Liberia Last Day -- St Peter's Massacre

St. Peter's Lutheran Church (LCL)

Before we left Monrovia for the airport, we stopped at St. Peter's Lutheran Church of the Lutheran Church of Liberia (LCL), a partner with the ELCA. There are good relations between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia (the group affiliated with the LCMS) and the Lutheran Church of Liberia (LCL).



The sanctuary of St. Peter Lutheran Church. Although not seen in this photograph, the pulpit is clear and made of glass. This is fairly common in the Liberian Lutheran churches.



St. Peter Lutheran Church was the site of a horrible massacre during the Liberian Civil War. Approximately, 600 to 700 people (mostly women and children) were slaughtered in the sanctuary of St. Peter Lutheran Church by rebel forces. The pastor said after the massacre, the bodies were piled up in the sanctuary.




The cross on the altar is made from an artillery shell. Other reminders of the massacre remain at the church.



In this photograph, on the right hand, middle, a bullet hole can be seen. The congregation intentionally left several bullet holes in the building to serve as a reminder to the terrible civil war fought in Liberia.




This white star marks the mass grave, where the 600 to 700 people who were massacred were buried.




This marker stone overlooks the white star. It begins by quoting Romans 8:35 - 39, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ... For your sake, we are killed... For I am sure that neither death nor life ... Shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."



Below the Scripture verse the monument reads, "...Those who lost their loves during the civil Crisis and especially the Lutheran Church massacre on July 29, 1990..."

Amazingly, the Liberian Civil War was hardly a blip on the Western world.




When we arrived at St. Peter Lutheran Church women were kneeling before the altar in prayer.




Today St. Peter Lutheran Church has a school of approximately 700 children. The zebra above dedicated to a new era of peace (dedicated in 2005, 2 years after the civil war ended in 2003), was a gift from the students to the church and school. The congregation worships about 674 people a week.




While in Liberia, we stayed at the Lutheran Guest House Compound that is affiliated with St. Peter Lutheran Church. As we travel to the airport, we bid Liberia farewell and the Lord's blessings.

- Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver, Director of Church Relations
Posted 4 January 2012 in Monrovia, Liberia

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:13th St,Monrovia,Liberia