A small group of Hungarian Reformed women from Transcarpathia/Ukraine, Serbia, and Hungary was planning to travel to Lebanon again in March to discuss with Lebanese, Syrian, and Northern Irish women what it means to live in the shadow of war. The trip had to be postponed, but now we invite everyone to pray with us for peace in the Middle East, for our Christian siblings living there, and especially our sisters.
Participants of The Unheard Voice 2025 conference, held in Lebanon, at the Dhour El Shweir Evangelical Conference Center of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon
Photo: Júlia Berecz
In the spring of 2025, a small group of Hungarian Reformed women from Transcarpathia/Ukraine, Serbia, and Hungary travelled to Lebanon to meet women from Lebanon, Syria, and Northern Ireland. The gathering was called “The Unheard Voice”. Its purpose was to offer encouragement, fellowship, and a space for those whose voices are often forgotten by the world—women living in the shadow of war.
During those few days we experienced a small but meaningful expression of the worldwide body of Christ, a community that reaches beyond cultures, languages, and national borders. Despite our differences, a true sisterhood formed among us. By sharing one another’s joys and sorrows, we faced together the difficult reality of what it means to live faithfully and with dignity in countries marked by armed conflict and war.
Over the past year we stayed in contact, hoping that the situation in the Middle East or Ukraine might slowly improve. Yet the world has not changed as we had hoped. Wars have not ended, violence has not decreased, and the suffering of women in conflict-torn regions remains great. Still, we continued to pray together and hoped that we would meet again.
We had planned to travel to Lebanon again on March 11 to renew this fellowship and reflect together on God’s faithfulness. But in recent days the situation in the Middle East has suddenly worsened. News is filled with reports of rockets, drone attacks, explosions, the wounded and the dead. Fear and uncertainty are spreading across the region.
Now the distant news is no longer impersonal for us. In those headlines we see the faces of our sisters—people we know, love, and pray for. And through them, we remember all the women whose voices are again barely heard amid sirens, explosions, and the silence of fear.
We are not powerful, and we cannot shape the course of history. Yet we believe we can do one thing: we can pray—to the God of history, who hears even those voices that no one else listens to. We pray to the One who alone can bring true and life-giving peace.
On this International Women’s Day, we invite all our sisters and brothers to join us in prayer for the women of the Middle East and for all women who face the reality of war. Together we ask Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church and the Prince of Peace, to have mercy on the region, to protect our Christian brothers and sisters, and to surround especially the women with His comfort, strength, and love.
Heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with gratitude for Your providential love, Your faithfulness, and Your many blessings. Though we are not worthy of Your goodness, You have been faithful and merciful to us from the very beginning of our lives. Even in the midst of the trials that surround us, You have not left us alone. You have protected us, guided us, and sheltered us under Your wings.
We know that You dwell in heavenly majesty, yet You are also near to the humble and the brokenhearted. And today, Lord, many hearts are broken. All around the world we see suffering and destruction, as war tears families apart. Mothers grieve for their sons, wives mourn their husbands, and children wait for their fathers who will never return.
Lord, have mercy on us. We confess that we have sinned against You and against one another. Instead of being filled with Your love, our hearts are often filled with anger and the desire for revenge. Though we ask daily for Your forgiveness, we struggle to forgive those who have wounded us or our loved ones. We confess our sins before You. Wipe away the tears of those who weep, comfort those who mourn, and work within our hearts so that we may learn to love, to forgive, and to rejoice in You.
Lord, we now lift up to You all our sisters who face the devastating consequences of war day after day. Be their light in the midst of suffering and their strength when the burden feels too heavy to carry. Help them to persevere and to trust in Your love and care even when everything around them seems hopeless. Be their refuge and their shelter when there is nowhere else to turn. Hear their cries, and in Your mercy restore peace, healing, and unity in this broken world.
You see the ashes of war, and You see the faces of women behind the smoke. You hear the silent screams and the cries buried deep in the night. You are with them in the shelters during the endless hours of waiting. Our God, the pain of women is often silent, like the earth that quietly absorbs blood and tears. You see the mother who rocks her child to sleep while counting the distant sounds of bombs. You see the wife who watches the door, uncertain whether the one she loves will ever return. Lord, You know how difficult it is to remain strong when everything inside is falling apart. You hear the words they dare not speak aloud—the fear, the silent question: “Why?” Today we bring before You the wounds written into the bodies and souls of these women: the untold stories and the tears they hide from others. Give them dignity among the ruins, hope in the darkest night, and a voice where until now there has only been silence. And even if no one else hears them, let them know that You are always listening and that You are always with them.
Almighty God, look with mercy upon the Middle East, that consecrated region of our globe where the Word became flesh and our Lord, Jesus proclaimed the message of peace and love. Protect all the peoples of this area, especially our Lebanese and Syrian sisters and brothers; may their cross lead to the victory of Easter faith. Pour out Your Spirit upon the ruins, so that wisdom and the power of forgiveness may silence the weapons and rebuild a future of hope.
You see how our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East live and what they are going through. You truly see them: men, women, old, young, children: and you count them all and care for them, you hold them in your hands. We ask you to watch over them in these dangerous times. Bless their lives and make their Christian faith a blessing to all. We pray for our sisters. We ask, Lord, that you strengthen them, so that they can cling onto you with faith and trust, and despite all unrest and all danger, they can find peace in you, not forgetting your faithfulness, your strength and power
Our God, in these uncertain and fearful times we turn to You. We come before You as the Creator of all people and the One in whom we find our redemption.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask You as we pray with the word of prophet Habakkuk:
“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. … Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. … yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” (Habakkuk 1, 2-3; 3, 2. 13. 18-19)
Amen.
Written by members of the Hungarian Reformed delegation
The Unheard Voice
On April 3-5th, women from Syria, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Northern Ireland came together to share their stories of faith and perseverance in conflict. The conference, entitled “The Unheard Voice: Women’s Persevering Witness in War,” served as a space for testimony, reflection, and solidarity, offering a powerful witness to the strength and hope found in the face of hardship. Though each woman came from a different background and context, their voices echoed a shared resilience grounded in their faith and communities.