Some Christian Churches in Europe Are Taking Down Altars and Crosses for Muslim Refugees' Benefit
Some Christian churches in Europe are taking drastic steps to accommodate Muslim refugees from the Middle East, with some going as far as taking down altars and crosses.
A Protestant church in Oberhausen, Germany has removed altars, pulpits, and crucifixes from inside the place of worship just to make the Muslim migrants feel at home. In addition, the church will provide washing machines outside so that refugees will be able to wash their clothes there, according to a Sunday Express report cited by Christian Today (CT).
Pastor Joachim Deterding, the overseer of the said Protestant church in Oberhausen, explained that they are just providing a temporary shelter for 50 refugees from the Middle East. Since the altar and pulpit are movable, they can take those down temporarily to make room for the refugees and make them feel more at home.
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In addition to the free shelter and laundry privileges, the church will give free meals to the Muslim refugees. Reiner Suhr, the spokesperson for Oberhausen City, said they will gladly accept the help that the church is extending to the refugees out of kindness.
What the Protestant church did is an example of how Christians exercise charity and goodwill while people of the same faith are being persecuted and executed by Islamic terrorists in different parts of the world. In Europe, Christian churches are taking down the symbols of their faith from their places of worship just to be more sensitive to the Muslim refugees, The New American reports.
Another religious establishment that had earlier removed crucifixes from inside the place of worship is the church led by lesbian Bishop of Stockholm Eva Brunne. She explained to her congregation the importance of showing "hospitality and tolerance" to others even if they have a different religion. She also said they did it to open the church to Muslim worshippers.
"Good people of different beliefs must be able to meet and help each other," CT quotes Brunne's statement.
In Greece, an Orthodox Church has also been converted into a makeshift shelter and medical facility to accommodate the refugees entering Europe from the Middle East.
