The Lord is my Shepherd
Rev. Kathy Angi, Honorably Retired

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

For many years, there has been an underground Christian (and Jewish) community in Iran.  Under the present hardline regime, it is illegal to convert.  It is not illegal to learn though.  As people continue in their faith journey, they must make a very hard decision.  Do I leave my home, my family, my country to be baptized?  When they do, they cannot return. 

Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Iranian Christians who do make this difficult choice become refugees.  As a PCUSA mission worker based in Budapest, Hungary, I had the honor to meet and baptize some of these brave new Christians.  There have also been PCUSA mission coworkers in Berlin, Germany who pastored a good-sized Christian congregation of Farsi speakers who have made the decision to leave for their faith. 

You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.