dispatches from here

In the absence of any governmental support for refugees, the church becomes the only institution that provides any social services. As a result, in Amman the churches are the epicenter of the refugee crisis. The Chaldean Catholic Church has 7,000 members and one priest, Fr. Raymound Moussoulli. The population here has also been in massive flux, as the increased rate of foreign visas being issued has helped many of the members head to the West.

He describes the church mission to me in four parts: pastoral services, spiritual services, psychological services, and social services. The pastoral services include home visits and certain services. As far as spiritual services, being the only priest for a community of 7,000, Fr. Moussoulli holds services 9 times per week, once each evening and three services in different neighborhoods of Amman on Sundays. A grueling schedule shows clearly on Sunday night. The psychological services involve all sorts of family counseling, dealing with marital problems, and helping families cope with being away from their homes and often apart from each other. As far as social services go, there are a lot. The church turns into an ad-hoc school during the day with informal classes for children from families that can’t pay to go to Jordanian schools. The church also helps pay tuition for some children enrolled in schools, which can cost about 500 Jordanian Dinars (~700 USD) per year. They help families find places to live, fill out UN HCR (High Commissioner for Refugees) paperwork, find work, and get them plugged in to various NGOs (Caritas, Mercy Call).

On the day I attended services, there were snacks and sandwiches celebrating a family of five that had been accepted to Canada. Fr. Moussoulli, always happy and supportive when families found a more permanent home, noted that with the high flux of refugees, it was hard to keep the church’s services functioning.

A converted basement of an apartment building. Cozy, to say the least.

Two competing sources of salvation, as a flier from the UNHCR gets more bulletin board space than a picture of Jesus.

Entering church for morning service.

Fr. Moussoulli checks a passport and helps fill out an apartment rental application for one of his members.

Fr. Moussoulli finally has a moment to take a break, as Sundays are particularly busy with three sermons in different parts of the city and many people seeking his help.

Sunday evening mass

Weary after his ninth mass of the week.