The affectionately named “Vicar of Baghdad”, Canon Andrew White, has been named as this year’s recipient of the prestigious International First Freedom Award for his extraordinary commitment to peace-keeping and religious freedom in Iraq.
Past winners include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999 for his efforts in the Northern Ireland peace process; former Czech President Václav Havel for his role in Charter 77 and the Velvet Revolution; as well as three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Father Elias Chacour, founder of Israel’s Mar Elias Educational Institutions.
Congratulations to Canon White! What a blessing he is to the Church, especially to the persecuted Church in Iraq! How he is there on the front lines while dealing with the effects of MS is nothing short of heroic. God’s blessings on him always.
Well deserved, but his efforts also require physical and financial support. God has been good to and through him.
Those who have yet to read his book by that affectionate title “Vicar of Baghdad†should consider getting a copy forthwith!
And BTW: WMD get one paragraph’s mention; while the rest of the book concerns God’s own ‘weapons’ – of love joy peace etc in Jesus and his Spirit. There could not be a greater contrast between God’s Gospel and the world’s view of things, I fancy.