"They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy"

Day of Prayer and Fasting with a focus on:

The Visit of the Wise Men

1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethelehem, in the land of Judah, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 And you, O Bethelehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepard my people Israel. 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Matthew 2:1-12 English Standard Version (ESV)

Suggested Action Step:

You are invited to send Christmas greetings to the United States ambassador in Iraq, John Negroponte. You may mail a card or letter to the address noted below. We would like to encourage the ambassador to recognize the message of Christmas is one of peace, hope and joy not one of violence, fear and suffering. A message of how in times past influential people recognized their limitations when in the presence of the divine. We ask our Jewish readers to consider sending Hanukah greetings to him and our Muslim readers might want to consider the passage on the birth of the Prophet Jesus (3:45-49) or other passages in the Qu’ran that relate to his life.

Action: Send a card or letter of holiday greetings to the ambassador at the following APO with standard US postage. People from other countries should use the standard rate from their country to a US address.

Ambassador John D. Negroponte
Embassy of the United States
APO AE 09316
Baghdad, Iraq

"God is Near the Brokenhearted"

Tuesday, Nov 23 Day of Prayer and Fasting and Action

Psalm 34:11-18 NRSV
“Come o children, listen to me; I will teach you the awe of God.
Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good: seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of God are on the righteous, and God’s ears are open to their cry.
The face of God is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of the
from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, God hears, and rescues them from their troubles.
God is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.”


“God is near to the brokenhearthearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” The people of Iraq still live with having electricity available at sporadic intervals. In a country with 24% of the worlds know petroleum reserves there are lines that stretch for blocks and blocks to get gasoline. There have been outbreaks of hepatitis in the country due to water treatment plants not having enough chemicals to treat the water. Bridges and roads are unfit for travel in many areas of the county. CPT Iraq asks that you contact Senator Richard Lugar, the chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and remind him that the United States must take on the major responsibility of rebuilding the country since we took the responsibility of undermining the infrastructure during two invasions and a decade long embargo.

Action Step:
Email Senator Lugar at senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov or call his office at 202.224.4814. Tell him you would like to see funding returned to infrastructure development bills for Iraq that were diverted for security and military funding bill last Summer. In addition only a very small percentage of the funds actually approved for reconstruction have been utilized in the country at this time.