LYNNWOOD — Flowers and messages of support are coming for the people of a church here as they mourn the loss of fellow Egyptian Christians at the hands of Islamic extremists.
Now, people at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Lynnwood have decided to act with love in the face of violence. They’re raising money to send to the families of the 21 Christian men from Egypt who were beheaded by the Islamic State.
A recording of the killings was posted online last month. They victims were killed on a beach, apparently after being taken hostage.
The slain had gone to work in oil-rich Libya as laborers. Now, most of their families are struggling to survive without the income in Al Aour, Egypt, said Father Arsanios Hanna, St. Mary’s spiritual leader.
His congregation joined the money-raising effort started three weeks ago by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Kirkland. So far, the two congregations, which include about 575 families combined, have raised more than $16,000.
The goal is $21,000 so they can send $1,000 to each family. Hanna, a native of Shoubra, Egypt, said they will connect with the families through the church network to get the much-needed cash in the right hands.
“The family depends totally on this one person who was beheaded,” he said.
People can send support or donate money through the Lynnwood and Kirkland church websites or by going to gofundme.com/onebody.
Hanna hopes to do for the families in Egypt what people have done for his congregation by sending condolences.
“We feel a lot of people support us,” he said. “It gives us a feeling that we’re not alone.”
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com.
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