The Union Church in Tripoli (UCT) has received an order to vacate their building by 27 September or be forcibly evicted. Christians in Libya request prayer for the UCT to find a new place of worship.
With this eviction order, the UCT has lost use of the building where they (together with three other Protestant multi-national churches) have been worshipping for more than 50 years. Established by expatriate Christians in 1962, the UCT is one of five denominations recognised by the government.
When the church’s previous land and premises were expropriated by the former Ghaddafi regime, the government gave the church a building to rent which had been expropriated from others. Since 2011 a government committee has been returning such expropriated properties to their original owners. The heirs of the original owner of the building used by the UCT have regained ownership.
The Union Church had reached an agreement with the new owners to continue to rent the building for one year and then buy it. However the owners reneged on the agreement, claiming it is against their Islamic faith to rent for the purpose of non-Muslim worship. More than a year ago they filed a court case asking for an eviction order.
Prayer Points
The Union Church requests prayer:
- for the members and leadership of the 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
- for an intermediate solution to be found for the congregation to hold worship services after the eviction
