The founders of Sweden's Mitt Kors movement aimed at supporting persecuted Christians are to publish a book of the pictures and stories generated by their campaign.
The My Cross Facebook group was set up by three priests in the Church of Sweden – Johanna Andersson, Annika Borg and Helena Edlund – after the murder of Fr Jacques Hamel in France. It was designed as a space for people to share images of the cross and to tell their stories of what it meant to them.
However, it attracted controversy and criticism both from outside and within Church as it was accused of encouraging anti-Islamic feeling. Andersson left her ministry as a result of the fallout.
Now the three are crowdsourcing funding for a book which will bring together some of the testimonies gathered on the Facebook site, which now has more than 10,500 members. Their goal is 250,000 Swedish krona (around £23,000).
According to the founders: "Mitt Kors was not merely a place for photos, but also a place where people could tell their stories – about their crosses, their faith and their journeys. About crosses given as gifts or passed down through generations. About crosses as tokens of sacred places and special encounters. About crosses formed by nature over billions of years, or crosses faintly visible in cloud formations. About crosses lost in the search for refuge and crosses that are all that remain of lives long gone."
They say: "Many people with different backgrounds joined Mitt Kors: from different Christian traditions, secular humanists, atheists, people with Jewish backgrounds or with Muslim backgrounds. Mitt Kors grew to a cathedral built on a multitude of pictures and stories. The group became a virtual room where people found hope, joy, empowerment and community."
They say they hope the book will become "another room of hope" and will contribute to raising awareness about and solidarity with those persecuted for their beliefs. Part of the profits will be donated to projects supporting persecuted Christians.
