A Christmas Eve attack by Boko Haram which left at least eleven dead and two church buildings razed to the ground prompted Nigerian bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri to issue a rallying cry, insisting Islamist violence is doomed to failure. Bishop Oliver said he was undaunted by the attack in Pemi, near Chibok, where over 270 mostly Christian schoolgirls had been kidnapped in 2016. Speaking after the attack, in which a priest was abducted, he said, ‘One thing that Boko Haram will never take from us is our faith. We will never allow our faith to be taken away by any evil. Our faith is becoming stronger and stronger. 100 people were baptised in one parish on Christmas Eve. People are so committed.’ The Bishop said that Boko Haram’s actions were in fact strengthening the Christian faith; his diocese has more Catholics than when there was no Boko Haram crisis.

Raja Waris, a 25-year-old Christian lay reader, is in police custody in Lahore after he shared another person’s post critical of Islam on his Facebook page. Raja apologised to the Muslims in person, saying he had shared the post for academic understanding between Christians and Muslims and did not mean to offend any Muslims, and the issue appeared to be resolved. But then a huge mob gathered demanding his beheading. Fearing violence, hundreds of Christian residents fled their homes while around 400 anti-riot policemen were deployed to the area to thwart violence. When local church elders were taken to the police station, a large mob gathered outside, chanting slogans against Christians. Negotiations failed, and Raja was hiding due to threats to his life. Mob leaders only called off the siege after he was held under blasphemy laws that call for up to ten years in prison. He and his family are currently in a safe house for their security.

As Yemen prepares to move forward with a power-sharing government, two explosions at Aden airport were designed to annihilate the new government officials disembarking from their plane. Saudi Arabia had brokered a peace deal between Houthi rebels (controlling much of northern Yemen) and the Yemeni government. The explosions also threatened the UN effort for a nationwide cease-fire to prevent the coronavirus spreading. It did not injure any of the new cabinet, but killed 26 people and injured 50 more; the death toll is expected to climb as more victims succumb to their injuries. The government had just forged an alliance with southern separatists. This latest attack threatens a very tenuous situation plagued by years of war and hunger. An explosion was also heard at the presidential palace where cabinet members, the prime minister, and the Saudi ambassador had been taken for safety. Pray for officials to apprehend all those responsible, and for a successful resolution of the conflict between the Hadi government and Houthi rebels.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is encouraging people to share photos, artwork, a prayer, or a meditation for loved ones lost to Covid-19, as part of a project to honour people dying of the disease and their families. A dairy market has been transformed into a gallery and event space. Participants use the #PrayforLA hashtag. Patrisse announced the initiative through an Instagram video on 2 January. He said that as Latino and Black residents are disproportionately impacted by Covid, the government should do more to help people financially.

A little child - a long walk - a rocky road - no shoes - twice a day - five times a week. This is life for thousands of Indonesian Christian children because their parents cannot afford shoes. The more fortunate children have jepit (meaning pinch sandals because they must be gripped by toes). Not easy walking over rough ground, and not healthy for young growing feet. Christians asked Barnabas to provide proper school shoes for them. A local Christian shoe company is providing shoes at a 67% discount. This Christmas the children, who walk every day for miles in bare feet, will receive a gift of school shoes thanks to many generous donations.

In Pakistan, false accusations of blasphemy are common and often motivated by personal vendettas or religious hatred. Imran was falsely accused of blasphemy and imprisoned for life. On 15 December the Lahore High Court acquitted him and released him, after he had spent over ten years in prison. The development came as a shock to Imran’s family. ‘It is a day of resurrection for us’, Naveed Masih, Imran’s brother, said. ‘God has heard our cry and we are very thankful to Him. It’s a Christmas gift for us.’

Stripping away the spin in both the UK and EU, the prospects of a deal feel very slim at present. In the next few weeks everything rests on intense negotiations behind the scenes. The process is unlikely to be straightforward as this is all uncharted territory. Please continue to pray for God to direct every conversation around this challenging situation. Pray for everyone to be creative and able to keep the basis of negotiations on level ground. Political observers say that if they wanted to, the EU and the UK could, in theory, come up with an agreement outside EU law. Meanwhile the UK and USA are in talks over a mini trade deal to reduce tariffs. Pray for the success of post-Brexit deals with Washington. Pray for God to pave the way for excellent future communications between US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and the UK international trade secretary Liz Truss. See

In a joint editorial, two leading medical journals have said the UK's plan to ease Covid rules over Christmas is a ‘rash decision’ that will ‘cost many lives’. They said people might see the lifting of restrictions ‘as permission to drop their guard’. However, Number 10 said it would not review plans to allow household mixing over Christmas. It is only the second time the two publications have written a joint editorial. Pray for people to understand the danger and keep social contact to a minimum over the five days of reduced restrictions.

Justin Bieber has teamed up with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir to record a Christmas single, a remix of the star's single Holy, which reached number seven in October. The charity collaboration comes five years after the two acts were locked in a battle for the Christmas number one. Bieber said, ‘I was honoured to meet everyone from the choir and I'm really happy that they got their number one.’ Their new charity single is aiming for Christmas number one, with proceeds to be split between NHS Charities Together, which represents more than 230 NHS charities, and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Charity. An immunisation clinical coordinator said, ‘The message that holding someone is such a special thing that it's almost a holy experience is so resonant with current difficulties and personal challenges.’

A Church of England spokesman has said, ‘At Christmas around six million people of all ages wish to attend services to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Covid-19 has meant it is necessary to limit the capacity of church buildings to keep everyone safe.’ Those wishing to attend services this Christmas are being encouraged not to leave it too late to book their seats. Churches have been advised to set up free online ticket booking systems to ensure adequate physical distancing can be maintained. The popular Christmas services are quickly filling up. St Paul's Cathedral has no tickets left for Christmas services. York Minster tweeted, ‘Tickets for 23rd and 24th carol services are sold out, although they will be livestreamed’. Some churches have added additional services to their programmes to keep up with demand, while advising online bookings. Churches are urged to add their Christmas events to the CofE’s 'A Church Near You' page.