Church Bell Ringing for Aleppo Spreads Globally

Helsinki, Finland (ots/PRNewswire) -

Church bells across Finland are now ringing at 5pm every day in
protest of the continued destruction of the city of Aleppo in Syria.
The bells will continue to ring daily until 24 October, United
Nations Day.

With civilian casualties and deaths increasing daily in Aleppo,
this organic, grassroots movement has now seen hundreds of churches
ringing bells of mourning. It is an outcry against the devastating
impact on the population as well as the infrastructure caused by the
bombings on the besieged 3,000-year-old Syrian city.

The initiative was taken by the Evangelical Lutheran Parish of
Kallio in Helsinki, Finland, on 12 October. By Sunday 16 October, the
symbolic gesture had been taken on by over 300 churches both in
Finland and abroad. The bells are already ringing on four continents,
and more churches join in every day.

Dr. Teemu Laajasalo, Vicar of Kallio Parish, Helsinki, Finland:

"Schools and hospitals are being bombed in Aleppo. The very
buildings meant to protect, nurture and sustain life are being
demolished. Small children are being killed, the ones that need our
care and protection the most.

But the issue is not only about the dead. Even the living are dead
in Aleppo - in constant fear - often without water and food, and
always without refuge.

The situation is politically complex - but morally simple. Killing
children and civilians is wrong. Starving the most vulnerable among
us is wrong.

Funeral bells are ringing in churches across the world, reminding
people of the ongoing funeral taking place in Aleppo. Funeral bells
are honouring the victims. But they are also declaring the words of
Christ: 'Blessed are the peacemakers', and therefore summoning all
the people in power to find a solution to end the suffering."

Hopefully the bells ringing across Finland will inspire
international church communities to join the virally spreading
protest and help hasten the cessation of suffering in Aleppo.

#bellsforaleppo (https://paper.dropbox.com/?q=%23bellsforaleppo)

Map of the churches involved: http://www.bellsforaleppo.org

Video: the Bells of Kallio Church toll (https://we.tl/7khlnLArUH)

ots Originaltext: Lutheran Parish of Kallio
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Dr Teemu Laajasalo
Vicar of the Lutheran Parish of Kallio (Helsinki
Finland)
tel: +35850-366-5989
e-mail: teemu.laajasalo@evl.fi

Original-Content von: Lutheran Parish of Kallio, übermittelt durch news aktuell