France: Restrictions won't stop the Palau team
Nothing like this has been done for quite some time. So it's time.’ Colin James with the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association speaks of their bold endeavour to bring the Gospel to over 1 million people living in Marseilles in southern France. The Palau Association will be holding their Marseille Provence Festival on the beaches of Plage du Prado from June 30 - July 2. The festival will be a large undertaking, but the opportunity is enormous as James elaborates on the situation. ‘In France the opportunities are very limited and constrained because of the culture and the way the country has been run. It's not an evangelical-based country’ says James. The Palau team knows what they're getting themselves into. They've dealt with restrictions such as not putting the words ‘evangelism’ or ‘pastor’ in advertisements or posters for events in France. However, despite these difficulties, they are seeing a positive change in the tide of thinking for France and Europe. Praise: God for this initiative and pray for the intervention of the Holy Spirit. (Is.45:2-3)
China: Massive floods kill 175 and affect 36 million people
Floods caused by torrential rains in southern and eastern China since this month have left at least 175 people dead and another 86 missing and has affected over 36 million people with 1.6 million displaced. In Zhejiang province 8,400 houses collapsed and many highways were closed. A total of 241,600 hectares (597,000 acres) of farmland have been destroyed and 1,846 factories have suspended operations in one of China’s leading manufacturing centres. The rain-ravaged people await the next crisis of a steep rise in food prices; vegetable production has already come down by 20% and pushed prices up by as much as 40%. China has mobilized troops to rescue stricken farmers and distribute food, but some villagers from the Zhejiang province said more could have been done to prevent the flooding in the first place.
Pray: for God to be at work in the midst of China’s tragedy, and for Christians to know God’s provision as they reach out to their neighbours. (Ex.23:20)
More: http://www.christianpost.com/news/massive-china-floods-kill-175-affect-36-million-people-51380/
India: Asks US evangelists to leave
An international advocacy group urged the U.S. government to condemn Indian authorities for asking three American Christians to leave India because they allegedly participated in evangelism. ‘We urge the U.S. government to look into this matter and take appropriate measures to pressure India to respect the religious freedom of Christians and other religious minorities,’ explained an International Christian Concern (ICC) representative. Shelly Deeds, a nurse from Pennsylvania, her daughter Katelyn 15, and Diane Harrington a teacher at Wisconsin were ‘asked to leave’ the country after Hindu organizations complained they ‘tried to convert poor families in India's southern state of Kerala. Indian police acknowledged there was no evidence the Christian tourists participated in proselytizing, but said they asked them to leave because the women ‘violated’ visa regulations by trying to attend a prayer meeting. Pray: God’s protection for Christians and the Christian community in the sensitive areas of India. (Ps.17:1) More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/17201-india-asks-u-s-evangelists-to-leave
Afghanistan: Christians face uncertainty in India
Afghan Christian refugees who fled to India are in hiding over fears they will be deported back to Afghanistan, where possible arrest, imprisonment and execution await them. In 2010, a television network broadcast baptisms of Afghan Muslim converts to Christianity. A member of parliament called for the execution of the apostates and President Hamid Karzai called for an investigation into how aid organisations were promoting Christianity in the region. The investigation resulted in Afghan Christian Said Musa being charged with apostasy and issued the death sentence. After a nine month effort by the international community to engage Afghanistan's government, Musa was released and able to leave thecountry. Although Musa's ordeal is over, a decision made by the United Nations in New Delhi to deport a number of Afghan converts may drive that small Christian community to a similar fate. After Musa's arrest Afghan Christians went into hiding and others went to India or Pakistan.
