Friday prayers

It's Friday in Iran, which is the holy day, and therefore the Fellowship of Reconciliation's peace delegation will spend a fairly quiet day. In a message to FOR yesterday, delegation leader Mark Johnson reported:

"This morning six of us began the day at St. Peter's Evangelical Church and the synod offices of the Evangelical Church, a short walk from our hotel. We visited with Rev. Saygez Benyamin, one of three ordained Evangelical Pastors in Iran today. We had nearly an hour's discussion on the status of Christians in Iran today, the aspirations and interests of those in his community, and a tour of their library of some 5,000 volumes (which is currently being catalogued by interns from the Islamic University studying library sciences).

"They were also setting up for their Christmas Bazaar and we had a chance to talk with some younger Tehrani Protestans. The church itself is about 130 years old, was the first Protestant Church built in Iran, and is the inheritor of the Presbyterian Mission legacy in Iran.

"The group then went on a museum tour in the city for the day, while Rick Zand accepted an invitation to join a community meeting on women's rights. The Museum of Contemporary Art was STUNNING. The building and the sculptors collected there were exceptional. We also visited the Reza Abassi Museum which was basically archeological in character, and the Museum of Carpets. We also circumambulated the America Embassy grounds and enjoyed the mural work on the walls though the museum was not open.

"We have confirmation that we will be attending Friday prayers at Tehran University tomorrow prior to our departure for Shiraz by plane at 6:00 p.m."

Mark also noted that their time has been full, with few opportunities to reflect on their experiences, either in conversation much less on computer. We in the U.S. office are looking forward to hearing much more from the delegation today, trusting that the holy day will provide time and space to send several written reports. They will be posted as they are received.