The First Person 1 Holy Trinity - 1

Experience 2 You live in an Egyptian village. You are a Coptic Christian and you want to date a Muslim. How much are you willing to sacrifice to do this?

Experience 2 3 According to the Assyrian International News Agency, several thousand Muslims have attacked Christian houses and places of worship in a town 30 miles from Cairo. The fate of the clerics who worked at the church is unknown – they may have been detained as hostages or burned to death in the fire.Assyrian International News Agency, The violence was the result of a Christian dating a Muslim woman: Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused to go into Soul, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was “in order now.”A curfew has been imposed on the 12,000 Christians in the village.

Experience 3 4 This incident was triggered by a relationship between 40-year-old Copt Ashraf Iskander and a Muslim woman. Yesterday a “reconciliation” meeting was arranged between the relevant Coptic and Muslim families and together with the Muslim elders it was decided that Ashraf Iskander would have to leave the village because Muslims torched his house. The father of the Muslim woman was killed by his cousin because he did not kill his daughter to preserve the family’s honor, which led the woman’s brother to avenge the death of his father by killing the cousin. The village Muslims blamed the Christians. The Muslim mob attacked the church, exploding 5-6 gas cylinders inside the church, pulled down the cross and the domes and burnt everything inside. Activist Ramy Kamel of Katibatibia Coptic advocacy called US-based Coptic Hope Sat TV and sent an SOS on behalf of the Copts in Soul village, as they are presently being attacked by the mob. He also said that no one is able to contact the priest and the deacons inside the burning church and there is no answer from their mobile phones.

Experience 5 5

Experience 6 6

Discussion & reflection: 7 This is one of many possible consequences of you saying that Jesus is your Lord. It was no different in the early Church.

Discussion & reflection: 8 The Stoning of Stephen Acts 7: 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Discussion & reflection: 9 Our opening story remembers Muslims killing Christians and our Acts 7 text comments Jews killing a Christian (Stephen). It must be said when looking across history, no one is innocent here. Christians have killed Jews and Muslims Jews have killed Christians and Muslims Muslims have killed Jews and Christians May God have mercy on the slain and the slayers!

Discussion & reflection: 10 List five ways you can suffer because you are a Christian. 1. Your friends may tell you to cool it (be quiet). 2. You cannot join in a joke that is really nasty. 3. You want to go to church the morning after a sleep over. 4. You tell your friends that prejudice is wrong. 5. You try to be friends with un-cool kids. 6. When you read a story in class, it is about your faith and everyone just rolls their eyes. Other examples?

Discussion & reflection: 11 Doesn’t this make it kind of important what you believe, if you are going to suffer for it? Wouldn’t it be silly to suffer for something you don’t believe! It would be even worse to suffer for something that wasn’t true!!!

Discussion & reflection: 12 This year, we are going to study the Nicene Creed. This is our faith in miniature. It can give us warmth and comfort, that our faith is true. It can be memorized and taken wherever we go. It can be a time bomb in our pocket! There are people who hate faithful, public Christians! There are people who are intolerant of faithful, public Christians! This can be our cross!

Discussion & reflection: 13 We will learn what this means…

Discussion & reflection: 14 And we will learn why it was so important…

Written reflection Name: Date: 15 What was most important to you in today’s lesson?