From our colleagues in the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF):
The World Student Christian Federation invites our members and friends to join us in prayer for Nigeria, in the wake of the violence being carried out by the Boko Haram sect in Northern and Central Nigeria. We pray for the families and communities of those killed recently, including those killed in the attacks on churches in the cities of Jos and Biu last month.
We recognize the vulnerability the Nigerian people feel in their places of worship to be a violation of their right to worship publicly. We hope the federal government of Nigeria will be more strategic in its attempts to protect Nigerian citizens.
The WSCF also echoes the call of Christian leaders in Nigeria, including leaders of our member Student Christian Movement, for Christians to respond with prayer instead of violence. SCM Nigeria has emphasized to us that they are not in support of any reprisal attacks.
WSCF affirms and prays for the leaders from both Muslim and Christian groups, who are currently reaching out to one another and seeking a tolerant society, and we ask that God would give them wisdom and bless their efforts.
WSCF stands with the members of the Student Christian Movement of Nigeria in their role as peacemakers. We uphold the efforts of the young Nigerians to bring peace, understanding, and reconciliation to their communities, and recognize the very real risk this poses to them in areas most affected by the violence.
Finally, we pray fervently that God may soften the hearts of those who would commit violence against another human being in the name of religion. We join the students in our member Student Christian Movement in Nigeria in praying that those who would join the Boko Haram might find purpose in their lives that would allow them to live in harmony with others.
Our God, hear our prayer.
“O Blessed Lord, who thyself didst undergo the pain and suffering of the cross: uphold, we beseech thee, with thy promised gift of strength all those of our sisters and brothers who are suffering for their faith in thee. Grant that in the midst of all persecutions they may hold fast by this faith, and that from their steadfastness thy church may grow in grace and we ourselves in perseverance, to the honour of thy name…” — from WSCF’s Venite Adoremus II: Prayers and Services for Students p.191, reprinted from Gilbraltar Diocesan Journal.
Christine Housel, WSCF General Secretary
Horacio Mesones, WSCF Chairperson