Catholic and Enjoying It!
IRAQI ARCHBISHOP & LONDON BAND AMPLIFY CRIES OF MIDDLE-EAST PERSECUTED
London, United Kingdom / Monday 23rd February / THE OOBERFUSE SHOW /
Archbishop Warda of Iraq (Erbil), in his recent visit to London, connected with local band ooberfuse to help highlight, through music, the plight of persecuted minorities in Iraq. In their musical collaboration, “We are One”, Archbishop Warda prays the Lord’s Prayer in the same ancient Aramaic dialect Jesus himself actually spoke. Listen to the track here:
https://soundcloud.com/ooberfuse/ooberfuse-ft-archbishop-warda-of-iraq-we-are-one/s-GmJ77
Archbishop Wardasays “After so many years of persecution even music was persecuted. Music was at the service of the state always. Thank God things have started [to change]. So you should use music… When you come to Iraq please do sing the Our Father in Aramaic in your music.”
Archbishop Warda, who recently caught up with the band in London, chats to Ooberfuse in their latest free podcast The Ooberfuse Show [Episode 002] :
Cherrie, front-woman of the band says : “It’s easy to become desensitised by the horror stories graphically depicted in the daily newspapers. Hearing Archbishop Warda speak about the relentless and hidden sufferings of persecuted minorities in Iraq is sobering and brings the gruesome reality closer to home. Our song with Archbishop Warda is our small way of saying that we stand united with those suffering in Iraq. We have not forgotten them. We belong to one common humanity “if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it [1 Corinthians 12:26].”
Hal, instrumentalist for the band, adds : “There is definitely a sacred power inherent in the strange sounding syllables and intonations of the ancient Aramaic dialect Jesus would have spoken. It is not surprising the state of Iraq has tried to neutralise the galvanising power of music! It was an honour and a profoundly humbling experience to chat with Archbishop Bashar. Only hours before he had been addressing a parliamentary audience in the House of Lords. It is one thing to read ancient scripture and hear recounted strange happenings in even stranger places like Nineveh many thousands of years ago. It is another thing altogether to realise that the same places provide the back drop to many of the Middle Eastern conflicts we read about every day in our newspapers. “
You can download the podcast featuring Archbishop Warda of Iraq at www.ooberfuse.com or subscribe via RSS or i-tunes. http://ooberfuse.libsyn.com
The single ‘We are One’ will be out on 1 March 2015. All proceeds will go to Iraqi Christians in Need and their work in Iraq.
Bashar Matti Warda (born 15 June 1969 in Baghdad, Iraq)is a Chaldean Catholic cleric and the current Archbishop of Erbil, Iraq. Warda joined the Chaldean seminary Saint Peter in Baghdad and was ordained a priest in 1993. In 1995 he joined theRedemptorist order of Flanders in Belgium. After receiving his doctorate at the Catholic University of Louvain in 1999 he returned to Iraq. Warda was apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Zaku from July 2007 until its merger with the Diocese of Amadiyah in June 2013. In 2009 the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church elected him Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Erbil. After Pope Benedict XVI gave his consent to this election in 2010 he was consecrated on 3 July the same year.
The Ooberfuse Show is a fortnightly podcast offering a peep behind the scenes of London band ooberfuse. As an audio diary, it gives listeners an insider’s view into the band’s music, old and new. [http://ooberfuse.libsyn.com ]
Iraqi Christians In Need (ICIN) was established to help the needy Iraqi Christians who as a result of the war have been suffering, displaced, destitute and persecuted. Some are strangers in their own country, others trapped abroad with no money and no help from the international community, facing a bleak future. Some refuges turn to desperate measures, such as selling their organs or even illegal activity to raise money. ICIN aims to help all Iraqi Christians in and outside Iraq in need of support by raising awareness of their plight and fundraising for their needs. [ http://www.icin.org.uk/ ]
Ooberfuse are an electronica band from Woolwich, London – Hal and Cherrie, joined with producer Roland Faber. The band has played as a warm up act to the Pope in front of a live audience of 2 million, performed in the House of Lords. They have received support from many influential quarters including BBC Introducing’s Tom Robinson, Ministry of Sound’s Sister Bliss, Paul Oakenfold and others. [ www.ooberfuse.com ]
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