Christians in Libya request continued prayer for the Union Church in Tripoli, which expects to soon be evicted from its current premises. A scheduled 26 August hearing, cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been rescheduled for 13 September.
The Union Church, established by expatriate Christians in 1962, is one of five denominations recognised by the government.
When previous rented premises were expropriated by the former Ghaddafi regime, the church rented a building from the government on land that had been expropriated from others. For more than 50 years the Church (and three other Protestant multi-national churches) has used this building.
Since 2011 a government committee has returned many expropriated properties to their original owners. Recently, heirs of the original owner of the buildings used by the Union Church have regained ownership. They have filed a court case for a speedy eviction and are expected to win.
The Union Church has tried to reach an agreement with the new owners to continue to rent the building for one year and then buy it. However, the owners are asking a sum far above market value, beyond the means of the Union Church.
Prayer Points
The Union Church requests prayer:
- for the members and leadership of the different congregations who use the current church building to know the peace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit
- for the Union Church to be given land and/or a building to replace the current premises, or;
- that the Lord will provide for the church to buy property in the area where most of the congregants live
- that the owner would give the church time to find a new building before evicting it
- for an intermediate solution to be found for the congregation to hold worship services in case of eviction.
