For more than six weeks, a church in The Hague, Netherlands, has turned “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) into “preaching without ceasing.” A rotating roster of preachers has been leading a round-the-clock service at a small Protestant chapel. The nonstop church is an attempt to shield a family of Armenian asylum-seekers from being deported.
Under a centuries-old tradition, authorities in the Netherlands don’t enter a church while a service is underway. That means that for now the Tamrazyan family—parents, two daughters, and a son—are safe from Dutch immigration authorities who want to send them back to Armenia.
The Tamrazyans have been living in the Netherlands for nearly nine years while their asylum application and various appeals proceeded slowly through the courts. Now the country’s highest court has ruled they must return to their home country since it is considered safe by the Dutch government.
“There was only one thing you could do and that was starting a church service to save the [lives] of this family,” says Theo Hettema, chair of the General Council of the Protestant Church of The Hague. “It’s heartbreaking. We . . . thought it was the mission of our church to act like this.”
During the service, the family sometimes listens to the sermon—but also cooks, sleeps, or receives visits from friends. “It’s very stressful for them,” Hettema says. “Sometimes they are sad and nervous and sometimes they are hopeful.”
After initially using local preachers, the church now has offers of help from some 500 people from different churches as far away as Belgium. Hettema declares, “As long as it’s useful . . ., we will continue with the church service.”
(Hayarpi Tamrazyan, a 21-year-old Armenian asylum seeker, center, attends a service at Bethel chapel in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, December 13, 2018. AP Photo)
