Pray for Jordan after gunmen attack a church funeral

Christian Daily International reports that suspected Islamic extremists opened fire on a funeral at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Hmood, Karak Province, Jordan, on Friday, October 23. At least seven people were shot to death and 28 were wounded, according to the report. A public security official said at a news conference that it was a terrorist attack against Christians attending a funeral, Christian Daily International reports, citing CNN.

Karak is about 180 kilometers (112 miles) south of Amman. Christians make up 2 to 3% of Jordan's population, Christian Daily International reports, but the town where the shooting took place has long been mostly Christian. A witness told Al-Mamlaka television that more than 150 people were inside and outside the church when the attack began, according to CNN. Independent Catholic News reports that security camera footage showed three gunmen approaching the church before they opened fire, and it put the toll at eight killed and 33 injured. Fox News reports that 34 were injured and that the wounded were treated at Prince Ali Military Hospital in Karak.

King Abdullah II called the shooting a terrorist act in a post on X. Fox News reports he vowed the "harshest retaliation" and wrote that those who think they can divide Jordanians with bullets have no chance against the country's unity. Independent Catholic News quoted him saying, "The blood of Jordanians is precious, and we will strike those who transgress against this country with an iron fist". Interior Minister Mazen al-Farrayeh described it as a terrorist operation carried out by a group of extremists and said security personnel had been sent to search for the gunmen, according to al-Monitor.

Violence against Christians is rare in Jordan, a country known for peaceful coexistence between faiths. Christian Daily International, citing al-Monitor, notes that a Lebanese Christian choir was attacked in Amman in 2008 and that officials foiled a plot to bomb a Roman Catholic church in 2009. Fox News recalls that in 2016 gunmen ambushed police in Karak, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing 10 people.

Christian leaders answered with grief and a call to prayer. The Rev. Botrus Mansour, secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance, condemned the attack and asked the faithful to pray for the families of the victims, for the injured and for Jordan. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate condemned what it called a cowardly and bloody act, Independent Catholic News reports, and prayed for the recovery of the injured and the protection of Jordan and its king. World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Jerry Pillay called for prayers from Christians around the world.

Romans 12:15 tells us to weep with those who weep. This week, weep with the families in Hmood who buried one loved one and now must bury more. Pray for the wounded in the hospital in Karak, for the security forces searching for the gunmen, and for the small Christian community of Jordan to stand firm and be kept safe.

Read Romans 12:15