Remembering Ed Koch and Patty Andrews

Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini faces eight years in brutal Iranian prison

Ed Koch served as mayor of New York City for 12 years from 1978-1989. He passed away Feb. 1 at age 88—on the same day that a film documentary about his life premiered in New York. 

Patty Andrews was the last surviving member of The Andrews Sisters, a singing group that earned 19 gold records, mostly during the 1940s. She died Jan. 30 at 94.

U.S. citizen Saeed Abedini was arrested during a recent trip to Iran to wrap up details on building an orphanage. He was brought before a judge known as the “hanging judge,” who sentenced the Iranian-American pastor to eight years in a brutal Iranian prison for his earlier work in assisting Iranian house churches. His wife is asking the U.S. government to take swift action but says Abedini would ask Christians to pray for God’s glory. “More than my needs, more than what my family’s needs are, his heart’s desire, and my heart’s desire is that [God’s] kingdom would come.”