USA: Rallies to condemn racial profiling
George Zimmerman, a white man was aquitted in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin and civil rights demonstrators have been attending rallies across America to condemn racial profiling. Activists are pressing for civil rights charges in Federal Court, saying ‘Zimmerman wrongly suspected 17-year-old Martin of being a criminal because he was black.’ The US Justice Department was evaluating whether it has enough evidence to support prosecuting Zimmerman in Federal Court after his acquittal in Florida. President Obama called for a peaceful response to a case that polarized the US public from the beginning, raising issues of racial profiling and gun control. In Sanford at the largely black Allen Chapel AME Church, pastor Valarie Houston dedicated a Sunday morning prayer service to Martin. Initially Police declined to arrest Zimmerman for shooting Martin. In Boston and New York, several hundred demonstrators expressed a sense of frustration. ‘I feel we don't get justice when it's needed,’ said one demonstrator.
Pray: for peaceful demonstrations, for any further investigations to be exhaustive and justice to be done and seen to be done. (Ecc.3:15-17)
More: http://www.reuters.com/video/2099/01/01/reuters-tv-video?videoId=244220974
Uganda: Refugee crisis
66,000 Congolese refugees have crossed into Uganda in recent days, following fighting between Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces and the Democratic Republic of Congo's national army. Their arrival has left the Ugandan government and humanitarian agencies struggling to meet the refugees' needs.The UN Refugee Agency in Uganda said, ‘We don't have the infrastructure to support this huge influx of this scale in an area where we didn't have a presence in the past.’ Uganda already hosts more than 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers, over 60% of whom are from DRC. The refugees are in dire need of water, health supplies, sanitation, and shelter. On July 15th the UN delivered enough food for 20,000 people for five days. More food is expected to arrive. Uganda's military has beefed up security at the DRC-Uganda border to ensure ADF rebels do not infiltrate the country. More refugees are on the way.
Pray: for the villages and transit centres and for NGO-ministries in the area to know God’s provision and protection. (Is.16.3b)
More: http://www.irinnews.org/report/98417/uganda-unprepared-for-influx-of-drc-refugees
British child death rates are 'a major crisis'
Five children die unnecessarily every day of conditions such as asthma, meningitis and pneumonia because NHS care for young people is badly organised and dangerously inadequate, the leader of Britain's 11,000 specialists in children's health warns. About 2,000 children a year lose their lives because of an array of problems, which means the UK has some of the worst death rates among children up to the age of 14 in Europe, says the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health . Branding the situation "a major crisis", Hilary Cass said that sick children were at greater risk of dying because some GPs lacked paediatric skills, expertise was absent in too many small paediatric units, and there was a serious shortage of consultants. The college believes a lack of senior paediatric doctors is so acute that the safety of treatment cannot be guaranteed at every unit. Cass urges the NHS to instigate radical changes in how it treats children to reduce preventable deaths.
Pray: for sick children and those who care for them and for an inmprovement in service provision in paediatrics. (Jer.8:22)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jul/13/preventable-child-deaths-nhs
Most children will be born to unmarried parents by 2016
Most children will be born out of wedlock by 2016 because of the decline in the number of marriages, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics. The statistics show that the number of children being born to unmarried parents has increased for 40 consecutive years, reaching 47.5 per cent in 2012. If this trend continues, the figure will rise to more than 50 per cent by 2016. MPs and social groups have warned that children have the best chances in life when raised by married parents, and that the government must do more to “deliver on its family friendly pledge.” Former children’s minister, Tim Loughton, who is calling on the government to introduce tax breaks for married couples, said "Without marriage people drift in and out of relationships very easily. "In families where parents break up children do less well at school, are more likely to suffer mental health problems and are more likely to have substance abuse problems.
