Gaza Baptist Church | |
Location | Gaza City, Gaza |
---|---|
Country | Palestinian Territories |
Denomination | Baptist, Evangelical |
Specifications | |
Number of floors | 6 |
Clergy | |
Senior pastor(s) | Hanna Massad |
Pastor(s) | Essam Farah |
The Gaza Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestinian Territories.[1][2][3] The Church is one of only three Christian churches in the Gaza Strip, and the only one that is Protestant and evangelical.
The Gaza Baptist Church and its congregation of about 200 have been adversely affected by ongoing violence and chaos related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Several church members have become casualties of violence between warring Palestinian factions, and after the murder of a Church leader by Islamic extremists in 2007, a number of others were advised by the authorities to leave Gaza for their own safety.
As a result of this situation and of ongoing Israeli travel restrictions, the Church's leadership, including its pastor, still lives in exile, and is only occasionally able to return.
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The church was founded in the 1950s.[4] It is pastored by Hanna Massad.[5]
The church, which has historically ministered to approximately 150-250 of Gaza's some-odd 2,000 Christians, is one of only three Christian churches in the Gaza Strip.[6][7] Among Church of Saint Porphyrius and Gaza Latin Church on Zeitoun Street, Gaza Baptist Church is the only Evangelical church in all of Gaza.[8][7] The church opened Gaza's first public Christian library in 2006.[9]
The church's building is six stories tall.[10] The first two floors are a dedicated public library, which serves both Christian and non-Christian books.[11] The fourth floor is used for outreach, the fifth floor is a lodge for guest workers from abroad, and the sixth floor is used as a worship hall.[9]
Gaza's tiny Christian minority has traditionally enjoyed good relations with the territory's much larger Muslim majority.[12] Prior to the breakdown of law and order in 2007, the Church ran youth programs, a library, and medical clinics. As of May 2010 it was still running a school for about 250 students, most of whom are Muslim.[4]
In a surprise result in January 2006, the Islamist Party Hamas won the Palestinian general elections. Skirmishes between the militias of Hamas and the previous Fatah administration erupted into open warfare in January 2007, and Hamas was able to seize control of the entire Gaza Strip.
Gaza suffered a breakdown in law and order following the election, and since the Hamas takeover, the party has struggled to reimpose order under the joint impact of international sanctions and a lengthy Israeli economic blockade. The increasing chaos and lawlessness has adversely affected Gaza's minority Christian community, including the members of the Gaza Baptist Church.[4]
On or before February 2007, the Church's public library was subjected to arson attacks on three separate occasions.[10] During an Israeli air raid in December 2008, the building was damaged by a nearby bomb blast.[13][14]
Because of its height, unusual in this mostly low-rise city, the Gaza Baptist Church building was repeatedly commandeered by Fatah and Hamas troops as an observation post during the Fatah–Hamas conflict.[6] This resulted in several of Gaza Baptist Church's staff being caught in crossfire. In one instance, a church librarian was hit by gunfire during a firefight between opposing factions.[6] On a similar occasion, the church bus driver, a 22-year-old newlywed, was killed.[6] The Church was raided and temporarily seized by Fatah police in February 2007.[15]
In April 2007, one of Gaza Baptist Church's leaders, Rami Ayyad, was kidnapped, publicly beaten, and murdered by unidentified Islamic militants.[16][17][18] Ayyad—the first Palestinian Christian in living memory to be murdered for his religious faith[1][19]—had been the manager of Gaza's only Christian bookstore, The Teacher's Bookshop.[20][12] Following Ayyad's death, authorities advised Pastor Massad to relocate in order to ensure the safety of himself and his family.[4] As a result of the violence, regular attendance at the church was adversely affected in following months.[21][22]
After the murder of Ayyad, seven of the Church's leaders, including its pastor Hanna Massad, followed the advice of authorities and left Gaza. Massad moved with his family to Jordan and five of the other six moved to the West Bank near Bethlehem. Since then, with rare exceptions, only Massad has been allowed to return by the Israeli authorities. The five who moved to Bethlehem have been prohibited from leaving the area, as a result of which, some have not seen family members for years.[4]
The Israeli blockade of Gaza, according to Massad, has led to "[a] lot of desperation and hopelessness among the people ... more poverty and more suffering".[23] The cost of living has increased and medical equipment is in short supply. However, most agree that the Israeli travel restrictions are even more difficult to endure. Massad summarized the plight of Palestinian Christians as like living "between two fires. Muslim persecution and Israeli occupation."[4]
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