Canon Andrew White, vicar of the only Anglican church in Iraq, is the head of The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME), an organisation working for peace and delivering humanitarian aid in Iraq. Yesterday morning (evening their time) they cried out on Facebook to their followers: “ISIS are now just 5 miles away from Baghdad. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. We need you.”

Whether US air strikes are keeping IS at bay is hard to say, with mixed reports in global media. The Independent was reporting that the US activity is failing to drive back IS, and that forces are within an hour of Baghdad, while BBC is reporting the air strikes have managed to halt IS. It is possible Canon White wrote the Facebook post before becoming aware the US had managed to drive IS back. Overnight, CNN reports the UK has conducted its first anti-ISIS airstrikes on the outskirts of the Baghdad.

Canon White was in the US two weeks ago to receive the Anne Frank Award for Religious Tolerance, which recognised the risks involved in his peace-keeping role in Baghdad. He also spent time meeting with officials briefing them about the nature of the work of the FRRME. One morning he was given the opportunity to open the US Senate with prayer.

In the last week Obama has admitted the US Intelligence Dept misjudged the rise of Islamic State in Syria.

Canon White recently told The Telegraph (UK), “To be honest, every single Christian wants to leave [Baghdad]. I used to say to my people: ‘Don’t you leave. I’m not going to leave you, don’t leave me’. But now every one of them wants to leave and the ones who are left tend to be the poorer ones who couldn’t get away earlier.”

On the ability of Iraqi Christians to witness to Muslims, he told a small group of Christians in New York: “We can’t go out into the streets and do evangelism and tell them what the gospel is, but we can show it”(referring to their relief efforts).

It’s been three months since IS took over Mosul, forcing out thousands of Christians, threatening death by the sword if they didn’t leave or pay an Islamic tax.