Pray: for secret police and intelligence agencies to stop harrassing Christians, and to work alongside them instead. (Ps.17:7-9)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/uncertainty.for.afghan.christian.refugees/28042.htm
Syria: Christians' concerns
On Wednesday security forces entered Damascus university dormitories, detaining dozens of students and setting fire to some rooms. Source: An Open Doors report said, Christians in Syria have been living in peace with churches practicing their faith without threats or danger in this Muslim nation for a long time. Since the Middle East erupted many small and other self interest groups have exploited the situation to achieve their agenda in the region. Extremist foreign fighters have travelled to Iraq and killed innocent Iraqis, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians. These same extremist groups have turned their Jihad to Syria, exploiting the situation to establish their Islamic Emirate. Groups have been entering houses and threatening many Christians and minority groups. Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moallem denied that Hezbollah and Iran were helping the Syrian regime in its three-month-old crackdown on protesters. See: Pray: that forces trying to turn Syria into an extremist Islamic nation will fail and Christians have courage as they resist fear and calls to flee. (Heb.13:3)
Sudan: A call to prayer
June 21st the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kadugli called Sunday June 26th a day of prayer and fasting ‘To end the Nuba Genocide and for the Peace of all Sudan’ as Sudan faces the nightmare of genocide in what the Bishop called, a final attempt to erase our culture and society from the face of the earth. It is not a war between armies that is being fought in our land, but the utter destruction of our way of life.’ See Meanwhile President Bashir threatened to shut pipelines carrying South Sudan's oil. Oil accounts for 98% of the south's income. Most pipelines, refineries and the main port is in the north. Talks between North and South continue regarding oil, citizenship and disputed borders while horrendous fighting persists between Christians and Muslims. See last weeks Prayer Alert and INSIGHT article.
Pray: for God in His mercy to place His hand over this situation and bring order out of chaos. (2Ch.14:11)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13870929
New mayor bans Christian prayers
Christian prayers have been dropped from the beginning of council meetings by the new mayor of Bridport in Dorset. David Rickard has decided to replace the prayers at full meetings of Bridport Town Council with a ‘short time of quiet, private contemplation’. He announced the move at his mayor-making ceremony but the decision has proved highly controversial. Councillor Sandra Brown, a former mayor, warned that many members of the council were against the decision. She said: ‘I feel very strongly about it and there are several of us on the council who are quite dismayed by it. Sadly though I don’t think there are enough of us to make him change his mind’. David Tett, another former mayor and independent councillor, said: ‘I am a traditionalist. I am disappointed to see the prayers thrown out of the window like that. It is totally uncalled for.’
Pray: that those who support prayer would receive backing to see this ruling reversed. (Ps.20:2)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/new-mayor-bans-christian-prayers-at-council-meetings/
Trevor Phillips wades into debate on religion
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has made a wide-ranging intervention into the growing debate on the place of religion in modern society. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph before the publication of a landmark report into religious discrimination, he attacks ‘fashionable’ views mocking and marginalising religion and says his Equality and Human Rights Commission will stand up for believers. Mr Phillips becomes one of the first and most high-profile figures in public life to warn that people of faith feel ‘under siege’ from ‘fashionable’ anti-religious views - which he admitted the Equality and Human Rights Commission had been wrongly identified with. ‘There is a view that says religion is a private matter and it's entirely a choice. I think that's entirely not right. Faith identity is part of what makes life richer and more meaningful for the individual'.
Pray: for Trevor Phillips, as he is likely to be criticised for his positive views on religion. (1Co.16:13)
A celebration to mark 200 years of Church Schools
The Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration held at York Minster last week was a special service to celebrate 200 years of Church schools led by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu . The Christian Churches were the first to provide mass education in England and Wales, and the National Society was established to provide schools for poor children. These schools were to teach basic skills and also to provide for the moral and spiritual welfare of the children. There are now over 4,600 Church of England primary schools and more than 220 secondary schools in England and Wales educating approximately 1 million children. The Society also became the first organization to train teachers. The Revd Jan Ainsworth, General Secretary of the National Society said ‘Education for children in this country should also allow them to understand something of what the Christian faith offers and to use that as they find their own way through life.’ Pray: for Church schools, their staff and children; also for the National Society. (Ex.18:20)
Church schools under threat, warns Bishop of Oxford
The Church is in danger of being driven out of public education by Government reforms and a generation of teachers ignorant of even the basic tenets of Christianity, a senior cleric has warned. A rush to introduce new academies and changes to the curriculum could threaten the very ‘survival’ of the church schools system unless urgent action is taken, according to the head of the Church of England’s Board of Education. The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, also warned that a tide of secularisation had undermined the standard of teaching of the Christian faith. Even in schools run by the church itself many teachers now lack a ‘default understanding’ of Christianity, he said. The warnings are contained in a hard hitting report about the state of faith schools and religious education to be debated by the Church of England’s General Synod next month.
Pray: that the Church would take up the challenge to bring faith back to the centre of church school life – see also previous story. (Dt.4:9)