Pray: for a re-adoption of marriage as the social norm providing a more stable environment for children. (Pr.18:22)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/family/most-children-will-be-born-to-unmarried-parents-by-2016
Fighting corruption is everyone's responsibility
Tackling corruption is not only the job of business leaders and politicians but also needs individual action, says evangelical leader Marijke Hoek. The Christian-led campaign against corruption is urging everyone to play their part in making the world a more just place. Hoek says that politics is not only for those working directly in government but for every citizen and that every person should be getting involved in what is happening in their communities, nations and the wider world. "What the co-operative enterprise or collective is capable of is probably most easily recognised in local politics that fosters a common life and pursues a common good - politics with a small 'p', if you wish. "It's community activism that recognises the fractures and flaws in society and their detrimental effect on its citizens."The welfare of our nation lies in the hearts and hands of us all," she says.
Pray: for each of us to accept personal responsibility for the society of which we are part.. (Mt.22:39)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/fighting.corruption.is.everyones.responsibility/33170.htm
Testimonies from the Welsh Outpouring
f you are a reader of Prayer Alert I'm sure that you have heard about what's going on in Cwmbran, Wales. See Prayer Alert 19-20-22&25. Let me encourage you to watch this video on the’ More’ link of testimony to the amazing things that God is doing.
Praise: God for His continued blessing on the people in south Wales and long may it continue, (Ps.85:6)
Testimonies from the Welsh Outpouring
f you are a reader of Prayer Alert I'm sure that you have heard about what's going on in Cwmbran, Wales. See Prayer Alert 19-20-22&25. Let me encourage you to watch this video on the’ More’ link of testimony to the amazing things that God is doing.
Praise: God for His continued blessing on the people in south Wales and long may it continue, (Ps.85:6)
Brazil: 2 Million Christians shut down Sao Paulo during 'March For Jesus'
Two million Christians from all over Brazil trekked the streets of Sao Paulo over the weekend to join in on the country's largest religious gathering, ‘March for Jesus.’ The annual event, organized by Pastor Estevam Hernandes of Renascer em Cristo, or Reborn in Christ Church, and other Pentecostal churches, included speeches and prayers from pastors, political figures, and entertainment from various Brazilian gospel artists. ‘After so many years, the event continues to have an impact,’ Pastor Estevam Hernandes told Brazilian press outlets, adding that the success of the event was due to years of ‘work and prayer.’ This year's theme was ‘New Time,’ which describes the nation's hope for change as it faces its worst social turmoil in over 20 years with Brazilians taking to the streets to demand the government find solutions to provide citizens with a better quality of life.
Praise: God for this powerful alternative to protest marches. (Ps.88:2)
Brazil: 2 Million Christians shut down Sao Paulo during 'March For Jesus'
Two million Christians from all over Brazil trekked the streets of Sao Paulo over the weekend to join in on the country's largest religious gathering, ‘March for Jesus.’ The annual event, organized by Pastor Estevam Hernandes of Renascer em Cristo, or Reborn in Christ Church, and other Pentecostal churches, included speeches and prayers from pastors, political figures, and entertainment from various Brazilian gospel artists. ‘After so many years, the event continues to have an impact,’ Pastor Estevam Hernandes told Brazilian press outlets, adding that the success of the event was due to years of ‘work and prayer.’ This year's theme was ‘New Time,’ which describes the nation's hope for change as it faces its worst social turmoil in over 20 years with Brazilians taking to the streets to demand the government find solutions to provide citizens with a better quality of life.
Praise: God for this powerful alternative to protest marches. (Ps.88:2)
Fears more students being lured into prostitution
A support group for people in the sex industry fears the high cost of further education will tempt more students into pole dancing, escort work and prostitution to make ends meet. The warning comes from Beyond the Streets, formerly the National Christian Alliance on Prostitution, after research by the University of Kingston found that in 2010, a quarter of students knew someone who had worked in the sex industry to fund their studies, a staggering increase on 1990 when the figure was just 3%. In a separate study by the University of Leeds, a quarter of lap dancers were found to have a degree and a third of the women interviewed were doing lap dancing work to fund training in other professions. ‘It may look like easy money to the desperate eye, but what it really is, let's not be fooled, is luring students into prostitution,’ the group said.
Pray: that with the increasing cost of education pray that the financial pressures will not attract students into prostitution. (Mt.26:41)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/fears.more.students.being.lured.into.prostitution/33102.htm