, Christian education and catechesis, construction of churches, Mass stipends for priests ministering to the poor and oppressed, Christian media, help for religious Sisters and initiatives aimed at inter-faith understanding.

Both the Archbishop and Sister Annie are leading project partners of ACN, which is re-doubling its pastoral and relief work, especially in the Middle East.

The line-up of events involving the speakers is as follows:

ACN Annual Westminster Event London - Saturday, 15 October, 10.30am-3.30pm.

Westminster Cathedral, Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1P 1AW. Mass in the cathedral followed by talks in the cathedral hall. Event led by Neville Kyrke-Smith, UK National Director of Aid to the Church in Need. Also speaking is Jacques El Kallassi, director of Télé Lumière, Lebanon's first and only Christian television station.Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster will make opening remarks as the talks get underway in the hall. Tickets £10 each. Book early to avoid disappointment.

ACN North West Event - Tuesday, 11 October at 7.30pm, St Columba's Catholic Church, Plas Newton Lane, Chester CH2 1SA.

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury in attendance. Entrance free.

ACN Scotland - Faith, Hope and Freedom Event - Wednesday, 12 October at 7pm.

St Mirin Cathedral, Incle Street, Paisley PA1 1HR. Mass at 7pm celebrated by Bishop John Keenan of Paisley followed by talks in St Mirin Hall. Entrance free.

Source: ACN